Vivo X500 Pro in review: It shrunk, matured, and makes surprising sense

The end of this year, from the perspective of smartphone enthusiasts, is a sad harbinger of things to come. New products across all categories are sharply increasing in price, coming with worse equipment than their predecessors, or even both. In the premium device segment, this brings even greater complications. The first to suffer for most manufacturers were the ultra-equipped, but also appropriately expensive, top models. However, changes have not avoided other representatives of flagship lines. The same is true for the Vivo X500 Pro smartphone tested today. Although Vivo is apparently not giving up on its “Ultra” flagship yet, the offer structure is changing, and this year’s Pro model feels more like a successor to last year’s basic Vivo X300. However, this does not necessarily mean anything bad.

Vivo X500 Pro Review Content

It doesn’t deny its genes

The tested new model truly doesn’t hide its affiliation with previous generations of Vivo’s flagship models. The back is traditionally dominated by a large circular camera module. This year, it feels like it protrudes slightly less, but Vivo achieved this with a small trick. At the camera area, there’s approximately a millimeter-high protrusion that gradually blends into the flat back and didn’t bother me during use. Vivo also uses it as a distinctive design element – the raised part has a different shade than the rest of the back. The module itself is styled to resemble a classic camera lens. It’s a shame about the small cutout at the bottom, which can become a dust and dirt trap.

I know many users will probably disagree with me, but I’m not afraid to classify the Vivo X500 Pro among compact phones. Yes, even a smartphone with a nearly 6.4″ diagonal can, in my opinion, confidently be counted in this category today. After all, with dimensions of 151.8 × 71.9 × 8.1 mm and a weight of 192 grams, it plays in a completely different league than the nearly a centimeter longer and 34 grams heavier X300 Pro. When I placed the new model next to a 6.1″ iPhone 15, the size difference seemed negligible. The extra 21 grams are more than compensated for by practically double the battery capacity.

Overall, the phone was exceptionally comfortable to use thanks to its proportions. I must admit that after a long time spent with “paddles” exceeding 6.5″, the Vivo X500 Pro was a pleasant change. In terms of build quality, the new model is on par with current top-tier devices, and its excellent water and dust resistance with IP68/IP69 certification has also been retained. Minor cost-saving in construction occurred in essentially only one aspect – compared to last year, the manufacturer omitted the customizable action button on the left side.

Excellent Picture and Sound

Although the display is smaller, its quality has not diminished. The resolution of the 6.36″ panel is 2,660 × 1,216 pixels, resulting in an excellent sharpness of 459 pixels per inch. This is, of course, a 10-bit AMOLED panel with a variable refresh rate reaching up to 144 Hz. The maximum peak brightness climbs up to 4,500 nits, while the display offers a solid 2,000 nits across the entire screen. This ensures very good readability even in direct midday sun. Among the listed parameters, I cannot omit the support for Dolby Vision and Ultra HDR standards.

It probably won’t surprise anyone to say that the display is truly beautiful, and personally, I have no complaints about it. I also find no words of criticism for the ultrasonic fingerprint reader. It’s placed at an ideal height for me, works lightning-fast and reliably – exactly as befits a flagship smartphone.

While I don’t have the opportunity for a direct comparison, I would still say that the stereo speakers’ performance is a bit more bass-heavy this year than in previous models. The sound is sufficiently loud and doesn’t suffer from noticeable distortion even when the volume is turned up to maximum. Although it still lags slightly behind the absolute top – especially in clarity and detail rendering – I believe the vast majority of users will be completely satisfied. The phone will also please you if you appreciate quality haptic feedback. The vibrations are precisely delivered, sufficiently emphatic, and again, among the best on the market.

Hardware, as expected, top-notch

Except for the Ultra models, Vivo’s flagship phone series is inextricably linked with Mediatek flagship chipsets, and the Vivo X500 Pro is no exception. Specifically, we’re talking about the Mediatek Dimensity 9600 Pro chipset, built on a cutting-edge 2nm process. Performance is handled by an octa-core processor clocked up to 4.55 GHz and Mali G2 Ultra NX graphics. The chipset is then complemented by 12 GB of RAM and 256 or 512 GB of UFS 4.1 storage. Connectivity also offers only the best. The USB-C connector is paired with a USB 3.2 controller, the phone offers Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0 provides support for both AptX HD and LHDC 5.0. A slight drawback is the absence of UWB support for precise spatial tracking or digital car keys.

