Introduction
There’s a new addition to the never-ending race for the ‘best cameraphone’ event – the Vivo X100 Ultra. Surpassing the already excellent Pro, the Ultra has a telephoto that few can match, as well as a few extra little features. There’s a catch, though.
The X100 Ultra won’t leave its home market, but from a Western perspective, it will end up in the same ‘want it but can’t get it’ boat as the Find X7 Ultra. However, there’s no reason for us to ignore it, even if this review becomes more of an academic pursuit than anything else.
With that in mind, we’ll be focusing mostly on the camera, and there’s plenty to focus on there. We think the 200MP telephoto is the star of the show. Extra-large sensor, long focal length, close focus – what’s not to like? The ultrawide is another upgrade over the Pro (at least by the numbers) and a better selfie camera is on the menu too. In this line of thought, it’s easy to forget the one-inch main camera – we’re taking it for granted now.
Among the other differences between the Ultra available in China and the international Pro is the chipset – the Ultra gets the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 instead of the Dimensity 9300. Dolby Vision support in both the display and camera is an addition to the specssheet, an ultrasonic fingerprint reader replaces the optical one, and high-pressure water jets are added to the list of torture methods the phone can withstand. We can probably live with slower charging.
Vivo X100 Ultra specifications at a glance:
- Body: 164.1×75.6×9.2mm, 229 grams; Glass back, aluminium frame; IP69/IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5 metres for 30 minutes).
- Display: 6.78″ LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR, 3000 nits (peak), 1440x3200px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 517ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8650-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.3 GHz Cortex-X4 & 3×3.2 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2×3.0 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2×2.3 GHz Cortex-A520); Adreno 750.
- Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
- OS/Software: Android 14, OriginOS 4.
- rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 1/0.98″, 1.6µm, PDAF, Laser AF, Gimbal OIS; Telephoto: 200 MP, f/2.7, 85mm, 1/1.4″, 0.56µm, PDAF, OIS, 3.7x optical zoom, macro 3.4:1; Ultra Wide Angle: 50 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 116˚, 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, AF.
- front camera: 50 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, PDAF.
- Record video: rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p, Gyro-EIS, Cinematic Mode (4K), Dolby Vision HDR; front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
- Battery: 5500mAh; 80W wired, 30W wireless; Reverse wired.
- Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LHDC; NFC; Infrared port.
- various: Fingerprint reader (under the display, ultrasonic); Stereo speakers; Emergency SOS (call, message) via satellite – 16GB + 1TB model only.
Vivo X100 Ultra Unboxing
The presentation of the X100 Ultra is typical Vivo high-end. The phone comes in a flat dark gray square box with everything you need to get started.
The bundle comes with an 80W adapter and has a USB-A port. Naturally a matching cable is also included. For protection, there’s a fairly basic soft silicone case – it works without any noise.