The Vivo X500 series is expected to succeed the X300 series, with Vivo apparently skipping the X400 moniker. This aligns with the common practice among many Chinese manufacturers of avoiding the number ‘4’ in their product naming. The renowned tipster, Digital Chat Station, has reportedly revealed some key camera specifications of the Vivo X500 Pro.
Vivo X500 Pro could carry a downgraded periscope lens over X300 Pro
According to DCS on Weibo, the Vivo X500 Pro’s display is said to be downsized from the X300 Pro, potentially making it a compact smartphone with pro-level camera capabilities. He further notes that the smartphone could carry one of the chipsets from the upcoming MediaTek Dimensity 9600 series, which is rumoured to be based on a 2nm fabrication process. Reports are stating that MediaTek may release the Dimensity 9600 and an even more powerful Dimensity 9600 Pro later this year.
Coming to the main highlight of DCS’s post, the tipster states that the engineering prototype of the Vivo X500 Pro could carry a 50MP 1/1.28-inch primary camera with LOFIC capabilities, a 50MP ultrawide lens, and a 64MP 1/2-inch periscope telephoto with 3x optical zoom. It’s worth noting that the X300 Pro was equipped with a superior 200MP 1/1.4-inch periscope lens, which is likely to be reserved for another model in the X500 lineup called the X500 Pro Max, per previous reports.
The 64MP periscope in question is said to be a new sensor from Sony, likely the IMX06H, which DCS reveals while answering a query in the comments. We’ve previously seen a similar 64MP periscope lens in older phones, such as the OnePlus 12 and Motorola Edge 50 Ultra from 2024. It’s likely that this new sensor from Sony is producing promising results in Vivo’s testing and could end up being a replacement for the heavily used 1/2-inch Sony LYT600 lens used on telephoto lenses on multiple Vivo high-end phones.
Coming to the 50MP primary camera, with LOFIC on board, the camera should be able to shoot images with a wider dynamic range natively in a single shot, resulting in well-exposed light sources with rich details. We’ve previously seen the same technology being used on the Xiaomi 17 Ultra (review), which completely impressed us with its low-light capabilities through the primary camera.
In other news, the Vivo X500 lineup could consist of four smartphones at launch, comprising the standard Vivo X500, X500e, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max, while the Vivo X500 Ultra may launch in the second quarter of 2027. More models in the lineup could allow the company to offer options at different price points, especially in an era when smartphone prices are at record highs.
