Vivo X200 review: as good as any Pro phone

Vivo knows what it takes to make a good camera-focused smartphone, and the new Vivo X200 series continues that legacy. As with its predecessor, the “Pro” model leads the lineup, offering top-tier features. However, if you’re looking for similar performance at a more affordable price, the Vivo X200 is an impressive alternative.

Beyond its cameras, the smartphone also delivers a vibrant display, reliable battery life, and snappy performance. Continue reading to learn more.

Verdict

The Vivo X200 stands out as one of the best camera smartphones in its segment, excelling in both still photography and video. With new additions like the Dimensity 9400 SoC and a 5,800mAh battery, it also proves to be a reliable contender for productivity-focused users. However, Vivo could further improve the user experience by minimising the number of pre-installed apps. Additionally, integrating generative AI features, which competitors like Samsung and OPPO are rapidly adopting, could give it an edge.

Design and display

Vivo evidently wants to shout cameras with the new X200 series’ design, and it successfully does so with the large round module on the back. This theme is becoming common among camera-focused smartphones, starting with last year’s Vivo X100 series, followed by Xiaomi 14 Ultra (review), and most recently adopted by the OPPO Find X8 (review) series. The upcoming OnePlus 13 also features similar design language.

Vivo X200’s biggest flex is that it maintains a sleek design while packing a chunky 5,800mAh battery. The smartphone feels sturdy and has already survived several accidental bumps without a case during my review. It features a premium metal frame and a glass back to provide a premium finish. Additionally, the metal finish extends around the rear camera module, making the camera design striking and hard to miss.

However, Vivo continues to offer its premium smartphones in limited colour options, whereas rivals like Apple and Google offer plenty of choices to users of different age groups. I reviewed the Natural Green variant, which I prefer over the Cosmos Black option. Vivo could’ve considered adding more options like White and Blue, which would’ve blended well with this textured matte glass finish.

The viewing experience remains more or less similar to the last iteration. The phone’s size can overwhelm some users, but I prefer the vast viewing area (6.67-inch AMOLED display with full HD+ (2,800 x 1,260 pixels) resolution. I also found the slender curved edges comfortable, and holding the phone for long wasn’t a problem.

During my review, I travelled extensively with the Vivo X200, spending considerable time on flights watching movies on Netflix and other OTT platforms. The device’s narrow bezels, bright display output, and various display profiles contribute to an impressive viewing experience. Its visual and audio performance is on par with the OPPO Find X8, offering comparable brightness (in nits) and audio quality (in decibels). Based on our research data, the Pixel provides a brighter and more colourful viewing experience, although its display size is considerably smaller.

Cameras

While the Vivo X200 Pro features an upgraded 200MP telephoto camera, the standard X200 model has a comparable 50MP telephoto lens. Two more 50MP sensors are on the back, and the front houses a 32MP selfie camera. Like last year’s models, Vivo’s partnership with ZEISS continues, proving that lenses are equally important as the sensor and other camera components. Vivo has also done a fantastic job tuning the camera hardware with software, making it truly difficult to click “bad” photos with the X200.

Like its predecessor, the Vivo X200 captures vibrant photos with sharp details. The new landscape mode offers different colour profiles, which can occasionally boost the colours for a dramatic appeal to your shots. The best part about the Vivo X-series remains the portrait mode, which works brilliantly even in the trickiest lighting conditions. The portrait mode also has different focal lengths (23mm, 35mm, 85mm, and 100mm) and colour profiles to up your social media game.

The only thing missing from the regular model is the tele-macro camera for stunning close-ups. The Vivo X200 also surprised me with its video stability. However, the white balance can be slightly inconsistent, which may not appeal to professional content creators. Vivo also offers AI-backed video editing features, but they do not significantly enhance the final output.

We also compared the X200 against popular rivals, such as the Pixel 9 and Find X8. Here’s what we found.

Daylight

Between the Vivo X200 and Find X8’s daylight shots, there’s an evident difference in the colour science since the former leans towards a warmer white balance. The X200 prioritises a cooler/natural white balance while boosting green spots across the photo.

But Vivo gains a slight edge as it excels at capturing sharper details.



The Pixel 9 applies a similar colour profile as Find X8’s daylight shot. However, the X200 captures much superior detail.

Ultra-wide

The Find X8’s ultra-wide lens provides a broader field of view, but the image from the X200 is more visually striking due to the bright blue sky. However, OPPO’s image closely resembles the actual scene.

