Vivo did not launch a Vivo X80Pro + in 2022, but don’t let that fact mislead you. The Vivo X80 Pro is not just Vivo’s highest-end smartphone for the year, but it’s also one of the best flagship smartphones of 2022. The X80 Pro is competing for supremacy in the premium Android smartphone category.
So, how well did the Vivo X80 Pro manage to hold its own against the competition? The answer will depend on what you value most in your smartphones as the Vivo flagship has both its pros and cons in that regard. Before we take a deep dive into the details, let’s check the spec sheet first.
Vivo X80 Pro UK: Spec Sheet
Specifications do not always tell the full story, but they provide us with the most reliable manufacturer information about a device’s hardware and software. Below, you will find the full specifications of the Vivo X80 Pro UK Edition.
Body
- Construction: Aluminium and glass/ceramic/faux leather
- Dimensions: 164.6mm x 75.3mm x 9.1mm
- Weight: 215 grams or 219 grams, depending on your build choice
- Choice of back between glass, eco-leather, ceramic
- IP68 dust and water resistance
- Colours: cosmic black, blue, and orange
- SIM Card Compatibility: Nano-SIM with Dual SIM standby
- Network Support: All (GSM, CDMA, HSPA, EVDO, LTE, and 5G) if it’s unlocked
Screen
- Panel Type: 6.78” 10-Bit (1 billion+ colours) LTPO3 AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1440 x 3200 pixels (517ppi) in 19.5:9 ratio
- Display Features: 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, 1500 nits of peak brightness
- Display Protection: Schott Xensation Up Glass protects the screen from scratches and minor bumps
- Always On Display (AOD) on the lock screen
Base Software
- Android OS Version: May ship with Android v12, but the Vivo X80 Pro UK version will update itself via OTA to Android v13
- Vivo UI/UX: Funtouch v13
Hardware Inside
- SoC: 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (SM8450) for the Vivo x80 Pro UK Edition
- Processor: 8-core CPU with 1 x 3GHz Cortex-X2 cores, 3 x 2.5GHz Cortex-A710 cores, and 4 x 1.8GHz Cortex-A510 core
- GPU: Adreno 730
- RAM: 12GB for the Vivo x80 Pro UK Edition
- Internal Storage: 256GB superfast UFS 3.1 internal storage for the Vivo x80 Pro UK Edition
Cameras
- Number of Front Cameras: 1 selfie camera with a 32-megapixel wide angle (1/2.8″), 24mm lens and f/2.5 aperture
- Number of Rear cameras: 4 (Quad lens set up) with Zeiss optics and Zeiss T* lens coating
- Rear Camera: 50-megapixel lens with f/1.6 aperture, 1/1.3″ Wide angle, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), laser autofocus, and optical image stabilisation (OIS)
- Rear Camera: 48-megapixel, ultrawide (114˚) lens (1/2”) with f/2.2 aperture, and autofocus
- Rear Camera: 12-megapixel telephoto lens (1/2.93″), with 2x optical zoom, f/1.9 aperture, dual pixel phase detection autofocus, and optical image stabilisation (OIS)
- Rear Camera: 8-megapixel telephoto lens (1/4.4″), with 5x optical zoom, f/3.4 aperture, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), and optical image stabilisation (OIS)
- Common Rear Camera Features: Pixel Shift, dual-LED + dual-tone flash, HDR mode, and panorama mode
Sound
- Speakers: High-quality stereo speakers -25.1 LUFS
- No 3.5mm jack
- 32-bit/192kHz
Communications
- Wi-Fi: Dual-band Wi-Fi with full support for Wi-Fi 802.11 (a, b, g, n, and ac) and Wi-Fi 6.
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Bluetooth v5 with full support for A2DP, aptX HD, LE, etc.
- GPS: L1 and L5 frequency support and approved for use with all BDS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC and GLONASS, systems
- NFC: Yes
- Infrared: Yes
- FM: No
- Connector/Charger: USB Type-C 3.1 with OTG support
Sensors
- Under glass, ultrasonic fingerprint sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Compass
- Proximity sensor
- Colour sensor (full spectrum)
- Li-Po 4700mAh battery
- 80W Quick Charging via wired charger
- 50W Quick Charging via wireless charger
- Supports reverse charging
Price
- Vivo X80 Pro Price: Highly variable but the Vivo X80 Pro UK Edition was launched at £870 for the 12GB/256GB Model in 2022
As we can clearly see from the specs alone, Vivo has not spared much when it comes to the internal or external features anywhere. Let’s take a closer look at how those features perform in real-life use next.
Vivo X80 Pro: Feel and Build Quality
The Vivo X80 Pro UK version is a big and relatively heavy phone, especially if you go for the ceramic back (217 grams). However, if you have hands big enough to get past its size and weight, the Vivo X80 Pro feels every bit as premium as anything else that’s on offer right now. There isn’t an ounce of plastic in the build, only glass/ceramic/faux leather, and metal (aluminium). Most of its width comes from the huge camera “island” at the Vivo X80 Pro’s back, but considering the camera performance, the extra width is well worth it.
Vivo X80 Pro + in Spirit: Excellent Camera Performance
If you were waiting for the Vivo X80Pro + to get that stellar camera performance that the Vivo X70Pro + showcased last year, you don’t need to anymore. The Vivo X80 Pro with its huge quad camera island outperforms all previous Vivo smartphones, as well as most of what the competition has to offer. In all honesty, the AI does a pretty good job of ramping up the colour saturation, without making the shots feel too oversaturated. If you turn off the AI, you will capture images that are more true-to-life in their colour saturation levels.
Noise control is excellent on all cameras during daylight shots, even if you decide to use the full 2x or 5x optical zoom on any of the two telescoping lenses. Ultrawide shots are not as good as they could have been perhaps, especially when compared to ultrawide shots taken by some of the competing smartphones from Samsung and Google. They are still quite good but lose detail even in daylight. At night, the ultrawide shots will not always match your expectations in low-light conditions.
Low-light images are downright amazing when taken with the main 50-megapixel camera. The AI does help here, but not too much. That is to say, you should try taking low-light shots with both AI on and off to ensure you get the best shots. If you have plans to zoom in and take some close-up shots with the 2x optical zoom lens, the Vivo X80 Pro UK version delivers some astounding quality in low light as well. The 5x zoom with the 8-megapixel camera, on the other hand, in low light conditions, is not as impressive unfortunately.
Vivo X80 Pro: Performance
No game or software can manage to sweat the Vivo X80 Pro UK Edition because it comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 1 SoC, and not the MediaTek Dimensity 9000. The Dimensity 9000 is also a beast performer in its own right, but it still isn’t as powerful as the Vivo X80 Pro UK version’s Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 1 SoC. Coupled with 12GB RAM, the Vivo X80 Pro is every bit the Vivo X80Pro + that did not get a release last year.
Vivo X80 Pro Price Cut Makes It a Great Option Right Now
The only remarkable con that the Vivo X80 Pro has is the bloatware, which is present even in the Vivo X80 Pro UK Edition. You can remove some of the unwanted apps and disable the rest, but a few will still be there. Admittedly, the Vivo X80 Pro does not have the best user interface and there are better options out there.
If you don’t mind the UI though, then the Vivo X80 Pro is every bit as good as any of its competition. This is especially true for the Vivo X80 Pro UK variant because the Vivo X80 Pro price has come down quite a bit from last year.