Vivo X51 5G Review

The  Vivo X51 5G – £739 available from LaptopsDirect.co.uk

OVERALL RATING : 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0 – 4.4 Stars

Recently Vivo sent us three of their latest devices, the X51 5G, Y20S & Y70 devices for us to review which we will be posting our reviews over the next few weeks. 

In this review, we provide our thoughts on the Vivo X51 5G and first impressions on this device there is a lot to love about this headset especially the camera it’s glorious.  

Why is the camera glorious? 

You get 4 rear cameras – a solid ultra-wide camera, 5x periscope zoom, 2X portrait zoom and a great primary camera all together you have a camera set up that should make the likes Sony, Apple & Samsung look over their shoulder. So let’s check out the rest of this phone. 

Design

 

The Vivo X51 5G currently costs £739 via Laptops Direct and the design is a very slim handset quite similar to others in that price range. The X51 5G comes with a curved glass front and back with an aluminium frame. The positioning of the camera is where you come to expect but the camera layout just makes you feel you have something special.  

 

The phone is not very big either, it’s at 158 x72mm it’s only a little taller than my Honor 20 Pro but fits in your hand really nicely without feeling too big.

 

The X51 5G uses Schott glass which adds to the protection of this device but I would still consider a case for this phone as to damage it accidentally would be a right shame. The back of this phone has an Alpha grey matt finish which really does make it look like a fashionable phone to have.  

On the side of the handset you have your standard volume control and power button but what this phone does have is an in-screen fingerprint scanner and I have tested the feature of other devices and was impressed with how fast and responsive it was. At the base of this phone is the sim tray, USB-C charge port and speaker.

Unfortunately, Vivo dropped the ball with this it only comes with one driver and just sounds cheap other phone speakers on that price range offer a better quality sound from there speakers. If you want to listen to music you can use the adapter and the earphones in the box or just use your Bluetooth earbuds or headphones. 

Display

The X51 5G offers us a 6.56 inch AMOLED screen with a 1080 x2376 pixel display that is Full HD. The refresh rate reaches 90Hz it feels really fast using this handset which is what you want when spending this amount for a phone.

If you wanted to slow the refresh rate you drop it to 60Hz but I personally don’t see why you would do that. The 90Hz you see experience a smooth scrolling menu perfect for when you’re using social media or scrolling in that photo gallery of all the amazing pictures you have taken. 

Performance

 

 What’s under the bonnet well the Vivo X51 5G hits you with as expected the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G which you will expect to see in mid-priced 5G devices. Playing games on this phone will offer 30fps which allows you to play a very detailed game with ease and provides a smooth gaming experience.  

 

Speed-wise the X51 comes in at 1880 in Geekbench 5 compared to the 4600 from the iPhone 12 but it’s still acceptable. Software-wise you will get a surprise you might think you’re using Android but it’s actually their own software called Funtouch OS 10 and the phone runs on Android 10.   

Storage-wise you get 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage which is a standard for a phone in this price range. The only negative I found was you could not add extra storage via a micro SD card. However, the 256GB of storage should be enough.  

CAMERA

 

After getting this handset out the box I was filled with excitement to test the camera capabilities of this handset and boy was I surprised!! 

This Camera is certainly a heavyweight contender for any camera phone on the market today with its well defined and crisp clear quality photos! This stunning 48mp camera is certainly up there and with the features, it comes with it most certainly gives my iPhone 11 a run for its money! 

let’s talk about what this device comes with on the camera first off you have night mode which gives you quality night shots that are really clear crisp and captures the image and picture brilliantly with well-defined colours and really gives you a clear image with no fuzz or noise pollution this really is a great feature where all you have to do is point click and wait a few seconds and you have a crystal clear night time image where you really get the subject lit up! 

