Following the vivo X300 series launch event, we were loaned a unit of the Pro variant for a day. The whole of said day also involves going around Shanghai and taking in the sights of the city.
Which means that this hands on will be a bit more camera-orientated than the usual. That being said, let’s get the usual out of the way.
In its 6.78-inch form factor, the vivo X300 Pro teeters in being unwieldy due to its size. That being said, it weighs just about right, and its very evenly distributed. The sides doesn’t get the mirrored finish, so it doesn’t fall on either extreme of being sticky or slippery. The frosted glass at the back helps with this too.
On that note, one of the smaller differentiating elements differentiating the vivo X300 Pro from the base model is the textured edges of the camera island. At least, on their sides. But either way, this causes the camera island to be slightly more elevated compared to the base model.
Before we finally move on to imaging, we have the proverbial elephant in the room – the Shortcut button. Like a certain fruit brand, you can assign two functions to it, activated by either a double press or a press and hold.
Now, into the meat and potatoes of this preview. During the launch of the vivo X300 series, the company says that it recognises that photography trends have gone back to preferring neutral and accurate colours as opposed to the grammable vibrancy of the past. With that in mind, the brand says it has tuned the imaging of the phones to reflect this.
In practice, the camera app of the vivo X300 Pro makes you pick between one of four “Basic styles” – black and white, texture, vivid, and ZEISS. There’s no option to turn it off, so I went with the last one as it seemed the most colour-accurate of the lot.
And for the most part, you get what is advertised for as long as you stay om the regular photo mode. Engage the Portrait mode, and you can sometimes get noticeably cooler colours. This is, oddly enough, most apparent when you have people as your subjects.
On paper, the vivo X300 Pro has a camera setup with a 3.7x periscope zoom. But you can comfortably have 10x zoom shots that are usable too. At least, while the sun is on your side.
One of the key selling features of the vivo X300 series, per its announcement, is its Snapshot mode. This forces a low shutter speed to catch fast moving moments, like when you’re watching sports of some kind. It works as advertised, but functionality will be more limited than normal when this is engaged. It’s similar to when you force 200MP shots.
But even without the mode engaged, the on-board algo is capable enough to detect moving objects while you’re trying to shoot, and automatically adjust its shutter speed. This, of course, is heavily dependent on good outdoor lighting.
Overall, the vivo X300 Pro achieves a lot of what it has set out to achieve. Though there may be some difference between the experience now and when the phone officially launches on our shores.