Dear Vivo, please sell X90 Pro+ worldwide

Just over two months after the phones launched in China, Vivo has finally launched its flagship X90 phones to the global market – well, two-thirds of them at least.

Indeed, while the X90 will soon go on sale across Asia and the X90 Pro will hit stores there and in Europe, the X90 Pro+ – the most exciting of the bunch – will apparently never leave China.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty to be excited about with the X90 and X90 Pro, which actually achieve two firsts in the international market.

Both are powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 chipset – the flagship chip which was launched last November and is positioned to compete closely with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and this year should truly give the market leader a run for its money. .

The X90 and X90 Pro were the first phones to be announced anywhere using the chip, and now they’re also the first to launch outside of China with the high-end silicon, which combines cutting-edge performance with support for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, and real-time ray-traced graphics.

The X90 Pro also offers a camera system that we’ve never seen on European shores before.

The 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor used for the main lens of the X90 Pro is exceptionally large, able to capture more light and deliver phenomenal low-light photography – already one of Vivo’s strengths.

We’ve seen the sensor in phones before – mainly the Xiaomi 12S Ultra and 13 Pro – but the former has never launched outside of China, and while the latter is expected to go global soon, it hasn’t. still produced.

Last year we crowned the X80 Pro our favorite phone camera of the year, and with the IMX989 upgrade – combined with a 50Mp 2x telephoto and 12Mp ultrawide – the X90 Pro looks well placed to claim again this crown.

So why do we feel depressed about it? Well, because the X90 Pro+ is even better – and those of us outside of China will never get a chance to try it.

The X90 Pro+ packs the same IMX989 main camera, you see. It also shares the 50Mp telephoto lens, but has a seriously improved 48Mp ultra-wide camera with its own optical image stabilisation. It’s a very high-end setup that manages to outperform the new Galaxy S23 Ultra with its 200Mp main sensor.

The Vivo also has a fourth rear lens: a 64Mp 3.5x periscope lens to zoom in on more distant photo subjects. Strangely, the X90 Pro doesn’t have a periscope at all, although last year’s X80 Pro did – one of two weird downgrades, alongside a drop in FHD+ resolution for the display.

These two lenses could be the difference between being a great camera and be the best camera, so it’s a shame Vivo is keeping those extra specs exclusive to the Chinese market, where it’s one of the major players.

There is, of course, most likely a simple reason from Vivo’s perspective: price.

Its flagship phones have never been cheap in the West. Last year the X80 Pro launched at £1,199 here in the UK, and it’s a safe bet the X90 Pro will cost a similar amount – Vivo has yet to confirm a price or release date. firm exit.

It’s already at the very top of the market, only marginally cheaper than Samsung’s top-end Galaxy S23 Ultra, which starts from £1,249, and fair against the iPhone 14 Pro Max at £1,199.

Outside of its native China, Vivo simply doesn’t have the brand power to trump these two premium-segment giants just yet, so it’s understandable to worry about how many people would buy an X90. Pro+ which costs even more.

Vivo isn’t alone either – even Xiaomi, which is now seeing strong sales across Europe, has yet to put one of its top-performing Ultra phones on sale in the West.

Vivo has to start somewhere though, and even a vanity launch of the X90 Pro+ could help the company boost brand awareness around the world. He’s clearly keen to do so, having spent who knows how much to sponsor the Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022 football tournaments. But a barrage of Vivo signs doesn’t help much if no one knows the actual phones.

Shipping a small amount of Pro+ models at exorbitant prices probably wouldn’t be a source of revenue on its own, but the combined media coverage and word of mouth of the release of the best camera of the year could be crucial in driving down sales of the most profitable models. the price chain.

Then again, maybe I’m just being salty because, on a personal level, I Really want the chance to put the X90 Pro+’s OTT camera through its paces, and the nearly as good Pro model feels like cold comfort right now.

So come on, Vivo, even if it’s just me, let Europe try your best phones too.

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