Watch: vivo X60 Unboxing and Review - Top camera phone for the price?

vivo has a new smartphone for the Philippine market called the X60.

vivo X60, everything inside the box

This is the company's first premium offering in the country this year and the follow-up to the impressive X50 last year.

X60 is also the very first smartphone from the company boasting ZEISS-enhanced cameras.

Having ZEISS as a partner for the development of its camera game alone is worth noticing.

So today, since we have been using this handset for around a month now, it's time to share our review.

Watch this.

Watch: vivo X60 Full Review Philippines - Top photography phone for the price?

Performance

Strong AnTuTu score

The Snapdragon 865 flagship last year is stupid fast, but the 7nm Snapdragon 870 chip with Adreno 650 GPU of this device is even better.

Qualcomm claimed that this chipset provides a 10 percent boost in CPU and GPU performance.

The SD888 chip on pricier phones is slightly faster, but this is still one of the best chips that you will get for the price.

vivo also paired this 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. 12GB RAM is large and 256GB storage is enough even for heavy users.

Not only that, vivo implemented the Extended RAM tech here giving the phone an extra 3GB of virtual RAM to give the device the option of running multiple apps smoother at faster speeds.

Based on benchmarks, this handset is really capable. It got a little over 700K at AnTuTu, one of the highest we tested at this price point.

It also shines in other benchmarking tools like Geekbench, 3DMark, and more.

As expected, real-life performance is superb and it runs everything you throw at it with ease.

Since it has a UFS 3.1 storage, accessing high-resolution contents and heavier files is a breeze.

Even if you have multiple apps in the background, it runs even heavy games like Genshin Impact at max settings.

If you play other games like Call of Duty: Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, NBA 2K20, and more, you are in for a treat.

In the settings, it even has the Ultra Game Mode with a Game Assistant, Game Sidebar, Esports mode, and many other settings from blocking notifications, Eagle eye enhancement, and 4D Game Vibration to improve your gameplay.

The thermals of this handset increase a little after playing a few heavy games with WiFi on.

It remains comfortable to hold if you are using a case, but it is quite warm without it.

vivo failed to mention the exact cooling system it is using, but the temperature drops quite fast after closing the heavy app you are using.

Speaking of connectivity, we never had issues with its WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and overall mobile signal for making calls and sending text messages. 

This is as long as your home WiFi is stable, you are not that far from the Bluetooth device, and signal strength in your area is decent.

For mobile data, the same, no issues. 4G LTE works well. Signal strength is as good as pricier phones.

Of course, this one has 5G. If there's 5G in your area, enjoy. 

The max speed on CBDs like Ortigas and BGC is around 700 to 800 Mbps.

In the condo where we are staying, Smart 5G works and it has up to around 300 Mbps of speed. Not bad considering we are not near a 5G tower.

In terms of unlocking your device, it has one of the fastest and most accurate In-Display fingerprint readers.

Even if my thumb is a bit wet with alcohol, it works.

You can even change its animation to your liking.

Battery

For battery, its 4,300mAh capacity failed to shine in our usual benchmark test.

It only recorded 9 hours and 47 minutes at the PC Mark Work 2.0 battery life test.

In real life, it lasted from 8 AM to 9 PM of our regular workday with 25 percent left in the tank.

This is decent as we normally use our phone with WiFi or 4G LTE data all the time while running social media apps and taking a few photos or videos occasionally.

Under heavy usage, the battery will drain faster obviously. 20 minutes of Genshin Impact gameplay drained 5 percent of the battery.

But, it has a fast charger included in the package—a 33W power brick. This is not bad considering the flagship of South Korea's top brand only supports 25W charging.

This can charge the device from 0 to 50 percent in around 30 minutes.

Then, you will need a total of around 70 minutes to fully charge the handset.

Software

vivo's software is leaps and bounds better than previous iterations. 

This runs with Android 11 OS with the new Funtouch OS 11 and it is quite fun to use.

Icons are modern-looking, it has smooth animations, gestures works, you can change themes, the iManager is there for optimization and more, and it has plenty of features that most smartphones of today have.

It has a few bloats, but most of them are removable. It's a very minor gripe.

Here are the pros and cons of the phone. 

Pros - Beautiful construction, great display, fast performance, impressive cameras, the competitive price tag

Cons - No IP rating, no wireless charging, no 4K selfie

vivo X60 Specs

Display: 6.56-inch 2.5D curved E3 AMOLED screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, FHD+ 2376 x 1080 resolution at 398 ppi

CPU: 3.2GHz 7nm Snapdragon 870 octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno 650

RAM: 12GB LPDDR5

ROM: 256GB UFS 3.1

Back Camera: 48MP f/1.79 Sony IMX598 sensor w/ PDAF and 5-axis OIS + 13MP f/2.2 120-degree ultra-wide-angle w/ 2.5cm macro + 13MP f/2.46 2x optical zoom + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 32MP f/2.45

Battery: 4,300mAh w/ 33W fast charging

OS: Android 11 w/ Funtouch OS 11

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 ax (2.4GHz/5GHz), 5G SA/NSA, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.1 (SBC, AAC, aptX HD, LDAC), GPS (L1 + L5), GLONASS, QZSS, Galileo, dual SIM (nano)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, face unlock, Hi-Res Audio, dual-mic, USB-C, Colors: Midnight Black, Shimmer Blue

Dimensions: 159.63 x 75.01 x 7.36 mm (Midnight Black), 159.63 x 75.01 x 7.40 mm (Shimmer Blue)

Weight: 176 g (Midnight Black), 177 g (Shimmer Blue)

Price: PHP 34,999

Verdict

ZEISS cameras!

Priced at PHP 34,999, the vivo X60 is a solid option for those who are looking for a premium smartphone but can't spend for the true yet pricier flagships of 2021.

It offers a polished and compact design that is very comfortable to hold, a display with vibrant colors and strong enough brightness levels, a close performance against the Snapdragon 888 flagship chip, and impressive and consistent cameras for photos.

As a matter of fact, we think that if you are hunting for a camera phone that is particularly amazing for portrait shots, you are in for a treat.

In the PHP 35K to PHP 40K range, a few competing brands offer the newer and slightly faster Snapdragon 888 chip.

But, they are not as slim and sleek-looking as this. 

Not all of them have these impressive ZEISS enhanced cameras as well.

What do you guys think? Do you agree with us? Is this the next photography-focused phone to get at this price point?

Build/Design - 4.5

Multimedia Experience - 4.25

Cameras - 4.5

Performance - 4.5

Average - 4.43/5