vivo X70 Pro+ review

GSMArena Team, 22 October 2021.

Brand new Funtouch 12 with good old Android 11

Even though vivo is launching the X70 series pretty close to the Android 12 release, they are still running a custom build of Android 11. The proprietary software's version has been bumped up to 12. It's still the Funtouch flavor, as their OriginOS remains exclusive for the Chinese market for now.

vivo X70 Pro+ review

Funtouch 12 significantly departs from Funtouch 11's "core values". The stock-ish looking and functioning main UI elements and menus have been substituted with a highly customized and customizable UI. Some of the changes are pretty nifty, too, including the system menus being tailored towards a single-handed use. Some of the menus' content moves to the lower half of the screen when you swipe down, but not all, which is odd.

Lockscreen - vivo X70 Pro+ review Homescreen - vivo X70 Pro+ review Folder view - vivo X70 Pro+ review Settings menu - vivo X70 Pro+ review Settings menu - vivo X70 Pro+ review Settings menu - vivo X70 Pro+ review
Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • Settings menu

The recent apps menu, for example, has one of those useful proprietary features. You can choose between the standard carousel formation and a horizontal tiles layout - sort of like MIUI, only scrollable horizontally.

The app drawer, although stock-ish looking, has an expandable recommended apps category on the top (most commonly used ones), whereas using the vertical scroller on the right would highlight the apps beginning with the selected letter.

Recent apps - vivo X70 Pro+ review Recent apps - vivo X70 Pro+ review Notification shade - vivo X70 Pro+ review Quick toggles - vivo X70 Pro+ review App drawer - vivo X70 Pro+ review App drawer - vivo X70 Pro+ review
Recent apps • Recent apps • Notification shade • Quick toggles • App drawer

The notification shade has been revamped too, in terms of looks mostly - the quick toggles are now square-shaped, and the accent color around the menus (including the quick toggles icons) is blue, and there's no way to change either. Applying different themes would only change the icon pack and wallpaper.

The rest of the UI gets plenty of love too. In the Dynamic effects sub-menu, vivo has grouped quite a few customizable aspects of the home screen, lock screen, animation effects, etc. There are even various charging and facial recognition animations.

The Ambient light effect gets more granular control with the option to enable it only during a limited time period, or you can choose which apps to trigger it.

Dynamic effects - vivo X70 Pro+ review Ambient light effect - vivo X70 Pro+ review Ambient light effect - vivo X70 Pro+ review Ambient light effect - vivo X70 Pro+ review
Dynamic effects • Ambient light effect

The always-on display settings are in a different sub-menu, however, but the phone still gives you plenty of options to tinker with - a wide selection of animations, clock styles, colors, backgrounds, the lot.

Always-on display - vivo X70 Pro+ review Always-on display - vivo X70 Pro+ review Always-on display - vivo X70 Pro+ review Always-on display - vivo X70 Pro+ review Always-on display - vivo X70 Pro+ review Always-on display - vivo X70 Pro+ review
Always-on display

To our surprise, there's no way to summon the fingerprint reader icon on a locked screen unless the motion sensor detects movement - sure, it's very sensitive, but still. Single tap doesn't work, whereas the double-tap-to-wake function is buried in the Smart motion menu. However, if you get familiar with the scanner's position, you can just rest your fingertip on top and wait for the unlock. Which, by the way, is snappy and reliable. No issues there.

The Sound menu holds a few pleasant surprises. Just like Samsung, vivo is paying attention to people with hearing problems, and you can calibrate the sound to be heard by elderly people or those with impaired hearing. Additionally, notifications and calls get separate volume sliders. The vibration intensity can be adjusted for calls and notifications independently.

Sound options - vivo X70 Pro+ review Sound options - vivo X70 Pro+ review Sound options - vivo X70 Pro+ review Sound options - vivo X70 Pro+ review Sound options - vivo X70 Pro+ review Sound options - vivo X70 Pro+ review
Sound options

The previously mentioned Smart motion menu holds a handful of familiar screen-on and screen-off gestures along with some new additions. One of those requires you to wave in front of the screen during an incoming call to answer hands-free - useful if you're cooking, for example.

Smart motion menu - vivo X70 Pro+ review Smart motion menu - vivo X70 Pro+ review Smart motion menu - vivo X70 Pro+ review Smart motion menu - vivo X70 Pro+ review
Smart motion menu

Holding the volume down key can be used to launch an app or do a certain task, although the list of the latter is limited to launching the camera app, turn on/off the torch or start recording audio. The so-called Quick action feature doesn't work when playing music for obvious reasons. Why isn't there a double-press option for Quick action though?

