Vivo’s Ultra phones have made a name for themselves with their zoom cameras, and the next model could take things further. The Vivo X500 Ultra is reportedly in development with a 200MP telephoto sensor that’s considerably larger than the one used in previous models. The phone is expected to launch in China between March and April next year, although the company hasn’t confirmed its plans.
Vivo X500 Ultra specifications tipped
According to tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the Vivo X500 Ultra could use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, which we recently saw on the OnePlus 16. The phone is also tipped to feature a 6.85-inch LTPO AMOLED display supplied by BOE, with a 2K resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate.
The panel is said to have a flat design, slim bezels on all four sides and an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. A battery of around 7,000mAh is also reportedly in the works. If that capacity makes it to the final product, it could give the X500 Ultra an advantage in battery life, though the actual results will depend on how vivo tunes the hardware and software.
The camera is where the latest leak gets interesting. Digital Chat Station has claimed that Vivo is testing a 200MP telephoto camera with a large 1/1.12-inch sensor. The tipster also suggested in a follow-up comment that Samsung would supply the sensor, although Samsung doesn’t currently list a sensor matching those specifications in its portfolio. Vivo has used Samsung’s ISOCELL HP9 and related 200MP sensors, including the HPB and HP0, in its recent flagship phones. These sensors have a 1/1.4-inch format, making the reported 1/1.12-inch unit considerably larger.
A larger sensor can capture more light, which may help produce cleaner zoom shots in dim conditions while retaining more detail. It can also create more natural background blur in portraits. These benefits are particularly relevant to telephoto cameras, which need to preserve detail when photographing distant subjects.
The Vivo X100 Ultra introduced a 200MP telephoto camera, and subsequent Pro and Ultra models have continued to build on that. The X500 Ultra could take another step forward if the reported sensor makes it into the final phone.
The leaked sensor would be larger than the 200MP telephoto camera used in previous Vivo flagships and could give the X500 Ultra an advantage over rivals such as the OPPO Find X9 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Google Pixel 11 Pro XL. However, sensor size alone doesn’t determine camera quality. Lens design, image processing and zoom range will also matter.
Vivo debuted the Ultra lineup in India, much to the delight of smartphone photography enthusiasts, with the launch of the Vivo X300 Ultra in May at Rs 1,59,999. So there’s a good chance that the X500 Ultra comes to the country as well, though no certification sightings have hinted at that yet. For now, anyone considering a premium camera phone should treat these specifications as early leaks. The larger telephoto sensor looks promising on paper, but the final camera hardware, image quality and price will determine whether the X500 Ultra is worth the premium it commands or not.
