vivo has just launched the X5 Pro in Malaysia today. Equipped with a Snapdragon 615 and a premium metal construction, it is retailing for RM1,599, which is pretty high for a mid-range device. That being said, during my hands on with it, there are certain aspects of the X5 Pro that warrant the asking price.
The overall construction and design of the X5 Pro, for example, are nothing short of impressive. Even though it is 6.4mm thin, it’s still pretty comfortable to hold. The rounded edges and glass back also makes it feel like a premium device. These are merely some of the reasons why the RM1,599 price tag is somewhat justified.
What really impressed me, however, is the camera performance of the X5 Pro. Even in low-light environment, the camera is pretty responsive. The time it takes to focus is equally as impressive. The same can be said about the resulting images as well; colour reproduction is accurate, and image noise isn’t very evident either. Overall, the camera performance of the X5 Pro seems very promising, but it’ll be interesting to see if it can excel in other shooting environments as well.
Other than that, the display of the X5 Pro is sharp and vibrant, thanks to the 5.2-inch 1920 x 1080 resolution Super AMOLED display. While the display’s maximum brightness is very bright, the colour temperature is quite warm. Whites have a yellowish tint, which isn’t exactly to my liking. The 5.2-inch display, however, makes it possible to use with only one hand, but then again, my daily driver is a 5.5-inch smartphone.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor powering the X5 Pro seems up to the task as well. Sure, it’s not exactly the fastest chipset around, but it gets the job done. Browsing through the home menu and accessing the settings page is quick and responsive, and FunTouch 2.1 – yes, that’s the name of the Android skin – seems relatively lightweight as well.
It’s worth noting that the X5 Pro sold in China actually comes with an iris scanner, but this feature isn’t available for the Malaysian market. vivo claims that the feature still needs to be improved upon, and it might make it here once it is ready. We’ll just have to see if this will ever happen in the future.
The vivo X5 Pro is a very nice device. The buttons are tactile, the overall construction feels very premium, and the camera performance seems very promising. That being said, the rather high retail price, small 2,450mAh battery and only 2GB of RAM are factors to consider if you ever wish to get your hands on it (which is very nice to hold, by the way).
