The Vivo NEX offers 91.24% screen to body ratio, yet has no notch and still comes with a headphone jack!
Whoever who told you that the notch is a necessary design compromise can go eat their words now. The Vivo NEX, is what Vivo decided to call the Vivo APEX that you can buy. If the name APEX sounds familiar, that’s because it was probably one of the biggest highlights at MWC 2018, offering a FullView display sans notch. The Vivo NEX is what happens when they bring the APEX concept to the market.
Vivo’s solution to the notch is simple: a pop-up 8MP f/2.0 front camera. What about the earpiece, you ask? Well, the entire 6.59″ screen is now a speaker with Vivo’s Screen SoundCasting Technology. The fingerprint sensor is also hidden under the display. The outgoing iteration doesn’t seem to be capable of reading two fingerprints at once though, unlike the Vivo APEX they demoed. Vivo seems to be the only brand that makes smartphones with under-display fingerprint sensors, aside from HUAWEI with their uber-premium Mate RS. And what’s even better is that in their quest for the 91.24% screen-to-body ratio, they didn’t even have to remove the headphone jack! Now how cool is that?!
Over on the back is a dual-camera setup featuring a 12MP + 5MP sensors. The 12MP sensor is of the Dual Pixel variety, most probably from Sony. It is behind a f/1.8 aperture. As usual for any flagship device in recent times, the Vivo NEX will come with bokeh enhancements along with various AI modes like AI HDR, AI Scene Recognition and AI Filters to help you take better shots.
Capping it off is the pretty glass backs. Available in a 3D-effect Diamond Black color option or a glossy Ruby Red, these devices look pretty damn good. Not sure if you dig the bumpy back of the Diamond Black, but we surely do.
Vivo NEX Specifications
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CPU/Chipset: | Snapdragon 710 (2 x Kryo 360 @ 2.2 GHz + 6 x Kryo 360 @ 1.7 GHz) |
GPU: | Adreno 616 |
RAM: | 6GB |
Display: | 6.59″ 19.3:9 FHD+ (2316 x 1080), SuperAMOLED display, 91.24% screen-to-body ratio |
Storage: | 128GB |
Camera: | Main Camera(s) 12MP f/1.8 Dual Pixel + 5MP f/2.4 AI HDR, AR Emoji, Portrait Bokeh, Beauty mode, DCI-P3 color gamut Front Camera 8MP f/2.0, Beauty mode |
OS: | Funtouch OS based on Android 8.1 Oreo |
Connectivity: | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz) (?) Bluetooth 5.0 (?) FDD-LTE (Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17) |
SIM: | Dual nanoSIM |
Battery: | Li-ion 4000 mAh (non-removable) |
Weight: | 199 g |
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Currently it is available in China, with the Snapdragon 710, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for 3898 yuan (~RM2420.18) in the Diamond Black color option. There is no stock for the Ruby Red version, yet. The Snapdragon 845 variants start from 4498 yuan (~RM2792.71), equipped with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Going further up the ladder, you can get the Vivo NEX with 256GB of storage for 4998 yuan (~RM3103.15), but this top-tier variant can only be gotten in the shimmery Diamond Black. Both Snapdragon 845 variants are currently unavailable.
Malaysian availability it yet to be known. But considering the recent availability of the Vivo X21, we would say that there is chance we may see it made available officially here.
Pokdepinion: Well this is definitely a game changer if Vivo can bring it to more markets. To those brands that said to make more space for other components, they had to give up the headphone jack and add a notch, well, here’s to their demise.