The vivo X60 Pro belongs to a genre of smartphones known as the upper mid-range. Priced at $1,199, the X60 Pro sits in between mid-range and flagship smartphones. Thus, it is deemed as an upper mid-range smartphone.
And in terms of specifications, the X60 Pro boasts Qualcomm’s near-flagship Snapdragon 870 5G processor and a 6.56-inch Amoled display. The display offers a fast refresh rate of 120Hz with a 240Hz touch sampling rate.
SPECS
PRICE: $1,199, available in Lazada and Shopee
PROCESSOR: Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
DISPLAY: 6.56-inch Amoled, 2,376 x 1,080 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate
OPERATING SYSTEM: Funtouch OS 11.1 (Based on Android 11)
REAR CAMERAS: 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle, 48MP f/1.5 wide-angle, 13MP f/2.5 telephoto (2x optical zoom)
FRONT CAMERA: 32MP f/2.5
MEMORY: 256GB; 12GB RAM
BATTERY: Non-removable 4,200mAh
WEIGHT: 179g
Working together with German imaging company Zeiss, the X60 Pro features a 32-megapixel (MP) punch-hole front-facing camera as well as a rear triple camera system consisting of a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 48MP wide-angle camera and 13MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. Its biggest highlight is the gimbal-mounted 48MP main camera to significantly reduce camera shake.
DESIGN
Unlike some flagship smartphones that do not include charger or headphones, the X60 Pro comes with everything in the box.
You can find a USB-C cable, 33W fast-charging power adapter, a pair of 3.5mm wired headphones (with a 3.5mm-to-USB-C adapter) and a plastic phone case. Plus, the box itself is worth a mention with its literally “sparkling” exterior.
The review unit comes in shimmer blue, as its maker calls it. It is also available in black.
The shimmering blue back of the X60 Pro is a sight to behold. When viewed at different angles, it “changes” colour to make it an eye-candy. And I think it is probably one of the best-looking smartphones in the market.
Furthermore, this beautiful back not only looks good, it works great too. It has a nice matte finish that prevents it from being a fingerprint and smudge magnet. So, you can have plenty of confidence holding it.
Adding to its sleek factor is the thin and slender body. Despite its 7.6mm thinness, the metallic frame feels sturdy and not flimsy at all.
The display is curved to the sides and thus bezel-less on the sides, while the top and bottom only has a thin bezel. However, the base of my thumb has never caused any accidental touches despite the curved display.
Yet somehow, vivo has managed to squeeze a volume rocker and a power button are sited on X60 Pro’s right side. They are nicely positioned for my right thumb to easily reach them.
The X60 Pro uses in-display fingerprint sensor. And I have no trouble reaching it too while holding the phone with one hand. It also unlocks the smartphone almost immediately.
On the downside, it does not come with any weather protection rating. Plus, it does not support wireless charging.
PERFORMANCE
The overall performance of X60 Pro feels really zippy and swift.
FOR
+ Great performance
+ Thin and beautiful design
+ Sturdy build
+ Gimbal-stabilising video
+ Decent image quality
AGAINST
– Does not support wireless charging
– No expandable storage
– Lack of water resistance
In the GeekBench 5 benchmark tests, the X60 Pro scores 1,015 (single-core) 3,387 (multi-core). That’s better than the likes of Samsung’s flagship S21 Ultra’s score of 939 (single-core) and 3092 (multi-core).
And coupled with the excellent refresh rate of the display, scrolling through Facebook or Instagram feeds will feel much smoother.
Playing games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is a breeze. It allows you to concentrate on winning instead of worrying about any lag or performance issues.
But like most upper mid-range and flagship smartphones, the X60 Pro does not come with expandable storage. So you are stuck with the 256GB built-in storage.
CAMERA
The much touted feature of X60 Pro’s camera system is the gimbal stabilisation of its 48MP main wide-angle camera.
I took a handheld video while taking a jog. And the resulting non-jerky video seems to confirm the gimbal doing its job. So, it will certainly help when you are shooting stills with the 48MP camera.
In terms of still images, the X60 Pro’s performance is competent but not excellent.
The main wide-angle camera produces sharp photos with nice contrast and saturation. But for shots by the ultra-wide-angle camera, you can clearly see purple fringing in bright daylight shots. Something you will not see on the main camera.
The 2x optical zoom camera also does not exhibit any purple fringing. In addition, it is pretty sharp in contrast to the ultra-wide offers.
The Night mode is offered in all focal lengths. While the main camera yields better night shots, the quality is generally poor. There is lack of sharpness with visible noise and detail loss. And any light sources seem to get over-exposed.
BATTERY LIFE
In terms of battery life, the X60 Pro performs commendably. It lasted 8 hours 46 minutes in our usual video-loop battery test whereby we loop a 720p video with the display set at maximum brightness and 120Hz refresh rate.
By comparison, Oppo’s flagship Find X3 Pro lasted 10 hours 32 minutes, which also comes with a 120Hz display.
Mileage will of course differ based on usage. But like every Singaporean does on a normal day such as checking emails, reading news feed and scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, I found that the X60 Pro still has around 25 per cent battery life by the time I go to bed.
VERDICT
The vivo X60 Pro is a pretty solid upper mid-range smartphone with beautiful design, great performance and decent image quality. Priced at $1,199, it is quite affordable too.
RATINGS
FEATURES: 7/10
DESIGN: 9/10
PERFORMANCE: 8/10
BATTERY LIFE: 8/10
VALUE FOR MONEY: 8/10
OVERALL: 8/10
