vivo Smartphones coming to Australia

If you thought there was a lot of choice in the Aussie smartphone market then brace yourself, there is more choice coming.

Introducing vivo Smartphones, set to launch this week at JB Hi-Fi it’s another new brand to challenge the booming Aussie smartphone market.

According to Android Authority, vivo is one of the sub-brands of BBK one of the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturers who count the Oppo and One Plus among their retail brands.

Newly appointed Aussie MD for vivo Fred Liu says “vivo is excited to be able to release of the S1 and Y17 today, as our first foray into the Australian market, this release begins our relationship with Australian consumers in providing our leading technology and innovations to meet their lifestyle needs.”

“Since our first entry into international markets in 2014, vivo has been dedicated to understanding the needs of consumers, through in-depth research, to ensure our products and services offer consumers the technological capability they seek.”

“The release of the S1 and Y17 in Australia makes available to two of vivo’s latest products from our latest smartphone range and is a crucial first step for us in supporting Australian-based consumers.”

As with many challenger brands, the specs of the vivo devices look impressive on paper, with the two devices coming to Australia both featuring “full view” displays, “AI Triple Cameras” “Super Wide Angle” cameras and fast charging.

Here are the specs as published by vivo:

vivo S1 – $449

• A 6.38-inch Super AMOLED Halo FullView™ Display, with a 90% screen-to-body ratio and 19.5:9 aspect ratio
• ‘Always On’ Display which allows users to glance at their phone, to check alerts or the time, without consuming excessive amounts of power
• In-Display Fingerprint Scanning technology
• 32MP Front Camera featuring Ultra HD resolution, with Vivo’s AI Face Beauty function offering multiple selfie modes: Selfie Frontlight, AR Stickers, AI Filter
• A rear AI Triple Camera, which includes a Sony IMX499 Camera Sensor, 8MP Wide-Angle Camera and 2MP Depth Camera
• Performance is backed by an octa-core processor, 6GB RAM,128GB ROM, and a Dual-Engine Fast Charging 4,500 mAh battery

vivo Y17 – $369

• A 6.35-inch Halo FullView™ Display, with a 89% screen-to-body ratio and 19.3:9 aspect ratio
• 20MP front camera designed for clearer selfies, supported by vivo’s AI Face Beauty enhancement facial feature
• Rear Triple Camera, including a 8MP AI Super-Wide-Angle Camera, 13MP Main Camera and 2MP Depth Camera
• Performance is backed by an octa-core processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB ROM and a Dual-Engine Fast Charging 5,000mAh battery

Both devices will be available at JB Hi-Fi from Thursday August 22 and are also now in stock at MobiCity

How yet another brand is able to carve out market share in Australia, when the big two or three dominate roughly 80% of the market is yet to be seen!

We’ll get our hands on them soon to check them out.