Vivo X90: Everything you need to know

The short six months between Vivo flagship phones is over once again as the company has revealed the Vivo X90, X90 Pro, and X90 Pro+.

The X80 Pro was one of our favourite phones of 2022, so it’s fair to say we’ve been excited to see what the company could come up with for its successors.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Vivo X90 series – or read our Vivo X90 Pro review to find out what we think of that phone.

When will the Vivo X90 be released outside China?

Vivo announced the X90 phones in its native China on 22 November 2022, and all three phones are on sale there now.

An international launch took place on 3 February 2023, though only the X90 and X90 Pro appeared – sadly the Pro+ model seems to be staying China-only.

The two phones are also launching in different areas. The X90 is getting a more limited launch in just Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Thailand, and Malaysia. By contrast the X90 Pro is more available, going on sale in all of the above plus much of Europe. That was meant to include the UK, but sadly Vivo has since confirmed to Tech Advisor that the UK launch is no longer going ahead.

Sadly, none of the phones will go on sale in the US.

How much do the Vivo X90 phones cost?

Here are the prices for the three phones in the key markets where they’re selling:

• Vivo X90: from ₹59,999/¥3,699 (around $520/£430)
• Vivo X90 Pro: from €1,199/₹84,999/¥4,999 (around $700/£590)
• Vivo X90 Pro+: from ¥6,499 in China (around $900/£760)

What are the Vivo X90’s specs and features?

Vivo has thrown the kitchen sink at the X90 series, with three phones with different specs and features.

Vivo X90

The regular X90 is the ‘basic’ phone in the series, though it’s still plenty powerful. It comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 chipset, paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage.

The large 4810mAh battery should keep it running all day, with fast 120W wired charging to top it up at the end. You also get an expansive 6.78in 120Hz AMOLED display, and the phone comes with a glass rear in a choice of two colours: Breeze Blue and Asteroid Black.

As for cameras, there are three lenses on the rear: a 50Mp main camera using the Sony IMX866 sensor, then 12Mp ultrawide and 2x telephoto lenses. You’ll find a 32Mp selfie camera on the front.

It also uses the Vivo V2 ISP chip, which adds an extra level of image processing not found in rival phones. Like all the phones, it also benefits from the Zeiss T* anti-glare coating across its lenses, along with a selection of Zeiss software tricks to improve colour tuning and drive custom camera features.

• MediaTek Dimensity 9200
• Vivo V2 ISP
• 50Mp f/1.75 main camera (Sony IMX866)
• 12Mp f/2.0 108-degree ultrawide lens (Sony IMX663)
• 12Mp f/2.0 2x portrait telephoto lens (Sony IMX663)
• 32Mp f/2.45 selfie camera
• 6.78in 120Hz AMOLED, 2800 x 1260p
• 8/12GB LPDDR5 RAM
• 256GB UFS 4.0 storage (up to 512GB in China)
• Android 13 with OriginOS 3
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• 4810mAh battery
• 120W wired charging
• 5G/4G
• Wi-Fi 6
• Bluetooth 5.3
• GPS
• aptX HD
• Hi-res audio
• IP64 water and dust resistance
• 164 x74.4 x 8.5mm
• 200g

Vivo X90 Pro

The X90 Pro shares a lot of its core specs with the X90, though the Pro adds things such as an improved rear camera setup, wireless charging, and a slightly larger battery.

Just as importantly, the design changes slightly – the Pro comes with a vegan leather back, available worldwide in just one finish: Legendary Black. The design is more durable too, with a full IP68 dust and water-resistance rating, an improvement from the IP64 on the regular model – that means they have the same level of dust protection, but the Pro handles water better.

The camera is where you’ll find the biggest changes. Most importantly, while the main camera is still a 50Mp shooter at f/1.75, it’s been upgraded to use the larger 1in Sony IMX989 sensor – the same one used in last year’s Xiaomi 12S Ultra.

Vivo says this 50Mp lens has a 77% larger photosensitive area compared to the 1/1.3in sensor on the X80 Pro. That phone had superb low light results thanks to its large sensor, and this should be even better.

The 2x portrait telephoto has also been improved, in this case jumping to the Sony IMX758 sensor, which matches that main camera on 50Mp resolution – though not on sensor size. Just note that the ultrawide is the same as on the regular X90.

The other main changes here are to the battery. This is very slightly larger at 4870mAh, but the bigger addition is fast 50W wireless charging capabilities.

• MediaTek Dimensity 9200
• Vivo V2 ISP
• 50Mp f/1.75 main camera (Sony IMX989)
• 12Mp f/2.0 108-degree ultrawide lens (Sony IMX663)
• 50Mp f/1.6 2x portrait telephoto lens (Sony IMX758)
• 32Mp f/2.45 selfie camera
• 6.78in 120Hz AMOLED, 2800 x 1260p
• 12GB LPDDR5 RAM (8GB option in China)
• 256GB UFS 4.0 storage (up to 512GB in China)
• Android 13 with OriginOS 3
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• 4870mAh battery
• 120W wired charging
• 50W wireless charging
• 5G/4G
• Wi-Fi 6
• Bluetooth 5.3
• GPS
• NFC
• aptX HD
• Hi-res audio
• IP68 water and dust resistance
• 164 x 74.5 x 9.3mm
• 215g

Vivo X90 Pro+

We thought the X80 Pro earlier in 2022 was as much phone as Vivo could throw at us, but the X90 Pro+ is a full-on flagship that tries to push the smartphone envelope once again – which makes it all the more unfortunate that this model isn’t launching outside China.

The X90 Pro+ is the only model to have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip instead of the MediaTek Dimensity 9200.

The 1in main camera sensor is once again the 1in Sony IMX989, and here it’s paired with a 48Mp ultrawide, the same 50Mp portrait telephoto as the Pro, and an additional 64Mp 3.5x periscope camera.

All that potential phone magic runs on an obscenely bright 1800 nit AMOLED screen, a Samsung E6 panel to be precise – and the only one of the trio to use a more detailed QHD+ resolution. It’s got 10-bit colour accuracy and can refresh between 1Hz and 120Hz thanks to its LTPO 4.0 technology.

The phone comes in black or a lovely red leather version.

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• 1in 50Mp f/1.65 main camera (Sony IMX989)
• 48Mp f/2.2 ultrawide lens
• 50Mp f/1.6 2x portrait telephoto (Sony IMX758)
• 64Mp f/3.5 3.5x periscope telephoto sensor
• 32Mp selfie camera
• 6.78in 120Hz QHD+ LTPO 4.0 AMOLED, 3200 x 1400p
• Up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM
• Up to 512GB UFS 4.0 storage
• Android 13 with OriginOS 3
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• 4700mAh battery
• 80W wired charging
• 50W wireless charging
• 5G/4G
• Wi-Fi 6E
• Bluetooth 5.3
• GPS
• NFC
• aptX HD
• Hi-res audio
• IP68 water and dust resistance
• 164.3 x 75.3 x 9.7mm
• 220g

Sadly the X90 Pro+ won’t launch outside Europe, but in the meantime be sure to take a look at our round-up of the best smartphones currently available to see what the X90 series are up against.