Quick action - vivo X70 Pro+ review S-capture - vivo X70 Pro+ review Screen-split - vivo X70 Pro+ review Easy Touch - vivo X70 Pro+ review
Quick action • S-capture • Screen-split • Easy Touch

Lastly, there's a little something for the gamers. A dedicated Ultra Game Mode is available, and it has it all. Most of the features are about mitigating disturbance during gameplay or letting certain apps display heads-up notifications. One of the most intriguing features that have been around on vivo phones for a while is the ability to turn off the screen and keep the game running in the background. Especially useful for turn-based games or those requiring some sort of "farming" and "grinding".

Ultra Game mode - vivo X70 Pro+ review Ultra Game mode - vivo X70 Pro+ review Ultra Game mode - vivo X70 Pro+ review Ultra Game mode - vivo X70 Pro+ review Ultra Game mode - vivo X70 Pro+ review Ultra Game mode - vivo X70 Pro+ review
Ultra Game mode

All in all, the new Funtouch 12 runs great, and you can even make it snappier by disabling most of the animations and speeding up the transitions. Yes, Funtouch 12 gives you the freedom to do so. However, those that want to use Android as Google intended might not be okay with the colorful iconography and the highly customized system menus and animations.

Performance and benchmarks

The X70 Pro+ is is equipped with the Snapdragon 888+, the mid-cycle refresh to Qualcomm's top-tier chipset for 2021. It comes with a higher-clocked prime core (up to 3.0GHz instead of 2.84Hz) but maintains the same clock rate for the other seven clocks in the 1+3+4 CPU. The Adreno 660 GPU is unchanged.

vivo X70 Pro+ review

The phone is available in three memory and storage configurations - 8/256GB, 12/256GB, and 12/512GB and our review unit is the middle option. There's also 'virtual' RAM, as if 12GB isn't enough, for your phone to dump less immediately important apps and processes without entirely closing them.

In GeekBench, the supposed advantage of the SD888+ over the SD888 doesn't materialize, and the X70 Pro+ is on par with other SD888-powered handsets as well as the Exynos Galaxy S21s. It's still a very potent CPU, of course, under both single-core and multi-threaded loads.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

  • vivo X60 Pro+
    3749
  • vivo iQOO 7 Legend
    3715
  • Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
    3673
  • nubia Red Magic 6S Pro
    3660
  • OnePlus 9 Pro
    3636
  • ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
    3582
  • Realme GT 5G
    3555
  • Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
    3521
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
    3518
  • Sony Xperia 1 III
    3515
  • vivo X60 Pro
    3490
  • Xiaomi Mi 11
    3489
  • Galaxy S21+ 5G
    3476
  • vivo X70 Pro+
    3469
  • Oppo Find X3 Pro
    3316
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
    3244
  • Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
    3191
  • Motorola Edge 20 Pro
    3140
  • OnePlus 9R
    3117
  • Realme GT Explorer Master
    3050
  • vivo X70 Pro
    2956
  • Xiaomi 11T
    2834

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

  • vivo X60 Pro+
    1143
  • vivo iQOO 7 Legend
    1142
  • nubia Red Magic 6S Pro
    1140
  • Realme GT 5G
    1139
  • Sony Xperia 1 III
    1130
  • OnePlus 9 Pro
    1126
  • Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
    1126
  • Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
    1126
  • ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
    1124
  • Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
    1117
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
    1109
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
    1107
  • vivo X70 Pro+
    1106
  • Galaxy S21+ 5G
    1091
  • Xiaomi Mi 11
    1085
  • vivo X60 Pro
    1034
  • Realme GT Explorer Master
    1020
  • Motorola Edge 20 Pro
    972
  • OnePlus 9R
    969
  • Oppo Find X3 Pro
    926
  • vivo X70 Pro
    875
  • Xiaomi 11T
    742

Antutu does allow the vivo to shine, posting one of the highest scores we've seen, if not quite as high as dedicated gaming efforts like the Red Magic 6S Pro. Then again, the predecessor, X60 Pro+, is right up there with the new model.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

  • nubia Red Magic 6S Pro
    866437
  • vivo X70 Pro+
    837833
  • vivo X60 Pro+
    836826
  • Realme GT 5G
    810433
  • ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
    804626
  • Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
    797484
  • Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
    794016
  • Sony Xperia 1 III
    749132
  • Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
    735588
  • vivo X60 Pro
    720352
  • Realme GT Explorer Master
    717879
  • Motorola Edge 20 Pro
    711090
  • vivo X70 Pro
    694499
  • OnePlus 9R
    676913
  • Xiaomi 11T
    590837

