Introduction & Unboxing

This is the phone you guys have been asking me to cover for a while now. And honestly, this one’s got a lot of people excited. Say hello to the Vivo X200 Ultra today. Let’s get this phone unboxed and check out what Vivo has cooked up for their camera-focused 2025 flagship.

What’s in the Box

So, here’s the box the X200 Ultra comes in. First, I’m going to remove that protective plastic. Now, this box, it’s got that faux leather texture that we’ve seen before. And once we open it up, the first thing we see is the Vivo X200 Ultra itself.

Guys, I picked up the white variant. Vivo also offers this in black and red. The red looks stunning, but honestly, I really like the dual finish on the white, the stripes at the bottom, that plain white at the top. Looks really sleek.

Next up, there is a colour-matched silicone case, your regular quick start guide, and that is followed by a USB type-A to type-C cable, the SIM ejector tool, and finally a 90W Vivo Flash charger.

Battery & Charging

Now, this phone packs a 6,000 mAh silicon carbon battery. And with that 90W charger, it can charge from dead to full in under 50 minutes. Plus, it supports 40-watt wireless charging too. Super convenient.

Build Quality & Design

Looking at the build, it’s this camera array that first caught my eye. Generally, with phones with this kind of big camera arrays, the whole thing kind of slopes outwards, as in it melts to the back. That’s the effect brands go for. But here, Vivo’s gone the other way. They pull it inwards at the base.

This is a very deliberate choice. Vivo is trying to make this camera array feel like a lens that’s protruding out of a camera body. I really like this design. It feels unique to me.

Now, this back, it is matte glass, and the stripes look pretty good. They resist fingerprints quite well. Even the metal frame, it has a matte finish, so it’s less prone to smudges.

Camera Control Button

And on the right side, Vivo’s added an Apple camera control button. Now, double press this, it launches the camera and by default, it adjusts exposure, but you can set it to switch focal lens or adjust zoom instead.

I really like how Vivo lets us use this as a two-stage shutter key. Light press to lock focus, long press to shoot. Pretty neat.

Comfort & Display

The edges here, they are chamfered, and both the back and the display have a smooth 2.5D curve at the very edges. Now, the X200 Ultra, it’s a big boy, around 230g, but those curves do help make it more comfortable to hold even with that huge camera bump.

The display, it’s a large high-resolution AMOLED panel, very fluid with variable refresh support. It gets super bright, too. I measured over 1900 nits, so you’re going to have no issues using this one outdoors.

In low light, this phone uses high-frequency PWM dimming at 2160 Hz, so flicker is minimized.

Performance

Of course, being an ultra-flagship, this Vivo phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. Vivo’s done a good job of running it cool. Even during a stress test, temperatures never went past 43°. But to be honest, the stability scores, like with other non-gaming 8 Elites, it’s nothing to write home about.

Camera Philosophy & Sensor Choices

Now, all that’s cool, but I’m pretty sure the reason why you’re watching this video, the reason why you’re interested in the X200 Ultra is probably predominantly due to this — the optics, right? So, let’s talk about that next.

In recent years, it’s become common for brands to launch ultra-premium flagships that heavily emphasize the optics. A typical feature of these phones has been that 1-inch type primary sensor, a trend that Vivo helped pioneer. But the X200 Ultra does not feature a 1-inch sensor.

Now, you know, this is not some kind of compromise or corner cutting, but rather a deliberate out-of-the-box decision. Vivo instead has chosen to go with a Light 818, a 1×1.28” sensor, and they’ve used this sensor for both the ultra-wide and what we can call the primary lens for simplicity.

On top of this, for this primary, Vivo’s opted to go with a 35mm equivalent lens instead of the typical 23mm wide angle. This means you get a tighter field of view, which brings with it some notable benefits.

Real-World Photography

So, what does that mean for you? Basically, this is great for portraits. You can really isolate your subjects and because of the 35mm equivalent focal length. Even without that 1-inch sensor, vivo still managed to provide that gorgeous background separation.

Honestly, I’m a big fan of 35mm lenses on phones. Nubia has been using it forever. And if you’ve seen my coverage of their phones, you’ll know how much I love that focal length.

But at the same time, 23mm is a focal length that we’re all more familiar with, right? So, what if you wanted to shoot at that?

That’s where the 14mm ultra-wide comes in. Since it uses the same sensor and has a lens that’s optically stabilized, this is easily one of the best ultra-wides you’ll see on any phone.

Pro Tips & Versatility

And here’s a little pro tip: If you wanted to shoot wider than 35mm, don’t just stick with 23. Try shooting at 28

Now, if you look at these set of images, one was taken at 14mm, the other at 28. When I digitally zoom in at 14mm and we see these images side by side, you can see that the 28mm shot looks better, right? That’s because at 28mm, vivo is sensor cropping. So, your image has more information.

Another advantage of having a solid ultra-wide is that you can shoot ultra-steady videos that aren’t too cropped in. That’s because when you shoot ultra-steady, what the phone is doing is cropping in and using that excess space to compensate for the shake.

Stabilization & EIS

One disadvantage of EIS is when you’re looking to shoot a pan shot, right? The first intent of the camera is to stabilize the footage. So, a lot of times you get a jerk like this early on. That’s basically because the phone tried to stabilize the footage before it realized you’re panning.

In these instances, like when you’re panning with a tripod or shooting with a gimbal, you don’t even need EIS, right? That is where this comes in. Vivo lets you turn off EIS altogether when shooting. So, you get to shoot without any crop and none of that jerkiness.

Advanced Video Features

Yes, the X200 Ultra can also shoot in log and Vivo does provide a LUT for it. Some people see this as a big plus. Honestly, I’m not a big fan. Even with the LUT, there’s not a lot of room for flexibility, but that said, if you like messing around with log footage and LUTs, Vivo does let you do that.

Telephoto & Accessories

And then there’s an 85mm equivalent 200MP HP9 for telephoto with AI when you use that long-range zoom. So you get results like this. This sensor hasn’t changed since the last time, but the lens does have a faster aperture, so the results are even sharper.

Now, if you want even more reach, Vivo sells a photography kit with a telephoto converter that gives you 200mm of reach. It seems to be an interesting piece of tech. Though it doesn’t feel too practical.

Personally, I don’t see myself using it because if I had to carry that around, I might as well carry my A7C II with me, right? But hey, it is an option. If you want to use it, you can. And it does look pretty cool.

Motorola edge 60 Pro vs Vivo V50 Comparison

Final Thoughts

Long story short, brands these days tend to play everything a little too safe. Let’s say they have two choices: path one gives you great specs but a slightly below-par experience; or path two, where specs don’t look great on paper but it’s beneficial to the user.

More often than not, brands choose the first. But here, Vivo has not done that. They’ve actually taken an on-paper spec hit, but consumers seem to benefit from the choices they’ve made.

I really like the camera setup on this one. Personally, I feel this was a brave decision—not removing the headphone jack.

Pricing & Verdict

Also, to give you some perspective, just look at the range spread of a few recently launched Ultras. Which one do you think feels more even? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

Now, the X200 Ultra starts at ₹64,999. For that price, I feel Vivo’s done an excellent job. This feels like the best camera phone on the market at the moment.

I do love my Find X8 Ultra, but that 35mm lens, all the video functionality on offer, and especially the contrasty portraits that this Vivo shoots—even though I recently decided to hold onto the Find X8 Ultra as my primary for a few months—I kind of find myself leaning more towards this one.

Vivo’s done a great job with the X200 Ultra, guys. But then again, that’s just what I think about it.

Buy now