Vivo X200 Pro offers DSLR experience, but it’s pricey

The Vivo X200 Pro smartphone is the latest addition to the Vivo flagship X series.

The company positions this devices as direct challengers to the flagship phones by Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series and Apple’s iPhone 16 series.  The highlight of the Vivo X series is its promise to offer a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera-like experience.

The Vivo X200 Pro could be the best camera phone ever, but beyond the cameras, it impresses on all fronts. It’s fast, has a huge battery, and has a stunning display.

Features

On the front, you get a 6.78-inch UHD AMOLED display that offers a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate. The display is protected by Vivo’s Armor Glass, claimed to offer 11x greater drop resistance.

The Vivo X200 Pro sports a new 200MP periscope telephoto camera with macro capabilities.  It’s also a larger sensor and brings down the optical zoom from 4.3x to 3.7x, which feels more natural.

It is accompanied by an unchanged 50MP ultrawide-angle camera. The cameras are equipped with a Zeiss T* Coating to reduce lens flare (hello, iPhone).

All three cameras click excellent shots in daylight. You get a good dynamic range across lenses with great details and accurate auto-white balance. The photos captured on the primary and telephoto cameras look pleasing to the eye, thanks to colours that pop without being oversaturated.

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First impressions

However, the camera array or bump does feel overwhelming, and during my review period, people commented on how large the camera setup was.

The Vivo X200 Pro offers a better in-hand feel with a design that is wider and shorter rather than tall and narrow.

At 228 grams, it isn’t the lightest phone, but it feels premium rather than bulky. I don’t mind the large camera module either; I’d rather have this design with superior capabilities than a minimised module with compromises.

If you are used to carrying lighter smartphones, carrying the Vivo X200 Pro will take getting used to.

Processor

The Vivo X200 Pro is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 SoC, which rivals the Snapdragon 8 Elite in performance. It is paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

With artificial intelligence galore in almost all smartphones launched so far in 2025, and software upgrades to last year’s devices, Vivo has also joined the AI party.

The Vivo X200 offers a bunch of AI features like AI transcript assist, AI Note Assist, AI-enhanced signal boost, AI screen translation, Circle to Search and more. But like every other AI feature on every other smartphone, these need more polish to be reliable.

Pricey

The X200 Pro is the first big flagship brought over from Vivo to South African shores, debuting one of the best smartphone cameras around – alongside overachieving internals, brilliant display, and battery.

However, it does have photography competition from Huawei with the Pura 70 Pro and Ultra, among others.

Priced at R40 000, a figure I just can’t ignore, the Vivo X200 is about R5 000 less than Samsung’s foldable Galaxy Z Fold 6 phone.

Cheaper model

If you don’t want to part with a huge wad of cash, Vivo also recently launched the V50 5G, which is now available for purchase at a recommended selling price of R20 999.

The device features Zeiss professional portrait technology, aesthetic design powered by a long-lasting 6000mAh (TYP) BlueVolt battery and ultra-fast 90W FlashCharge.

It has the highest IP ratings available in a South African smartphone, with IP68 and IP69 certifications for superior water, dust, drop, and scratch resistance.

The V50 features a flagship-level 50MP camera on each rear lens for those who love photography.

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