Vivo X200 Pro review: best camera phone or just an overstatement?
Vivo X200 Pro Intro
Vivo has ambitiously launched the new X200 Pro with a full set of quad cameras — similar setup to the X100 Ultra from last year, which was only available in eastern markets. So, now, we get to try out that 200 MP telephoto camera globally. Oh yes, this phone puts a lot of its eggs in the camera basket. But make no mistake — from display to processor to storage and RAM, it's all 2025 flagship specs (even though it launched at the very end of 2024).
Well, we say it's a global version, but the Vivo X200 Pro hasn't officially been released in the US yet. If you choose to be adventurous and grab one through the non-official retailer channels, be sure to double-check it will play nicely with your carrier's bands.
Depending on where you are in the world, you may also need to do a bit of hunting before being able to find yourself a Vivo X200 Pro. So, is it worth the hassle? Is it truly an incredible camera phone? How does it perform and how long does its battery last? Well, let's take it through the tests!
Table of Contents:
Vivo X200 Pro Specs
Growing strong
It's a good idea to kick things off with a quick look at the specs sheet, and see how the Vivo X200 Pro compares to the X100 Pro before it.
| Vivo X200 Pro | Vivo X100 Pro |
|---|---|
| Size and Weight 6.39 x 2.99 x 0.32 inches (162.4 x 76 x 8.2 mm) 7.87 oz (223.0 g) | Size and Weight 6.46 x 2.96 x 0.35 inches (164.1 x 75.3 x 8.9 mm) 7.80 oz (221.0 g) |
| Display 6.8", 20:9 ratio, 1260 x 2800 AMOLED, 120 Hz, 4,500 nits peak | Display 6.8", 20:9 ratio, 1260 x 2800 AMOLED, 120 Hz, 3,000 nits peak |
| Processor Mediatek Dimensity 9400 Octa-core, 3.63 GHz, 3 nm | Processor Mediatek Dimensity 9300 Octa-core, 3.25 GHz, 4 nm |
| Software Funtouch OS 15 | Android 15 | Software Funtouch OS 15 | Android 15 (Updated to) |
| Cameras 50 MP main, F1.6 200 MP 3.7x telephoto, F2.7 50 MP ultra-wide, F2.0 | Cameras 50 MP main, F1.8 50 MP 4.3x telephoto, F2.5 50 MP ultra-wide, F2.0 |
| Battery Size 6,000 mAh | Battery Size 5,260 mAh |
| Charging Speeds 90 W wired 30 W wireless | Charging Speeds 100 W wired 50 W wireless |
So, not only have the camera sensors gotten a new addition with that 200 MP one for the zoom camera, but the lenses themselves have been changed around a bit with slightly different aperture specs and focal lengths. It's all still made in collaboration with Zeiss, and we'll see how the new setup performs in the camera section. The battery of the Vivo X200 Pro has grown to the impressive 6,000 mAh, but the power draw is slightly slower. Though, we do believe the differences in charging speed will be miniscule.
Vivo X200 Pro Design and Display
Slightly flatter, still pretty
Vivo has followed the recent trend that manufacturers of curved-screen phones have been doing — flattening it out and only leaving a slight trace of the previously very trendy curved design. The glass on the back has a nice frosted finish to it. And even though the Vivo X200 Pro has a color that's called Titanium Gray, and the finish kind of looks like titanium, it's actually aluminum.
The phone is a bit on the heavy side — about as heavy as an iPhone 16 Pro Max. The curved front and back and the slippery nature of the finish does make me nervous while handling the Vivo X200 Pro without a case. Since this is so heavily marketed as a camera phone, it would've been nice to see it incorporate one of those faux-leather backs that have been kind of coming back recently. Gives it a bit more of a camera look, and improves grip.
The buttons on the right-hand side feel pretty nice. They stick out enough to not go unnoticed by your finger, and have a good amount of travel and click to them.
The Vivo X200 Pro comes in three color variants:
- Titanium Gray
- Carbon Black
- Cobalt Blue
It's also built to last against the elements. Not only does it have IP68 protection, which gives it resistance against dust and submersion under water, it also has an IP69 rating which means it can also withstand high-pressure jets of water (including steam cleaning, though we'd still not try to steam-clean a premium smartphone).
