Emanuele Cisotti
20/10/2020 ore 16:30
Vivo X51 review
Vivo arrives in Europe and also arrives in Italy. The biggest brand of the BBK family (which also OPPO and OnePlus are part of) officially lands in the old continent. And its point product at launch is I live X51 5G, a smartphone of the new top-of-the-range family with Snapdragon 765G CPU that we have seen proliferating so much recently. Let’s find out in our review.
READ ALSO: Best Android smartphones
Packaging
The packaging of this Vivo X51 is appreciated: inside we have a 33W power supply, a USB / USB-C cable, a pair of good in-ear stereo headphones (with adapters), a USB-C audio jack adapter and also a silicone cover to protect your smartphone.
Construction and Ergonomics
In passing, the X51 looks like a nice smartphone, but certainly not too original. Taking it in hand and appreciating the details it turns out instead how our impression was absolutely wrong and how it is instead one of the most elegant smartphones on the market. The matte finish of the rear glass is very pleasant to the touch and does not hold fingerprints very much. Also beautiful are the short edges “cut” cleanly and the back with a two-step solution (identical and very contained) for the camera module. Too bad it’s not waterproof, otherwise it would have been almost perfect for our canons. The only flaw, at least of our sample, the physical keys have a good click but are a bit soft. The smartphone is not waterproof.
Hardware
The hardware is from “new” top of the range 2020. We have a processor Snapdragon 765G (so not the 865 of the category Premium) 2.4 GHz octa core, an Adreno 620 GPU, 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256 GB of UFS 2.1 internal memory. Unfortunately the memory is not expandable, but the removable trolley houses two nanoSIMs (nothing e.g). Very good connectivity: 5G up to 3.7Gbps, Wi-Fi ac dual band, Bluetooth 5.1 and of course NFC too. The fingerprint reader is optical and is positioned inside the display. Inside we have a liquid cooling system to ensure that temperatures are always contained. The speaker is very powerful and has good quality, but unfortunately it is mono (positioned on the underside). A discordant note: the vibration motor is not very precise, from a decidedly lower-end smartphone.
CARD: I live X51 5G
Camera
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of this I live X51 to stand out from the competition is its photographic sector. We have four sensors and none useless, as often happens in smartphones of every price range. The main camera is one 48 megapixel ƒ / 1.6 optically stabilized, flanked by two zoom lenses: a 13 megapixel ƒ / 2.46 2x zoom and an 8 megapixel ƒ / 3.4 zoom 5x. To close the compartment we find a latest 8-megapixel ƒ / 2.2 wide-angle sensor. Technologically, the big news of the X51 is the fact that the main camera has what the company calls a gimbal integrated, that is an optical stabilization system that guarantees ±3 ° of stabilization, against approx ±0.7 ° of the competition, thus managing to absorb much larger movements, just like you would with a gimbal. And if we talk about photographs this is noticeable, especially with night shots. The camera, still by definition at this point, has more time to shoot and capture more light, managing in many cases to get better shots than most of the competition out there. By activating the night mode the result is even better. But the photos are excellent even in good light, as well as when taken by the 2x zoom camera and the 5x zoom camera, which is too “dark” to be used in situations other than bright days. And there is also the creative drive, provided by the possibility of creating photos with level bokeh with three zoom levels, also applying filters in real time, or creating very special night photos even here thanks to specific filters. If you find yourself in areas with little lighting you can also take advantage of functions with the super moon or the stars mode. The front camera on the other hand has a good one 32 megapixel, embedded in the hole inside the display.
The gimbal obviously has its own impact also in the video world, where however we admit that we have noticed fewer similarities compared to the use of a real accessory gimbal. Especially in 4K at 60fps a minimum of flicker is still visible, although the shooting quality is still exceptional. A completely different story in Full HD, even without enabling increased stabilization: the videos obviously lose definition but gain excellent stability: we also tried running and the results are excellent, although not absolutely unique in its kind.
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Display
Vivo X51 is equipped with a 6.56-inch display in technology AMOLED and resolution FullHD + (1080 x 2376 pixels). A beautiful panel with slightly curved edges on the sides, with excellent brightness, exceptional rendering (compatible with HDR10 +), DC technology dimming and refresh rate support increased to 90 Hz. From the settings it is also possible to select the automatic mode that will scale according to needs between 90 and 60 Hz. Finally there is the always-on display, which is very clear but unfortunately shows the symbol of the notification of only 4 apps (including Whatsapp though).
Software
One of the biggest surprises turning on this one I live X51 it was the discovery that the smartphone software was a near stock version of Android. We have in fact the FunTouch OS in a Global version which aesthetically and as a setting is different from what we had seen on other Vivo of the past (imported from China). The experience was truly remarkable and undoubtedly we are faced with something different, but at the same time very familiar. The system implements features such as programmable dark mode, 2 themes to choose from (there is no theme store yet), an ultra game mode and many levels of customization, where you can also choose the effect of light on the edges when notifications arrive or the ability to change the unlock animation with the fingerprint, reload and so on.
At the moment Android is at version 10 unfortunately updated with the patches of July 2020, not the maximum in October, but it is also true that at the moment in which we are testing it the smartphone has not yet arrived on the market.
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Autonomy
Vivo X51 is equipped with a 4.315 mAh: a nice surprise for such a thin and light smartphone. The battery, using the screen in mode auto quietly guarantees a full day of use even with intense use: it was really a pleasant discovery. Blocking it at 90Hz instead will require a recharge around dinner time. In this case, fast charging at 33W comes to the rescue. Too bad there is no wireless charging.
Price
Vivo X51 is sold in Italy at 799€, a price that is not contained and which in our opinion will not entice many to approach a new brand. However, if we exclude the novelty factor, the price is in line with other prestigious competitors, even if we would have preferred a lower launch price.
Photo
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Final judgement
I live X51
Vivo X51 is an excellent first smartphone for Vivo in our country. Beautiful, with software designed immediately for the European market and with a camera that exceeded our expectations. The price is high and won’t help Vivo launch. It’s a new alternative that you may not have missed but now you may legitimately want.
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- Beautiful and well built
- Great cameras
- Clean software
- Fast charging
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- Non-expandable memory
- The gimbal in 4K video is not very effective
- High introductory price
- It is not waterproof
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I live X51
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