vivo X70 shapes up to be a solid follow-up to the company's X series of smartphones. This newcomer is powered by MediaTek's Dimensity 1200 chipset and a whopping 12GB of RAM, a combination that's framed for heavy performance and multitasking.
vivo X70 Review
This 5G smartphone has what it takes to be anyone's daily driver, and with the special treatment from ZEISS optics, we can't help but think that this offering is quite irresistible. Of course, before you jump into the vivo X70 bandwagon, join us as we dig deeper into this powerful beast in our vivo X70 review.
{getToc} $title={Table of Contents} $count={Boolean} $expanded={Boolean}What's in the Box?
Just like any other premium vivo phones, the vivo X70 co-engineered with ZEISS is packaged in a dark blue or slate-looking square box. On the top, the engraved "X70 Co-engineered with ZEISS" is very dominant; the finish is giving you a premium matte texture.
Opening the lid will reveal the smartphone cushioned in its compartment; across it is the "Photography. Redefined" inscription which gives us a hint that this model is pegged for mobile photography.
Flipping the compartment, you will be greeted by the rest of the out-of-the-box items. There's a 44-watt FlashCharge wall adapter, USB-C cable, earphones, SIM ejector, 3.5mm to type C dongle, additional eartips, and some documentations.
Design
The vivo X70 co-engineered with ZEISS is definitely a phone that makes a statement when it comes to design. Our unit, the Aurora Dawn color variant, mimics the charming spectacle that the aurora brings at dawn. The back panel reflects light in different directions, giving you different colors depending on the angle you look at it. Looking at it head-on, it shows off a greenish-blue appeal, but it also gives you a purple situation the moment you slightly tilt it away from you.
The backing comes with a sand blasted finish or more like a frosted crystal with a very imposing camera module and a discreet vivo branding in 90-degree orientation. The frame is a smooth plastic which, unlike the back panel, could attract fingerprints.
The rectangular module for the camera array also has a lot of branding including the iconic ZEISS logo. The vivo X70's camera is a brainchild of the partnership between ZEISS and vivo. Both brands are pitching the smartphone to be "The Next Imagery Master."
There are three rear shooters highlighted by the 40MP f/1.89 main camera, and a couple of 12MP sensors - one has f/2.2 aperture and the other has f/1.98.
When it comes to ports and buttons placement, the vivo X70 has both the power button and volume rocker situated on the right side. There's an IR blaster on top, together with a microphone and "Professional Photography" inscription. The bottom houses the speaker grill, USB-C port, and the SIM tray. It's also worth-noting that the tray only has two slots intended for "SIM cards only."
All in all, the design is very enchanting, especially to those who loves to have splash gradient tones in their smartphones. It's also easy to use, though I must admit that you may need both hands to do so.
Display
The vivo X70 frames a 6.56-inch FHD+ AMOLED display which packs 1080 x 2376p resolution. The display is wide enough for streaming videos considering that it also uses a hole-punch design for the front camera. The panel is also blessed with 120Hz refresh rate. This means that your display refreshes 120 times in one second; in turn, it gives a perception of fluidity on the screen.
Of course, you can take advantage of vivo X70's HDR10+ rating which brings added punch in colors and more realistic pictures. If you like to watch videos in YouTube, you can definitely enjoy this feature.
The colors generally pop and the panel is also bright outdoors. The display is one of X70's strongest suits.
Performance
The vivo X70 goes with MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset, a significant upgrade from X60's Snapdragon 870 5G. The Dimensity 1200 is developed under 6nm process and is designed to have unrivaled performance in AI multimedia, camera, and 5G connectivity. Under the hood, there's a beefy 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. vivo X70 is also capable of extending its RAM usage up to 4GB with a Virtual RAM function.
With that being said, the vivo X70 could definitely multitask, chewing everything thrown at it with ease. I did a lot of Mobile Legends and Pokemon Unite gaming with the phone and I had not experienced any lag or frame drops. Genshin Impact is also another gaming title that I love playing with the vivo X70. The combination of a bigger display, vibrant screen, and powerful processor pushes the smartphone's gaming performance in high bars.
The loudspeakers are satisfactorily good. It has the right amount of bass and treble. However, it could not come close to those stereo speakers professionally tuned by third party audio manufacturers. But it's still enjoyable to watch and listen to your favorite shows in this phone. Needless to say, the vivo X70 is still a solid device for multimedia.
Those living in 5G areas can take advantage of its 5G connectivity. Since we are not in a 5G coverage area, we were not able to test this feature. Calls are clear though, even in closed spaces.
Camera
The vivo X70 features a triple rear camera system that's highlighted with the 40MP Sony IMX766V sensor and f/1.89 ZEISS optic lens. The main shooter is joined by a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera and another 12MP f/1.98 telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom. On the front, we have a 32MP f/2.45 selfie camera.
Taking pictures and recording videos with the vivo X70 is such a breeze. Photos taken in good lighting environment came out sharp and noise-free with full of details. The dynamic range and color accuracy are also in high bars. Photos taken using telephoto with 2x Zoom still give enough details as the original wide-angle camera.
