Introduction
Another Chinese flagship but with a twist. If vivo rings a bell at all, it's most probably the X5Max, the world's slimmest phone. Not a bad thing to be known for but vivo isn't just about looks. This Chinese maker isn't a discounter either - vivo is more like Oppo, less like Xiaomi.
It is a limited lineup where most of the recent models do stand out in one way or another, helping vivo build a reputation as a premium phone manufacturer. vivo is known for experimenting with imaging and audio technology and using components that you don't get every day in phones made in China. The vivo Xplay3S was cheered by audiophiles and the Xshot we're about to review is a flagship cameraphone.
The vivo Xshot is an exquisitely built phone with premium finish, formidable specs and a camera setup which almost puts it in a league of its own.
The vivo Xshot is available in two versions. One is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC, with four CPU cores clocked at 2.3 GHz, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The other, lighter version packs a Snapdragon 800, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt memory. Other than that, the two handsets are identical. Both variants are typical 2014 flagships - which isn't necessarily a criticism. After all, the vivo Xshot was released last summer. Similar to a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, with a duly adjusted price.
Key features
- 5.2" 16M-color 1080p IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen
- Quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974AA Snapdragon 801 or Snapdragon 800 at 2.3 GHz, 2/3 GB RAM and Adreno 330 GPU.
- 13MP camera with 4K video, OIS, f/1.8 and dual-tone flash; 8MP, wide (84 degree) front-facing camera with LED flash and 720p video.
- Dedicated two-stage camera shutter button.
- 16GB of built-in storage and a microSD card slot
- LTE Cat. 4 (150Mbps), Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, GPS/GLONASS receiver, Bluetooth v4.0
- Standard 3.5mm audio jack
- Accelerometer, proximity sensor, gyroscope and compass
- Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
- 2,600mAh non-removable battery
Main disadvantages
- Stuck on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
- Non-removable battery of rather small capacity
- No WiFi ac support
- UI can be confusing at times, suffers from bad translation
- No Full HD video on front-facing camera, despite the 8MP resolution
Graphics are courtesy of Adreno 330, so quite a lot of computing power there as well. The Xshot is equipped with a 5.2-inch IPS LCD panel, of Full HD resolution and 424ppi. It is sharp and clear, but quite reflective at times.
The camera setup though is undoubtedly the main entry on the specs sheet. The Xshot packs an ambitious 13MP sensor, complete with a f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilization and 4K video recording capabilities. This one should be able impress at low-light shots and we can't wait to take it out for a spin.
The front-facing shooter is very nice as well at 8MP and it even has its own dedicated LED flash, so selfies should also come out quite nice as well.
The vivo Xshot is a single-SIM LTE-enabled smartphone. It runs what is technically Android, but about as custom as it gets. vivo's own custom version of Android is called Funtouch OS. The version is 1.2 and is based on Android 4.3, so there is definitely room for improvement there. Other than that, the GUI is really gorgeous and clean with a distinct Apple vibe, but not too much, like we've seen in so many other Chinese phones. vivo has thrown in a few nice air gestures and a timeline of user interactions, but there are still some rough edges to polish.
Unboxing
The vivo Xshot comes in a square box, pretty spacious by today's standards. The package is made of very durable cardboard, so shipping damage should not be an issue.
Inside the all-white box, there is a tray that houses the actual phone and underneath it, four dedicated compartments, coated in plastic that hold quite a few goodies. The vivo Xshot comes with a powerful 2A A/C adapter, a white microUSB cable and cool looking ear-buds, which are separately packaged.
vivo has a reputation of delivering exquisite audio and the bundled vivo XE600i headphones look quite up to it.
Another thing vivo has thrown in the bundle is a transparent bumper case. A SIM and microSD eject pin is also included. All in all, vivo has cut no corners with the packaging and the accessories add to the premium feel of the Xshot.
Performance
The vivo Xshot is available in two versions - a high-end "flagship" version and a bit less powerful "elite" one. The Flagship has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC, with a quad-core Krait CPU clocked at 2.3 GHz, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard memory, while the elit" version packs a Snapdragon 800, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of memory. Both are extendible through a microSD card. Other than that, the two handsets are identical.
For this review, we are using the beefier "flagship" version, so the cited results are pretty much the best you can expect from the Xshot. The GPU in the unit is the quite capable Adreno 330.
Judging by the specs sheet alone, the vivo Xshot should mostly breeze through our benchmarks. There is, however the small issue of the custom Android build it is running. It is sure to affect performance, but results could go either way.
On one hand, there are quite a few optimizations in Funtouch OS, but is debatable if any of them actually have to do with hardware optimization for the particular platform. On the other hand, there is the fact that in its core Funtouch is Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, which is quite outdated at this point and could prove a major handicap against opponents running 4.4 KitKat, at minimum.
But the only way to really find out how the vivo Xshot faired in testing is to dive into the results.
The specs sheet of the "flagship" model vivo that we have are also quite common, so finding rivals in the performance department was also quite an easy task. Now a few things need to be noted for the tests. The Galaxy A7 is on the list, because of its similar price tag to the higher-end Xshot, while the Galaxy S5 and Note 3 are close in terms of specs and price. The Galaxy Note 4 is priced slightly higher, but is included a current-gen device.
First up, we have the raw CPU performance test with GeekBench 3, so things should be pretty straightforward in this department.
