Vivo’s camera-first-phone-later makes for an excellent stocking stuffer

If you’re looking to splurge on that perfect Christmas gift on that special someone, Vivo’s X300 Pro doesn’t just meekly slide under the Christmas tree, it practically owns the spotlight. With a camera system that somehow betters the one we saw on the already epic X200 Pro from last year, the X300 Pro is our pick to capture the spirit of the season, the kind of gift that says “I really thought about this…” even if the person you thought about first was you!

All you need to know about Vivo X300 Pro Lifestyle

Straight out of the box, the X300 Pro stays true to the design language of the series and is instantly recognizable thanks to the large circular camera module on the rear, while upgrading the rest of the design to the 2025-spec completely flat design, front, back, sides and all. It gets slimmer and lighter than the X200 Pro as well (7.9mm,228g) and is available in black and gold colors with matte finishes, both of which are rated at IP68/69 for dust and water resistance. The smoothed-out edges and the evenly distributed weight lends a comfortable hand feel to the device.

Around the front is a familiar 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED screen (2800 x 1260pixels) with thinned out bezels, 1-120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 4500 nits, all of which come together to make a panel that’s great for use both indoors and out and about. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support make it great for multimedia consumption and gaming as well. As with the Find X9 Pro, the X300 Pro packs in MediaTek’s latest Dimensity 9500 chip paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage, and it does well to handle everyday tasks and some serious gaming, although it does run warm over extended gaming sessions. MediaTek has turned out a solid contender to the Qualcomm hegemony this year, with solid performance on both the Oppo and Vivo flagships.

The X300 Pro is also the first phone where I’ve tried out the OriginOS 6, based on Android 16, and it's a strong leap forward compared to the FuntouchOS we’d seen on previous Vivo phones. Highlights include smoother animations, more customisations, a visually upgraded experience with refined blur and bounce effects, and the Origin Island, Vivo’s take on the Dynamic Island where you can keep timers or music controls handy or use as a temporary workspace to drop text and files while copying/pasting. You get 5+7 years of software and security upgrades, plus AI goodies (Circle to Search, Gemini and gallery AI features). Battery performance is a step up, with a 6510mAh battery (with 90W wired and 40W wireless charging) lasting a full day of heavy use, with plenty of camera use, and you’ll soon see why.

But we’re here for the X300 Pro’s photography chops, and boy, it does not disappoint. Featuring a 200-megapixel 3.5x telephoto, a 50-megapixel main and ultrawide, and a 50-megapixel selfie shooter, the setup may look similar to the predecessor, but the X300 Pro comes with a raft of sensor upgrades, not to mention a strong Zeiss colour science integration that elevates some of the shots. In daylight, the X300 Pro shines, with strong details, natural skin tones and a wide dynamic range to pull out detail from the shadows in tricky lighting conditions. Even the ultrawide is sharper, with good dynamic range and strong color consistency with the primary shooter. Low-light performance remains a strong suit, with the phone nailing colors and details even in dimly lit shots, far better than the competition. Of course, my favorite remains the telephoto, which takes exceptional people portraits at its default 85mm, and excellent colors, pleasantly shallow depth-of-field, accurate focusing and detail even when pushed to 10x and 20x zoom levels. Strong close-ups and macro shots using the telephoto as well. 

If you want extra reach, you can always opt for the X300 Pro’s 2.35x Telephoto Extender Kit, sold separately for Rs. 18,999 but with bundling offers. Snapped onto an adapter mount, the kit upgrades the telephoto to a 200mm focal length, allowing you to go up close and personal with your subjects, no matter whether they’re human or out in the wild. What’s good to note is that Vivo has lavished attention on video recording, and the 4K120fps Dolby Vision footage is as good as it gets for Android flagships. 

Bottomline, go out and get the X300 Pro if a top-notch camera is a priority, and hey, you’ll get a solid phone to boot! 

Rating: 9/10

Price: ₹1,09,999 (16/512GB)

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