The Vivo X60 Pro 5G launched in Australia last month following the respectable X50 Pro which hit our shores last year. 

Priced at $1,099 AUD RRP, the Vivo X60 Pro 5G sits at the lower end of the premium smartphone market in Australia making it a very attractive option for those on a budget. 

There’s some pretty serious hardware under the hood including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G processor, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage and a 4200mAh battery. 

The biggest announcement for the launch of the Vivo X60 Pro 5G was the new collaboration with ZEISS on their camera system. The optics maker has collaborated with Vivo on the camera system, which sees the return of the gimbal mounted camera system, which has been updated to version 2.0 to deliver ‘uncompromised powerful photography performance’.

I was a bit of a fan of the Vivo X50 Pro, so was looking forward to checking out the latest handset. After using the Vivo X60 Pro for a fortnight, here’s how it went.

Hardware and Design

Outwardly there’s not a lot of difference between the X50 and X60 Pro with a rectangular body with a large rectangular camera island on the rear which comes in a Midnight Black colour. The rear has a matte finish that won’t show up fingerprints and makes it easier to grip. 

The phone has a textured power button beneath a volume rocker mounted just above half the height of the phone on the right. The buttons are easy to reach for one-handed use, though I do have fairly large hands.

The top and bottom of the phone are flat, so you can stand it up on a desk, though the USB-C charging port – which supports 33W Flash Charge – SIM card tray and speaker are on the bottom, so you probably won’t do this regularly.

The x60 pro fits quite nicely into the hand, and just feels comfortable to hold. The matte finish on the rear makes the grip feel secure and the

The phone includes a big 6.56” curved ‘Ultra O Screen’ on the front – with the O referring tot he notch which contains the 32MP selfie camera. The screen is HDR10+ certified and has a 120Hz refresh rate and definitely lives up to the specs with transitions and scrolling very fast and smooth. 

The screen is easy to see in daylight or indoors, however the auto-brightness could be a little more aggressive. There’s also an in-display fingerprint sensor which is fast and accurate.

One thing I feel is ‘missing’ from the spec list on the X60 Pro 5G is water resistance, with no IP rating listed. We’ve come to expect some manner of ingress protection on phones at this end of the market so I’d like to see something added next year. 

As far as performance goes, there’s no lag or freezing, it’s all just smooth sailing. Vivo has used the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor which launched earlier this year combined with 12GB of DDR5 RAM, and when you throw in a 120Hz display, the Vivo X60 is effectively buttery smooth. 

The phone includes a 5G compatible X55 modem built-in to the CPU for additional power savings, and you’ll also find Bluetooth 5.1 and support for up to WiFi 6, so connectivity is going to be fast and stable.  

Power

There’s a 4,200mAh battery in the X60 Pro, which also includes 33W ‘FlashCharge’ which can top your phone battery up quickly. How quickly? Vivo says 63% in 30 minutes, which I found to be accurate, with the phone fully charged in just over an hour.

The battery lasts a full day with a few hours to spare on the second day, with screen time ranging anywhere up to 9 hours. 

There’s no wireless charging included in the phone which is disappointing as faster wireless charging options begin to appear. Vivo’s sister company OPPO is doing exciting things on this front with their AIRVOOC wireless charging allowing up to 40W flash charging over the air, so I’d hope to see this on the Vivo at some stage.

The battery life is about on-par for a FHD+ resolution display, but it’s the FlashCharge quick charging that really shines on the X60 Pro. Being able to quickly top your phone up is a must-have feature for any phone in this category.

Camera

Vivo has included three rear cameras on the X60 Pro, with the main 48MP sensor mounted on a gimbal, and a 13MP sensor with wide-angle ‘Macro’ lens and a 13MP sensor with 2x optical zoom. There’s also the 32MP selfie camera in the Ultra-O display on the front.

In terms of quality I found the selfie camera to take a decent pic though it can be a bit lacking in terms of details, with colour also a little bit flat. You can do decent portrait pics with the front-facing camera, though it could benefit from a second sensor for depth. 

The rear cameras are of course headlined by the 48MP gimbal mounted sensor. The gimbal works quite well to balance out any hand shake. The resulting shots use pixel binning for a 12MP shot, though you can opt to do a full 48MP shot if you wish.

The 2x optical zoom adds a bit, but I found the 2x was fairly limited – especially with the competition in this range offering up to 5x optical zoom on similarly priced phones. 

Macro and Wide modes are also available, and while Macro isn’t exactly the most common feature it’s handy IF you ever need to use it. I tend to use wide-angle cameras more mainly due to taking more landscape or group photos, but your mileage may vary. 

  • Ultra-Wide
  • Default
  • 2x Optical Zoom

Night shots look good too thanks to some behind the scenes AI, as well as that gimbal mount ensuring you get as little shake as possible.

Last year’s Vivo X50 Pro was a bit of a favourite of mine, thanks to the inclusion of the Moon and Astro-photography modes which I love. The same modes return this year, and again I had a lot of fun out on a cold, dark, Canberra winter night taking pictures and frankly they’re fantastic.

For those wanting to have a little fun with their phone camera though there’s a bunch of other ‘bonus’ features in the camera app. You get the usual Pro mode and Panorma, as well as more fun options like Long Exposure, Time Lapse, AR Stickers, Live Photo and Document scanning.

Software

Launching with Android 11 and ‘FunTouch OS 11.1’ with the March 2021 security update on board. Vivo is actively updating their phones though with the most recent update delivering the June 2021 security update. 

FunTouch OS is fairly understated when it comes to changing the core look and feel of stock Android. I tend to find Color OS from their BBK Electronics stablemate to be a little more obvious, but both are quite functional. 

There are differences from the Google experience thanks to the Vivo skinning, so you will notice the difference if you’re migrating over from a more stock Android experience, but overall most customers won’t even notice. 

There are some apps – TikTok and Netflix, as well as some utilities like a photo viewer, clock, audio recorder pre-installed on the phone, which are fairly useful – but of course if you don’t like the pre-installed apps you can mute them or uninstall them in the case of TikTok or Netflix.

Should you buy this phone?

The Vivo X60 Pro 5G represents a great value offering for those wanting a higher end phone, without the extreme high-end phone pricing. 

There’s some compromise on some hardware with a lack of IP rating, wireless charging and microSD card expansion, but there’s a lot to like here with the quality body, high performance Qualcomm processor, 12GB of RAM and even the gimbal mounted 48MP camera which offers some of the best photos available on a phone in this price range.

All in all, the Vivo X60 offers a high-quality option for anyone wanting a premium phone option, without going all out on the price. It also offers a number of neat astro-photography camera features which sets it apart from the competition. 

You can find the X60 Pro on-sale now at JB Hifi, Harvey Norman, MobileCiti, The Good Guys and Big W.