Probably, if I asked my neighbors who or what it is "vivo”, They would reply with sentences definitely out of context. A little because of the meaning of the term in the Italian language, a little because in reality they do not know at all that there is a manufacturer (also) of smartphones that has this name. But all the insiders and enthusiasts know it well, vivo in reality it is one of the most important giants in the world of mobile telephony, and is one of the few companies that can be credited with innovating, in a particular sector which is largely saturated, in which it has now become difficult to rejuvenate products.
Because the first smartphone with a pop-up camera, the first fingerprint reader under the display, the first camera integrated into a display or the first totally borderless smartphone, were born in the laboratories of vivo, laboratories that have now also churned out the idea of integrating a gimbal (if you can call it that) in the photographic sector of the vivo X51 5G, arrived in Italy for a few days.
In short, let's expect very interesting news coming from the minds of the company, starting with the truly unique camera system that we find in the newcomer vivo X51 5G: a smartphone dressed as a top of the range (and sold at an almost top of the range price), which brings with it interesting news but which, I must admit, has left me with some perplexities regarding the hardware.
Review vivo X51 5G: does the gimbal camera really make a difference?
Package Contents
Thin, wide and well-finished, the packaging of the vivo X51 5G contains everything you need to start your smartphone immediately. In addition to the device, there is a charger from 33w, a USB / USB-C cable, headphones with an in-ear cable, a silicone cover and even a USB-C to audio jack adapter.
Design and materials
The design of the vivo X51 5G highlights the care that the company puts in producing its devices. In style, let's face it, there is nothing new and if at the rear the opaque glass back cover (which, among other things, is very beautiful and does not fear fingerprints) slightly reminds the Huawei P40 Pro, on the other hand, the screen with punch hole is very similar to that of the Xiaomi mi 10 ultra. The edges are sharply cut and both the curved display that the back cover hugs the aluminum frame perfectly.
The camera bump is also very nice, which was designed as a double thickness solution, the fingerprint sensor has been integrated under the screen and there is no input for the headphone jack. Unfortunately, however, the vivo X51 5G it is not waterproof and has only one lower speaker (so no stereo sound), the keys are very pleasant to use but - at least in our sample - we found them a bit soft.
Display
The display of the vivo X51 5G integrates a panel AMOLED FullHD + curved at the edges from 6.56 inches which supports HDR10 and a refresh rate of 90 Hz, which has more than convinced me for its peak brightness which, in HDR, even reaches 1000 nits (and 1300 nits in SDR). Beautiful images reproduced, with deep blacks and excellent for streaming movies and TV series, but which I noticed are calibrated in such a way as to make the colors very bright and (perhaps) too saturated for my taste.
Fortunately, however, in the screen settings there is the possibility to change the default profile and activate a more neutral and regular one, also adjusting the white balance. In short, in terms of display il vivo X51 5G is passed with flying colors, and it has nothing to envy even to smartphones that cost well over 1000 euros.
Hardware and Performance
This strange 2020 has changed the cards a bit in terms of hardware and related market segments. Because if on the one hand the segment of "ultra-premium phones" has now consolidated, which generally cost more than 1000 euros and use the best performing Qualcomm SoC in circulation, on the other hand what we would once have called mid-range, they have transformed in real top of the range.
And this not only thanks to an increasingly painstaking production process, but also to Snapdragon 765G, which is precisely the processor that drives the vivo X51 5G and that in the new smartphone is flanked by a GPU Adreno 620, 8 GB of RAM memory type LPDDR4X e 256 GB of UFS 2.1 memory, which is not expandable. It is a 5G dual sim smartphone, which guarantees good cellular signal reception, and excellent WiFi reception which also supports the WiFi 6 standard.
The point though, is that in fact the vivo X51 5G in reality it is not a real top of the range, and it can be seen from the memories that continue to be a little less performing than the faster LPDDR5 and UFS 3.1, but all in all the user experience is top of the range, with some waiting a bit longer for games to start or to switch to heavier apps.
Here is the complete technical sheet of the vivo X51 5G:
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G;
- GPU Adreno 620;
- Display: 2376-inch AMOLED FullHD + 1080 × 6,56, 19,8: 9 ratio, support for HDR10 and HDR10 +, 90Hz;
- RAM: 8 GB LPDDR4X
- Memory internal: 256 GB UFS 2.1 not expandable
- Cameras:
- Main 48 MP (OIS gimbal image stabilization, IMX598 custom sensor)
- 13 MP portrait F / 2.5 EIS (2x optical zoom)
- 8 MP periscope F / 3.4 OIS (5X optical zoom)
- 8 MP macro wide angle F / 2.2 (16mm equivalent)
- Front camera: 32 MP, f / 2,48
- Battery: 4315 mAh with 33 watt charging:
- OS: Funtouch OS 10.5 based on Android 10;
- Connectivity
- USB-C, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC;
- Dimensions and weight
- 158,46 × 72,80 × 8,04mm, 181,5g.
