The vivo X70 smartphone boasts a deeper collaboration with the German optics leader ZEISS for an all-in-one content creation device!
I’ve spent several weeks exploring the capabilities of the phone’s cameras, its gaming performance, and overall quality. The company is poised with another successful product but it’s important to look at its limitations too. Here’s my full vivo X70 review!
Unboxing the vivo X70 smartphone.
What I like about the vivo X70:
- Impressive ZEISS-powered cameras
- High-quality display and premium design
- Powerful processor with smooth gaming performance
- Long-lasting Battery even with 5G and 120Hz display
- A lot of useful extra features
What I dislike about the vivo X70:
- Unimpressive loudspeaker
Design and Build Quality
Loudspeaker, USB Type-C port, and SIM card tray.
Similar to its predecessor, the new vivo X70 has a slim glass-clad body with mesmerizing gradient back design. It feels like frosted glass to the touch but with a texture that looks like crystals glistening in the sand.
The ZEISS branding, lens specifications, and triple LED flash in its two-tone camera island give it a professional camera vibe. Its camera bump is definitely substantial though which makes a phone case a necessity.
On the front of the phone is its 6.56-inch AMOLED display with a punch-hole for the selfie camera and slightly curved edges. More about the screen later.
vivo X70’s display
Its power and volume buttons are all on the right side of the frame while the speaker, USB Type-C port, and SIM card tray are on the bottom. There’s also an infrared port at the flattened top frame along with the phrase “Professional Photography”.
The vivo X70 is designed like a premium smartphone with a heavy focus on photography. What I really like about its design is that it doesn’t go overboard. Instead, it keeps it classy and professional.
ZEISS Cameras
Triple rear cameras of the vivo X70 with ZEISS optics.
Let’s cut to the chase and examine the vivo X70’s ZEISS-powered cameras. It has a triple rear camera setup composed of a 40 Megapixel main camera, 12 Megapixel ultra-wide camera, and 12 Megapixel telephoto camera.
All three cameras are highly capable shooters and are not just present to increase the camera count. Here are some sample pictures:
vivo X70 sample picture (flower).
vivo X70 sample picture (person, Portrait mode with Distagon ZEISS bokeh).
vivo X70 sample picture (dog, main rear camera).
vivo X70 sample picture (swimming pool/resort, ultrawide).
vivo X70 sample selfie.
It’s more impressive in low-light photography thanks to its gimbal stabilization and Extreme Night Vision features. Here are some night shots:
vivo X70 sample picture (police car under a street light, low light).
vivo X70 sample picture (water fountain, low light).
vivo X70 sample picture (low light).
It also shoots videos with impressive stabilization thanks to its VIS-5 axis video stabilization feature. There are two levels of stabilization – standard and ultra. Here’s a sample video:
For a more detailed look at the capabilities of the vivo X70’s ZEISS-powered cameras, here a separate article:
vivo X70 Sample Pictures and Videos
Performance and Gaming Experience
Mobile Legends on the vivo X70 smartphone.
The vivo X70 runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset with 12GB of RAM and up to 4GB of extended RAM. It’s more than powerful to perform smoothly while opening different apps.
There are no noticeable lags while switching from one app to another or scrolling down news feeds and websites.
It can also run popular games like Mobile Legends, Call of Duty Mobile, and PUBG Mobile smoothly with high graphics quality. Genshin Impact runs at medium graphics quality by default but that’s still better than most mid-range devices.
Here’s a more detailed gaming review of the vivo X70.
Display and Software
screenshots
The vivo X70 has a 6.56-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 2.5D edges and a single punch-hole for the selfie camera.
It’s big enough for watching YouTube or Netflix on the go but still keeps the device handy. The screen itself is bright with vivid colors and great contrast since it’s an AMOLED panel.
What will definitely impress users who upgrade to this smartphone is the high screen refresh rate which makes everything on the screen feel so much snappier.
However, the user interface of the vivo X70 needs a great effort in customization. When I first turned on the device, the default wallpaper, icons, and overall aesthetics looked too pastel. Of course, it will appeal to many users but I prefer a more defined iconography.
There are also several pre-installed apps on the device including its own app store and third-party apps. It’s not that bad though and many of these can be easily uninstalled.
Connectivity and Sound Quality
The vivo X70 has 5G connectivity which means ultra-fast mobile internet speeds whenever 5G is available in the area. It also supports dual-band Wi-Fi networks, NFC, vivoshare fast wireless sharing, and remote control function via infrared.
Meanwhile, voice calls sound clear on the phone’s earpiece with VoLTE. Its loudspeaker is loud enough for calls and casual video streaming but it doesn’t have great quality for playing music.
It’s best to use earphones or wireless Bluetooth earphones and speakers to enjoy listening to music.
Battery Life and Charging
Battery life test score of the vivo X70.
The vivo X70 has a 4,400mAh battery that usually lasts a full day on a single charge with about 20% battery capacity to spare.
It’s a surprisingly long-lasting battery despite the power-hungry 120Hz refresh rate and 5G connectivity. It scored an above-average battery life of 15 hours and 7 minutes on the PCMark Battery Life Test 2.0 with its screen brightness set at 50%.
Meanwhile, re-charging the device from 0% to 100% battery capacity takes about an hour and a few minutes using the bundled 44W fast charger.
Conclusion
The vivo X70 is an impressive smartphone especially when it comes to photography. Its ZEISS-powered cameras can produce great portrait shots, bright low-light pictures, and smooth hand-held videos.
It also has a well-balanced set of features including a high-quality display, powerful gaming performance, fast 5G connectivity, and a long-lasting battery. My only issue is the mediocre loudspeaker.
I highly recommend the vivo X70 for aspiring content creators whether it’s for vlogging, TikTok, gaming, or still photography on the go.
vivo X70 Review Summary
The vivo X70 has impressive ZEISS-powered cameras, smooth gaming performance, and long-lasting battery.
- 6.56-inch FHD+ AMOLED Display (1080 x 2376 Pixels), 398 ppi
- Android 11 Operating System
- MediaTek Dimensity 1200 Chipset
- 12GB of RAM
- 40 Megapixel Rear Camera with Dual-tone LED Flash
- 32 Megapixel Front Camera
- Dual SIM
- 256GB Internal Storage
- 5G, 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, 2G EDGE & GPRS Networks
- Wi-Fi 6
- Bluetooth 5.2
- USB Type-C
- USB Type-C
- Fingerprint Sensor
- 4400mAh Battery
- 44W Fast Charging (FlashCharge)
- ₱34,999.00 Official Price in the Philippines
