Vivo’s first Pro Max phone proves its Ultra is still in a league of its own
The X500 Pro Max is the first Vivo flagship to sit between its Pro and Ultra tiers. | Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge When I declared this spring that Vivo's X300 Ultra had the best cameras in any phone, two things made it stand out in my mind: its excellent main camera with a narrow 35mm focal length and what remains the most capable ultrawide in any phone worldwide. You won't find either in the new X500 Pro…
Key points
- The Vivo X500 Pro Max is Vivo's first Pro Max phone, priced at €1,799 (about $2,000).
- It shares the X300 Ultra's telephoto lens and size but has a smaller main and ultrawide camera.
- The main camera returns to a 24mm focal length instead of the Ultra's narrower 35mm.
Vivo has released the X500 Pro Max, its first Pro Max phone, priced at €1,799 (about $2,000). The Verge's review says it is an impressive camera phone but does not match the X300 Ultra, which the reviewer previously called the best camera phone available. The X500 Pro Max follows similar Pro Max launches from Xiaomi, Oppo and Honor.
The phone matches the Ultra's size and 1440p, 144Hz OLED display, and has a larger 7,800mAh battery that the reviewer says lasts two days. It uses a MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro chipset rather than the Ultra's latest Snapdragon, and it keeps the same periscope telephoto camera.
Camera changes from the Ultra
The 50-megapixel main camera has a smaller sensor than the Ultra's, though Sony's new Lytia L910 sensor gives it a wider 17-stop dynamic range. The main camera also returns to a 24mm focal length instead of the Ultra's 35mm, which the reviewer regrets.
The ultrawide camera has a much smaller sensor than the Ultra's. At a nighttime Champions League game, the reviewer found a clear quality gap between the ultrawide and the other two lenses, with the ultrawide blowing out bright details on the pitch.
What still stands out
The reviewer calls the camera system truly excellent and more capable than any phone officially sold in the US. The telephoto lens is described as exceptional, and all lenses use Vivo's color tuning developed with Zeiss. Video features include Log recording and 4K at 240fps slow motion, and the phone supports Vivo's teleconverter lenses, including a 400mm option.
The reviewer notes that Oppo's Find X10 Pro Max, a direct rival, includes a substantially improved ultrawide camera. The review ends by hoping the expected X500 Ultra builds on the older Ultra's success.
