In Short
- Vivo’s product manager has shared the first real footage from the X500 Pro (Max)’s new Zeiss main camera, confirming 4K240 recording — double what the X300 Pro topped out at.
- Frame interpolation will reportedly push things further, unlocking 4K480 and even 4K960 slow-motion for the first time on a Vivo phone.
- So far only the main camera is confirmed for 4K240; the telephoto and ultra-wide sensors are expected to lag behind, based on how the outgoing X300 Pro was specced.
Vivo spent the back half of August teasing pieces of its upcoming X500 Pro line, which this year splits into two differently sized flagships. Now the company has put out an actual sample, giving the first real sense of what its new Zeiss camera hardware can do.
Vivo product manager Han Boxiao posted the clip on Weibo, and it’s a meaningful jump over last year’s phone: where the X500 Pro’s predecessor topped out at a smooth 4K120, the new model pushes that ceiling to 4K240 — and, according to Boxiao, frame interpolation will eventually stretch that even further, up to 4K480 and 4K960.
What the Sample Actually Shows
The footage itself is a slowed-down 4K clip, dropped by a factor of 8, so it doesn’t yet demonstrate the full 32x slow-motion Vivo is promising — that’ll need to wait for a proper hands-on. But the scene was clearly picked to stress-test the sensor:
it’s shot into strong backlighting, which is exactly the kind of condition that tends to expose weaknesses in a phone’s dynamic range and highlight handling. It’s a reasonable way to preview how the new main camera copes before independent reviewers get their hands on the device.
It’s also worth noting the 4K240 claim currently only applies to the main sensor. Going by how Vivo specced last year’s X300 Pro — where the ultra-wide camera maxed out at a comparatively modest 4K60 — it’s likely the X500 Pro (Max)’s telephoto and ultra-wide units will again trail behind the main camera, with the telephoto expected to cap around 4K120.
The Hardware Behind It
The centerpiece is what Vivo is calling its “Super Dynamic Zeiss” main camera, widely expected to be built around Sony’s 50-megapixel, 1/1.28-inch Lytia L910 sensor — notable for its LOFIC tech, which helps with dynamic range in tricky lighting like the backlit sample shown here. The Pro Max variant goes further still, carrying over 3-degree gimbal-style stabilization for both the main sensor and its 200-megapixel telephoto camera, a setup inherited from the X300 Ultra.
The standard X500 Pro trims things down: no 3-degree OIS, and a smaller 64-megapixel telephoto in place of the Pro Max’s 200-megapixel unit — details Vivo had already confirmed through earlier teasers.
Vivo is expected to launch the line in China sometime this month, with a global rollout of the base X500 and the X500 Pro Max expected to follow not long after.
FAQ
What’s new about the Vivo X500 Pro (Max) camera? Its main camera can now shoot 4K240 video, up from 4K120 on the previous generation, with 4K480 and 4K960 slow-motion planned via frame interpolation.
Does the 4K240 support apply to all of the X500 Pro’s cameras? Not yet confirmed — only the main camera has been shown hitting 4K240 so far; the telephoto and ultra-wide sensors are expected to top out lower.
When will the Vivo X500 Pro (Max) launch? A China launch is expected this September, with a global release for the X500 and X500 Pro Max following soon after.
Source: Han Boxiao, Weibo · Image: Weibo