The Vivo X90 Pro has a flagship 1-inch Sony IMX 989 primary sensor and a whole lot more. Read our full review here.
Impressive cameras
Vibrant display
Premium build
Fast 120W charging
Pricey
Could use a telephoto sensor
Smartphone giant Vivo made a splash in the Indian market in 2019 with the introduction of its X series flagship smartphones. The first device in the lineup, the Vivo X50, boasted impressive optics and offered a compelling flagship experience. Since then, Vivo has focused on improving the camera capabilities of the X series with each iteration.
The Vivo X90 Pro, launched today, comes across as the epitome of camera ingenuity mustered by the company so far. The new flagship packs in a 1-inch sensor tuned by ZEISS and some cutting-edge computational features that promise to take mobile photography to the next level. That said, the Vivo X90 Pro is more than just what its cameras offer, and in this review let’s find out if the device can be your next premium flagship.
Table of Contents
Verdict
Cameras
Design and display
Performance and software
Battery
Final verdict
Editor’s rating: 4 / 5
Pros:
Cons:
The Vivo X90 Pro is intended to serve as a handy companion for shutterbugs that want to push the boundaries of smartphone photography. However, there’s more to this ultra flagship than just a great image-capturing experience. You also get top-notch performance, a svelte design, lasting battery, and a vivid display. Overall the X90 Pro masters a lot of smartphone traits but it is an absolute champ with its optical skills.
There’s a lot to talk about the phone’s camera hardware and its implementation, so let’s just dive right into it. The 1-inch Sony IMX988 primary sensor is the main focus of the optical setup and for good reason. There are, of course, a ton of other customisation options embedded within the camera app, as can be expected from a phone focused on photography. However, for some of the more casual photographers, it matters more how good a shot can be captured with just the snap of the shutter. In that regard, the X90 Pro’s point-and-shoot camera experience is extremely polished.
Checking out some of the daytime shots on the Vivo X90 Pro, the images churned out are detailed and rich in colour, and high in dynamic range. The ZEISS Natural Color mode, which I kept enabled for most of my camera testing, adds an extra touch of realism to shots and tones down saturation levels. While the gimbal stabilisation, prevalent on some previous iterations of the X series, has been abandoned, the OIS is powerful enough to compensate for most of the shake.
The autofocus and tap-to-focus are instant and there is also the option to manually track fast-moving objects. Shutter speeds are fast enough to get crisp shots in a variety of lighting conditions. Vivo makes use of its new V2 chip that streamlines the X90 Pro’s image-processing pipeline and enables several other enhancements. This includes things like a good visual representation of highlights and details in the shadows. Automatic HDR turns on effectively in situations where it is required to amplify a shot.
Let’s now talk about some of the extra features that are more geared toward photography enthusiasts. The Effects Master tab in the settings menu allows an easier change in colour temperature levels with a swipe across the viewfinder. There’s a Super Macro mode, enabled by the 12MP ultra-wide shooter, that can turn on automatically as soon as you co close to a subject. What I like here is that switching to the secondary lens is almost instantaneous and the focus is maintained even through a decent amount of shake. The ultra-wide lens itself has a decent field-of-view and maintains colour temperatures in close proximity to the main 1-inch sensor.
Portrait mode had me impressed the most with the 50MP Sony IMX768 depth shooter capable of superlative background separation and edge detection. On human subjects there did appear to be some facial retouching but I guess it does make for easier sharing on social media. Apart from that you have the Pro mode and several customisation options that are on offer to correct white balance, exposure, saturation, shutter speeds, and so on. Images can be snapped in RAW and SuperRAW formats, ready for editing in Photoshop.
There’s Double Exposure which takes a bit of practice to properly execute but it basically puts a translucent overlay of some in-built presets or any photo you have clicked on the viewfinder. You can do the same with the front and back cameras as well. I wouldn’t call the feature a gimmick, per se, since the final outputs can look quite impressive if you manage to get it right.
