Vivo does it again — the X300 Pro is the best camera phone available today

Out of all the phones that crossed my desk this year, I used Vivo’s X200 Pro the most. It has one of the best camera packages of the year, and only the China-exclusive X200 Ultra and Find X8 Ultra did any better in this area. And while Funtouch OS gets a lot of criticism, I prefer it to ColorOS, so that wasn’t an issue.

With the X300 Pro, Vivo isn’t changing the fundamentals. The design is roughly the same, it doesn’t feel any different in daily use, and if you’re in Asia, you get a bigger 6,510mAh battery that should last two days between charges. The cameras get a predictable boost, and they manage to take better photos and videos than the X200 Pro, which is all the reason I need to switch to the X300 Pro as my daily driver going forward.

Oh, and Vivo is bringing the device to western markets, which is a definite positive. Do the upgrades allow the X300 Pro to stand out against its Chinese rivals? I believe so — I used the phone for just over ten days, and this is the best all-round camera available today.

Vivo X300 Pro: Pricing and availability

Vivo unveiled the X300 and X300 Pro at a launch event in Shanghai, China on October 13, with both phones on sale in the country. The global debut is slated for October 30, which is when the X300 and X300 Pro will start being available in Spain, Austria, Germany, Hungary, and other western markets in addition to key regions in Southeast Asia.

India is a huge market for the brand, and Vivo indicated that it is mulling a launch in the country at the end of November or December. I’ll update once I have global pricing details, but for now, the X300 starts at CNY 4,399 ($617) in China, going up to CNY 5,799 ($814) for the 1TB configuration.

The X300 Pro starts at CNY 5,299 ($744) for the 12GB/256GB model, CNY 5,999 ($843) for the 16GB/512GB edition, and CNY 6,699 ($940) for the 16GB/1TB model. There’s also a Photography Kit that’s bundled with the phone this time, and it is identical to what we got on the X200 Ultra earlier this year. This model costs CNY 8,299 ($1,166), and is the only one that gets satellite connectivity.

Vivo X300 Pro: Design

As I noted in my X300 Pro hands-on, Vivo didn’t change the design too much. I see this as a good thing, as it ensures design consistency between generations — something OPPO needs to look into. Essentially, you still get a slab of a phone with a giant camera island at the back, but it’s a little easier to hold and use, and after a half-dozen tumbles (my 2-year-old decided to throw the phone around), the glass panes at the front and rear soak up a lot of damage without breaking.

Of course, there are small niceties; the mid-frame and rear glass have a matte texture this time, and this makes a big difference in usability. Vivo doesn’t have any colors that stand out — nowhere as much as my orange iPhone 17 Pro, at least — but the brown color variant I’m using looks decent enough.

Obviously, the camera island dominates the design at the back, and it looks identical to the X200 Ultra because it needs to slot in the Photography Kit attachment. So you get an island that juts out even more, but I don’t mind that at all as it is centered and doesn’t cause any wobble when used on a desk.

Also, while the phone is heavy at 228g, weight distribution is ideal, and it doesn’t feel top-heavy at all. You get the usual antenna bands around the sides of the frame, the SIM tray is located at the bottom, and there’s now a dedicated button on the left that lets you trigger actions.

The button is identical to the iPhone’s Action Button, and it’s annoying that Vivo basically stole the software design that lets you customize it. However, what I like is that it gets the standard long-press alongside a double-press trigger, and this meant I could assign two actions to the button.

Rounding out the design, Vivo continues to use an ultrasonic fingerprint module, and it does a great job in daily use. The location is ideal too, and I didn’t see any problems in this area. The phone gets the same IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance as last year, and the durability as a whole is better this time around.

Vivo X300 Pro: Display

There isn’t much to talk about in this section. Vivo once again managed to deliver a bright AMOLED panel with standout colors. The X300 Pro gets a similar-sized 6.78-inch panel as its predecessor, but it gets even thinner bezels, allowing the phone to be a smidgen thinner and shorter than its predecessor.

