Vivo X70 Pro review: A good camera phone with long battery life

Benchmark Performance, Battery Life, Conclusion

Benchmark Performance

The Vivo X70 Pro packs a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset. If you’re looking for a Qualcomm processor, that’s unfortunately in the Pro+ variant only, which isn’t officially available in Singapore. 

This MediaTek chipset pits the Vivo against other SD888 alternatives given its positioning and performance. Without a Pro+ variant here, this also makes Vivo’s X70 Pro its latest, highest-end offering you can legitimately buy here. 

	Vivo X70 Pro	Vivo X60 Pro	Xiaomi 11T Pro	ASUS ZenFone 8
Launch SRP	From S$1199	From S$1199	From S$799	From S$999
Network:	5G (NSA/SA), 4G, 3G	5G (NSA/SA), 4G, 3G	5G/4G/3G/2G	—
Operating system	Android 11 with Funtouch 12	Android 11 with Funtouch 11	Android 11 on MIUI 12	Android 11 on ZenUI
Processor	MediaTek Dimensity 1200	Qualcomm Snapdragon 870	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
Built-in Memory	12GB RAM, LPDDR4X	12GB RAM	8GB RAM (LPDDR5) 12GB RAM (LPDDR5)	8/16GB RAM (LPDDR5)
Display	6.56-inch / 2,376 x 1,080 pixels (~398 ppi) / 120Hz refresh rate / HDR10+ / AMOLED Display	6.56-inch / 2,376 x 1,080 pixels (~398 ppi) / 120Hz refresh rate / HDR10+ / AMOLED Display	6.67-inch, 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, AMOLED DotDisplay, 20:9 ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, 480Hz touch sampling rate, HDR10+, DCI-P3	5.9-inches 2,400 x 1,080 pixels (445 ppi) AMOLED, 20:9 ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 1,100-nits brightness
Camera	Rear: 50MP main camera, f/1.75, Gimbal Camera System 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2, 116° FOV 12MP telephoto, f/1.98 2x optical zoom 8MP periscope telephoto, f/3.4, 5x optical zoom Front: 32MP main, f/2.45	Rear: 48MP main camera, f/1.48, Gimbal Camera System 2.0 13MP ultra-wide, f/2.2, 120° FOV 13MP telephoto,f/2.46 2x optical zoom Front: 32MP main, f/2.45	Rear: 108MP main, 0.7μm pixel size, 2.1μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel, f/1.75 8MP ultra-wide, 120° FOV, f/2.2 5MP telemacro, f/2.4, 3-7cm AutoFocus Front: 16MP, f/2.45	Rear: 64MP main, 1/1.7-inch sensor size, 0.8μm pixel size, 1.6μm with Quad Bayer, f/1.8, 4-axis OIS, 2x1 OCL PDAF 12MP ultra-wide, 113° FOV, f/2.2, Dual PDAF, 4cm macro shooting Front: 12MP, 1.22μm pixel size, Dual PDAF
Connectivity	Up to Wi-Fi 6 (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, GPS, OTG, Type-C USB 2.0	Up to Wi-Fi 6 (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, GPS, OTG, Type-C	Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, L1+L5 GPS, G1 GLONASS, E1+E5a GALILEO, Beidou, USB-C, NFC	Wi-Fi 6/6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2x2 MIMO), Bluetooth 5.2, L1+L5 GPS, L1 GLONASS, E1+E5a GALILEO, USB-C, NFC, 3.5mm audio jack
Storage Type	256GB internal storage	256GB internal storage	128/256GB internal storage (UFS 3.1), no MicroSD slot	256GB internal storage, UFS 3.1
Battery	4,500mAh 44W FlashCharge	4,200mAh 33W FlashCharge	5,000mAh 120W wired fast-charging	4,000mAh 33W wired fast-charging
Dimensions	158.3 x 73.21 x 8mm	158.58 x 73.24 x 7.69mm (Shimmer Blue is 0.1mm thicker than Midnight Black)	164.1 x 76.9 x 8.8mm	148 x 68.5 x 8.9mm
Weight	183g	179g (Shimmer Blue is 2g heavier than Midnight Black)	204g	169g
Video Support	—	—	8K30FPS, 4K60FPS, 1080p60FPS (front)	—

JetStream 2.0

JetStream 2 is a combination of a variety of JavaScript and Web Assembly benchmarks, including benchmarks that came before, like SunSpider and Octane. It primarily tests for a system’s and browser’s ability in delivering a good web experience. It runs a total of 64 subtests, each weighted equally, with multiple iterations, and takes the geometric mean to compute the overall score.

