The vivo X90 Pro+ packs a 1" sensor, two tele cameras and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
The vivo X90 Pro+ is here and the company is so confident in its creation that it calls its camera the “King of One Inch sensors”. The phone isn’t the first to come out with Sony’s IMX989 imager, but vivo did equip it with several enhancements that make it special.
Let’s start with the first thing light meets – the lens. It features a high quality glass element with an Abbe number of 81.6 (higher number means less light dispersion, plastic can have a number as low as 30). Also, it is coated with the Zeiss T* formulation that reduces glare and ghosting. The lens has a pretty wide aperture, f/1.75 (a certain Xiaomi has an f/1.9 lens), which lets in more light.
And the large 1” IMX989 sensor is there to meet it – this camera has 77% larger photosensitive area compared with the 1/1.3” sensor of the X80 Pro. Individual 1.6µm sensors can be binned in groups of four to achieve a 3.2µm effective pixel size. Then comes the image processing, but we’ll get to that.
The X90 Pro+ is equipped with two telephoto cameras. The more interesting of the two is a 90mm periscope lens with a 64MP sensor. This one has 3.5x optical zoom and maxes out at 100x digital zoom. Additionally, there is a bright 50mm portrait lens (f/1.6, fixed focus) with a 50MP sensor behind it (IMX758). All three cameras mentioned so far have OIS.
The vivo X90 Pro+ camera system
The ultrawide-angle lens has been optimized for low distortion. It has a 114° field of view and a 48MP sensor (IMX598). The rear cameras that have autofocus are assisted by a time-of-flight laser system. Finally, the selfie camera packs a 32MP sensor (f/2.45).
The X90 Pro+ can record 8K video at 30fps. And if you want quality, there is a 14-bit RAW video mode. You can calibrate the camera with the typical gray card and pick between the Zeiss Natural Color 2.0 mode or vivo Vivid Color. Dolby Vision and LOG formats are supported and you can capture still shots at 10fps while recording video.
Camera modes: vivo Vivid Color • Zeiss Natural Color 2.0 mode
Unfortunately, vivo hasn't shared full resolution images yet, but here is a taste of what the camera can do. The three images below demonstrate special modes that were co-developed with Zeiss: Landscape, Architecture and Miniature Bokeh.
vivo X90 Pro+ camera modes: Zeiss Landscape • Zeiss Architecture • Zeiss miniature bokeh
All of this shouldn’t give you the impression that the camera is the only thing special about the vivo X90 Pro+. It is powered by the latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, loaded with 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of the new UFS 4.0 storage. The chipset is hooked up to a large 8,900mm² vapor chamber to keep performance stable.
A large VC to keep the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 running cool
The company added its new vivo V2 ISP to handle image processing. The chip is more efficient, delivering 16TOPS per Watt and comes equipped with 45MB of on-chip SRAM. It combines traditional ISP and AI approaches and handles noise reduction, HDR, MEMC and more.
The vivo X90 Pro+ has a large 6.78” display with 1,440 x 3,200px resolution (20:9). It is an LTPO 4 AMOLED panel (Samsung E6) with 10-bit colors and up to 120Hz refresh rate. For dimming, the display uses a 1,440Hz high-frequency PWM system. It peaks at 1,800 nits. The double-curved display is calibrated at the factory and supports Dolby Vision.
The phone’s body comes in two colorways – China Red and Original Black, both with a faux leather texture. It is rated IP68 for dust and water resistance, so it’s not afraid of the elements. It is a bit on the chunky side, measuring 9.7mm thick and weighing 221g (that’s still lighter than the Xiaomi and the iPhone 14 Pro Max).
vivo X90 Pro+ in China Red and Original Black
Inside is a 4,700mAh battery (18.23Wh) that is split into two cells for fast charging. vivo didn’t go wild with this one, the Pro+ supports 80W wired and 50W wireless charging. Going the wired route, a full charge can be achieved in 33 minutes.
A few more things worth mentioning. The phone is equipped with stereo speakers, but it offers a wireless option too – when paired with the new vivo TWS 3 Pro, it promises lossless, low-latency audio. Bluetooth version 5.3 is supported along with aptX HD and LDAC. For wired connectivity, the USB-C support is rated for USB 3.2 Gen1 speeds and supports video out.
The vivo X90 Pro+ is launching in China with OriginOS 3. While its siblings went on pre-order immediately, the Pro+ pre-sales will start on November 28 and availability starts on December 6. In China at least, vivo did not reveal any global launch plans.
So, if you are in China in the coming weeks you will be able to pick up a Pro+ for CNY 6,500 ($910/€890/₹74,500) for the 12/256GB model, the 12/512GB is slightly pricier at CNY 7,000.
Reader comments
- Vin
- 29 Dec 2022
- 7vs
Great focal length selection. 50mm , 90 mm for portrait are best .
- Kriegsherr
- 30 Nov 2022
- SsN
Sony disabled it for normal everyday function and during only playback it shows 4K. But that doesn't mean that the display is not 4K. The resolution of the display panel is still 4K. You might argue if its the same as other 4K tvs out there but...