In today’s review, we tackle the base variant of the Vivo X90 family, the Vivo X90. With minor alterations, the new X90 is a replica of the Vivo X90 Pro with a similar processor and display.
Below, we explore all the features of the Vivo X90 in greater detail.
Design
The new Vivo X90 is a replica of the X90 Pro. The only notable difference is the presence of a shiny rear side rather than the leather-clad back of the X90 Pro. The X90 is a few grams lighter than its Pro variant too. It feels light and is easy to operate with one hand. As the base variant, the phone gets the protection of IP64 rather than the IP68 found in X90 Pro.
The rest of the body’s design replicates the X90 Pro. The right holds the volume and power buttons. The rear sports a prominent circular camera module housing three camera lenses. At the front lies a selfie sensor in a punch-hole. The placement of the fingerprint sensor, which is fast and accurate, is also the same. The bottom side hosts the SIM slot, primary microphone, and USB-C port.
Display
The X90 retains the display of the X90 Pro as well. There is a 6.78-inch OLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz, 10-bit colour depth, screen resolution of 1260x2800 pixels and HDR10+ certification. The colours produced on the screen are very bright, vivid, and punchy. The sharp content quality is present in X90 as well, and it is a joy to watch the ongoing IPL season or movies from Netflix or Amazon. The display comes with the same 1300 nits peak brightness, making the screen visible under any lighting circumstances.
OS
The UI of the Vivo X90 is the same as that of the X90 Pro. The phone makes use of Android 13, running on top of Funtouch 13.
Processor
We found no major difference in the performance capabilities of the X90 and X90 Pro. The X90 uses the same Dimensity 9200 chipset built on the 2nd generation TSMC 4nm processor. Similarly, it features eight cores, where the first core is a Cortex-X3 core clocked at 3.05Hz, the next three are Cortex-A715 cores clocked at 2.85GHz, and the remaining four are Cortex-A510 clocked at 1.85GHz. Further, the GPU remains the same- the ARM Immortalis-G715 MC11 GPU, which includes a hardware-based ray-tracing engine.
This phone renders multitasking and gaming very easy. We ran Dragonball Z Shin Budokai 2 and Tekken 6 on the phone, and both games ran at high frame rates. However, we noticed a slight warming up of the device. You get the Vivo V2, a third-gen chip, in the Vivo X90 as well, helping to manage all tasks easily.
The processor is well assisted by the phone’s RAM size. The variant we reviewed came with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal memory.
Camera
Other than the rear body, the only noticeable difference between X90 and the previously reviewed X90 Pro is the resolution power of the telephoto lens. The former uses a 12MP telephoto lens with an aperture of f/2.0, whereas the latter has a 50MP lens. The primary lens is also toned down from 50.3MP to 50MP in the Vivo X90. It comes with an aperture of f/1.8, PDAF, Laser AF and OIS. The power of Zeiss and T coating is present in X90 too.
The ultrawide lens remains the same, at 12MP with an aperture of f/2.0.
The level of detail in photos is very impressive; they exhibit a natural appearance with an optimum level of sharpness. The pictures show an impressive dynamic range and a well-balanced contrast level. Colour details are well-preserved, offering up vibrant and striking visuals. Moreover, the camera offers a high-resolution mode, allowing you to capture stunning photos at a quality of 50 MP. Interestingly, the image quality of regular photos is almost as good as those taken in this high-res mode.
One notable feature of the camera is its ability to produce high-quality portrait images. The subject separation is precise, and the camera lens adjusts quickly to capture portraits efficiently.
The primary camera excels in capturing remarkable photos even in low-light conditions. It produces exceptional detail, precise exposure, and commendable noise reduction. Colours remain vivid and saturated, upping the overall visual appeal of the pictures. The camera also has an impressive dynamic range, with only a few overexposed highlights. Notably, it employs multi-image stacking to create these stunning shots, evident by the one-second delay before capturing the photo, accompanied by a virtual shutter animation. As always, we recommend using the Night mode for sharper and more detailed images in low-light environments.
For selfies, the camera features a 32MP lens. The resulting selfies are incredibly detailed and sharp, without excessive retouching of facial features. The camera performs exceptionally well in terms of contrast, dynamic range, and colour accuracy. Additionally, it excels at accurate subject representation while keeping noise levels to a minimum.
Battery
The new Vivo X90 is powered by a 4,810mAh battery, not majorly different from the X90 Pro, which featured a 4,870mAh battery power. Considering the smart processor, battery consumption is managed very efficiently. The phone lasts a day quite comfortably.
For charging, there is the support of a 120W fast charger. For charging time, we got almost the same result as the X90 Pro, with the phone fully charging within 35-40 minutes. There is also support for 50W fast wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, and reverse wired charging.
Verdict
We feel Vivo X90 is the best alternative and a competitor to its Pro variant. Available at ₹59,999, the phone brings the high-end features of the Vivo X90 Pro within easier reach. The difference in camera power can only be noticed by some experts; a normal user would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
