The Nex comes with a massive 6.59″ Super AMOLED display at 1080×2316 pixels with a wider 19.3:9 ratio dubbed the Ultra FullView™ Display. Meanwhile, pixel density is rather low at 388ppi, so texts aren’t as sharp as other flagships. Nevertheless, it is still a gorgeous display to gaze on. Considering how little bezel the phone has, you’ll looking at almost all-display here – Vivo claims an over 91% screen-to-body ratio. Don’t forget there’s an in-display fingerprint sensor near the bottom, not the smoothest experience, but good enough.
Where’s the Front Camera?
The Nex has AI-powered dual-rear cameras with 12- and 5-megapixel setup, the latter for portrait mode depth effects. Quality of shots are nearly on-par with the other flagships. Speaking of AI, this can mean that portrait mode shots can be unrealistic.
As for the signature pop-up 8-megapixel front camera, it’s bound to be conversation starter. It sits so well-hidden on the top of the phone, one would certainly mistaken it for a SIM-card slot. Changing between front and rear is seamless. It has a super aggressive beauty mode that over smoothens your face.
Power-packed
This is a phone that packs quite a punch. Running on Vivo’s own Funtouch OS 4 which is of course, based on the latest Android 8 Oreo. The Nex comes equipped with a Snapdragon 845 processor and a whopping 8GB of RAM. At the heart of this platform is a 64-bit CPU – Qualcomm Kryo with a clock speed of up to 2.8GHz. As for graphics, the Adreno 630 Graphic Processing Unit (GPU), which is 30% more powerful than its predecessor, as well as more energy efficient. Everything is smooth here, apps load fast. No hiccups.
More juice
The phone boasts a massive 4000 mAh battery. This means the phone will easily last a full day’s usage, despite having to power such a massive display. But this means it’s still not the phone’s strongpoint. It’s respectable, just like other flagships out there. The Nex is shipped with a 22.5W charger for faster charging. Despite having a glass backing, the Nex does not support wireless charging – a shame really, seeing as it’s already loaded with a myriad of features.
A worthy contender?
It could be. It is an ambitious phone. It’s innovative. A fresh take on what we have on the market right now. And all that just under RM3,000. Affordable indeed. At the end of the day, it is still a smartphone like the others. A few shortcomings, yes. The fingerprint sensor needs more tweaking, cameras as well. But this is the most exciting phone I’ve ever laid my hands on in a while.
