After I unboxed the Vivo X Note, I switched the SIM card from my Mi 11 Ultra to this phone. And after using the X Note as my only phone for a few days, I have a lot of things to tell you about the device. This video is not only a review of the X Note but also my personal and subjective experience of switching from the Mi 11 Ultra to the X Note. Like an enlarged version of the X70 Pro Plus, this phone is great, but it’s not for me.

Vivo X Note Review: Design & Display

Although I said in the unboxing video that 7 inches isn’t much bigger than my 11 Ultra, I still had to get used to a phone that was 80mm wide. Because it has a 21:10 screen ratio, it’s much wider than other 6.8-inch 21:9 phones. To put it simply, if you like to use your phone with one hand, this is not the phone for you.

But on the other side, if you use your phone with both hands on a daily basis, the extra wide screen has no effect on you. Vivo also knows that the body is too wide, so the lines on both sides of the back panel are designed to make you look a little narrower. Perhaps because I am a Mi 11 Ultra user, the design of the camera module is not that unacceptable to me. At least it is much better looking than the upcoming X80 series. Maybe it’s because the body is too big, so the vibration motor is weak. The SIM card slot can only hold two SIMs, and there is no headphone jack. But it is rarely equipped with an IR emitter, and there is a silent switch. I won’t repeat how good the ultrasonic fingerprint recognition is, it’s fast and has a large recognition area. But the fingerprint quick action feature only has shortcuts for WeChat and Alipay, so non-Chinese users might not be able to use this feature. All in all, the X Note is quite satisfactory in terms of design this time around.

With a 7-inch QWHD+ OLED screen, you can see how stunning this screen is just by looking at the specs on paper. Not only is its actual viewing size comparable to the iPad Mini, but it also has a higher contrast screen than the iPad mini.

It also has LTPO 2.0, which flagship phones all have. And because of the use of E5 material, the maximum brightness is even higher than E4. So you can see the screen more clearly in the sunlight. And the touch latency issue on the X70 Pro Plus is fixed. Although I’m happy with the color and maximum brightness of this screen, there is a common problem with this year’s Samsung E5 material screens: the side-view color shift problem. When I use the phone on the table, I always feel that the screen is blue. One other complaint is that it doesn’t support the stylus, either. I tried to write on the X Note’s screen with the vivo Pad’s stylus, but it didn’t work at all. I think it’s really a waste of such a big screen for the X Note not to have a stylus.

Vivo X Note Review: Performance, Benchmarks, & Gaming

When it comes to the performance test, I have to tell you first that the X Note is not the kind of phone that focuses on performance. While it seems to perform well in the CPU parts of each Bench Test, the GPU results tell us that Vivo is still the same Vivo. When you start playing games with it, Vivo will start limiting performance to control temperatures.

Vivo is probably thinking that people who would buy their brand’s flagship phone should be more into taking pictures than playing games. So all the Vivo flagship phones we tested didn’t perform that well in games. I’m not going to analyze each game specifically, so you can see for yourselves what level of gaming experience the X Note is.

The X Note is equipped with the same V1 chip as the X70 Pro Plus. It is also true that you can get a higher and more stable frame rate by using the game frame insertion. But as with the Neo 3, there are fewer games supported and there is a touch delay, so I don’t recommend turning this feature on every time you play.

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Vivo X Note Review: Cameras

The X Note isn’t the most powerful phone from Vivo in terms of photography, but it’s still a top-notch camera. I’m comparing it to the Mi 11 Ultra instead of the X70 Pro Plus, not only because my last phone was the Mi 11 Ultra, but also because the X Note and X70 Pro Plus have such similar camera specs that the difference between them is so small.

It is difficult to show how powerful the X Note camera is. Interestingly, remember the results of our photo comparison between the K50 and the realme GT Neo3? The K50 had muted colors, and poor dynamic range, but better details. The Neo 3 had vibrant colors, good dynamic range, but not as much detail as the K50. This conclusion applies to the Mi 11 Ultra and X Note as well.

Main & Ultra Wide Camera

While the Mi 11 Ultra will be sharper, there’s no doubt that the X Note’s more vibrant colors and superior dynamic range make for photos that you’ll fall in love with at first glance. And the white balance is more accurate than the Mi 11 Ultra. And both the main camera and the ultra-wide camera perform the same.

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2X 5X

What surprised me was the 2x photo session. I thought the Mi 11 Ultra would have a bigger gap with the X Note without the optical 2x lens. But in fact, the difference is not significant. Sometimes the images are even sharper indoors. This also proves how powerful the Mi 11 Ultra’s main camera is. But the play does not seem to be as unstable as the X Note, sometimes good and sometimes bad, so it seems that the X Note’s 2x optical lens is better.

