Vivo announced the Vivo X30 series smartphones on December 16 in China. The new lineup is important for the Chinese smartphone maker for two main reasons. First, the Vivo X30 and the X30 Pro expands the company’s 5G product portfolio in China. Second, it is the world’s first pair of smartphones to be powered by the 5G integrated Exynos 980 chipset. This is a newfound relationship between Vivo & Samsung with the company revealing that it even contributed in the development of the chip.
Vivo X30 vs Vivo X30 Pro: Design
When you look at Vivo X30 vs Vivo X30 Pro, there are hardly any differences. They have an almost identical design, which includes a vertical camera setup at the back and a punch-hole display with a small 2.98mm diameter hole for the selfie camera on the top right corner.
However, the only difference between the two devices, in terms of both specifications as well as design is its camera setup. While the X30 gets a triple camera setup at the back, there’s an additional periscope shooter on the Pro variant, making it a quad-camera setup. Both phones come in a glass back and have the same color variants.
Vivo X30 vs Vivo X30 Pro: Specifications
Once again, there are hardly any differences between the two devices in terms of core specifications. Both smartphones are powered by the 5G-integrated Exynos 980 chipset that features 2 x Cortex A77 cores and 6 x Cortex A55 cores. The 5G modem inside the Exynos 980 chip supports SA and NSA networks (n41 and n78 bands). Both phones come with 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 5.8GHz WiFi; Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and an audio jack. Yes, both the devices have a dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack, unlike competitors like the Reno3 series.
There’s 8GB of RAM onboard with two storage variants; 128GB and 256GB. Note that the storages are UFS 2.1 and not UFS 3.0 like the OnePlus 7T. You get the exact same 6.44-inch Super AMOLED HDR display on both the devices with an in-display fingerprint sensor. A 4350mAh battery powers both the devices with 30W fast charging.
Vivo X30 vs Vivo X30 Pro: Camera
So far, the Vivo X30 and the X30 Pro have been identical. But there’s a $100 difference between the two devices! And Vivo justifies that with the fourth additional camera on the Vivo X30 Pro.
The standard X30 comes with a 64MP f/1.8 primary camera (OIS), a 32MP f/2.0 telephoto shooter with 2x optical zoom, 20x digital zoom, and 50mm focal length, and an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide shooter. The setup on the Vivo X30 Pro is exactly the same as the basic X30 model. But the fourth camera on the side is the real game-changer. It’s a special periscope 13MP camera with f/3.0 aperture shooter featuring 5x optical zoom and a whopping 60x digital zoom. It’s no surprise that the X30 Pro gets its own special moon mode as well. It’s also worth adding that each of the three cameras (except for the ultrawide lens) have OIS on board.
Upfront, a 32MP f/2.4 shooter takes care of your selfie needs on both the devices.
Vivo X30 vs Vivo X30 Pro: Price
With the additional periscope camera being the only addition on the X30 Pro, a $100 price difference seems a bit too much. The standard Vivo X30 is priced at ¥3298 (~$472) for the 128GB version and ¥3598 (~$515) for the 256GB version. On the other hand, the Vivo X30 Pro starts at ¥3998 (~$573) for the 128GB version and goes up to ¥4298 (~$616) for the 256GB version. Both the phones are on sale in China right now, but no word on an international release date yet.
Do you think the $100 price difference between the two models is justified?
