Vivo has finally launched the much-awaited NEX smartphone, which happens to be the final retail version of the APEX concept smartphone that won many accolades at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona earlier this year. While recent rumors had been suggesting that the smartphone will be available in three variants named NEX, NEX A, and NEX S, the company is actually using the NEX Ultimate moniker for the Snapdragon 845-powered variant and just NEX for the more affordable variant powered by a Snapdragon 710 chipset.
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Vivo NEX, NEX Ultimate: Specifications, Features
The Vivo NEX features a 6.59-inch AMOLED Ultra FullView display with 1080 x 2316 Full HD+ resolution and a 19.3:9 aspect ratio. Thanks to the near non-existent bezels on the top and sides of the display panel, Vivo has managed to achieve a screen-to-body ratio of 91.24%, one of the highest that we have seen so far. Similar to the Vivo X21, the NEX Ultimate comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor. However, the new NEX Ultimate uses the 3rd Generation in-display fingerprint scanning technology that is claimed to offer 50% higher accuracy and 10% faster. Vivo NEX, on the other hand, features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. The sensors have been placed beneath the display, while the selfie camera pops up from the top of the handset.
Moving on to performance, the NEX Ultimate is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 845 10nm octa-core processor with an Adreno 630 GPU. Vivo has paired the powerful chipset with a whopping 8GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage. The more affordable NEX variant is powered by a Snapdragon 710 chipset clocked at 2.2 GHz with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage.
The NEX smartphones feature a 12MP + 5MP dual-camera setup on the back with an AI-powered HDR mode, AI scene recognition, AI filters, and DCI-P3 color gamut support. Vivo has gone with a 12MP Sony IMX363 primary sensor with 1.4um pixel size, and an f/1.8 aperture. While the NEX lacks OIS, the NEX Ultimate variants feature 4-axis optical image stabilization.
An elevating front-facing camera is an 8MP unit with an f/2.0 aperture and AI-powered Face Beauty feature.
In terms of connectivity, all variants support Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band, Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, NFC, and 4G VoLTE. Keeping the lights on is a 4000mAh capacity. However, despite packing such a large battery, the NEX is incredibly thin at just 6.59mm. The Vivo NEX also comes with 7.1-channel 3D audio for an engaging gaming experience. While the NEX packs an AK4376A DAC for Hi-Fi audio quality, the NEX Ultimate features a CS43199+SSM6322 audio chip.
On the software front, the Vivo NEX smartphones run on the Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out of the box with the company’s new Energy UI custom UX on top. The smartphone also comes with the manufacturer’s new Jovi AI assistant and has a dedicated button for the same. The Jovi AI assistant supports various features like Natural Language Understand, Automatic Speech Recognition, Emotion Detection, Voice Wakeup, Text to Speech, Scene Recognition, Persona, and Computer Vision.
Both the NEX series smartphones are available in two color variants – Ruby Red, Star Diamond.
Vivo NEX Ultimate
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Vivo NEX
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Vivo NEX, NEX Ultimate: Price, Availability
The Vivo NEX has been priced at 3,898 yuan (Rs.41,000 approx.) in China for the Snapdragon 710 powered variant. Vivo NEX Ultimate 128GB storage variant has been priced at 4,498 yuan (Rs.47,381). Finally, there is the 8GB RAM + 256GB variant of the NEX Ultimate, which has been priced at 4,998 yuan (Rs.52,648). Both the NEX Ultimate and NEX will be going on sale in China starting June 23.
Vivo NEX, NEX Ultimate: Expected Price in India
Vivo did not say anything about the global availability of the NEX and NEX Ultimate smartphones at the launch event today. However, there is a good chance that at least one of the three variants launched in China today will be making its way to select markets outside China later this year. Vivo recently launched the X21 in India, so there is a small chance of the NEX smartphones arriving in India sometime later this year. As for the price, we expect the NEX Ultimate to be priced above the Rs.50,000 mark if it lands in India.