Colors are vibrant, and the X300 Pro does a fantastic job in outdoor use; the phone got just as bright as my Pixel 10 Pro XL, and I didn’t see any issues in this regard. Thankfully, Vivo retained all the customization options, and you can easily adjust the color balance and set up the panel just the way you like it. And with it now able to go down to 1nit, it’s easier on the eyes at night.

On that note, you get full DC dimming at all brightness levels, and this is true on the global model as well. It’s good to see Chinese brands are making this eye protection feature available globally, and this gives the X300 Pro a distinct advantage over Google and Samsung phones.

Gaming is a delight on the X300 Pro, and it gets good stereo sound as well. It does a great job with HDR and Dolby Vision content too, and on the whole, I can’t find much to fault the phone in this area.

Vivo X300 Pro: Hardware

Vivo talked extensively about how it collaborated with MediaTek over the design of the Dimensity 9500, and the X300 Pro benefits from that. The phone is a true powerhouse, and it did a standout job in the ten days I used it. I didn’t see any lag, it handled demanding games with effortless ease, and there wasn’t much in the way of overheating.

MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500 has huge gains across the board, and it isn’t often that we see this year-on-year — that’s entirely down to Arm’s all-new cores. While that isn’t evident immediately, I noticed a difference in extended gaming sessions.

I’m using the 16GB/512GB edition of the phone, and I think this is the variant to get if you’re eyeing the device. All models get LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.1 storage modules, and I didn’t see any problems with connectivity. There’s good news on that side of things, with Vivo finally adding eSIM integration to the phone globally; this made an immediate difference as I was able to set up and use an eSIM while attending the phone’s launch in China.

Otherwise, there were no issues making calls, connecting to my home network, or pairing a myriad of devices over Bluetooth. The vibration motor has even better feedback this year, and it’s much better to use than the module on my Pixel 10 Pro XL.

Vivo X300 Pro: Battery life

Like other Chinese phone makers, Vivo embraced silicon battery tech last year, and the X300 Pro builds on this foundation. The phone gets a 6,510mAh battery that’s designed to last two days. There’s just one problem — the variant I’m using has a smaller 5,440mAh battery instead.

While the rest of the hardware is unchanged, Vivo is using a smaller battery in the Austrian, German, and Hungarian models of the X300 Pro, and while I usually get the Asian unit of the device, I received the Austrian variant this time. Don’t get me wrong; this phone lasts all day as well, but it doesn’t measure up to the X200 Pro when it comes to battery longevity, and doesn’t have the two-day battery that the Asian model gets.

That’s annoying to say the least, and in my use, there were two days when I had to plug it in before turning in. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long to charge the phone thanks to 90W charging tech, and it even gets 50W USB PD charging, which is just easier. The downside is that there’s no charger in the box; again, this isn’t an issue everywhere, but the Austrian model doesn’t have one. Vivo still provides a charger in Asia with the X300 and X300 Pro.

Vivo X300 Pro: Cameras

Similar to what Vivo did with MediaTek, the brand collaborated with Sony and Samsung over the imaging modules on the X300 Pro. The phone gets the brand-new 50MP Sony Lytia LYT-828, and a new 200MP telephoto lens that uses the highly customized Samsung HPB. Vivo didn’t change the wide-angle lens, so you still get the same Samsung JN1, and this is what’s being used at the front as well.

What’s noteworthy is Vivo bringing the telephoto extender to the phone, making it that much more versatile. The accessory makes a huge difference, and while it isn’t the easiest to use, it is a differentiator if you’re an enthusiast.

The device excels at photos, and Vivo lavished plenty of attention towards video recording as well. The X300 Pro is able to shoot 4K120 Dolby Vision footage, and video quality is noticeably better than previous years. The interface itself hasn’t changed much, and you still get shooting modes at the bottom, along with all the toggles and effects. On that note, Zeiss integration is intact, and you get to choose between various modes — I went with Vivid.

