vivo X200 review
Reasonably capable 6.67-inch OLED display
The vivo X200 has a nice-looking OLED display that's got a few omissions but nothing that's necessarily going to be a dealbreaker. It lacks Dolby Vision, and it's not an LTPO panel, so it's only modestly adaptive in its refresh rate adjustments.
The 6.67-inch diagonal is a hair smaller than that of the X200 Pro (6.78") and the OnePlus 13 (6.82"), but just a touch larger than the Find X8's 6.59" screen. The 1,260x2,800px resolution works out to a 460ppi pixel density, and the aspect ratio is 20:9. The refresh rate maxes out at 120Hz which is more important than the fact that the panel can't go below 60Hz. There's also 2160Hz PWM dimming for a flicker-free experience at lower brightnesses.
We measured a maximum brightness of 1,563nits in adaptive brightness mode with the phone placed under bright light which is a great result in the X200's context - the OnePlus 13 and the Find X8 are lower on this chart and even the Galaxy S24+ isn't quite as bright. In manual operation, we got just under 600nits, which, while perfectly okay, is a bit conservative - we'd expect something in the 700-800nits range these days.
Refresh rate
The X200 doesn't advertise the same 0.1Hz refresh rate minimum that the Pro is supposedly capable of. In fact, since it's not an LTPO panel, it's not capable of doing on-the-fly refresh rate adjustments and only appears to support fixed values of 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz. If you're in High or Smart Switch mode, it will dial down to 60Hz when idling, of course, and quickly shoot up to 120Hz when you touch it, but that's about it.
When it comes to games, for some titles we were able to force the 120Hz display mode, though not necessarily get the game to go above 60fps. There were other games that we tested that support a high frame rate, but the phone refused to give them the 120Hz mode.
Streaming and HDR
With the X200, you'll get support for HDR10 and HDR10+, but not Dolby Vision - the X200 Pro does have that checkmark and so too do the Find X8 and the OnePlus 13.
In the absence of Dolby Vision, Netflix only supports HDR10 on the X200, but it's still something, and you'll be getting FullHD streams too, thanks to the Widevine L1 compliance. YouTube was also happy to serve HDR content in its full glory (or at least HDR10 glory).
The phone also supports the Android Ultra HDR photo standard for displaying HDR photos with a brightness boost for highlights. We're still having the occasional run-in with a handset that's not fully compliant, so it's good that the X200 doesn't go on that list. Here, it works in the in-house gallery, but also in Google Photos, and in Chrome - for images from other phones, too.
vivo X200 battery life
The X200 draws power from a 5,800mAh battery with a silicon carbon (Si/C) anode - so it's a pretty large capacity and the latest chemistry too. The OnePlus 13 has a bit more juice (6,000mAh), while the Oppo Find X8 has slightly less (5,630mAh).
Mind you, for one reason or another, the version of the X200 sold in Austria has a smaller 5,220mAh battery. It's an oddly specific regional differentiation, and it will inevitably affect the phone's longevity.
In our testing of the 5,800mAh version, the X200 placed right inbetween the above two competitors in web browsing and video playback, while outlasting them both in our gaming test. On the flipside, the call time turned out on the lower end of the spectrum.
All in all, with an Active Use Score of 14:51h in our standard usage split, the X200 is a dependable package that shouldn't be causing you any battery life anxiety.
Our new Active Use Score is an estimate of how long the battery will last if you use the device with a mix of all four test activities. You can adjust the calculation based on your usage pattern using the sliders below. You can read about our current battery life testing procedure here. For a comprehensive list of all tested devices so far, head this way.
Charging speed
When it does run out of power, the X200 charges pretty fast too. Depending on where you are in the world, it may come bundled with a 90W adaptor, which is what the phone is expected to receive at most, though we all know these numbers aren't an exact science.
In our testing, using the 90W charger that came in the box, we clocked an empty-to-full time of 39 minutes, with the battery indicator showing 78% at the half-hour mark. We got a 73W peak value on our power meter at the early stages of the charging process, with the usual quick drop after the first few percent.
There are competitors that charge faster, but not by a lot - we haven't been getting crazy fast charging these past few months.
One sort of major omission from the X200's specsheet is wireless charging - you'll need to go Pro to get that. That's not the case with some rivals - both the Oppo X8 and the OnePlus 13 can do wireless charging, and so too can the Galaxies, whether last year's models or the brand new S25s.
You do get a host of options to extend the life of your battery in the long run. You can keep the fast charging off and only tap on the prompt to engage it on a case by case basis. There's also the usual 'Optimized battery charging' option that will learn your charging habits and do the final top-off just before the time you typically pick up your phone from the charger. There's no option to limit charging to a certain level (90% or 80%, for example).
Speaker test
You get a standard hybrid speaker arrangement on the X200 with the earpiece and a dedicated bottom-firing speaker working in tandem to form a stereo pair. The top speaker gets the left channel in portrait orientation, and the speakers switch channels depending on the landscape orientation.
Bottom speaker • Top speaker • Earpiece
The X200 earned a 'Good' rating for loudness in our testing, a notch below immediate rivals' predominantly 'Very Good' results. In terms of quality, it's actually not half bad, delivering clear vocals without being mid-forward. It also has a superior low-end thump compared to the X200 Pro. The Find X8 does probably have the upper hand though.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Reader comments
- GregLu
- 28 Jan 2025
- p@3
The review have been corrected, at first it mentionned a 60hr and non lpto display, the 60hz mention is gone. Glad to have 120hz as 60 for this price would have been problematic. I'm eager to see more of this but cheaper. 999 for FunTouch OS, ...
- Aierlan
- 28 Jan 2025
- m2A
Last year they were OK. At least a bit cheaper than the Xiaomi 14 for example but the same as the Oppo Find x7 which was better. This year though it's basically taking the Samsung route and rehashing the same phone. No camera upgrades really. Th...