The Vivo X200 Pro unboxing experience will grace you with a charger to make use of that 90 W charging capabilities, a USB C cable, and a transparent case.
The screen on the front has a 6.8-inch diagonal, and its bezels are thin. The phone's screen-to-body ratio comes to about 90%, and it does feel like a modern marvel of tech when holding it. It's an AMOLED panel that can hit a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz for extra-smooth animations.
There are three color calibrations to pick from, there's an adaptive color mode, which works based on your ambient lighting. And there's an extra-smart blue light filter, which keeps images and on-screen content in mind and utilizes AI to fine tune the exact amount of blue colors, while trying to keep colors closer to "real". You can turn that off and just use the plain old blue light filter, if you so wish.
The peak brightness of the Vivo X200 Pro is rated at 4,500 nits, which is very, very bright. Of course, peak brightness only looks at the screen's HDR capabilities. Here's how we measured full-screen and partial screen brightness:
Even for full-screen, the Vivo X200 Pro can hit north of 2,000 nits when measuring 20% APL (measures for more real use scenarios where not all pixels are used at full brightness). Needless to say, it has excellent viewability even under direct sunlight. The minimum is 1.6 nits, which is not ideal for bedside viewing, but at least the smart color calibration kind of leverages that. Kind of, it's not the best phone to pick up immediately after waking up on a dark winter morning.
The in-screen fingerprint scanner uses ultrasonic tech, which is superior to the optical sensors that many others use (including the previous Vivo X100 Pro). Ultrasonic is slightly more secure and more accurate, even if your finger happens to be a bit damp or smudged. We find the X200 Pro unlocking time to be quick and reliable.
Vivo X200 Pro Camera
The reason we are here
Our PhoneArena camera benchmark test measures camera performance throughout multiple disciplines with a set line of tests that stay as objective as possible. The Vivo X200 Pro put its money where its megapixels are — the 200 MP zoom camera is clearly superior to the current competition and immediately got the highest zoom score we've had to date. It doesn't disappoint in the other categories as well — the main camera is only a point shy of reaching the current best score, and only the selfie camera seems to be a bit underdeveloped.
In default mode, the Vivo X200 Pro is quite generous with the exposure. Photos end up looking quite bright, but don't burn out highlights. Nevertheless, some pictures may look a bit washed out, due to the bright look. The good news is that there are three modes to pick from — from the default Vivid to a more grounded Zeiss-tuned mode.
Colors are slightly saturated, but not too far from reality — just enough for that extra "Oomph" that a lot of phone users seem to love (which is why manufacturers keep leaning into it). Details with the main and zoom cameras look lovely. Sharpening can be spotted here and there, but they only flirt with the idea and don't go into the realm of jagged edges or weird halos around fine textures.
The ultra-wide camera, inevitably, looks quite a bit softer than the main one. But its colors are also a bit more skewed, especially the blues — the daylight sky leans more towards neon-ish with the ultra-wide.
The selfie camera is pretty OK. It does give skintone a bit of a pink-ish pale tint, and its dynamics range seems to be a bit narrower than the main camera's. But details are pretty good otherwise.
Video Quality
When we compare the Vivo X200 Pro's video capabilities to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which we are now very familiar with, the Vivo's propensity to go for more brightness is evident. For this reason, the footage may give the impression that it's a bit more washed-out, but highlights aren't really burned. Conversely, the night-time footage with the Vivo came out better, brighter, and more realistic, while the S24 Ultra gave our presenter a very red-ish face. Details on the Vivo look great, and that 200 MP zoom camera is definitely a class above, too.
Vivo X200 Pro Performance & Benchmarks
The new Dimensity
The Vivo X200 Pro comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 — the first 3 nm chip to come from MediaTek. The 9000 series is the flagship processor from the company, so we were not surprised to see a snappy, fluid performance while using the phone for this review. But, of course, we had to dial things to eleven and run it through the usual stress benchmarks. Here's how it fared:
Performance Benchmarks:
Well, it seems MediaTek's silicon still has some more to go to rival the new Snapdragon 8 Elite or the Apple A18 Pro. It scores pretty high in CPU tests, but can't topple the top tier competition. Though, in our day-to-day, we can't say we felt like it lags behind the other flagship phones we've been using recently.
