vivo X200 Pro review

Competition

The X200 Pro is a high-end cameraphone that may be sitting a notch below the company's ultimate offering of the same sort but is in many ways better equipped than other makers' absolute best. With that in mind, there's not a lot of debate as to which its competitors are.

What complicates comparisons a bit is that we're in somewhat of a transitional period for flagships, the latest Oppo Find Xs having been just announced (no Ultra yet) and the Xiaomi 15s are right around the corner.

Further muddying the waters is the matter of availability - the global X200 Pro is yet to show up, and those new and upcoming Oppos and Xiaomis are typically to be expected outside of China next year (or, rather, a subset of them that tends to differ from year to year, mind).

What's a known quantity the world over and has serious camera chops in addition to its other strong points is the Galaxy S24 Ultra. We reckon the vivo beats it comfortably as cameraphone. The X200 Pro also wins the endurance race with the displays on, and its panel can actually go brighter. The IPX9 rating is a nice perk if you'd like to take your phone with you in the spa, and the vivo is also a lot more pocketable than the boxy Galaxy. What Samsung will give you is an S Pen, One UI, DeX - productivity stuff, on top of a great camera.

Another international option is the Honor Magic6 Pro, and it's the only non-vivo with a telephoto camera of remotely similar caliber as the X200 Pro's. The thing is, though, the vivo makes better use of its telephoto at both native and extended zoom levels, and we're not necessarily liking the Honor's other cameras better than their vivo counterparts. In fact, the vivo has a small lead on the Magic in most areas, but the Honor is an overall great phone that could be the better option given the right monetary advantage.

Circling back to Xiaomi, the 14 Ultra is more or less readily available, and even if it may be due for replacement in the coming months (though who's to say when and if a 15 Ultra will go global), it remains a strong contender if you're shopping right now. Its two smaller-sensor telephotos can probably match the vivo's one large one for versatility, near and far, and the 14 Ultra's vari-aperture one-inch main camera could be an advantage over the X200 Pro's primary unit. The Xiaomi can't compete for battery life, though.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra • Honor Magic6 Pro • Xiaomi 14 Ultra

Verdict

The X200 Pro had big shoes to fill for us - it was meant to be the X100 Ultra we couldn't have. For the most part, it delivers, but vivo does appear to have made sure to leave enough room to breathe for the next Ultra.

It was the X100 Ultra camera setup we were after, only in a global firmware phone, and the new Pro doesn't quite get us there. The main camera is great, just not quite as great as we know they can make them, the ultrawide is average, and the selfie camera isn't Ultra-grade either.

But really, it was the X100 Ultra's telephoto that we've dubbed 'transformative' on more than one occasion, and the X200 Pro is on its way to bringing that to the world. Sure, it's apparently somewhat differently packaged, but we don't find the ever so slightly longer minimum focusing distance that big of a deal. Yes, we do like this camera. Immensely.

The X200 Pro brings a few other Ultra bits and the IPX9 rating sounds like a nice bonus on top of the usual submersion-grade protection. The improved battery tech means the X200 Pro can last more than most without weighing more than them. The thoroughly excellent display is higher than most in the nits chart too, and the chipset is more powerful than anything else in an Android phone right now, by a wide margin (Elite is yet to arrive, we'll see where it stands).

All things considered, we're fine accepting the vivo X200 Pro's smallish imperfections, and we fully appreciate its virtues, of which it has plenty. That said... Is there a next-gen global Ultra on the way, maybe?

Pros

• IP69 in addition to the regular IP68 - so you can steam clean your phone now?
• One of the brightest displays we've tested, excellent overall.
• Class-leading battery life.
• Super-powerful chipset.
• Spectacular telephoto camera, particularly great at night and at close range.

Cons

• Charging speed is only average.
• So-so ultrawide camera, main camera is a bit of a downgrade, the selfies could have been better.