Vivo X500 Pro benchmarks

Naturally, I couldn’t omit performance tests. As is traditional, however, I wasn’t so much interested in the raw performance itself, but rather its ability to sustain it. For several years now, the average user has not significantly benefited from the intergenerational increase in flagship chipset performance, while problems with excessive heating constantly plague modern processors. In this particular case, my concerns were further amplified by the more compact body, which always presents a significant complication for cooling.

I frankly admit that I don’t know if Vivo has worked so much on cooling, or if MediaTek’s new product is that much more efficient. Whatever the reason, the essential point remains that the phone barely heats up on the surface during the vast majority of daily activities – with the obvious exception of playing demanding games and longer photography sessions.

While it may not seem like a hit parade at first glance under long-term continuous load – the Wild Life Extreme stress test simulating gaming at full chipset utilization showed 37.4% stability – this is still a significant intergenerational improvement of exactly 8 percentage points. Moreover, the performance drop during the first 15 passes was more or less gradual, and the score only significantly dropped on the sixteenth round. For comparison: with the considerably larger Vivo X300 Pro, most of the performance was lost after just the third repetition.

• AnTuTu: 3,803,894 points
• GeekBench 7 Single core: 2,926 points
• GeekBench 7 Multi core: 8,598 points
• 3DMark Wild Life Extreme: 7,019 points

No expense spared on the battery

Even in this next chapter, I can’t resist an intergenerational comparison. One of the things I criticized about the older Vivo X300 Pro earlier this year was its smaller 5,440 mAh battery. However, if you’re worried that the significantly smaller Vivo X500 Pro will offer the same or even lower capacity, I can immediately reassure you. The manufacturer has fitted a substantial 6,510mAh silicon-carbon (Si/C) battery inside. In practice, I had no problem getting two days of normal use on a single charge. With a slower pace and less demanding use, it was even possible to exceed the ten-hour screen-on time (SoT) mark.

Solidly fast charging is also present – specifically 90W wired and 40W wireless. Using a cable, you can “refuel” from 15 to 100% in approximately 43 minutes. Unfortunately, as is customary with Vivo smartphones, to utilize the full potential of fast charging, you will need an original power adapter (traditionally missing from the retail package), or an original wireless charging pad.

OriginOS 7 and five years of support

Gone are the days when Vivo received criticism for the outdated Funtouch OS overlay it used in its global models. Since the X300 series, we too can enjoy the OriginOS environment, which until then was exclusively a privilege of the domestic Chinese market. While these are still not entirely identical versions, the transition to OriginOS has greatly benefited international models. Nevertheless, I cannot help but sigh at how many manufacturers have been swept away by the current trend and started grafting their own variation of Apple’s “Liquid Glass” across systems.

And now, I’m not discussing whether I like this visual direction or not – to each their own. Rather, I’m saddened that any distinctiveness and uniqueness are disappearing from smartphones, of which the unique signature of individual environments was an integral part in the past. On the other hand, I must admit that Vivo really put effort into its iteration of the glass design. The system appears clear, clean, and delights with beautiful, fluid animations. The environment itself then runs lightning-fast, without the slightest hint of stuttering or graphical imperfections.

Among the multitude of features, I must highlight Origin Workspace. This is a practical tool for advanced multitasking: active applications run in a minimized floating window, while other necessary tools are ready on clear cards at the left edge of the display. You can invoke the entire interface with an easy gesture – just swipe your finger from the bottom right corner. The system also offers rich personalization options, from launcher style through two different forms of the control center and notification bar to complex graphical themes.

OriginOS 7 on the Vivo X500 Pro smartphone is already built on the latest Android 17. During testing, I received several updates, including the September security patch. Vivo is one of the more responsible manufacturers when it comes to system updates, and for some time now, it has offered five major system updates for its flagship models – and the same applies to the device tested today.

Top-tier cameras are a must

Vivo and Zeiss, for several years now, have been an inseparable combination, and the tested Vivo X500 Pro is no exception. However, the mere association with the legendary brand is obviously not enough. The new model boasts a main camera with a brand-new LOFIC Sony Lytia LYT-910 sensor with a resolution of 50 Mpx. For the telephoto lens, the manufacturer found a reasonable compromise for more compact dimensions in the form of a 1/2″ 64Mpx OmniVision OV64B sensor. The holy trinity on the back is then completed by an ultrawide-angle camera with a Samsung ISOCELL JN5 sensor.