The ultrawide camera is great for landscape photography, but may be at the expense of picture quality due to lens distortion. You can toggle it by selecting the 0.6x zoom in the camera app.
The 12MP ultrawide camera also functions as a macro camera. You can activate macro mode by tapping the flower icon on the camera app. Macro shots are clear with full of details and color accuracy.
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| Left to Right: vivo X70 Sample Photo 1x Zoom vs 0.6x Zoom (Ultrawide) |
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| Left to Right: vivo X70 Sample Photo 1x Zoom vs 0.6x Zoom (Ultrawide) |
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| Left to Right: vivo X70 Sample Photo 1x Zoom vs 2x Zoom |
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| Left to Right: vivo X70 Sample Night Shot Photo 1x Zoom vs 0.6x Zoom (Ultrawide) |
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| Close up shot |
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| vivo X70 Sample Portrait Shot |
Selfies are clean looking with good color accuracy. The vivo X70's front camera has excellent edge detection in portrait mode.
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| vivo X70 Sample Selfie |
There's a flashy 5-axis Gimbal Stabilization 3.0 embedded in vivo's camera-centric software. This allows users to record smoother videos processed with optical and electronic stabilization. In turn, you'll get smoother and shake-free videos. This particular feature will be the apple of the eye of vloggers and content creators. Here's a sample video:
Software
The vivo X70 boots with FunTouch OS 12 based on Android 11. There's a slight facelift in the system's interface especially in the Notification's Shade where icons are now squarish and accented in blue when toggled. You can customize the whole interface using different themes that changes the icon packs and wallpaper.
The App Drawer is highlighted with the Recommended Apps on top. You can also activate the swipe gesture as alternative to the menu buttons. An example is swiping and holding up to access recently used apps (you can choose between tiled format and the usual carousel alignment).
There's a bunch of enjoyable customizations for facial recognition and always-on display. Also, the former is quite zippy in doing face unlock. Likewise, the in-display fingerprint reader unlocks the phone instantaneously.
Gamers will also be delighted with the Ultra Game Mode which mutes external disturbances while you are in a game. You can still allow some notifications to persist by allowing it in the settings.
The FunTouch OS 12 is indeed still one of the best Android skins we've used. The addition of 120Hz refresh rate makes navigation amazingly smooth.
Battery
The vivo X70 keeps things going with its 4400 mAh battery capacity. In our real-time test, we are glad to have used the phone all day long. If you're a fair to moderate user, you will experience the same scenario.
In our PC Mark Work Battery Life test, the vivo X70 tallied 14 hours and 8 minutes.
The vivo X70 also supports 44-watt fast charging. One full charging cycle (0% to 100%) took 55 minutes in our charging test which is quite exceptional. If you're looking for a wireless charging option, you can't find it here.
The Wrap
The vivo X70 is a very compelling device for users who needed more punch in their mobile photography sessions. Not only that, video content creators could also take advantage of the phone's close affinity to the lens maker, ZEISS. And yes, it's very easy to recommend especially that it ticks almost all of the boxes we need for a smartphone.
Related:
For a Php 34,999 price, the vivo X70 offers a lot of goodies in different feature points - 120Hz refresh rate display, premium cameras, flagship grade Dimensity 1200 processor, and beefy 12GB RAM. To sum it up, we think that vivo X70 is an all-rounder device that won't keep you at bay in any activities - gaming, video recording, productivity tasks, etc. - that you'll be having within the day.
Highlights
1. Flagship-grade Dimensity 1200 5G processor
2. ZEISS-engineered camera
3. 120Hz screen refresh rate
4. All day battery
5. Stunning design
vivo X70 Specs
6.56-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, capacitive multitouch
2376 x 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+
MediaTek Dimensity 1200 5G (6 nm) SoC
3GHz Octa-core CPU
Mali-G77 MC9 GPU
12GB RAM + 256GB ROM
Rear Cameras:
1. 40MP Main, f/1.89, Laser Autofocus, EIS
2. 12MP Telephoto, f/1.98, Autofocus, 2x Optical Zoom
3. 12MP Ultrawide, f/2.2, 116˚ FoV
Front Camera: 32MP, f/2.45
Camera Features: Night Camera, Portrait, Photo, Video, 40MP, PANO, Live Photo, Slo-Mo, Time-Lapse, PRO, AR Stickers, Super Moon, document correction, Astro Mode, Pro Sports Mode
Up to 4K @ 60fps videos
Dual-SIM
5G, 4G/LTE
Support 2.4G/5G Wi-Fi MIMO; support Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6; support Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth v5.2
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BeiDou, QZSS, NavIC
NFC
USB Type-C, USB 2.0, USB OTG
Accelerometer, Color Temp Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, E-compass, Motor Linearity, Gyroscope
Infrared Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor, in-display
FunTouch OS 12, based on Android 11
160.10 × 75.39 × 7.55 mm
4400 mAh battery, 44W FlashCharge
181g (Cosmic Black), 182g (Aurora Dawn)
Php 34,999 Official Price in PH