Geekbench 5

Geekbench CPU is a cross-platform processor benchmark that tests both single-core and multi-core performance with workloads that simulate real-world usage. Geekbench 5 scores are calibrated against a baseline score of 1000, which is the score of an Intel Core i3-8100.

3DMark Sling Shot Extreme

3DMark Sling Shot is an advanced 3D graphics benchmark that tests the full range of OpenGL ES 3.1 and ES 3.0 API features, including multiple render targets, instanced rendering, uniform buffers and transform feedback. The test also includes impressive volumetric lighting and post-processing effects. The test's Unlimited mode ignores screen resolutions.

We’re also collecting scores with 3DMark’s new benchmark, Wild Life. Below are the test’s Unlimited Mode scores. 

Performance benchmark remarks

In benchmarking tests, the Dimensity 1200 5G chipset seems to offer lower horsepower than its Snapdragon 888 peer and also less than the Snapdragon 870 that's used on the Vivo X60 Pro. Despite the slight letdown in raw performance scores, it still fared well in day-to-day use, and was able to comfortably handle its gimbal-assisted video recording without hitches over an extended period of time.

Battery Life

Our standard battery test for mobile phones has the following parameters:

• Looping a 720p video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
• Constant data streaming through email and Twitter

With its 4,500mAh battery, the X70 Pro lasted a whopping 1,070 minutes in our battery test, which was nearly 18 hours of non-stop usage. Even at maximum brightness and volume, the phone’s bigger-than-before battery and lower-powered chipset choice are likely reasons why it fared better than its predecessor and its rivals.

With its 44W wired charging adapter (included in the box), the X70 Pro took 29 minutes to juice up from 0% to 50%, and a total of 71 minutes to go from 0% to 100%. It’s reasonably fast for getting a full 4,500mAh of charge, and its charging rate at low battery levels is impressive, to say the least.

Our gripe is the lack of wireless charging on the X70 Pro, making it less competitive than other alternatives of its price range. Wireless charging is only available on the Pro+ model (which as you've noted by now, isn't available locally).

Conclusion

While it’s difficult to match the X70 Pro’s camera versatility and quality at its price point, Vivo could’ve done more to make this variant more palatable within the competitive budget flagship space. 

Solely counting handsets we’ve experienced, it costs S$200-S$300 more than alternatives like the Xiaomi 11T Pro and ASUS ZenFone 8. These other options give you a true 2021 Qualcomm flagship processor, IP-rated water resistance, and Gorilla Glass protection. They also pack better audio quality and comparable photography features, on top of 11T Pro’s blazingly fast 120W fast-charging that blows competitors out of the water. Even the similarly priced OnePlus 9 offers Gorilla Glass, Snapdragon 888, faster charging, and a similar-enough display. 

Also, bear in mind that the X70 Pro doesn’t come with the dedicated imaging chip like its Pro+ variant, so it’s not like we can say you’re paying more for dedicated imaging performance. Hard to match, yes, but not dedicated. Coupled with the short refresh cycle of six months since the X60 Pro, this makes the X70 Pro compete against its very own handsets. 

Think of it this way - if a user really wanted additional gimbal stabilisation for photos and near-flagship performance, the X60 Pro is still good and fresh enough to qualify, especially with the X70 Pro being around to lower the predecessor’s street price. That’s even before you consider models outside of Vivo’s stable of phones. The upside for X60 Pro owners is that you’re not missing out much from the new X70 Pro and similarly, for those shopping for a new phone, you probably are getting a good deal out of the Vivo X60 Pro if you can find it priced lower than the newer X70 Pro.

We felt that Vivo could’ve either brought in the X70 Pro+ to compete with the big boys, or choose to price the X70 Pro at a competitive price point to give Xiaomi, ASUS, and even OnePlus extra pause.

That said, you’re not likely to be disappointed should you choose to get a Vivo X70 Pro. It has a great photography suite, an appealing design, a decent display, and an extremely long battery life. Priced at  S$1,199, you can get the Vivo X70 Pro from authorised telcos (Singtel, StarHub, M1), its Lazada, Qoo10, and Shopee online stores, authorised consumer electronics and IT stores, and Vivo’s very own flagship outlet (at Causeway Point).