Vivo S20 and S20 Pro: High-end features at a mid-range price

With the new Vivo S20 and S20 Pro, the Chinese manufacturer is bringing smartphones onto the market that, despite some cost-cutting measures, stand out with their high-end features. The Vivo S20 Pro in particular promises features that are almost flagship-worthy, but is offered at a mid-range price starting at around 444 euros.

The Vivo S20 Pro relies on the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+, a powerful SoC roughly comparable to the Snapdragon 8 Gen. 3, which is supported by up to 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The 6.67-inch AMOLED display offers a resolution of 2,800 x 1,260 pixels, a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a maximum brightness of 5,000 nits. The surface brightness is given as 1,600 nits. The fingerprint sensor is installed invisibly under the display, while a 50 MP selfie camera is embedded in a punch hole.

On the back of the device is the camera module, which includes three 50-megapixel sensors: a main camera (f/1.88), an ultra-wide-angle camera (f/2.0) and a telephoto camera (f/2.55). A ring-shaped LED flash complements the module. The S20 Pro’s battery has a capacity of 5,500 mAh and supports 90 watt fast charging via USB-C.

The cheaper Vivo S20 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and does without the telephoto camera of the Pro version. Instead, a simpler 8 MP ultra-wide-angle camera is used. At 6,500 mAh, the S20’s battery is larger than that of the Pro model and also supports 90 watts of fast charging. The models differ visually in their frames: the S20 has a flat frame, the S20 Pro has a rounded frame.

The Vivo S20 launches in China with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage at a price of 2,299 yuan (the equivalent of around 300 euros). The S20 Pro starts at 3,399 yuan (the equivalent of around 440 euros) for the variant with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. The top version with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage costs 3,999 yuan (around 520 euros). Nothing is known about a German release yet.