Vivo has been hard at work creating its next generation of flagship smartphones, which are almost certain to be called the Vivo X80 series.
Rumours are beginning to leak out about what we should expect from the X80 phones, as well as when they may arrive. Here’s what we’ve dug up so far.
When will the Vivo X80 be released?
There are no official announcements from Vivo regarding when the X80 will arrive, but it will probably be a while yet – as the Vivo X70 series only made its debut in September 2021. It’s also unclear in which territories the device will be available, with the standard X70 being withheld from India, even though the X70 Pro and Pro+ received launches in the sub-continent.
North America is very unlikely to see any of the X80 range, but we hope to see them in the UK and mainland Europe. This might not happen though, as we’ve so far seen no sign of the X70 series. We’ve got to hope that the company is just skipping a generation, having previously given a European launch to the X60 Pro.
Looking at the last few models, we can see that the release cycle of Vivo devices is a little shorter than some of its rivals.
Vivo X70 – September 2021 (China and India)
Vivo X60 – December 2020 (China) and March 2021 (Global)
Vivo X50 – June 2020 (China) and July 2021 (Global)
So, with around six to nine months between generations, it could be that we see the X80 series arrive in the summer of 2022.
How much will the Vivo X80 cost?
As with the release date, we still have no official details around what the cost will be for the X80 range. Of course, the previous generation gives us a clue, so here are the prices for the X70 devices:
X70: from ¥3,699 (about £415/US$575)
X70 Pro: from ¥4,299/₹46,990 (about £470-480/$630-670)
X70 Pro+: from ¥5,499/₹79,990 (about £615-800/$850-1,075)
With no UK and mainland Europe launch so far for the X70 series, the prices remain approximate. These could increase for the X80 range though, as the current global chip shortage and supply chain restraints are causing the costs of producing and shipping tech devices to go up. We wouldn’t expect a big hike in prices, but just bear in mind that there may a slightly bigger number on the tag when the X80 finally arrives.
What specs should we expect in the Vivo X80?
Nothing is confirmed yet, but GizChina recently published a story outlining the specs as leaked to it by industry insiders. The standout detail is that Vivo will use the new MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset that’s built on the 4nm process. This is in direct competition with the new (and equally diminutive) Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chips that will be appearing in a raft of phones in 2022.
To accompany the new processor, the report says that the X80 will feature a Full HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. If Vivo keeps the same proportions as with its X70 generation, then we expect the base X80 to feature a 6.56in AMOLED panel, with the punch-hole for the camera and an under-display fingerprint sensor.
The cameras are reported to be a 50Mp main module with a 1/1.3in sensor (which is a step-up from the 40Mp snapper on the X70), and the same 12Mp telephoto module (with 2x zoom), as on the previous generation. The main camera will also feature five-axis stabilisation to keep images and video steady.
One of the X80 models has appeared on a couple of benchmarking sites, confirming some of the specs above. The model, codenamed V2186A, runs on the Dimensity 9000 together with 12GB of RAM and 512GB storage. It also boasts a 120Hz display and runs Android 12 – no big surprise really.
The actual benchmark scores are impressive though. The 1,072,221 on AnTuTu is one of the highest scores recorded so far, while a Geekbench 5 multi-core score of 4,191 surpasses any Android phone we’ve tested at Tech Advisor – including both an S22+ with Samsung’s Exynos 2200 and phones using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Other than that, there’s no information available on which specific model the above specs refer to, or what other specs and features we can expect. As a rough guide, here are the technical specifications of the Vivo X70, so you can get an idea of what the X80 might bring to the table:
Full specs:
MediaTek Dimensity 1200-vivo
8/12GB LPDDR4X RAM
128/256GB UFS 3.1 storage
6.56in 120Hz AMOLED display
Rear camera:
40Mp main lens with gimbal stabilisation
12Mp ultrawide
12Mp 2x telephoto
32Mp selfie camera
4400mAh battery
44W charging
7.55mm thick
181g
Of course, we’ll update this article as and when more details become available, so check back periodically so see what we find. In the meantime, you can also read best Vivo phones and best phones for a host of worthwhile alternatives.