From in-display fingerprint to bezel-less design, Chinese tech-com giant Vivo has many firsts to its credit. Even though the company, sibling to Oppo, Realme and OnePlus, made its international entry only in 2014, it has so far been able to build a robust image of a gadget maker focussed on cutting edge innovation in design, specs and style. The success of its recent models, such as the Vivo V15 which introduced the pop-up camera to the affordable category, has in fact made the company -- which now stands among the top-five smartphone brands globally -- extremely popular, prompting fans to raise the bar on expectations. It’s in this backdrop that the Vivo Z1 Pro arrives the market, claiming to carry formidable specs and better performance.

The Z1 Pro looks elegant and suitably premium thanks to the shiny, curvy back panel and strong glass front. It’s 8.85 mm thick, 77.33 mm wide and weighs 201 grams. The phone comes in three variants: Sonic Black, Sonic Blue and Mirror Black. We reviewed the Sonic Blue. The Z1 Pro feels heavy in hand but its not slippery. The back offers enough grip. Vivo gives a neat transparent silicon case along with the phone, which comes quite handy since the back panel is not scratch proof. It can easily get finger marks and scratches even with a little rough use.

That said, the phone indeed has formidable specs. It is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 chip and Vivo has embedded a dedicated Adreno 616 processor for handling graphics and gaming. Backed by a robust 6GB RAM, the Z1 Pro becomes a powerhouse and this muscle is clearly visible when you put it to some big-ticket use; say gaming. The phone’s refresh rates are quite impressive. You can easily notice this while playing FPS games or while running heavy simulations -- the kind you usually use for science education, etc. The processor hence helps the Z1 Pro become a useful multi-tasker.

Shining bright

The phone has a bezel-less display size of 6.53” (16.59 cm). The IPS LCD display offers an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and the viewing experience is one of the best in the class. The Z1 Pro offers a pixel density of 395 ppi with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The display is true-to-life and natural. Of late, many phones in this price range comes with ‘enhanced’ displays that end up tweaking images and videos the wrong way, meddling with the quality of what’s displayed and what’s actually shot. The Vivo Z1 Pro’s display department is a what-you-see-is- what-you-get. Still, the display could take some improvements, especially on displaying 4K or Ultra HD content. In some instances one feels the pixel density is not sufficient. But that’s for the hi-fi shots; with most regular images and videos, the Z1 Pro offers impressive display results.

The phone comes with a storage of 64 GB, which can be expanded to 256 GB. It runs on Vivo’s own Funtouch OS, which is loaded with a lot of useful features. From the super-power-saver mode to the easy touch, motorbike modes, the OS offers several impressive functionalities. However, I’m not a fan of its notification space, which looks cluttered and confused. The design of this area could have taken a little more intelligent thought to start with.

One of the most impressive faculties of the Z1 Pro is the flash-charge. The phone’s 5000 mAh battery gets fully charged in just about 15-20 mins. This can be super helpful for fast-moving executives and travellers. The phone supports two nano sim cards. Both slots support 4G.

Inarguably, the most useful feature in Z1 Pro is the camera. It is simply superb and works like a charm in all light conditions. The Z1 Pro has an in-display camera, which offers an immersive experience. The camera does indeed look part of the screen. Both the cameras clearly live up to Vivo’s shooter legacy by offering great images and videos. The 32 MP front camera offers a physical aperture of F2.0. It supports screen flash and can give you a video recording capability of 1920x1080 at 30 fps (frames per second).

At the back, there is a triple shooter unit (16MP + 8MP + 2MP) with the Exmor-RS CMOS Sensor that can support a resolution of 4616 x 3464 pixels. The rear camera offers 4K video as well, which can make this phone a useful addition to short-film makers, cinematographers (for location plans etc). The ultra wide angle mode in video works brilliantly when capturing landscapes and panoramic views. With 4K support and features like the ultra-wide angle, the Vivo Z1 Pro can function as a mini film-making camera. The phone supports basic editing features and most editing tools work fine with it. The selfie shooter also offers detailed crisp images. Both cameras work extremely smooth under low-light situations. In fact, the selfie video delivers remarkable results under low-light and fast-moving environments.

Further, the Z1 Pro has an audio department that’s efficient and natural. The device renders quality audio with impressive crispness but it struggles with low-quality sounds. The recorder is also a bit cranky in noisy conditions, but calls are recorded with precision.

The verdict: The Vivo Z1 Pro lives up to the hype and considering the price it can easily give the peers a run for their money. It is an efficient multitasker focussing on camera and ease of performance.

Price: ₹16,990 (6GB-64GB)

Pros: Great design and camera, smooth operations, innovative software, affordable price

Cons: Back panel can get scratches easily, audio needs improvements, OS is clumsy

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW