vivo X200 review

Design, build quality, handling

The X200 adheres closely to the design language established by vivo for its X series of high-end phones. The signature item is the large black circular camera assembly on the back, accented by the Zeiss logo - that enduring collaboration promises some lens design know-how is coming from Germany straight to the X200 (plus some bokeh simulations too).

The back panel of the handset is made of glass for most colorways, though vivo isn't explicitly specifying what make. The black version in particular (which may be the only one sold in certain markets) uses a 'glass fiber' rear panel, whatever that means.

We have the Green colorway for review and it has a velvety smooth finish that makes it quite slippery. It also somehow picks up a little bit of fingerprint moisture - it's certainly not terrible. The Blue version with the wavy patterns underneath the surface is glossy and it's a proper fingerprint magnet.

The display of the X200 is protected by a sheet of Schott Xensation Alpha - no Gorilla-branded concoctions on this vivo. It curves gently in all four directions, possibly giving you the best of both worlds - a premium swiping experience without compromising on ergonomics (if you're the type that insists that curved screens are bad for you). The factory-applied screen protector is kind of bad for you - it's scratchy at the edges - though it is good for the Xensation's longevity.

One of the areas where the X200 non-Pro differs more obviously from the Pro is in the underlying tech of the under-display fingerprint sensor - this one here is optical, as opposed to the ultrasonic solution on the Pro. It's obvious because the optical one tends to shine brightly at you in order to unlock, while the ultrasonic one is more discreet. Additionally, the X200's sensor is placed too low for our liking - the X200 Pro's higher position is more natural. We had no issues with the operation of the X200's sensor though - it's still plenty fast and reliable.

The X200 is Pro-grade in one other area though - dust and water protection rating. It carries both IP68 and IP69 badges, so it should survive a dunk for as long as 30mins down to 1.5m underwater, but it should also be good against high-temperature water jets (up to 80 degrees Celsius).

Now, there's a caveat here that probably stems from certification, and standardization, and whatnot legal reasons, but in some regions the X200 is only IP68-rated - the company's local sites in Austria and Czechia make no IP69 promises.

Similarly, the eSIM situation may be region-dependent. Our review unit does have that capability, but other versions are only limited to the 2 physical nano SIM slots in the tray. The blue gasket is standard equipment on all, apparently.