The X300 Pro does a standout job in daylight scenarios, producing photos with good color vibrancy and white balance. There are noticeable differences with the image tuning this generation, with the phone able to better manage highlights and shadows to eke out greater detail in challenging situations. It does just as good a job with portrait shots, but I noticed inconsistencies with segmentation, and this should be addressed with an update.

Vivo had live models ahead of the launch event to highlight the X300 Pro’s portrait mode, and the phone does a better job in this area than the X200 Pro, which is no mean feat.

Where the X300 Pro comes alive is in low-light situations; the phone takes better photos than just about any other device I tested this year. Yes, the X200 Ultra technically does a better job, but the X300 Pro holds its own, and honestly, I prefer the latter. The wide-angle lens is decent enough in its own right, and the tele module is fantastic this year — it takes detailed shots at 10x without any hassle, and I got usable photos at 30x.

In short, the X300 Pro is my recommendation if you need the best cameras available today.

Vivo X300 Pro: Software

The X300 Pro sees the debut of OriginOS 6 globally, and it is based on Android 16. The software has a much more modern design, and it is a clear upgrade from Funtouch OS. What irks me a little is the similarities to iOS 26; the translucent effects and other design elements are heavily borrowed from the iPhone, and Vivo isn’t the only brand doing this — all other Chinese phone makers are going this route.

There’s no arguing that the software feels better to use on the X300 Pro. There’s better uniformity to the UI as a whole, and Vivo did a good job with the smooth animations and transitions; they make interacting with the interface that much more enjoyable.

But as with every new redesign, there are issues; pressing down on a suggested action in the notification pane pulls up the app instead, and I noticed errant crashes. These kinds of issues usually get addressed, and the kinks should be ironed out by the time the phone becomes available globally.

Like other brands, Vivo is switching to a split notification pane, but you thankfully get the ability to switch to the older unified option. The pane itself is a clear downgrade from the one on Funtouch OS; pulling down on a notification card doesn’t expand it automatically, and you have to use the arrow to do so. Similar notifications are now stacked — just like iOS — and it’s just as annoying here as on my iPhone.

There’s good customizability as well, and Vivo essentially “emulated” what you get on iOS. You can set up the phone to look like a clone of an iPhone, and it’s clear that this was an intentional move by the brand. I still don’t get the allure of trying to mimic iOS — I’d much prefer if brands went all-in on Material You aesthetic instead — but it’s evident that all Chinese phone makers just want to make their phones feel like iPhones again.

Coming to updates, Vivo guarantees four years of Android OS updates, which is on the lower end of the scale as these things go. But like its BBK siblings, it’s unlikely Vivo will budge on this front, and the result is that the X300 Pro lags behind Google and Samsung devices when it comes to software updates.

Vivo X300 Pro: The alternatives

The Find X9 Pro is slated to make its global debut soon, with that device being the obvious alternative to the X300 Pro. It shares the same Dimensity 9500, similar-sized AMOLED panel, and has cameras that hold their own against Vivo’s offering. Where the phone stands out is the huge 7,500mAh battery; it’s bigger than what every other brand is rolling out, and you get the same battery globally as well.

If you don’t need the latest phone, Vivo’s X200 Pro is still a standout choice, provided you’re in a country where the brand sells the device.

Vivo X300 Pro: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if:

• You want the best cameras
• You need powerful internals
• You want a device with all the extras

You shouldn’t buy this if:

• You want AI-assisted features
• You need long-term software updates

Having used the X200 Pro and now the X300 Pro, it’s easy to see that Vivo has one of the best camera packages of the year. It’s not just about the quality of the photos either, but the versatility — all lenses on the X300 Pro stand out in their own right, and that’s what makes the phone notable.

It isn’t just a camera phone; the rest of the hardware is just as good, and the only point of contention is that Vivo isn’t using the same 6,410mAh battery in all regions. Other than that, I don’t have any issues with this phone; it has a clean design, a high-quality AMOLED panel, better software than previous years, and the best cameras around.