The Xshot scored pretty high in terms of CPU performance, but there are still a few contenders, with pretty much the same hardware, that did slightly better, like the Oppo Find 7 and Galaxy S5, for example. There are, however slight variations in the chipset models of these phones, so the rather small lead can be attributed to that. Either way, it is not something that would be easily noticeable under normal everyday use.
GeekBench 3
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop3394
- Oppo Find 73178
- Xiaomi Mi 43175
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop3120
- Oppo Find 7a3093
- vivo Xshot3048
- Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)3011
- Motorola Moto X (2014)2984
- Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop2970
- Samsung Galaxy Note 3 S8002937
- Samsung Galaxy Note 42925
- HTC One (M8) Lollipop2923
- Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)2880
- Sony Xperia Z32860
- Oppo N32704
- OnePlus One2663
- LG G32370
- HTC One (M8)2367
In Antutu 5, the vivo maintained a steady middle ground position, which is pretty consistent with GeekBench scores. There is a lot of rearrangement in the score board around it, which is mostly due to Android Lollipop, which Antutu definitely favors. Once again the Galaxy Note 4 is on the top and the Galaxy A7 at the bottom, which is to be expected from a mid-range specked device.
AnTuTu 5
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop49273
- Samsung Galaxy Note 446824
- Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop45660
- HTC One (M8) Lollipop45530
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop45348
- HTC One (M8)44020
- Motorola Moto X (2014)43676
- vivo Xshot43318
- Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)43164
- Samsung Galaxy Note 3 S80042211
- LG G342038
- Sony Xperia Z340393
- Oppo N339245
- Samsung Galaxy A7 (S615)31436
Advancing further to the slightly broader Basemark OS II test, we see a totally different story. The vivo Xshot has plummeted to the very bottom of the list and the single and dual-core performance breakdowns give us a pretty good idea why.
This is where the custom Android build comes into play. As we mentioned, it could swing results either way, but in the case of Funtouch OS, benchmark performance is really suffering. Now, this does not necessarily translate into bad real-world performance, but is a clear indication that the Android 4.3 core is showing its age and not much software optimization has been done by vivo to remedy the situation.
This could potentially lead to performance drops in certain applications, not to mention that there are quite a few recent Google APIs that the OS is missing on, which translates to the Xshot missing some more recent apps.
All things considered, the vivo Xshot offers performance lower than its chipset suggests. We feel most of that can be attributed to the custom OS, based on aging Android and the only way vivo is going to stay relevant in the high-end market is via an update sooner rather than later.
Final words
The vivo Xshot is an orthodox device that certainly has its ups and downs. Quite a few nice ideas went into it although the execution is not always top notch. The novelty is definitely there with an f/1.8 aperture OIS camera and a sleek custom OS, but as we saw those aren't quite as impressive in real life as on paper.
Vivo had all the right ingredients - materials, hardware and good UX ideal, but also comes with a few glaring omissions that flagships shouldn't normally have. For one, the phone is powered by a very outdated OS and we also have the camera failing to deliver on the promises made by its specs.
The Snapdragon 801 SoC, coupled with 3GB or even 2GB of RAM should be quite enough for a blazing fast experience, but the harsh reality is that the vivo Xshot under-delivers here as well and is easily outmatched by equally specked devices.
Vivo Xshot key test findings
- Great design and top-notch premium materials. Nicely shaped body, feels really good in the hand.
- The IPS LCD display is quite nice, bright with 534 cd/m2 white on full blast and very sharp at 424 ppi. Viewing angles are also surprisingly good for an LCD.
- Battery life is perfectly adequate at 57 hours, but steer clear of the default browser.
- Funtouch OS is very stylish and forks fluently, but is quite outdated, being based on Android 4.3; Menu order is often chaotic and void of logic; There are a lot of customization options and the UI seems really polished with a uniform look and feel throughout the whole OS and the bundled apps.
- The phone performs quite poorly in benchmarks, even though it has quite capable hardware.
- The speaker isn't particularly loud and scored below average in out tests.
- Video player handles all video and audio codecs, save for AC3 sound and subtitles.
- Audio output quality is quite good.
- The 13MP camera takes quality stills, the default app offers little options. HDR works very well.
- Video recording is somewhat troublesome with constant, inexplicable shakiness. UHD video quality is superb, but 1080p compression badly damages detail.
The fact is that, you can easily pick up a better performing phone for around what vivo is asking for the Xshot, especially the 3GB "flagship" one and you don't really need to look very hard.
Samsung has a lot of competition to pit against the vivo Xshot. First up, there is the Galaxy S5, last year's flagship offer by the Korean giant. It is pretty much identical to vivo Xshot for the better part of its specs sheet. It is powered by, pretty much the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC and has 2GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage. The screen is only a tenth on the inch smaller, but is of the Super AMOLED variety.
So the vivo Xshot is not finding itself in a particularly great spot - right now its price puts it against some very elite devices and its imperfect firmware deprives it or some of its key weapons. It's an uneven battle, but if vivo acts quickly perhaps not all is lost.
A quick firmware update to Lollipop with a side of bug-squashing would be a great place to start. Fine-tuning the camera processing algorithm so it extracts more from the capable hardware would be next on the list, while a small price cut will already put the Xshot in the role of a favorite. It's entirely up to vivo to try and get the Xshot out of the tricky situation it put it in.
