We pit the new VIVO X200 Pro against the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Photography is one of the sections where the different mobile manufacturers try to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Obviously all brands want to have what is considered the best photographic mobile of the year, but it is increasingly difficult to decide this given that there are many types of photography and sometimes brands focus on a specific aspect. In addition, consumers tend to favor certain photos over others, even if they are not the same in Europe as in China, to name just two examples.

All cell phones have a main sensor which is responsible for creating most of the images made with the terminal. This sensor is undoubtedly the most important of the two, three, four or five that the mobile has, including the front sensor for taking selfies.

But beyond this sensor, Manufacturers must have other cameras with other lenses to be able to take other types of photosespecially in high-end models where buyers demand to make no concessions. It is understandable that a 200 euro cell phone does not have optical zoom, for example, but it is not understandable that a 1,000 euro model does not have one. The same thing happens with ultra wide angle or macro photography.

VIVO X200 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Alvarez del Vayo

VIVO knows this and that’s why it wanted focus the photography experience of your new VIVO X200 Pro on zoom. This is something that became clear during the presentation event that took place in Beijing and which EL ESPAÑOL-El Androide Libre was able to attend a few days ago. There were models with large cell phones emulating the optical zoom of professional cameras, but also scenarios for testing the cameras.

What is striking is that this model only has a sensor with optical zoom, 3.7x, which falls behind paper models with more powerful zooms, like the iPhone 16 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultrawho in 2024 was the king of this type of cliché, without any discussion. Having been able to use a Chinese X200 Pro device for a few days, we wanted to do a first comparison of zoom photography with the Korean mobile.

This test was carried out in two cities, Beijing and Shenzhen, over several days, but you should know that it was a Chinese unit that was analyzed, therefore There might be slight changes to the one coming to Europe. However, it would be strange if the changes were applied to the camera, normal changes are normally those that occur in the software and, sometimes, in the battery size due to different legislations in different markets.

In the tests we carried out, we always shot at the same time to be able to easily compare the two shots and be able to make them as similar as possible. Obviously, even if we photograph at practically the same moment, it sometimes happens that the photographed subject moves and we obtain slightly different shots. Despite this, it is useful to see the comparison.

As can be seen in detail in the video that includes this analysis, as well as in the photos that we have included, The VIVO X200 Pro often has a better 5x zoom despite the lack of optical zoom to this increase. This is particularly striking because Samsung includes a sensor with this optical range. Also another with 3x magnification.

VIVO managed to get more details over long distancessomething that is appreciated especially when it is daytime but the light does not come from outside, but from inside. Here you also see a lot less noise and a lack of artifacts present in some photos from the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Of course, VIVO mobile phone is not better in all cases. Photos with the X200 Pro are more overexposed by default and, although this can be changed before taking the photo, the Samsung model removes them more naturally repeatedly.

Special mention must be made in the case of portraits. Their quality on LIVE it’s better than the Samsung when you use the zoomespecially when the light is not perfect. This is particularly noticeable in the hair of the people photographed, although there is one area where Samsung wins: blur. The cropping of both phones is very good, but Samsung doesn’t give as forced bokeh in portrait photos.

Another aspect where VIVO has an advantage is in the only macros. It’s something that isn’t usually used much, but VIVO has chosen to implement it in zoom instead of ultra wide angle and thanks to this it has become much more comfortable to take photos of animals or flowers, for example, without having to get so close. In this way, it is possible not to darken the shot with our own shadow when we approach and not to frighten the animal by being too close.

In night photography, on the other hand, we did not see many differencesand both phones work well, although the Samsung photos look a little better because they don’t have as much exposure. Again, this is something that can be controlled, but these days we’ve chosen to always shoot in auto mode so that advanced settings don’t cause photos to be altered. Most people take photos just by pressing the button on the camera app and that’s what we wanted to recreate in this comparison.

VIVO surprised with a mobile phone with one of the best zoom lenses on the marketdespite the fact that they do not have multiple optics, but rather a system that uses hardware and software very successfully. It doesn’t outperform the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in everythingbut yes in some things and he is on par with the one who until now was the undisputed king of this photographic section. Of course, we must not lose sight of the fact that this X200 Pro will have to fight with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra which will be announced in a few months. The Korean company has more rivals than ever, and its new flagship will certainly rise to the occasion, but that height is now higher than ever.