vivo has been among the top smartphone players, even though Western markets once again only saw a fraction of its lineup. The company has launched some amazing products in 2022, but there have also been missteps.
Winner: vivo X80 Pro
The X80 series didn’t have a Pro+ variant, meaning the X80 Pro was the flagship this time around. It launched in April and, at the time, it was everything you wanted from a flagship: the best chipset from Qualcomm (or Mediatek at home), impressive quad cameras, Zeiss optics with T* lens coating, OIS, fast charging.
Eight months later, it’s still a phone worth considering if you’re one for nontraditional brands. The camera island design is debatable, to put it mildly, but thankfully all the shooters do an amazing job.
The phone took more than two months to hit international markets and the official price in Europe was just under €1,200, which is on par with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The phone comes with vivo V1+ ISP, which works wonders for low-light video – we can see details in the footage that can’t be seen with the human eye, and in 4K, mind you. The performance of the vivo X80 Pro in the dark borders on night vision.
Loser: vivo V25 and vivo V25 Pro
There are three phones in the V25 family, and during our reviews, we weren’t impressed with the Vanilla and the Pro. The reason we’re bringing them together is that they have similar shortcomings.
The V25 and V25 Pro were expected to be a step above the V23 and V23 Pro, which were introduced in early 2022 and both were priced slightly higher than their direct rivals.
Left: vivo V25 • Right: vivo V25 Pro
However, for some reason, vivo has decided to omit key features that make midrangers harder to recommend. The vivo V25 pair has no NFC, no 3.5mm audio jack, no input protection, no secondary selfie camera.
vivo has launched the V25 in some markets as the X80 Lite, continuing its practice of rebranding phones many times over, a habit we’re not particularly fans of.
Winner: vivo X Fold/Fold+
vivo launched two foldable phones this year, although they were quite similar. The Plus launched five months after the first X Fold and came with the updated Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and its more powerful CPU. The battery has also grown, along with the charging speed from 66W to 80W.
The biggest problem in the world of leaflets is the crease, which is a headache for many users. The hinge used by vivo in these two phones is said to be “undetectable,” although we’ve heard and seen it in real-life scenarios. That said, the crease is hardly a problem when viewing content and is not felt during use.
The company has also introduced a new color with the X Fold+: an eye-catching red leather back, also seen on the vivo X90 Pro+. Vivo is clearly betting that this is the color of the hero and we can’t wait to see the design reach more devices, hopefully even beyond the flagship X-series.
Winner: vivo iQOO Neo6
The subbdarnd iQOO does its thing, like the Neo series which can be placed in the premium category of killer flagships, and we loved the Neo6 which was launched on the international stage.
Yes, the phone runs on a dated Snapdragon 870 instead of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but it’s still a very strong chip.
What we particularly liked about the iQOO Neo 6 is its design and lightweight body. Today’s smartphones are getting heavier and bulkier. Meanwhile, this vivo phone has all the features you need without going overboard: an excellent screen, 80W fast charging, and great video and photo quality from the main camera.
The phone is mostly aimed at India, where it can be had for as low as INR 30,000 or just around $360. This is definitely among the bargains of the year.
Winner and loser: the partnership with the FIFA World Cup
2022 has been a rather unusual year for football fans. Instead of getting their fix on the world cup matches in June and July, we had a tournament in November and December.
The 2022 World Cup was to be the culmination of a six-year partnership between vivo and FIFA, in which the tech company also supported other tournaments: the Confederations Cup in 2017, the World Cup in Russia in 2018 and the Arab Cup. in 2021.
However, the unusual timing forced the company to promote its X90 series, which is currently only available in China and China did not qualify for the tournament. While all advertising is good for promoting brand recognition, it always works best when there’s an actual product for people to buy. And the X90 series was not at the time of the tournament.
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