• 50MP primary camera, f/1.6, 1/1.28″, pixel size 1.22 µm, OIS, PDAF, Laser AF
• 64MP portrait with 3.5x optical zoom, f/2.5, 1/2″, pixel size 0.7 µm, OIS, PDAF
• 50MP ultrawide-angle, f/2.0, 1/2.75″, pixel size 0.64µm, 119° field of view, PDAF

The lenses feature an anti-reflective Zeiss T* coating, which reliably reduces unwanted glare – for example, from street lighting during evening photography. The cameras are further assisted by laser focusing and a color spectrum sensor. In the camera settings, the user can choose from several image processing modes, including my long-time favorite Zeiss “Natural” profile. If you enjoy shooting portraits, you’ll surely have fun with a variety of bokeh effects that faithfully simulate the rendering of famous historical Zeiss lenses. If you like shooting video, you’ll appreciate 3D LUT support, which brings professional color grading directly to your phone without the need for additional post-production on a computer.

Primary Camera

There’s almost nothing to fault with images from the primary camera. The sensor natively produces 12.6Mpx photos with exemplary sharpness and a wealth of detail. Only if you examine photos at high pixel-peeping magnification might you occasionally notice slightly more aggressive digital sharpening. The main asset of the new sensor is supposed to be its excellent dynamic range, and my experience with the Vivo X500 Pro fully confirms this. Also present is the traditionally characteristic work with contrast, exactly as only Vivo can do it.

I must also praise the 2x digital zoom, which works excellently, and photos taken with it are almost on par with native magnification in terms of sharpness and detail. The primary camera also performs exceptionally well when shooting at night, where the benefits of its excellent dynamic range are once again evident. Lighting, shadows, color rendition – everything looks natural, and the camera doesn’t tend to over-colorize night scenes to look like day.

Telephoto lens with 3.5x zoom

Within the camera equipment, the manufacturer made a compromise with the telephoto lens – not only compared to the X500 Pro Max but also to last year’s Vivo X300 Pro. The good news is that in practice, you won’t feel a significant concession. At native magnification, images offer excellent sharpness and rich details, and the natural optical depth of field has also been preserved. The dynamic range is also excellent, although the color rendition doesn’t always perfectly match the primary sensor – but the differences are negligible.

The lens can focus from as close as 18 cm, making it excellent for impressive tele-macro shots. Similarly, it’s traditionally a first-class companion if you enjoy shooting portraits. Subject separation from the background, faithful skin tones, and the rendering of the bokeh effect itself simply rank among the absolute best. At 6x hybrid zoom, images still maintain high quality; only when cropping to 10x zoom do photos show a noticeable more aggressive software sharpening intervention hand-in-hand with noise reduction artifacts.

Everything logically escalates with the decrease in ambient light. Even at the basic 3.5x zoom, the phone has to opt for longer exposure in dim light, making images more susceptible to motion blur. With greater digital zoom, more pronounced digital noise then penetrates the shots.

Ultrawide-angle Camera

Even the innovative ultrawide-angle camera with a 119° field of view performs quite well. Its images are exemplarily sharp, full of detail, and do not suffer from visible distortion in the corners. While it loses steam a bit earlier than the periscopic telephoto lens in low light, it still represents a clear above-average performance for its category. If you use night mode and longer exposure at night, it can conjure up very solid shots even in the dark.

Add-on Telephoto Lens

The add-on telephoto lens, or teleconverter, named Vivo ZEISS Telephoto Extender Gen 2, is an important part of the X500 Pro’s identity. If you decide to purchase it, you gain the ability to take photos with a 200mm focal length, which is equivalent to approximately 8.3x zoom. This will be purely optical zoom, not a digital crop.

However, you can’t just attach the teleconverter to your phone. You’ll need a protective case with a “photo ring” attached, and only then can you mount the add-on telephoto lens onto it. It takes a bit of practice, but it’s an effective solution – the lens holds firmly, and you don’t have to worry about it coming loose. However, the ergonomic aspect isn’t ideal. Due to the teleconverter’s 153g weight, the phone will noticeably tip to the left side when held horizontally.

However, the results are more important, and the Vivo X500 Pro with the teleconverter truly delivers them. Photos with a 200mm focal length look excellent during the day, and at times, I found it hard to believe I was holding a phone and not a DSLR. At night or in low-light conditions, their quality slightly degrades, which is understandable, as the physical size of the telephoto lens sensor does not change with the attachment of the add-on lens. At higher focal lengths (400 mm, 800 mm, or 1,600 mm), one can quite easily tell that the photos undergo stronger post-processing, and texts, in particular, acquire a specific “AI touch.” In most cases, however, these are still very decent photos that you certainly wouldn’t take with a regular smartphone.