In graphics, though, the MediaTek SoC holds up well. Its top score is slightly higher than what the ROG Phone 9 Pro gave us. And yes, the minimum score of the Vivo X200 Pro after throttling is much lower, but keep in mind that Asus' ROG Phone has extreme cooling solutions inside and pushes the chip to go through these tests without throttling, come hell or high water.
Conversely, looking at the 3DMark results of the Vivo vs the iPhone — the Vivo X200 Pro gets a higher score when both phones are cool, and about the same as the iPhone 16 Pro Max when both phones are throttling.
Some more specs on the Vivo X200 Pro — it comes with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage, non-expandable.
Vivo X200 Pro Software
Funtouch OS may be a funny name, but Vivo's interface is a feature-laden, pretty-looking custom take on Android that veers the line between iOS inspiration and the latest trends in Android reskins. The smooth animations and transparent elements that are synonymous with modern UI are all here, and so are multitasking assistive tools such as a side drawer and gestures that easily launch apps in split screen. There's nothing we really "miss" while using this software, and nothing that annoys — it's well-built and quick to get used to.
Funtouch OS 15 is on top of Android 15 and the global version we have here comes with the full Google app suite, including Gemini. So, even though it has a bit of a stylized look, the software is still Android at it core.
With the Vivo X200 Pro, the company promises 4 years of major Android updates and 5 years of security patches. That's not near the 7 years that Google and Samsung are committing to nowadays, but it's a hefty chunk of time none the less. Chances are that in 4 years, you will be feeling like getting a new phone.
Vivo X200 Pro Battery
Huge cell, long life
The Vivo X200 Pro has fans' interested in its rather large battery — 6,000 mAh in a world where 5,000 mAh is still pretty much the norm for an Android flagship. So, of course, we couldn't wait to test it. Here's how it fared in our various benchmarks:
And there it is — it offers reliable endurance across all main categories. That's the combination of a 6,000 mAh cell and more energy efficiency from the 3 nm chipset. We are particularly surprised with how long it lasted during the YouTube stream test — 14 hours is nothing to snark at! The web browsing test simulates constant scrolling and reloading of pages every 30 seconds, so this is more or less how long you can expect the phone to last with "regular" use, as long as your brightness is not dialed up too high.
The Vivo X200 Pro did "downgrade" its charger from a 100 W to a 90 W brick. Though, the difference is miniscule, and we still managed to get a full charge in less than an hour, which is quite fast. It also supports 30 W charging, with the appropriate puck (most Qi2 chargers provide 15 W).
Vivo X200 Pro Audio Quality and Haptics
The Vivo X200 Pro's speakers are loud and pretty present. They do lack a nice bass fundamental and can sound nasally with some songs. We can also hear it compress on transients when maxing out the volume. In general, the speakers are great for talking-type YouTube videos, but we wouldn't enjoy music over them. Unfortunately, there's no baked-in EQ as well, even though there are plenty of options to customize sound over earphones. No headphone jack, though — no surprises there.
The haptics are great, though — as they have been with many Android flagships in recent memory. Clicky, accurate, and punctuating every tap.
Should you buy the Vivo X200 Pro?
The Vivo X200 Pro is a pretty good smartphone and the only thing it has going against it is that it's a rather obscure brand in western markets. A lot of users veer away since they are concerned about support. Or they are having actual trouble buying one from a reputable store. Plus, if you are already in the ecosystem of other big players, you'd probably feel more comfortable with a Samsung, iPhone, or Pixel.
All that said, if you are feeling adventurous, curious, or excited about that zoom camera — the Vivo X200 Pro is definitely a solid phone, which shouldn't disappoint. We have yet to see how it performs over the long term, but our review time with it was fun, the camera was performing great, and the phone is pretty to look at and feels premium to operate.
All that said, if you are feeling adventurous, curious, or excited about that zoom camera — the Vivo X200 Pro is definitely a solid phone, which shouldn't disappoint. We have yet to see how it performs over the long term, but our review time with it was fun, the camera was performing great, and the phone is pretty to look at and feels premium to operate.
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