The next feature I want to talk about is the Bokeh feature this simply allows you to focus on the image and it gently blurs the background so you get maximum results on the image you’re taking a shot of, this is very popular with photographers with DLSR cameras and can sometimes be tricky to master but to have this on a Mobile phone as a setting “wow” this really does take mobile phone photography to a whole new level.

Bokeh is a great little tool and can add a lot of depth and clarity that you are taking a picture of this will make you stand out a mile on social media posting a Bokeh pic and make you look a pro!  Super Wide-angle, this little number really allows you to get more of the image that you are capturing and I was again really impressed with this it really opened up the camera to give you a better shot of the area that you’re standing in and allowing you to capture more! The wide-angle on the Vivo 5G works brilliantly and effortlessly 

The macro shooting was great. It really picks up the detail of the image when taking an image close up, the camera really picks up the detail of the object with stunning colours too!! Normally to get this picture quality you would have to rely on a DSLR with a Macro setting on a lens but again to have this built into the phone this is simply stunning and will make you look like a pro!! you do have to get up uber close to the image but this will not disappoint! 

The all-important selfie camera!! again, brilliant and really gives you a great detailed picture with excellent sharp lines and a great finish!! enough to give you an excellent profile picture on Facebook 

The 48mp setting, the only downside to this is that you can’t zoom on 48mp setting however the picture quality is fantastic and really brings the picture true to life and this performs really well under good light conditions just needs a zoom but other than that fab! 

The main camera itself won’t disappoint you in terms of picture quality you really do get true colours and great images under normal light conditions and sunny conditions 

With well-defined colours and a great image, tones, the camera truly is superb on this handset, under lowlight conditions the images can be a little “dull” in terms of colour but to be honest not a deal-breaker because what this lacks it so makes up for in other areas. 

The camera also bags other camera features such as pro mode where you can make changes just as you can on DSLR camera, Supermoon where you can get closeups of the moon (we had cloudy skies due in the testing of this handset) and a whole host of other features that will just make pictures come alive when out and about.

In bright light conditions, it really does balance colours out to give you a nice well-rounded image with true colour and a great finish 

 

My conclusion of the camera on this phone is simply awesome. The camera is just awe-inspiring and they have really spent time on this part of the phone. This handset gives my iPhone 11 a run for its money and could even take on the mid to upper-level Samsungs on the camera aspect and that is really saying something! It’s just a shame that when testing this phone, we had awful weather conditions so really couldn’t make the most of the camera. 

Battery life

 

Battery life could be a little bigger. We feel you get a 4,315mAh battery which is not bad but if you’re using the 90Hz display mode this won’t last the day but if you switch to the 60Hz it should last the whole day. However, this changes depending on what the users

 

The X51 5G also has a 33W fast charging option that takes your phone from 0% to 50% in under 30 minutes and that beats quite a few fast chargers from other manufacturers. Vivo has mentioned next year they could improve the fast charging to make it charge quicker.

 

Verdict 

Is the Vivo X51 5G worth buying HELL YES!  If your priority is photography this camera is a must.  The camera nails low light or zoomed-in images and with the periscope zoom, it’s just a joy! The functions on this camera make you question if you need a DSLR for professional pictures.

 

The X51 5G also has a super anti-shake mode that makes you GoPro style for recording video.  A few negatives we found are the fact the battery might not last the whole day with the fantastic 90Hz refresh rate. If you’re looking for a phone that has a bigger battery you might need to look elsewhere or just carry a powerbank with you. Another slight issue I have with this phone is you do not know what the IP rating is so you do not know if the phone is waterproof or water-resistant which might put a few off.

 

Apart from that this phone performs very well and if taking pictures is the primary reason you’re buying this phone it’s well worth the investment.  

Product Rating: 

Design : 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0

Speed : 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0

Camera : 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0

Battery : 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0

Value For Money : 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0

 

The  Vivo X51 5G – £739 available from LaptopsDirect.co.uk

OVERALL RATING : 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0 – 4.4 Stars

 

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