Vivo Phones Through The Years

Vivo is now a well-known smartphone brand in many markets, such as India and China. It has created a strong position because of its focus on camera, design, and retail growth in offline channels. 

However, before Vivo became a major player in the smartphone market, it spent the first few years of its existence experimenting heavily with smartphone hardware.

Between 2012 and 2014, Vivo introduced multiple devices that helped form the company’s identity in the Android ecosystem. 

At that time, Samsung, Apple, HTC and the rest of the industry were dominating worldwide media coverage. 

For Vivo, its focus was to create ultra-thin smartphones and premium multimedia experiences, two things that would eventually become key factors in the company’s development strategy.

Although the number of units sold was not extraordinarily high for most of these models, they were responsible for introducing many features that were truly innovative for their period.

Vivo Phones From 2012-2014

1. Vivo X1

In 2012, Vivo officially stepped into the mobile phone market with the introduction of the Vivo X1 for $400. 

When Vivo entered the mobile phone market, many other companies were competing based on specifications, i.e., hardware, battery life and display quality.

Vivo chose to differentiate itself from its competitors by launching the world’s thinnest smartphone at 6.55mm, which was also one of the most talked about features of the Vivo X1 in 2012.

Core Base Specifications:

• Thickness: 6.55 mm 
• Display: 4.7-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels
• Processor: 1.2 GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6577T chipset
• Battery: 2000mAh (non-removable)
• RAM: 1 GB
• Storage: 16 GB internal storage (non-expandable)
• Rear Camera: 8 Megapixels (with auto-focus and LED flash)
• Front Camera: 1.3 Megapixels

2. Vivo X3 

The Vivo X3 took the company’s passion for creating ultra-slim mobile phones to another level following the launch of the Vivo X1. 

The Vivo X3 was sold for a price in the range between $408 and $410 USD when it was released in 2013 and came in at approximately 5.75 mm thick, thus establishing itself as one of the thinnest smartphones globally at that time.

During this time, most smartphone manufacturers were producing phones with similar thin sizes, but still Vivo tried to stand out in the crowd.

Core Specifications: 

• Thickness: 5.75 mm
• Display: 5.0-inch IPS LCD with an HD resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.
• Processor: 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589T processor.
• RAM: 1 GB or 2 GB (depending on variants).
• Storage: 16 GB internal storage.
• Rear Camera: 8 Megapixels with LED flash.
• Front Camera: 5 Megapixels.
• Battery: 2,000 mAh (non-removable)

3. Vivo Xplay 3S 

The X-series has always emphasized being thin and stylish, but Vivo created a far more substantial impact on technology later in 2013 with their Vivo Xplay 3S device. 

The price of the device, while it was being launched, was approximately $575-$580 USD, and it also became the first smartphone in the world with a QHD 2K display.

This device was not only an experiment related to displays, but it also contained flagship specs from other manufacturers at that time.

Core Specifications:

• Display: 6.0-inch IPS LCD screen with a Quad HD (2K) resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels.
• Processor: 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset.
• RAM: 3 GB.
• Storage: 32 GB internal storage (non-expandable).
• Rear Camera: 13 Megapixels with an f/1.8 aperture and LED flash.
• Front Camera: 5 Megapixels.
• Battery: 3,200 mAh (non-removable).

4. Vivo Xshot

The smartphone industry has seen an explosion in popularity regarding photography since 2014; thus, it has now become one of the most significant areas for competition within mobile phones. 

Vivo released the Vivo Xshot smartphone, focusing primarily on providing excellent camera capabilities, priced at $480 (Elite Edition) and $580 (Ultimate Edition)

Core Specifications:

• Display: 5.2-inch IPS LCD screen with a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
• Processor: 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset.
• RAM & Storage Options: 2 GB RAM with 16 GB internal storage (Elite Edition), 3 GB RAM with 32 GB internal storage (Ultimate Edition).
• Expandable Storage: Dedicated microSD card slot supporting up to 128 GB.
• Rear Camera: 13 Megapixels with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), a fast f/1.8 aperture, and Dual-LED flash.
• Front Camera: 8 Megapixels.
• Video Capture: Supports up to 4K video recording at 30fps.
• Battery: 2,600 mAh non-removable battery.
• Thickness & Weight: 8 mm thick and weighs 148 grams

5. Vivo X5 Max 

At the end of 2014, Vivo went back to ultra-thin smartphones, which was the category that first made it well-known. 

The Vivo X5 Max set an even more incredible record of being just 4.75mm thick; it was a global record again! 

It sold for $485 USD, and even till today, this phone is considered to be very thin for a smartphone.

Core Specifications: 

• Thickness: 4.75 mm
• Display: 5.5-inch Super AMOLED screen with a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
• Processor: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor.
• RAM: 2 GB.
• Storage: 16 GB internal storage (expandable up to 128 GB via a microSD card slot).
• Rear Camera: 13 Megapixels with an f/2.0 aperture and LED flash.
• Front Camera: 5 Megapixels.
• Battery: 2,000 mAh non-removable battery.

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