Vivo has announced its newest pair of smartphones for the Indian market in the Vivo V1 and the V1 Max, which go on sale along with the X5Pro.
The V1 is an entry-level to mid-range phone with a 5-inch 1280 x 720p display and a Snapdragon 410 processor. With that, there’s 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory, which can be expanded by another 128GB via microSD. The phone has a 2300mAh battery, a 13 mega-pixel rear camera and a 5 mega-pixel front facing camera and is priced 17,980 INR in India.
Despite not really being a flagship, the V1 does have an elder brother with a large screen. The screen — as you would’ve guessed — is 5.5-inches across the diagonal and has the Snapdragon 615 SoC — same as the X5Pro — with 2GB of RAM and 16GB storage (expandable by up 128GB). The V1 Max sports a 2720mAh battery and costs 21,980 INR.
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The X5Pro (hands on) comes with a 5.2-inch 1920 x 1080p FHD display and is powered by the Snapdragon 615 with 2GB RAM. There are some high end features on this model such as PDAF (phase detection autofocus) and and f/2.0 13 mega-pixel rear camera, f/2.4 8 mega-pixel front facing camera and a 2450mAh battery. The X5Pro is priced a hefty 27,980 INR.
All three phones are just priced way too high. Other than XIaomi, Oneplus and to an extent Gionee no other Chinese band has been able to make a mark in the Indian market. People in India want cheap phones from Chinese vendors, if people want to splurge 20K+ on a phone everyone looks at established vendors like Samsung, HTC, Sony and so on. I doubt if brands like Vivo and Oppo will ever find favor with the Indian smartphone buyer.
I recommend this pricing for the Indian market:
V1 – Rs. 5,999 /-
V1-Max – Rs. 7,999 /-
X5-PRO – Rs. 11,999 /-
The X5-PRO is still a bit overpriced though – it should sell ideally for 10k with a chipset as pathetic as the SnapDragon 615 – Stuttery, low-mid end, meant for entry level knock-off devices (MT6589 / MT6582 clone devices – ZoPhone, GooPhone, HDC Galaxy etc).
Anyways, condolences for the poor sales Vivo – maybe you’ll learn your lesson, or maybe you’ll choose to stay away from the Indian market.
Bloody idiots.