Both smartphones capture similar details; therefore, it’s tough to select a winner.



Google, on the other hand, plays around with the shadows for a dramatic approach with the ultra-wide lens.

Portrait

Under harsh sunlight, the X200’s image looks most aesthetically pleasing, even if it captures an inaccurate complexion. The Find X8 also decently balances over-exposed areas, though it struggles to minimise lens flare, at least in this case.

The portrait shot with the Pixel 9 has the most accurate representation of the subject’s skin tone due to Google’s Real Tone technically. Its edge detection is the weakest compared to the rest.

Selfies

Vivo’s selfie shot (with portrait mode) is equally good as the regular shot with brilliant edge detection. The Find X8’s selfie shot is also aesthetically pleasing, though the depth from the bokeh effect looks slightly unnatural.

The Pixel 9 excels at accurately capturing the subject’s complexion, but its edge detection around the subject remains inconsistent.

Low light

The X200 continues to impress with well-lit and sharp images even in extremely dim lighting conditions. The OPPO Find X8 also captures a decent amount of details, but it struggled to manage the exposure.

The Pixel 9 performs better than the Find X8 with brighter output.

Performance and software

The Vivo X200 is the latest smartphone to utilise MediaTek’s flagship Dimensity 9400 SoC. The base variant, which I am reviewing, has 12GB and 256GB storage and sells for Rs 65,999. The top variant with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage costs Rs 71,999. This puts the Vivo X200 up against competitors like Dimensity 9400 SoC-powered OPPO Find X8 and Tensor G3 SoC-powered Google Pixel 9 (review).

Notably, the Vivo X200 performed relatively better than the Find X8 despite using the same chipset. It is also ahead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC-powered OnePlus 12 in the AnTuTu benchmark (17,97,705). However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC-powered iQOO 13 dominates our AnTuTu list with over 28 lakh points. The Burnout CPU Throttle suggests the X200 may exhibit issues under severe workloads.

Beyond the benchmark numbers, the Vivo X200 proved to be a reliable performer throughout my extensive review. I rarely encountered issues while running multiple apps simultaneously. The device also boasts a snappy camera shutter and handles gaming well despite its primary focus on photography and daily productivity.

The phone ships with Android 15-based FuntouchOS 15 and promises four years of major OS updates. In terms of AI features, the custom UI offers the bare minimum, such as AI summary on the native notes apps. There are some camera-focused AI-backed features like “Object Remover” and “Repair,” but that’s mostly it.

On that front, Google, Samsung, and even OPPO are leading with some cutting-edge AI-backed tools.

While the FuntouchOS 15 feels snappier with smoother animations, it still includes several third-party apps, which may not sit well with Android loyalists.

Battery and charging

As mentioned, the Vivo X200 packs an upgraded 5,800mAh battery with 90W wired charging support. Vivo has done a splendid job of maintaining the phone’s aesthetics without significantly impacting portability. During my extensive usage, the X200 easily lasted an entire day with the highest settings enabled. The backup can naturally be extended with moderate settings.

The Vivo X200 also achieves a respectable score in the PCMark battery test, lasting close to 14 hours. With the bundled charger, it attained a full charge in roughly 38 minutes.

However, Vivo has reserved wireless charging for the Pro model, which is slightly disappointing in this price segment. 

Final verdict

The Vivo X200 exemplifies that even non-Pro smartphones can deliver an exceptional camera experience. Thanks to its collaboration with ZEISS and an intuitive camera UI, capturing photos feels both enjoyable and effortless. As I mentioned, Vivo has done an excellent job with software optimisation, making it difficult to take a “bad” photo in either bright or dim lighting conditions. With 4K recording support on both the front and rear cameras, the Vivo X200 is also a dependable choice for content creators.

But not just cameras, the Vivo X200 offers snappy performance, thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 SoC onboard. There’s still ground to cover in the AI department, and for that, the Find X8, Galaxy S24, and Pixel 9 are better options. If that isn’t a deal breaker, the Vivo X200 represents bang for your buck.

Editor’s rating: 8 / 10

Reasons to buy:

• The Vivo X200 features a tall vivid display.
• It takes exceptional portrait shots.
• The phone offers a reliable battery backup with fast charging.
• It has a premium build with upgraded durability.

Reasons to not buy:

• The Vivo X200 skips wireless charging.
• The phone comes with several pre-installed third-party apps.