Introduction

We attended the Chinese launch of the vivo X500 series today in Shanghai, and this year, vivo has not two but three handsets in the lineup. While last year’s roster included only the X300 and X300 Pro, the vivo X500 series welcomes a third member – the vivo X500 Pro Max. That doesn’t mean there will be no X500 Ultra model next year, but it means it’s even harder to make sense of which device to get, so let’s see if we can help with that.

The highlight of this year’s camera experience, however, is the video recording capabilities. Vivo has focused on bringing professional-grade video capture to all three phones, although the best features and hardware are reserved for the Pro and Pro Max models.

vivo X500 Pro Max specs at a glance:

• Body: 163.3×76.8×8.1mm, 225g; Glass front, aluminum frame, glass back or glass-fiber reinforced plastic back; IP68/IP69 dust tight and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.85″ LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 2000 nits (HBM), 4400 nits (peak), 1440x3168px resolution, 19.8:9 aspect ratio, 507ppi; Ultra HDR image support.
• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 9600 Pro (2 nm).
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 17, up to 5 major OS updates, OriginOS 7.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.6, 24mm, 1/1.28″, 1.22µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 200 MP, f/2.7, 85mm, 1/1.4″, 0.56µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS, 3.5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, 15mm, 119˚, 1/2.75″, 0.64µm, AF.
• Front camera: 50 MP, f/2.0, 20mm (wide), 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, AF.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120/240fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 17 EV TrueDynamic Log, Dolby Vision HDR, 4K@120fps 10-bit Log, 10-bit 422 APV; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 8000mAh; 90W wired, 40W wireless, Reverse wireless, Reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4/6.0, aptX HD, LHDC 5; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers; Satellite connectivity support (Chinese 1TB 12GB RAM version only).

Curiously, the vivo X500 Pro is the smallest phone of the three, which was not the case last year. It has a quite compact 6.36-inch display, as opposed to the 6.85″ on the Pro Max, without making any significant concessions except perhaps the telephoto camera.

Both phones have 85 mm telephoto lenses, but only the X500 Pro Max has a 200MP sensor. The X500 Pro features a 64MP telephoto unit instead. Still, it has a brand-new 1/2-type Lytia 610 sensor co-developed by vivo and Sony.

The X500 Pro and X500 Pro Max main cameras debut the Sony Lytia L910 LOFIC sensor that’s touted to feature extremely wide dynamic range.

The X500 Pro shares the Dimensity 9600 Pro with the X500 Pro Max, and both have LTPO screens with Dolby Vision video support.

vivo X500 Pro specs at a glance:

• Body: 151.8×71.9×8.1mm, 192g; Glass front, aluminum frame, glass back or glass-fiber reinforced plastic back; IP68/IP69 dust tight and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.36″ LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 2000 nits (HBM), 4500 nits (peak), 1216x2660px resolution, 19.69:9 aspect ratio, 459ppi; Ultra HDR image support.
• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 9600 Pro (2 nm).
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 17, up to 5 major OS updates, OriginOS 7.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.6, 24mm, 1/1.28″, 1.22µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 64 MP, f/2.5, 85mm, 1/2.0″, 0.7µm, PDAF (18cm – ∞), OIS, 3.5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, 15mm, 119˚, 1/2.75″, 0.64µm, AF.
• Front camera: 50 MP, f/2.0, 20mm (wide), 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, AF.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120/240fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 17 EV TrueDynamic Log, Dolby Vision HDR, 4K@120fps 10-bit Log, 10-bit 422 APV; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 6510mAh; 90W wired, 40W wireless, Reverse wireless, Reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4/6.0, aptX HD, LHDC 5; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers.

The vanilla X500 has a 6.59″ screen, a slightly shorter 72mm telephoto lens, but behind it is the same sensor as on the X500 Pro.

All three phones feature large batteries. The X500 Pro Max gets a particularly large 8,000 mAh unit (7.800 mAh for the global variant), and the vanilla features a 7,500 mAh cell.

The X500 Pro settles for the smaller 6,510 mAh capacity of the three, which coincidentally is the same capacity the global X300 Pro had last year, but you have to remember that the Pro this year is a much smaller and lighter phone than the X300 Pro.

vivo X500 specs at a glance:

• Body: 157.0×75.0x8.2mm, 211g; Glass front, aluminum frame, glass back; IP68/IP69 dust tight and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.59″ AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, 2000 nits (HBM), 4000 nits (peak), 1260x2750px resolution, 19.64:9 aspect ratio, 459ppi.
• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 9600M (3 nm).
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 17, up to 5 major OS updates, OriginOS 7.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.7, 23mm, 1/1.28″, 1.22µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 64 MP, f/2.6, 72mm, 1/2.0″, 0.7µm, PDAF (15cm – ∞), OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, 15mm, 119˚, 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, AF.
• Front camera: 50 MP, f/2.0, 20mm (wide), 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, AF.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR, gyro-EIS, 4K@120fps 10-bit Log; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 7500mAh; 90W wired, 40W wireless, Reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4/6.0, aptX HD, LHDC 5; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers.

The 90W wired and 40W wireless charging are standard for the entire lineup, so kudos to vivo for delivering fast charging regardless of the tier.

Last but not least, the X500 series ships with vivo’s latest OriginOS 7, which is coming to the global units as well. The new generation of the OS has an even stronger focus on fluidity and resource management.