In graphics benchmarks, the X70 Pro+ returns to the more conservative results we saw in GeekBench, putting out SD888-level scores in the offscreen tests. In onscreen tests, the display's QHD resolution means it's not really competitive with 1080p rivals when it comes to fps count.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • nubia Red Magic 6S Pro
    127
  • Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
    120
  • OnePlus 9 Pro
    119
  • vivo X60 Pro+
    119
  • ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
    118
  • Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
    118
  • Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
    116
  • vivo iQOO 7 Legend
    114
  • Oppo Find X3 Pro
    113
  • Realme GT 5G
    112
  • Xiaomi Mi 11
    111
  • Sony Xperia 1 III
    111
  • Galaxy S21+ 5G
    111
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
    109
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
    107
  • vivo X70 Pro+
    105
  • Realme GT Explorer Master
    99
  • OnePlus 9R
    93
  • Motorola Edge 20 Pro
    92
  • vivo X70 Pro
    85
  • Xiaomi 11T
    77

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • nubia Red Magic 6S Pro
    107
  • vivo X60 Pro+
    105
  • Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
    104
  • Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
    103
  • vivo iQOO 7 Legend
    101
  • Galaxy S21+ 5G
    100
  • ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
    93
  • Sony Xperia 1 III
    91
  • Motorola Edge 20 Pro
    83
  • vivo X70 Pro
    77
  • Xiaomi 11T
    72
  • Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
    60
  • Realme GT 5G
    60
  • OnePlus 9R
    60
  • Realme GT Explorer Master
    60
  • vivo X70 Pro+
    58
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
    58
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
    58
  • Xiaomi Mi 11
    57
  • OnePlus 9 Pro
    57
  • Oppo Find X3 Pro
    55

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • nubia Red Magic 6S Pro
    74
  • vivo X60 Pro+
    71
  • OnePlus 9 Pro
    70
  • Oppo Find X3 Pro
    70
  • vivo iQOO 7 Legend
    70
  • Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
    70
  • Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
    69
  • ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
    69
  • Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
    69
  • Sony Xperia 1 III
    68
  • Xiaomi Mi 11
    67
  • vivo X70 Pro+
    66
  • Galaxy S21+ 5G
    66
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
    66
  • Realme GT 5G
    65
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
    64
  • Realme GT Explorer Master
    59
  • OnePlus 9R
    57
  • Motorola Edge 20 Pro
    57
  • Xiaomi 11T
    47
  • vivo X70 Pro
    45

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • vivo X60 Pro+
    62
  • vivo iQOO 7 Legend
    62
  • Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
    62
  • nubia Red Magic 6S Pro
    62
  • Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
    59
  • Realme GT 5G
    55
  • ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
    54
  • Sony Xperia 1 III
    54
  • Galaxy S21+ 5G
    54
  • Realme GT Explorer Master
    50
  • OnePlus 9R
    49
  • Motorola Edge 20 Pro
    49
  • vivo X70 Pro
    40
  • Xiaomi 11T
    40
  • OnePlus 9 Pro
    36
  • Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
    34
  • Xiaomi Mi 11
    33
  • Oppo Find X3 Pro
    33
  • vivo X70 Pro+
    33
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
    33
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
    33

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • vivo iQOO 7 Legend
    5873
  • Realme GT 5G
    5872
  • nubia Red Magic 6S Pro
    5865
  • Sony Xperia 1 III
    5807
  • Galaxy S21+ 5G
    5757
  • ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
    5714
  • OnePlus 9 Pro
    5701
  • vivo X60 Pro+
    5695
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
    5691
  • Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
    5677
  • Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
    5676
  • Xiaomi Mi 11
    5673
  • Oppo Find X3 Pro
    5653
  • Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
    5556
  • Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
    5547
  • vivo X70 Pro+
    5332
  • Realme GT Explorer Master
    4255
  • Motorola Edge 20 Pro
    4206
  • Xiaomi 11T
    4172
  • OnePlus 9R
    4154
  • vivo X70 Pro
    4148

The X70 Pro+ did quite admirably under sustained CPU load in the CPU Throttling Test app - for a Snapdragon 888(+), that is. Its performance dropped to about 80% of its initial result around 15 minutes into the test, where it settled for the remainder of the one-hour run. I wasn't quite as stable in the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, where it only managed a 65% stability rating.

CPU Throttling test - vivo X70 Pro+ review 3DMark Wild Life stress test - vivo X70 Pro+ review 3DMark Wild Life stress test - vivo X70 Pro+ review
CPU Throttling test • 3DMark Wild Life stress test

Reader comments

  • Pam
  • 21 Aug 2024
  • rjd

A very nice and smart fone I would love to own one...one day

  • Ra7im
  • 29 Mar 2024
  • CDA

Do you have this phone?

  • triple-S
  • 20 Mar 2024
  • r3m

I like the phone