Vivo slashes the price of Vivo NEX in India weeks ahead of Vivo NEX Dual Display launch

Vivo has reduced the price of the Vivo NEX smartphone in India. Launched back in July 2018 in India, the Vivo NEX is the first smartphone to come with an elevated front facing camera. Vivo launched the NEX in the country for Rs. 47,990, but was actually retailing for Rs. 44,990.


Now, the company has further reduced the price of the NEX by Rs. 5,000. Available for Rs. 39,990 from both the online and offline retailers, the Vivo NEX is a good option for those who don't want to buy the OnePlus 6T.

This sudden decrease in price is because of the launch of the Vivo NEX Dual Display smartphone, the successor of the Vivo NEX. The NEX Dual Display is already on sale in China so we might expect the launch of the same in India by the end of January or mid-February.

Vivo X21, the first smartphone in India with in-display fingerprint scanner launched for Rs. 35,990

Smartphone tech has evolved a lot in the past couple of years. Not only in terms of design, but there's a huge upgrade in terms of security too. Back in 2016, phones were launched with big bezels on the top and below the display and today, the trend is all about including a notch.

Similarly, no one expected phones with a fingerprint scanner until Apple launched the iPhone 5s in 2013 with Touch ID. Since then smartphone companies started focusing more on the security aspect of the device and now we see phones with a dedicated fingerprint scanner, a Face ID, an Iris Scanner, and even software based face unlock.

So, what's next when it comes to security in a smartphone? Phone with an in-display fingerprint scanner? Sounds cool right?

Vivo is the first vendor in the world who has taken an initiative towards launching a phone with an in-display fingerprint scanner, and the first commercially available Vivo smartphone with this tech is the Vivo X21. The Vivo X21 was announced back in March 2018, as a successor to the Vivo X20, in the Vivo's X series of smartphones.

Vivo X21

Today, Vivo has officially announced the launch of the Vivo X21 in India. Priced at Rs. 35,990, the Vivo X21 will be available for purchase online exclusively from Flipkart starting today in Black color. The X21 will also be available from brick-and-mortar stores and Vivo's own e-store.

If you purchase the Vivo X21 from Flipkart you get an extra Rs 3,000 off on exchange price, 5% cashback on SBI credit and debit cards, and No cost EMI on most credit cards as an introductory and exclusive offer. Now, let's talk about the device in detail.

Starting up with the design and build, the Vivo X21 looks exactly similar to the Vivo V9 but has a high-quality build material with 3D glass back cover. On the front is the AMOLED display with a notch on top, and minimal bezel on the bottom. Flipping over we see the dual-camera setup on the left top corner with Vivo branding in the center. Volume and power button sits to the right side of the X21, with a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top edge, and a micro USB port with speaker grills on the bottom.

Talking about the fingerprint scanner, the star of the show, Vivo has included it beneath the display. As you can see in the images, the fingerprint sensor is located on the lower-center of the display, exactly where our thumb rests. The sensors work only in the limited area, which lights up to give you an indication where to rest your finger/thumb for unlocking.

   

Vivo X21 Fingerprint Location

In terms of performance, the fingerprint scanner is pretty good. Setting up a fingerprint is easy by just tapping the limited area of the sensor on the display lightly at first followed by some slightly deeper press. The unlocking takes around a second, which is good in my opinion for the technology. Vivo has announced that it will constantly improve the speed of unlocking with regular updates.

Vivo has also included a face unlock feature for convenience, which according to them 3D maps the face using IR fill light included inside the front-facing camera sensor. Vivo is calling this feature Face Wake 2.0.

You can find the detailed specifications sheet below:

Vivo X21 Specifications

• 6.28-inch 19:9 Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with 2280x1080 pixels resolution and 402 PPI density, P3Color Gamut Display
• 2.2GHz 14nm Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 AI Engine SDM660 processor
• Adreno 512 GPU | 6 GB RAM
• Android 8.1 Oreo with Funtouch OS 4.0
• 12MP primary rear camera with LED flash, f/1.8 aperture, 1/2.5" sensor, 1.4µm size, Dual Pixel PDAF, AI Face Beauty, HDR Mode, Shot Re-Focus, 4K UHD Recording, AR Stickers
• 5MP secondary rear camera with f/2.4 aperture, phase detection autofocus
• 12MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture
• 128GB internal memory with up to 256 GB expandable using a microSD card
• Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
• 3200 mAh battery with fast charging (microUSB 2.0)
• Dimensions: 154.45 x 74.78 x 7.37 mm | Weight: 156.2g
• 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz) dual-band, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 5.0 A2DP LE, A-GPS, GLONASS
• In-display Fingerprint Scanner, Face Unlock, AK4376A Hi-Fi audio chip, Vivo XE710 Hi-Fi Earphone

It's good to see Vivo launch the Vivo X21 in the Indian market. Competing head-to-head with the newly launched OnePlus 6, the Vivo X21 has an upper edge because of the real innovation of an in-display fingerprint scanner when compared to the OnePlus 6 which is more or less the same like its predecessor.

But, in India, the brand value does matter, and OnePlus definitely wins over Vivo. Time will tell whether Vivo was able to beat the OnePlus 6 in terms of sale of the Vivo X21. I will be reviewing the Vivo X21 soon. If you have any questions regarding the device, do let me know in the comment section below.