The teleconverter supports most camera modes and can also be used to record video quite comfortably. However, the problem with the whole idea is that once you attach the teleconverter, the other two rear cameras become unusable – the construction of the add-on lens directly interferes with them. So, at times, it’s more appropriate to leave the teleconverter in your pocket and rely on the standard 85mm camera.

I can illustrate this better with a specific example from Tenerife: When I was photographing whales from a boat, I first spotted one in the distance. I therefore started attaching the teleconverter, which could take me about fifteen seconds – pulling it out of my pocket, removing the lens cap and mount, attaching it to the phone, and activating the mode in the Camera app are simply many steps. In the meantime, however, two whales appeared much closer, which I could have easily photographed with just the telephoto lens. With the teleconverter attached, I didn’t have this option; I didn’t manage to take a detailed shot with the 200mm focal length because I couldn’t find the whale in the viewfinder, and I couldn’t switch to the main sensor because the add-on telephoto lens would interfere with the photo.

Video

The Vivo X500 Pro aims to impress not only photography enthusiasts but also videographers. It supports recording in resolutions up to 8K at 30 frames per second and can record in 4K up to 240 fps in a special slow-motion mode. This, by the way, applies not only to the main camera but also to the telephoto lens. With the ultrawide, you can record video at most in 4K at 60 fps. Professionals will appreciate the option to record in LOG, and after downloading LUT profiles, you can even display a color-graded preview without first needing to transfer the material to a computer.

Software features are also a highlight, especially in the form of various modes. The Vivo X500 Pro’s Camera app offers a “Film Workshop” suite, which opens the door to shooting rotating shots, videos with both rear and front cameras, or super slow-motion footage. You can see an example of 32x slow-motion video (960 fps) below. The automatic composition adjustment feature is also handy, allowing you to lock onto a moving object and have the camera automatically track it. The Video Portrait mode is also worth mentioning, providing a pleasantly blurred background and a cinematic feel.

https://youtu.be/q4bZ9Xt8Io

You can simply have an incredible amount of fun with the video capabilities of the Vivo X500 Pro. The phone offers such a rich palette of tools that it’s challenging to navigate – I was constantly discovering new features, and even when I knew about one beforehand, I sometimes had trouble finding it in the interface.

Nevertheless, the video quality is top-notch. Daytime shots look great, but visible noise appears in low light (though this can be reduced by manually adjusting ISO and exposure). When shooting vertically, I greatly appreciated the ultra image stabilization, even though it limits the quality to 2.8K at 60 fps. The smoothness of lens switching is also excellent.

Vivo X500 Pro – price and availability

The new Vivo X500 Pro is currently available for pre-order as part of an introductory offer with a 2,000 Kč discount, resulting in a final price of 31,990 Kč including VAT. Additionally, at selected retailers, you will receive an original 90W adapter as a gift. Within this introductory offer, the new model costs the same as the Vivo X300 Pro, mentioned many times in this review, but without the bonus photo kit with a telephoto lens. The Vivo X500 Pro is certainly not a cheap phone, but considering the actions of competitors, widespread year-on-year price increases, and unpopular equipment cuts, it is ultimately not a bad offer at all.

Vivo X500 Pro Review Conclusion

Vivo X500 Pro represents a surprising voice of reason in today’s era of sharp price increases and unpopular equipment cuts. While the manufacturer has rearranged the hierarchy of its flagship series, and the new model is closer in size and concept to last year’s base model than to its namesake, in practice, this doesn’t matter at all. The reduction to a compact 6.36″ diagonal and a weight under 200 grams immensely benefited the phone in daily use, without compromising the impression of premium craftsmanship or durability.

The greatest charm of the new model lies in how few compromises the manufacturer actually had to make to fit everything into a more compact body. Even into a smaller chassis, Vivo managed to pack a massive 6,510mAh silicon-carbon battery with a real two-day endurance and lightning-fast charging, a top-tier 144Hz AMOLED display, and a very powerful yet relatively thermally refined chipset. Certainly

While Vivo made a compromise with the Zeiss optics for the periscope, opting for a 64Mpx sensor, in practice, it’s a very reasonable choice whose limitations many users won’t even notice. This sensor still offers absolutely superb portrait and tele-macro shots. The new primary camera with the Sony Lytia LYT-910 chip then delivers fantastic dynamic range, and Zeiss profiles provide characteristic image processing across all sensors. When we add the swift and clear OriginOS environment with guaranteed five-year support, it’s an exceptionally balanced compact flagship that can justify its confident price tag to demanding users.

Editor’s rating: 86 / 100

Are you interested in the new Vivo X500 Pro?

Thanks to Vivo for the loan.