And in the end when it comes to raw performance, the story is always the same. The Snap 765G is more than suitable for power-user use, and you are unlikely to encounter micro-lag or performance issues when using it. And the vivo X51 5G does not make exceptions even in the execution of more complex games, such as Genshin Impact or CoD Mobile, which start and can be used without any limitation and with more than good framerates.
Gimbal camera - vivo X51 5G
If anyone, looking at the hardware of the vivo X51 5G, he might turn up his nose a bit thinking about the selling price of the device, in reality before evaluating it properly it is important to always keep in mind that we are talking one of the few truly innovative smartphones of the last quarter of the year, which makes its strong point the integrated gimbal camera.
But let's start immediately from an assumption: in reality the vivo X51 5G does not integrate a real gimbal, and no motorized system is used for the stabilization system: unlike a traditional OIS, the main camera lens of the vivo X51 5G is mounted on a floating structure thanks to an electromagnetic system, on which it can rotate to compensate for all the micro movements of the frame and which allows it to move from -3 ° to + 3 °, when the normal stabilized optics remain stationary at + -1 °. In short, in a nutshell the gimbal camera of the vivo X51 5G it is not a real gimbal, but it guarantees performance (almost) like a motorized stabilizer.
E the differences are noticeable especially when recording video in 4K at 60 fps, a mode in which electronic stabilization is generally disabled, and is even more evident when recording in FullHD at 60 fps, where in combination with the EIS the results are outstanding.
Either way, the main camera is one 48 megapixel ƒ / 1.6 stabilized by the "gimbal" system, flanked by two zoom lenses, one 13 megapixel ƒ / 2.46 2x zoom it's a 8 megapixel ƒ / 3.4 5x zoom, And a 8 megapixel ƒ / 2.2 wide angle. A photographic sector able to guarantee good quality shots in practically any light condition, but which stands out especially in the night shots in which the main camera - thanks to the new stabilization system - has more time to capture the light avoiding micro-blur. Provided, however, that you use the main camera: when you use the wide angle or one of the two zooms (especially the 5X) things change radically and the night shots arrive yes and no enough.
During the day, however, as I told you, no problem: all the images are of excellent quality, well balanced and very detailed. The dynamic range is good and it's even possible to shoot with the bokeh effect using three zoom levels. There is also one super moon mode, which however at least in my shooting conditions did not give me any specific satisfaction. There front camera is 32 megapixels and guarantees good quality shots, wide and very beautiful to see.
The one thing that really didn't drop me down of the vivo X51 5G, is the presence of a lens flare perhaps too strong especially in particular framing conditions such as, for example, during the day when it is against the light, or in the evening when there are too many street lamps on.
Software
The software is one of the nicest surprises when you first use the vivo X51 5G. Because although the smartphone is animated by Android 10 (unfortunately currently updated to customized with the FunTouch OS in a Global version, the user experience is almost one Android Stock, which can only please us: the software is different from all those we are used to, but at the same time very familiar and very fast and responsive.
At the same time, however, there are some small additions thought up by the company. There is one ultra game mode, you can set one of the two available themes, you can program the dark mode and there are many levels of customization with which you can not only choose the lighting effect on the curved edges in case of receiving a notification, but you can change animation of unlocking, charging, fingerprint sensor and so on.
Battery life
The battery of vivo X51 5G integrates a battery from 4315 mAh which, also and above all thanks to the presence of the Snap 765G, was a wonderful surprise, especially because we are talking about a light and rather thin smartphone. Even using the 90 Hz screen, I was able to arrive in the evening without the need to reload, and things get even better when you leave the refresh rate decision up to the system.
The fast charging at 33w but, unfortunately, the vivo X51 5G does not integrate any wireless charging system. Which is really a great shame.
Price and conclusions - Vivo X561 5G
Il price vivo x51 5G is 799 euros exclusively Euronics. And yes, this is perhaps too high a figure for a brand that few people know and to which a "layman" would hardly approach with lightheartedness. Also because an SoC is used which is generally integrated into cheaper devices. The reality is that the vivo X51 5G it can be understood as a kind of business card of the company, in which it has already been integrated a considerable innovation (and with tangible benefits) in the camera. It is a prestigious smartphone, there is poco to do, and although personally I would have preferred a slightly lower launch price, quality and innovation are more present in this vivo X51 5G, than in other more famous devices emblazoned.
In short, let's face it, no one felt the need to see the arrival in Italy of a new smartphone brand. But the fact that it is vivo it is very important because one thing is certain: we must expect many news and many innovations by the company. The potential of vivo there are so many and, in part, we have already had the opportunity to see them in the new vivo X51 5G.
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