Key technical features of the Vivo X60 Pro:
Design of the Vivo X60 Pro
The design of the Vivo X60 Pro is quite similar to other devices in the top segment of range. It is therefore very good in its rank, at this level sporting rounded shapes especially from the back, but also the front since its screen is curved. The X60 Pro is extremely thin at only 7.59 mm, less than the iPhone 13. The thinness of smartphones is often a little spoiled by the shell that you have to put on them to protect them. Here, fortunately, this is not the case since the manufacturer had the very good idea of providing a hull which is cut on the left and right sides while protecting the 4 corners and the two lower and upper profiles.
Thus protected, we keep this feeling of finesse, which is very pleasant. The shell of the X60 Pro is made of glass with a reflective effect. We were able to test the black model which is rather matte and which has the particularity of not retaining fingerprints, in case we decide to do without a protective shell. Note that the mobile is quite light, as it only weighs 177 grams, a weight well below the average smartphone which is more around 200 grams.
Still on the back, the island of photo sensors protrudes slightly from the rest of the back. It is on two levels with a first, at the bottom, on a gray background which contains the two flashes and on the second level the three sensors with the main module installed the highest. A small Zeiss logo indicates Vivo's partner for the optical part. The chassis of the device is made of metal and we can notably see the integrated antennas on each side. On these, the power button is installed on the right profile with a slight texture to make it easier to spot, which can be useful given that the double button to manage the volume is located just above. The upper profile is quite flat with a different part from the rest of the hull and bears a mention: "professional photography" highlighting the photo capabilities of the smartphone. There is also a hole for one of the microphones. Finally, on the lower profile there is the drawer for the SIM cards, a microphone, the USB-C connector and the loudspeaker. Two SIM cards can be supported simultaneously, but unfortunately cannot expand the internal storage capacity with a memory card. As surprising as it may seem, the X60 Pro offers mono sound when we expected stereo. You have to be satisfied with that. The sound delivered by the device is quite correct, quite sustained even if it is sorely lacking in heat.
The connectivity part is well provided since the mobile has 5G, Wi-Fi 6 as well as an NFC module for contactless payment and pairing with other compatible devices. While the most high-end smartphones, but also some Premium or even mid-range smartphones are certified against water and dust, this is not the case here, the X60 Pro unofficially only being able to withstand splashes of water. water, a small disappointment therefore, a bit like with the Oppo Reno6 Pro on this point with which it shares the same chip. The fingerprint reader is installed under the screen. This is a good thing, but we are more critical of the position in relation to the bottom of the device since it is located 1 cm from it, which is too low, for us, preferring a higher position to the image of the Huawei Mate 40 Pro or the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
A screen worthy of the greatest
The Vivo X60 Pro screen is based on an AMOLED panel with a diagonal of 6.53 inches displaying a definition of 1080x2376 pixels in curved mode. This characteristic makes it possible to limit the edges on the sides, but, in fact, here, we do not really have this impression, because we still see too many black edges, especially on the sides. We had less of that feeling on the Oppo Reno6 Pro. No chromatic drift to be seen on this screen on the side ends. The slab is pierced at the top, in the center to leave space for the front photo sensor. The screen benefits from a refresh rate of 120 Hz, like the most high-end ones. The change in frequency is managed “intelligently” since it is the mobile that decides the level to adopt, depending on the application running.
You can however decide to block at 60 or 120 Hz. It supports the HDR10+ format, which is a good thing and actually allows you to have particularly bright and contrasting video sequences. A menu is dedicated to the colors displayed on the screen. It allows you to choose between standard, professional and bright modes. The second allows in particular to obtain excellent results for watching videos, in general, but the standard mode can be appreciated for everyday life with a slightly colder image. Note the ability to adjust the color temperature. Overall, the screen is pleasant to use and look at. It is rather responsive and knows how to be effective in displaying videos, but also other applications. Note that the competitor Oppo Reno6 Pro offers a frequency of 90 Hz, therefore less interesting. The Poco F3 and which have the same chip offer a frequency of 120 Hz.
Performance at the rendezvous
As mentioned above, the Vivo X60 Pro shares the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor with the Oppo Reno6 Pro but also the Poco F3 or the Motorola edge20 Pro. It is here associated with 12 GB of RAM with the possibility of increasing this capacity like certain smartphones from the Oppo or realme brand. Here, you have to go to the mobile settings and select the dedicated menu: RAM memory and storage space. Unlike the solution offered on the latest Oppo and realme cellphones, the Vivo X60 Pro can add 4GB of RAM and has no other choice. You can thus enjoy a maximum of 16 GB of RAM. In this configuration, but the 12 GB can also be enough, we are perfectly comfortable with all the applications and we can very easily and very quickly switch from one to the other. No slowdown was to be deplored during our test phase, the mobile having perfectly responded to all our requests. For games, the device is quite capable of offering excellent levels of detail and with a very high frame rate.
As with other smartphones, we subjected the X60 Pro to several performance measurement tools in order to compare them and here are the main results.
