Vivo X50 Pro: World’s First Phone With Built-in Gimbal

The Vivo X50 Pro has a camera system that we’ve never seen in the market until now. That’s right, it’s a gimbal inside of a phone. We’ve seen a number of camera systems on phones out there, it’s one of the biggest selling points of any phone. There are dual camera arrays, triple camera arrays, quad-camera arrays and even superzooms that can go up to 100x, but this gimbal feature is something we think a lot of people will use.

Let’s talk about specs and design first. The phone has a 6.56-inch AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate. This means that it’s super responsive to input, and we do like the 90Hz refresh rate, since it doesn’t eat as much battery as a 120Hz screen would while still providing a better experience than a 60Hz screen.

There’s also a 4,315mAh battery in this that will provide a full day use. The phone is only FHD+ but there are colour settings that users can tweak to their preferences, whether to sRGB or P3. The phone runs on a Snapdragon 765G and the phone runs really well.

The phone feels great and works great, but the star of the show is the camera system, so let’s talk about that now. You get a 32MP selfie camera and a quad-camera array on the rear, 48MP main camera, 13MP portrait camera, 8MP zoom and 8MP ultra-wide camera.

Of course, the 48MP main camera is the one to keep an eye on because it’s the one that’s using the gimbal stabilising technology. If you’ve ever used a gimbal, it can be a pretty cumbersome experience especially if you’re new to using them. Vivo has made it relatively simple inside the phone. It’s already working normally, but it really kicks into high gear when the Ultra Stable mode in the Video tab is activated.

So how does it work? Vivo has converted the mechanics of a gimbal and fitted that into the camera housing, and there’s also software involved of course. Unfortunately, when using Ultra Stable mode, videos can only be taken in 1080p.

There’s also a toggle in the settings to turn on “Stabilisation”, which brings up the Gimbal Radar, a ball in the middle of the screen that shows how the gimbal is moving. As long as you keep the ball centered, the video will be smooth.

We did some tests on a bicycle, and got some b-roll shots that can be seen in the video above. With some practice, users will really be able to get cinematic shots that look great.

The benefits aren’t just for video though. The stabilisation also helps to get clearer and more detailed images in low-light situations when using Night mode. There’s also continuous focus tracking, so if you’re looking to get some fast action shots, the phone will be able to lock on to the subject and the photos will most likely always be in focus.

There’s a lot of software and thought that has gone into this phone. For example, taking selfies in low-light situations. What most phones do is to brighten the screen to act as a flash, but what Vivo has done is to have a white screen with a cutout for your face in the centre, so it’s almost like a ring light. As a result, the photo will look much more natural as compared to a phone that just brightens the entire screen.

Overall, the phone is actually really good. The gimbal feature is a gamechanger for content creators and while the 48MP is the star of the show, the other cameras are also decent. The best camera is the one we have in our pocket, and the X50 Pro delivers in a lot of those ways.

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This content is brought to you in partnership with Vivo.