vivo X50 Pro Unboxing and First Impressions

vivo's new X50 Pro recently made a lot of noise for many good reasons—one of them is its inclusion of the innovative gimbal camera system.

Meet the X50 Pro!

Yes, the X50 Pro is the first commercially available smartphone with gimbal tech that ensures that the motion of the camera is stabilized and it is 300 percent more stable than traditional OIS.

And because of that, vivo is claiming that you don't need an external gimbal anymore to take steady photos and of course videos.

Moreover, the phone sports a clean and premium design, good overall specs, 5G connectivity, Hi-Res Audio, and plenty of other modern smartphone features.

This is the first 5G-ready smartphone of the company in the country as well.

Sounds fun right? Here's what we think of it.

Unboxing/Accessories

Everything inside the box

X50 Pro's packaging is well-thought-out. Upon opening its premium-looking box, you'll immediately see the phone itself. Unlike most smartphones, it comes with a curved pre-installed screen protector.

Next include the TPU clear case, paper documents, SIM ejector pin, 33W FlashCharge power brick, USB-A to USB-C data and charging long cable, and in-ear earphones with mic, extra ear tips, and a USB-C to 3.5mm short dongle cable.

It simply has everything you'll need from the case, screen protector, charger, and more.

Build Quality/Design

Sleek style!

Another impressive thing about this device is its level of craftsmanship. Despite not having the top-of-the-line specs of higher-end smartphones, the X50 Pro sports an ultra-premium glass sandwiched build.

High-end type of build!

It uses a matte-frosted 3D curved glass back, solid metal frame, and a 3D curved glass front with punch-hole. The glass front is protected by Schott Xensation UP glass for light drops and hairline scratches.

The device bears no IP rating for water and dust resistance, but we spotted a red rubber ring on its SIM tray suggesting that it has some sort of uncertified water splash resistance.

Similar finish to the P40 Pro

The matte-frosted back of the handset reminds us of the Huawei P40 Pro and that is not a bad thing as that handset is way more expensive than this one. It also means that vivo was able to bring that high-level of design with a sleek Alpha Grey colorway and not that prone to fingerprint smudges finish at this price point.

Moreover, it sports a reasonably small camera hump for a handset with a robust quad-camera configuration starring the Big Eye Gimbal Main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, 8MP periscope camera with 5x optical zoom and up to 60x digital zoom, and the 13MP depth sensor.

The hump is even smaller than the P40 Pro+ and the Galaxy S20 Ultra!

The back of the phone also highlights the triple LED flash for super low light shots.

Flagship-level screen

In the front, the display reminds us of the OnePlus 8 Pro. It sports a good quality 6.56-inch 3D curved E3 AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and a tiny punch-hole and a 3.96mm ultra-tiny punch-hole housing its 32MP f/2.48 selfie camera.

Of course, the device has flagship-level slim bezels on all sides which results to over 90 percent of screen-to-body ratio for a more immersive display.

The bottom portion of the display hides the accurate-so-far In-Display fingerprint reader.

Top and bottom view

On the top, the phone has a single mic. Below, you'll see the pinhole for the dual SIM tray (non-expandable storage), another mic, USB-C reversible port with Hi-Res Audio support, and the single loudspeaker.

Left and right view

There's nothing at left and you'll see the power key along with the volume up and down keys at right.

At 158.46 x 72.8 x 8.4 mm, the device is considered as small and slim for the screen size, battery size, and all its camera tech.

It is hefty enough at 181.5 grams.

vivo X50 Pro Specs

Display: 6.56-inch 3D curved Schott Xensation UP glass protected E3 AMOLED screen w/ 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, FHD+ 2376 x 1080 resolution at 409 ppi
CPU: 2.4GHz 7nm EUV Snapdragon 765G octa-core processor
GPU: Adreno 620
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X
ROM: 256GB UFS 2.1
Back Camera: 48MP f/1.6 Sony IMX598 + super micro PTZ camera + 8MP f/2.2 w/ 120-degree ultra-wide-angle and 2.5cm macro + 8MP f/3.4 w/ 5x optical zoom, 13MP f/2.46 w/ depth + triple LED flash
Selfie Camera: 32MP f/2.48
Battery: 4,315 w/ 33W fast charging
OS: Android 10 w/ FuntouchOS 10.5
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.1 (aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, AAC support), OTG, NFC, GPS (L1 + L5 dual-band), GLONASS, BeiDou, dual SIM
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, face unlock, AK4377A amp, Hi-Res Audio, triple-mic, USB-C, Colors: Alpha Grey
Dimensions: 158.46 x 72.8 x 8.04 mm
Weight: 181.5 g
Price: PHP 39,999

As of the moment

The innovative camera phone to get?

After the In-Display fingerprint reader and all-screen phone design with a motorized pop-up camera, the Big Eye Gimbal camera system could be the next smartphone trend that vivo started.

The gimbal camera doesn't feel gimmicky and it simply works. Moreover, the phone impressed us with its flagship-level build, beautiful display, overall camera specs, and Hi-Res Audio certification.

It doesn't feel like a first-generation smartphone

My only concern so far is its use of the Snapdragon 765G SoC though its actual performance is buttery smooth. It would have been better if it is sporting a higher-end type of chip at this price point.

We still have to fully test this phone, but it is very promising so far and it could be one of those "more-than-specs" phones that you will buy because of its build, design, and video performance.

Stay tuned for our camera samples and more info about the phone soon.