An animated and customizable mobile thanks to Funtouch 11
The Vivo X60 Pro is powered by Android 11 with a Funtouch OS software overlay here offered in version 11.1 at the time of our test. Like the other overlays, this one offers possibilities for customizing the interface. The notification drawer is quite classic, customizable and allowing access to the user's profile, adding a guest or a user, thus allowing several people to use the same device, each with their own applications. The mobile settings are also accessible. From top to bottom, we start with those that manage the networks.
Then, we look at the display and then the possibility of customizing the interface. This goes through the choice of a theme (only 2 are offered) and a wallpaper (the choice is a little wider) as well as the lock screen and home settings. Several dynamic effects are also provided and it is possible to choose those that best suit your tastes according to the animations concerned (ambience, unlocking, fingerprint reader, fingerprint recognition, facial recognition, when loading. As we mentioned above, a menu is dedicated to the possibility of increasing the available capacity in RAM, 4 GB is therefore available to help 12 GB already available.0
Note that on Oppo and realme where such a function is possible, we find the function to increase the RAM in the About menu. Regarding security, the X60 Pro offers everything necessary to secure its data and in particular the possibility of putting one or more applications behind a means of authentication (fingerprint, password, etc.). An application makes it possible to analyze the memory of the mobile to remain protected in all circumstances. The vulnerability of the system is of course concerned. The privacy settings are perfectly manageable, allowing the user to be in control of their choices.
An Ultra game mode is available to optimize smartphone performance. A game sidebar is available on the side, swiping to access game shortcut settings during a game. The mobile offers an e-sports mode, but the games must be compatible which was not the case, it seems, for Asphalt 9 Legend or CSR2, for example.
Software overlay allows one-handed operation, 3-finger capture, split-screen, and smart gestures to open the flashlight, smartly wake up the device by running an app specific previously defined. Note the possibility of applying a face retouching function for video calls, a function exclusive to Vivo that can be used in Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Line, Viber or Zalo, for example.
Finally, to finish with the parameters under Funtouch, the mobile offers digital well-being tools as well as parental control which goes through Google's Family Link solution. The multitasking manager allows you to switch from one application to another, to close them all at once or to display some of them in split mode, if it is compatible with this type of display which allows you to have two applications on the same screen. Overall, the interface is clear and the ergonomics quite pleasant for everyday use.
4 sensors on the back and an integrated stabilizer
For the photo part, the Vivo X60 Pro has a main 48-megapixel sensor accompanied by another 13-megapixel sensor for the wide-angle and a 13 megapixel telephoto lens. To take a selfie, it uses a 32 megapixel sensor, the same one found on many smartphones including those of the Oppo Find X3 series, the Motorola edge20 series, on the Oppo Reno6, the Reno6 Pro, TCL 20 Pro 5G, the OnePlus Nord 2 and the Honor 50, for example.
The Camera application offers the following directly accessible modes: Night, Portrait, Photo, Videos, More. This last menu is customizable, containing by default the modes 48 MP, Panorama, Live Photo, Slow Motion, Time Lapse, Pro, AR Stickers, Super Moon, Doc, Starry Sky, Motion Snapshot, Long Exposure. Photo mode allows you to zoom in 0.6 for wide-angle, in x1 and x2. Then, you have to move your fingers apart on the screen to increase the zoom level, which can go up to 2x in optical and up to 20x in digital. Note that the zoom level can “jump” between pointing with your finger and releasing the screen. This is a bit unpleasant, because it forces you to reselect the desired level. With the maximum level, we obtained shots of lower quality than those offered by the Google Pixel 6 Pro (4x optical zoom), at the same level offering more detailed images, more contrast and more faithful colors. Overall, the X60 Pro does very well in photos, especially with its main sensor offering faithful images if the light is sufficient and with excellent sharpness. The wide-angle sensor also offers a very good level of detail as well as beautiful colors.
For the video part, the mobile is impressive in terms of stability. Indeed, when the function is activated, the device turns out to be incredibly horizontal even if you move a lot. It is possible to choose between two levels of stabilization (standard or anti-shake) depending on the degree of “shaking”.
Adequate autonomy and almost minimal charging time
The Vivo X60 Pro is powered by a battery with a capacity of 4200 mAh. Compared to the other batteries in the fleet, this seems a bit light since we are dealing more with 4500 or even 5000 mAh. It recharges at 33 watts which is now considered a minimum, again facing the competition which goes to 67 watts, or even 120 watts for the Xiaomi 11T Pro, even if the price is not the same thus offering a faster loading speed. Count on a loss of around 6% for 1 hour of series on the Netflix platform with sound and brightness set to 50%. Count on a gain of 67% after 30 minutes of charging, the screen off. With it, we were able to last a little over a day on a single charge in sustained mode, but not intensive.
Our opinion on the Vivo X60 Pro
From our point of view, the Vivo X60 Pro smartphone can seduce outwardly, but when you look a little closer, it still accuses some small gaps especially compared to the competition where no mercy is given to this price especially since it has been available for a few months now and manufacturers now offer devices that are just as capable, or even more so. We appreciate the quality of the screen, the performance, the stabilization in video as well as that of the photos produced by the mobile. On the other hand, we regret the mono sound, the lack of waterproofing and the load at “only” 33 watts.