Beyond Mid-Range, Beyond Gimbals

Vivo X50 Pro

- Liu Hongzuo

With so many Android smartphones crowding the market, these devices are starting to look the same to users. These similarities are more pronounced when phone users are shopping around the midrange tier of mobiles.

The Vivo X50 Pro touts features and components that set it at a slightly higher premium than a typical mid-range. On the device is a 6.56-inch AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate, and powering the 5G-capable phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset that’s half a tier above other middle-level alternatives we have here.

So why else is Vivo asking for $1,099 for the X50 Pro? That’s because the phone has something no other 2020 mobile has - a mechanical gimbal system for its primary 48MP rear camera. According to Vivo, it’s a real gimbal inside the phone, and it’s 200% more effective than regular Optical Image Stabilisation at mitigating blurry, unfocused shots.

Vivo placed considerable effort in creating a premium-looking phone.

The glass panel on the front features slightly curved edges on its sides, similar to many high-end smartphones launched this year. Other design cues also include its metallic rim with subtle antenna bands, a minimalistic cut-out for the front camera, and the use of an in-display fingerprint sensor. What we like most, however, is the 8.04mm thickness which felt way slimmer in hand. Even though the phone uses a gimbal system for its rear camera setup, Vivo managed to keep the X50 Pro’s lens housing at just 0.3mm above the rest of the phone.