Although the X Note’s 5x telephoto sensor is not as large as the Mi 11 Ultra, it seems that Vivo’s algorithm has improved considerably. In most scenes, it is on the same level as the 11 Ultra. You know what, the X Note’s sensor is only half the size of the 11 Ultra! This performance is beyond my expectations. However, when it comes to scenes with almost no light, this sensor is powerless even by excellent algorithm.

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The resolution of the front lens is similar for both phones. But still the dynamic range X Note has a definite advantage. The Mi 11 Ultra takes too dark a picture of the human eye.

The main camera video is again won by the dynamic range. But unfortunately, the 2x and 5x lenses can’t record 4k video. And even at 4k 30fps, it’s impossible to switch lenses during recording. This is something the Mi 11 Ultra does very well, with all three lenses supporting 4k 60fps. It is also unfortunate that the X Note, like the X70 pro plus, has a system that intelligently judges whether the current scene is suitable for taking pictures with an optical telephoto lens. Meaning that even if you tap the 2x button or the 5x button, the photo may have been taken by the main camera cropping the frame into a 2x or 5x shot, not by an optical lens.

Sometimes the system is accurate, and it is true that the main camera crops the photo better. But sometimes this is not the case. I took a photo with a 2x optical lens in Pro mode compared to the one with the main crop, and the 2x optical lens was clearly better. And even in pro mode, you still can’t choose which optical lens to shoot video with, you have to listen to the system algorithm. I paid for the phone, but I can’t use which lens I want to use, which really makes me feel bad.

Vivo X Note Review: Software

I also had a hard time with Origin OS, which has gotten much better with a few upgrades, but I’m still very uncomfortable with it.

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For example, the control center and the notification center are separate in the new version, as they are on many phones. First, let’s see how MIUI is controlled. No need to slide down from the top, slide down the right side of the desktop is the control center, slide down the left side is the notification center. Swipe left and right to switch back and forth.

But how is Origin OS controlled? Wherever you slide, it’s the Control Center. The notification center can only be called out by sliding down from the top on the left, and there is no way to switch left or right. You should know that this is a 7-inch phone, and I hate the logic of this operation in the past few days. Yes, I know it has a mini screen mode, but then why should I buy this big screen. So I’ve been using the old Control Center for the past few days. Even though I’ve set the language to English, there’s also the Chinese language that pops up somewhere. Plus the camera issues mentioned earlier. For me personally, Origin OS may be a very beautiful system, but it’s definitely not a very user-friendly system.

Vivo X Note: Battery & Charging

The 5000mAh battery is really not that big for a 7-inch body. And the battery life of X Note is rather average. Maybe it’s because the huge QWHD+ screen is so power-hungry that it doesn’t last much longer than other phones.

I used the X Note fully charged to go out and use the 5G network, with 18% remaining after 9 hours of use. The 80w wired charging allows the X Note to charge up to 57% in 15 minutes and take 33 minutes to fully charge. Poor charging compatibility has always been a weakness of Vivo phones, and this X Note is no exception. Even when charging with a charger that supports 100w PD, the maximum charging power is only 14w.

Vivo X Note is a rare large-screen flagship phone that does a great job in design, built quality, and camera. If you’re looking for a large screen phone over 7 inches, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better specced model. So if you are sure you need a big flagship phone, not a foldable phone, this may be your only choice.

But for me personally, I’ll be plugging my SIM card back into the Mi 11 Ultra, not because the X Note is bad, but because I’m just not used to the huge screen and Origin OS.

The post Vivo X Note Full Review: X70 Pro+ MAX? appeared first on Gizmochina.

Last week, Vivo entered three new product categories on the same day. They are foldable, tablet, and phablet. The first devices in these three categories are officially called Vivo X Fold, Vivo Pad, and Vivo X Note respectively.

All of them come with high-end features. The foldable and the phablet even carry premium price tags to match their specs. However, the tablet falls under the mid-range price segment like most flagship tablets from Chinese OEMs.

Let’s take a look at these products one by one.

Vivo’s first foldable, tablet, and phablet are finally here

Vivo’s First Foldable – Vivo X Fold

At first look, one can clearly say that the Vivo X Fold is inspired by the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series. But Vivo’s foldable arrives with a better set of features, like dual ultra-sonic in-screen fingerprint sensors, an alert slider, and flagship-level cameras.

Though it is not water-resistant (IPX8) like the Galaxy Z Fold 3, it flaunts a vegan leather rear finish like the Huawei Mate X2 and its hinge is rated to last for 300,000 folds. It is also powered by a custom-made Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage.

