It’s no secret that Samsung and Apple dominate the premium smartphone market in India. However, smaller players such as OnePlus and Oppo have been trying to grab a slice of that lucrative pie in recent years. Xiaomi and Vivo have raised the bar this year with their respective Mi 11 Ultra and X60 Pro Plus devices.

Pro Plus is what Vivo refers to as their top model from the X60 series this year. The Pro+ tops the X60 series, and it offers an all-inclusive Zeiss quad-camera array, a top-of-the-line chipset, and a gorgeous back. But the question is, how does the Vivo X60 Pro Plus fair against the competition in the same segment and why should you consider choosing the X60 Pro Plus over the others. Read our review of the Vivo X60 Pro Plus to find out.

What’s Warped:

1. Vivo has outdone itself with the design of the X60 Pro Plus. It has a metal frame, a periscope camera, and weighs decently for a phone with a heavy camera mechanism. Its matte aluminium frame and faux leather back have anti-fingerprint properties. As a result of the knurled surface on the button, the power button easily distinguishes itself from the volume rocker above it, which is within your reach. The buttons are metal too and are placed in a very slightly chiselled portion of the frame.

2. The front has a 6.56-inch AMOLED display, its curved edges adding a touch of flagship flair. As for its looks, the minimal bezels do not detract from them. The display is HDR10+ certified and is protected by Schott’s Xensation Up scratch-resistant glass. During our Vivo X60 Pro Plus review, we found no evidence of lag or stutter when running the smartphone set at 120Hz.

3. Vivo has made sure that there is no compromise in the performance department this time around. A Snapdragon 870 SoC powers the X60 Pro, while a Snapdragon 888 SoC powers the Pro Plus model. The flagship chip can handle anything that you throw at it. The user interface also offers a new feature called ‘Virtual RAM’. With Virtual RAM, the phone assigns 3GB of the storage to be used by RAM, theoretically allowing users to get more apps cached and saved in memory. Despite the considerable heat generated by sustained load, the results are consistently impressive while gaming and benchmarks.

4. With typical usage, we easily managed to get around a day and a half out of the Vivo X60 Pro Plus’s 4,200mAh battery. This battery also charged fairly quickly. Vivo’s 55W flash charging tech can charge a battery from 0 to 70 per cent in half an hour.

1. As for the optics, you get a 50-megapixel Samsung GN1 sensor, a 48-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, with gimbal-level stabilization, a 32-megapixel telephoto snapper with 2X optical zoom, and an 8-megapixel telephoto snapper with 5X optical zoom. The cameras are excellent, but in our testing, we found that the image quality fell behind the Mi 11 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, especially when using higher magnifications. Photos come out to have very good definition, punchy, vivid colours with ample detail. If you’re very close to a subject, the camera app will automatically enter macro mode, but you can also disable this feature.

2. Also, photos taken in low lighting have a lot of details. For improved exposure, the camera app decreases shutter speed automatically. Zoom performance is poor at night because it almost always uses digital zoom rather than the phone’s telephoto lens to zoom in.

3. The 32-megapixel portrait lens is undoubtedly the stronger of the group of two telephoto cameras and produces better quality images. You should opt for the 8-megapixel periscope camera, though, if you want better reach. The 32-megapixel selfie camera produced very pleasing results. Backlit selfies were well exposed, had great dynamic range, and close to real-life colours.

4. Vivo X60 Pro Plus does a great job at recording videos. A 4K video shot in daylight with the main camera has excellent stability and clarity. Shooting 8K 30fps is even possible with this sensor. You’ll need to reduce the resolution to 1080p if you want to switch between the cameras during filming. In addition to the HDR10+ video recording feature, the Pro video mode also deserves a mention.

What’s Not:

1. While the 6.56-inch FHD+ AMOLED display is impressively sharp and brings punchy colours, the resolution is capped at 1080p, compared to other smartphones in the segment which offer a 2K (1440p) resolution: such as the OnePlus 9 Pro.

2. We did miss out on wireless charging and IP rating at this price point which would have enhanced the premium experience but to our dismay, it’s not an option.

3. Despite getting loud, the stereo sound was utterly absent, which took something away from the viewing experience

Despite its higher price over the X60 Pro, the Vivo X60 Pro Plus is not entirely worth the premium. Despite the better cameras, a more powerful SoC, and a quick charging system, there are also downsides. It is missing features such as stereo speakers, wireless charging, and an IP rating. The X60 Pro Plus’s build quality and design help it stand out.

If you plan to create a lot of videos, this is an excellent alternative to the Mi 11 Ultra and the OnePlus 9 Pro. You will easily find that the stabilization system is among the best in any Android phone, if not the best. Due to a lack of information on when Xiaomi will sell the Mi 11 Ultra in India, the OnePlus 9 Pro is the only other option for this price.

This review was originally posted on warpcore.live