The relentless competition for the title of ‘best cameraphone’ has a new contender: the vivo X100 Ultra. This model surpasses the already impressive Pro version, boasting a telephoto lens that is hard to beat, along with several other minor enhancements. However, there is a drawback.
The X100 Ultra won’t be making its way out of its home market, landing it in the same “want it but can’t have it” category as the Find X7 Ultra from a Western perspective. Despite this limitation, it’s still worth our attention, even if this review might end up being more of an academic exercise.
We’ll be focusing primarily on the camera, which has a lot to offer. The 200MP telephoto lens is the standout feature, with its extra-large sensor, considerable focal length, and close-focusing capabilities. The ultrawide camera also sees an upgrade over the Pro model, at least in terms of specifications, and there’s an improved selfie camera as well. With all these advancements, it’s easy to overlook the one-inch main camera, which we’re starting to take for granted.
Another difference between the China-only Ultra and the international Pro is the chipset; the Ultra is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while the Pro uses the Dimensity 9300. Additionally, the Ultra supports Dolby Vision for both the display and the camera, features an ultrasonic fingerprint reader instead of an optical one, and can withstand high-pressure water jets. Given these enhancements, we can probably tolerate the slower charging.
Specification:
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Body | 164.1 x 75.6 x 9.2 mm, 229g; Glass back, aluminum frame; IP69/IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) |
| Display | 6.78″ LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR, 3000 nits (peak), 1440x3200px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 517ppi |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SM8650-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.3 GHz Cortex-X4 & 3×3.2 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2×3.0 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2×2.3 GHz Cortex-A520); Adreno 750 |
| Memory | 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.0 |
| OS/Software | Android 14, OriginOS 4 |
| Rear Camera | Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 1/0.98″, 1.6µm, PDAF, Laser AF, gimbal OIS; Telephoto: 200 MP, f/2.7, 85mm, 1/1.4″, 0.56µm, PDAF, OIS, 3.7x optical zoom, macro 3.4:1; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 116˚, 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, AF |
| Front Camera | 50 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, PDAF |
| Video Capture | Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p, gyro-EIS, Cinematic mode (4K), Dolby Vision HDR; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps |
| Battery | 5500mAh; 80W wired, 30W wireless; reverse wired |
| Connectivity | 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LHDC; NFC; Infrared port |
| Misc | Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers; emergency SOS via satellite (calls, messages) – 16GB + 1TB model only |