Talking about screes, the primary internal foldable Samsung E5 AMOLED display measures 8.03-inch in size and has a 2K resolution, up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 4:3.5 aspect ratio. On the other hand, the 6.53-inch external Samsung E5 AMOLED display has a resolution of FHD+, up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 21:9 aspect ratio. Both the screens support HDR10+ standard and feature a punch-hole for a front-facing camera.

As far as cameras are concerned, there’s a 50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN5 primary sensor with OIS, a 12MP 2x telephoto shooter, an 8MP 5x periscope snapper with OIS, and a 48MP ultra-unit. These cameras are covered by Zeiss lens and T* coating. Finally, there are two 16MP front-facing cameras.

The device boots Android 12-based OriginOS Ocean. It is backed by a 4,600mAh battery with support for 66W fast wired charging, 50W fast wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging

The Vivo X Fold is priced at ¥8,999 and ¥9,999 for 12GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB memory configurations. It can be availed in either blue, black, or gray color options.

Vivo’s First Tablet – Vivo Pad

Just like the tablets from Xiaomi and Oppo, the Vivo Pad is built around an LCD panel and a Qualcomm chipset. It features an 11-inch screen with a 2.5K resolution and up to a 120Hz refresh rate. The display supports Dolby Vision and Vivo Pen stylus input.

It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC coupled with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. It runs OriginOS HD based on Android 12. It is backed by an 8,040mAh battery with support for 44W fast charging.

The tablet comes with a dual-camera system on the rear comprising of a 13MP primary sensor and a 13MP ultra-wide unit. There’s also an 8MP front-facing camera and Dolby Atmos-supported quad speakers.

Other features include an aluminum build, support for a keyboard accessory via a magnetic connector, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and USB 3.1 (Type-C). The product arrives in three colors, such as blue, black, and white.

The Vivo Pad is priced at ¥2,499 and ¥2,999 for 8GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB memory variants respectively.

Vivo’s First Phablet – Vivo X Note

The Vivo X Note is huge and has a good set of high-end features. However, it is not a replacement for the Samsung Galaxy Note series. Because it lacks support for a stylus.

The phablet sports a 7.0-inch Samsung E5 AMOLED display with a QHD+ resolution, up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and LTPO 3.0 technology. The screen has a 21:10 aspect ratio, a large ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, and its peak brightness can reach up to 1500 nits.

The handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. It also comes with a Vivo V1 chip for image processing. On the software front, it boots OriginOS Ocean based on Android 12.

For photography and videography, it uses a quad-camera system on the rear with a Zeiss lens and T* coating. The setup includes a 50MP Samsung ISOCCELL GN1 primary sensor with OIS, a 48MP ultrawide unit, a 12MP 2x telephoto shooter, and an 8MP periscope 5x camera with OIS. On the front, there’s a 16MP snapper.

Other features include an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, dual stereo speakers, IR blaster, vegan leather rear finish, 5,000mAh battery, 80W fast wired charging, 50W fast wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.

The Vivo X Note arrives in 8GB + 126GB, 12GB + 1256GB, and 12GB + 512GB memory configurations priced at ¥5,999 and ¥6,499, and, ¥6,999 respectively. It can be availed in either black, blue, and gray color variants.

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The post All the Vivo launches from last week: Vivo X Fold, Vivo Pad, & Vivo X Note appeared first on Gizmochina.

Vivo, on Monday, officially launched the Vivo X Note smartphone at an event in China. The smartphone comes with a huge 7-inch screen and has ZEISS optics. The device was released today alongside the Vivo X Fold and Vivo Pad.

Design and Display

The Vivo X Note comes as a refresh to the current premium smartphone lineup of the brand. The device features a rough finish and has parallel stitches in the vertical direction at the back. It is made out of glass and has a plain leather feel to it.

The phone has a 7-inch display with curved sides. It is an LTPO 3.0 E5 AMOLED panel with QHD+(3080 x 1440 pixels) resolution. It has a 120Hz refresh rate and a 1500 nits peak brightness. The screen also has DisplayMate A+ certification and a 21:10 aspect ratio.

The phone has a 3D ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint scanner with a larger area. Interestingly, Vivo has added an alert slider on the left of the device.

Specifications 

As you’d have guessed, the X Note draws power from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 flagship SoC. It is paired with 8GB/12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB/512GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. It also has Vivo’s V1 chip for image optimization.

Furthermore, it comes with a dual-SIM slot, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi support. The device also has an IP68 rating for water/dust resistance and also features an IR blaster.

