Friends+Design
- Eye-catching colorway (plastic) design that is unapologetically flashy - this one is sure to turn heads
- Dedicated Google Assistant button on the left side
- Fast, accurate in-display fingerprint scanner and face unlock options
- On the bulky side
Display
- Beautiful, full HD 6.38-inch Super AMOLED panel - you will get punchy colours, deep blacks, and good sunlight legibility
- It also has Widevine L1 support which means you’ll be able to stream videos in Full HD on video streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video
- An interesting addition to the display on the Z1x is the new low brightness anti-flicker mode - when switched on, it reduces screen flicker to alleviate visual fatigue - particularly useful during late-night gaming sessions
Software
- Funtouch OS is an iOS-look-alike that is filled to the brim with customizations
- It now also packs a useful Dark mode
- There is also a dedicated PUBG feature (apart from the separate dedicated Gaming mode) that helps users make the most of their time while in the waiting room (Users can quit the application while waiting for the game to start and the game timer is displayed as a chat bubble in the UI)
- It still continues to be one of the more cluttered Android UIs however, and can prove to be overwhelming for someone coming from a lighter/stock UI
Performance
- Very good performance backed by the excellent Snapdragon 712 SoC that powered its predecessor - gamers too won’t be disappointed - the phone is more than capable of playing heavy games, at top graphics settings
- Thermal management is pretty good too and the phone does not warm up easily
Camera
- Very good set of cameras - front and back - you will get good detailed pictures in all lighting conditions
- On the rear, the Z1x houses a triple-camera setup that consists of a primary 48MP sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP depth sensor
- The pictures from the primary camera are visually appealing, generally saturated, and the colours pop
- The wide-angle camera also takes images good enough to be shared on social channels
- The camera application is also pretty comprehensive and houses a dearth of other features like Fun Video and AR stickers
- There is also a a dedicated night mode present which does help in balancing exposure and getting a bit more detail in low-light scenarios
- Portrait shots come out reasonably well - with good subject separation
- The selfie camera is a 32MP snapper and takes really good selfies, especially in good light - there’s an AI Beauty mode too that lets you change just about any feature of your face - you can also play around with a bunch of different portrait effects and edge detection on these portraits is pretty decent too
- Decent video recording quality - 1080p videos are stabilised well and colour reproduction is also decent (though focus lock can sometimes be jittery) - 4K videos, on the other hand, are a bit jerky
- Overall, this is a very good camera setup for the price - perhaps only a shade behind the top camera phones of this price bracket - the likes of the Realme X and Redmi Note 7 Pro
Audio
- Reasonably loud speaker (though, of course, as usually expected in this price range, it lacks depth)
Battery
- Very good battery life with a large 4500mAh battery - you can easily get 1.5 days of use
- Vivo has amped up charging speeds on the Z1x too, compared to the Z1 - the phone now supports 22.5W vivo FlashCharge that takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to completely charge the phone from the 15% mark
Verdict
- Overall, Vivo Z1x presents itself as another excellent all-rounder alternative from the Vivo camp for the mid-budget segment after the successful Vivo Z1 Pro - it stands up to the likes of Realme X, Oppo K3, Redmi Note 7 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy A50 - all great phones on their own accord