   

   

Vivo officially launches Vivo V5 Plus with 20MP + 8MP front camera in India for Rs. 27,980

As promised, Vivo has officially launched the Vivo V5 Plus smartphone in the Indian market on January 23rd at an event held in Delhi. Vivo V5 Plus is a new addition in company's V5 series of smartphones and extends the front camera capability by featuring dual-front facing camera. Vivo V5 Plus is the third smartphone under V5 series which already include the original V5 and the V5 Lite.

Vivo V5 Plus comes in Gold color option and is priced at Rs. 27,980. The device is available for pre-order from various brick and mortar retailers.

According to Vivo, those who pre-order the V5 Pus will additionally get a VR box with the smartphone. The smartphone will be available for purchase starting February 1st.

Talking of specifications, Vivo V5 Plus comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD LCD IPS In-cell display with 2.5D curved glass, metal build and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The smartphone is powered by 2.0GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor paired with Adreno 506 GPU and 4GB of RAM.

On the software front, the device runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with FunTouch OS 3.0 on top. The V5 Plus comes with dual-SIM support with dual-standby feature, measures 152.58 x 74.00 x 7.26mm and weighs 158.6 grams. On the front, there's a home button which doubles as fingerprint scanner.

Vivo V5 Lite with 5.5-inch HD display, 16MP front camera, 3GB RAM goes official

Along with the Vivo V5 Plus, Vivo has also listed the V5 Lite smartphone on its official website. Vivo V5 Lite, as the name says, is a cheaper variant of the original V5 smartphone. With the introduction of Vivo V5 Lite, the V5 series now consist of three smartphones including the original Vivo V5, the higher-end Vivo V5 Plus and the cheaper Vivo V5 Lite.

This new smartphone from Vivo comes with lower-resolution front camera, 3 gigs of RAM and sans fingerprint scanner, when compared with the V5.

Vivo V5 Lite will be available in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines first, followed by other countries. The device comes in two color options including Crown Gold and Rose Gold, and was also found listed on Indian e-retailer OnlyMobiles with a price tag of Rs. 15,890.

Vivo V5 Plus with 20MP + 8MP front camera goes official, launching in India on January 23

Vivo has officially took the wraps off the Vivo V5 Plus smartphone. The smartphone was teased back in November 2016 during the launch of Vivo V5 in India. Vivo V5 Plus is a new addition in company's V5 series of smartphones and extends the front camera capability by featuring dual-front facing camera.

Vivo will be launching the Vivo V5 Plus smartphone in India on January 23rd. The smartphone will be launched in Malaysia on January 20th. Vivo has started the pre-order of V5 Plus in Malaysia for 1799 MYR, which translates roughly to US$403 / Rs. 27,432.

According to Vivo, the V5 Plus will be launched in Gold color option. We are expecting Vivo to price the V5 Plus in India at around Rs. 25,000.

Talking of specifications, Vivo V5 Plus comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD LCD IPS In-cell display with 2.5D curved glass, metal build and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The smartphone is powered by 2.0GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor paired with Adreno 506 GPU and 4GB of RAM.

On the software front, the device runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with FunTouch OS 3.0 on top. The V5 Plus comes with dual-SIM support with dual-standby feature, measures 152.58 x 74.00 x 7.26mm and weighs 158.6 grams. On the front, there's a home button which doubles as fingerprint scanner.

Vivo V5 Plus specifications leaked, to feature 20MP + 8MP dual front camera system

We already know that Vivo will be launching the Vivo V5 Plus in India on January 23rd, later this year. Now, alleged specifications of the upcoming V5 Plus smartphone have been leaked online. Shared by AndroidPure, the device is said to come with 20MP + 8MP dual front camera system.

Other than key specifications, the post does not share any details on pricing or availability. If we look at the image shared by AndroidPure closely, we can notice that the device looks exactly like the Vivo X9, announced back in November 2016.

Talking of specifications, Vivo V5 Plus is said to come with a 5.5-inch Full HD display, 1.8GHz octa-core Snapdragon 652 processor, 4GB of RAM and run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with FunTouch OS on top.

Vivo to launch V5 Plus with dual-front facing cameras in India on January 23

Vivo had launched the Vivo V5 in India back in November 2016 with 20MP front facing camera. Now, the company is gearing up to launch a new smartphone in V5 series dubbed as Vivo V5 Plus. During the launch of Vivo V5, Vivo announced that the upcoming V5 Plus will come with dual-front facing cameras.

Vivo has started sending out press invites to the Indian tech press media informing about the launch of Vivo V5 Plus in the country. The launch is scheduled for January 23rd.

As you can see the invite below, it reads Block Your Date, For the Biggest Selfie Camera Revolution with two different camera shutters above the text, hinting that the device will come with one primary camera for imaging and the other for depth filtering.

Vivo X5 Max with just 4.75 mm slim profile officially launched in India for Rs. 32,980

As expected, Chinese smartphone vendor Vivo on Monday officially took the wraps off the world's slimmest smartphone, the Vivo X5 Max with just 4.75 mm slim profile in the Indian market. Along with X5 Max, Vivo has also launched four smartphone in the country which include Vivo X3S, Vivo XShot, Vivo Y15 and Vivo Y22.

Vivo X5 Max with just 4.75mm thick profile officially announced, to launch in India on December 15th

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo on Wednesday officially took the wraps off the world's slimmest smartphone at an event held in China. Dubbed as Vivo X5 Max, the smartphone comes with a profile of just 4.75mm thickness, even slimmer than the Oppo R5 measuring 4.85mm. The X5 Max comes in Aurora White colour and is priced at 2998 Chinese Yuan, which is approx. $485.