NEX is Vivo’s flagship smartphone offering for the year. Perhaps a great example to boast the level of innovation Vivo dedicates to its devices. The good thing here is that Vivo is not restricting this good innovation to China. India is amongst the first few countries where the NEX is sold. Vivo Nex Price is Rs 44,990. You can buy Vivo NEX on Amazon India and Vivo’s own e-commerce store.
Vivo Nex has a 6.59-inch screen in 19.3:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2316 x 1080 pixels.
Vivo Nex Price is Rs 44,990. You can buy Vivo NEX on Amazon India and Vivo’s own e-commerce store
What We Love
Unique All Screen Front – After the Apple iPhone X introduced the notch style screen, a lot of Android brands including Vivo copied that style. With the NEX, Vivo has gone one step ahead and removed the notch from the screen altogether. They call it an Ultra FullView Display. It is a 6.59-inch screen in 19.3:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2316 x 1080 pixels. The phone has a screen to body ratio of 91.24% which means that even though you get a massive screen, the overall phone is easy to hold and carry. Vivo has opted for a super AMOLED panel which delivers deep blacks, vivid colours and excellent viewing angles. If you are wondering where are all the sensors? Vivo has placed them behind the gorgeous display.
Your Screen is the Speaker – Other than the sensors and front camera, the notch houses the voice call speaker. Opting for an all-screen design meant removing the speaker and placing it somewhere else. Since there was no space on the front for a speaker, Vivo has opted for SoundCasting technology for voice calls on the NEX. SoundCasting technology sends vibration through the phone’s large screen converting it in to a speaker. You can place any part of the screen next to your ear while taking voice calls with this technology.
In-display Fingerprint scanner – There have been a number of demos by various companies showing a fingerprint scanner embedded within the screen. However, it was Vivo that got the technology to the consumers with the Vivo X21 launched a few months back. In the NEX, Vivo has offered third generation in-screen fingerprint scanner. The bottom 1/4th of the display acts as a fingerprint scanner and once you register your fingerprints, you can place it anywhere on the bottom of the screen to unlock the phone. The scanner works well and is another feature that makes the NEX stand out.
Pop-up Selfie Camera – With the entire front being used for the screen, Vivo had to innovate on where to put the front camera. The result is a motorized pop-up module on the top of the phone that brings up the selfie camera when front camera is enabled. It takes just a second to come up and go back down, so you wont be missing any photo opportunities. It is an 8MP shooter with f2.0 aperture which delivers great results even in low-light. The pop-out module is sturdy: it is made of metal and does not bend easily. If you don’t use the camera for a minute, the module automatically retracts inside for protection.
Powerful Dual Camera setup – Vivo has provided dual camera setup on their earlier phone, Vivo V9. What make the dual rear camera on the NEX stand out is that it is Vivo’s first smartphone to have a dual camera setup with 4-axis optical image stabilization and dual pixel phase detection autofocus. It has a 12MP primary sensor with f1.8 aperture and a 5MP secondary depth sensor with f2.4 aperture. What this means is that the phone is able to capture stunning photos in daylight as well as lowlight. We managed to capture photos with rich colors and crisp details without any worry of blur due to handshake with the Vivo NEX. It is easily one of the best cameras available today on a smartphone.
VIVO NEX camera samples
Top of the line Hardware – To showcase that innovative phones are not required to make any sacrifices in power, Vivo has provided top end hardware specifications. It runs on Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845 processor combined with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. There is no microSD slot available for expansion. NEX comes with a large 4,000mAh battery which easily lasts for one full day even with the in-screen fingerprint scanner. For connectivity, you get high-speed dual-band WiFi ac, latest Bluetooth 5.0 and USB Type-C port for fast charging and data transfer.
Luxurious Design – Not only does the phone stand out with its all screen front, it also impresses with its sleek and stylish design. Being a flagship device, Vivo has delivered a metal and glass unibody design on the Vivo NEX. The rear glass finish has a check pattern which adds to the overall appearance of the phone in our opinion. Even with such a large display and a massive battery, the Vivo NEX weighs just 199 grams and is 7.98 mm slim which is impressive.
Vivo Nex has a 12MP primary sensor with f1.8 aperture and a 5MP secondary depth sensor with f2.4 aperture.
The lack of a front LED flash to help in low light is a letdown on Vivo Nex
Face unlock is another security unlock feature missing in the phone
What We Disliked
Slow Fingerprint Scanning – While the in-screen fingerprint scanning looks and feel futuristic, it is not as fast as a standard fingerprint scanner. Where a standard fingerprint scanner is capable of instantly recognizing and unlocking your device, the in-screen scan takes between 2-3 seconds to scan, recognize and unlock the device.
NO Face Unlock – Face unlock is another security unlock feature that we are getting on a lot of smartphones now. Devices like OnePlus 6 and Vivo’s own V9 offer blazing fast instant face unlock that save a lot of time. The feature is also now available in phones priced below Rs 10,000. However, due to the motorized pop-up camera, Vivo NEX skips on Face Unlock.
Low Sound output for voice calls – SoundCasting technology is a smart choice for the NEX due to its unique design. Trouble is that SoundCasting technology is not as loud as a standard speaker. Even at full volume, it becomes hard to hear what the other person is speaking over a call if you are in a noisy environment.
Front Camera Issues – The pop-up camera is a great thing to show-off for how it comes up and retracts. Trouble is that it suffers from shutter lag during use which is disappointing. Shutter lag means there is a one second delay between the time you tap on the shutter button and the time camera captures the image. This often leads to blurry images. We also noticed that images taken with the front camera lacked details when used in low light. The lack of a front LED flash to help in low light is also a letdown.