Battery and Charging 

Vivo X Note packs a 5,000mAh battery with support for 80W wired and 50W wireless fast charging support.

Vivo claims that the phone can be charged fully in just 32 minutes. The phone boots on Android 12 out of the box.

Cameras

As far as optics are concerned, the Vivo X Note gets a new rear-camera design. It has a quad-camera system placed on an oversized camera island.

The setup goes by a 50MP Samsung GN 1 (OIS) main lens, a 48MP ultra-wide lens, a 12MP portrait sensor, and an 8MP periscope telephoto (OIS) lens. The telephoto sensor has 5x optical zoom and 60x digital zoom support. The cameras on the phone are co-tuned by ZEISS optics. On the front, it has an 8MP lens for shooting selfies.

Pricing, Colors, and Availability 

The Vivo X Note can be purchased in Black, Blue, and Gray colors options. The pricing is as follows.

8GB + 256GB –  CNY 5,999(~$942)

12GB + 256GB – CNY 6,499(~$1,020)

12GB + 512GB – CNY 6,999(~$1,100)

The company has also released a 50W wireless charging pad priced at CNY 99(~$16). The device will go on sale starting on April 15 in China.

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The post Vivo X Note with a 7-inch screen, 60x telephoto lens, and 80W/50W charging unveiled appeared first on Gizmochina.

Vivo has scheduled to launch the Vivo X Note, Vivo X Fold, and Vivo Pad on April 11 in the Chinese market. While the latter two devices are interesting, we are enlivened in the release of the X Note, thanks to its phablet-like size. Today, in this article, we’ll round up all the details learned so far about the smartphone.

Design and display

As the name suggests, the phone has a chunky design. It is reported to come with a mammoth 7-inch display with a Quad-HD+ resolution. It will be an AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and in-screen fingerprint technology.

As per the phone’s hands-on images, the phone appears to have a curved side on the front and a rough finish at the back. The back has parallel stitches in the vertical direction which adds to its looks.

Cameras on the Vivo X Note 

Vivo seems to be going with a new rear camera design. Just like some flagship Vivo phones, this one too will get the ZEISS branded sensors.

The camera setup on the back will have quad cameras. The setup will include a 50MP main lens, a 48MP secondary sensor, a 12MP tertiary sensor, and the last 8MP snapper. On the front, it will have a single camera placed in the top middle for taking selfies and video calls.

Hardware and Software

Under the hood, the smartphone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC paired with 8GB/12GB of RAM and 256GB/512GB of internal storage. Interestingly, the smartphone will also come with the Vivo V1 chip for image optimization.

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It will pack a 5,000mAh battery with support for wired as well as wireless charging technology. The device will have 80W, and 50W fast charging support, respectively. For the operating system, it will boot on the Android 12 out of the box.

Pricing, Colors, and Availability 

Apart from the specs, the smartphone is expected to launch in the premium segment and will come in three colors. The device will arrive in Black, Green, and Gray color options. Once the phone releases on April 11, it is expected to go on sale in the forthcoming weeks in China.

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Last week, Vivo officially confirmed the upcoming Vivo X Note premium flagship phone which is set to launch alongside the Vivo X Fold and the Vivo X Pad on April 11 in China.

So far, the device has been subject to multiple leaks, however, the company has been silent about its specs and features. Now, according to a MySmartPrice report, the device has been spotted on Geekbench running the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC.

The device is listed on Geekbench with the model number V2170A. The listing reveals that the device’s motherboard is codenamed “taro” which implies that it runs the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. The octa-core processor on the SoC has a peak clock speed of 3.0Ghz and comes paired with an Adreno 730 GPU. The listing also reveals that the phone has 12GB RAM and is running Android 12.

Coming to the Geekbench results, the device scored 794 points in the single-core test and managed 3158 points in the multi-core test.

Vivo X Note specifications

So far, rumors state that the Vivo X Note will house a 7-inch AMOLED Quad HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. For security, it will feature an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner. The premium flagship phone is confirmed to feature a curved edge display with a centrally aligned punch-hole.

The X Note will be driven by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. It is likely to arrive in options such as 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage, 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage, and 12 GB RAM + 512 GB storage.

The device will house a 5,000mAh battery that supports 80W fast charging. The handset is also expected to come with 50W wireless charging support. There is no information on the selfie camera of the device. The round-shaped camera module available on the back will comprise a 50-megapixel Samsung S5KGN1 primary camera, a 48-megapixel Sony IMX598 lens, a 12-megapixel Sony IMX663 lens, and an 8-megapixel OV08A10 camera with 5x zoom.

Other features of the device will be revealed on April 11, so stay tuned for more.

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