Vivo X500 Launches With a 7,500mAh Battery and 144Hz Display

Vivo has officially launched the X500 in China, and the standard model is not playing it safe. It comes with MediaTek's new Dimensity 9600M chip, a large 7,500mAh battery, a 144Hz AMOLED display and a ZEISS camera system. The X500 starts at 5,499 yuan ($821) in China. It also comes with up to 1TB of storage, 90W wired charging and 40W wireless charging.

The Vivo X500 has a 6.59-inch flat AMOLED display with a 1.5K resolution of 2750 × 1260 pixels. The panel supports refresh rates of up to 144Hz and can switch between 30Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz and 144Hz. Vivo also claims peak brightness of up to 4,000 nits.

I like the move to a flat display here. Curved screens can look great, but a flat panel is often easier to use for gaming and everyday tasks.

Vivo has not treated the standard X500 as a basic camera phone. The main camera uses a 50MP Sony LYTIA-828 sensor with a large 1/1.28-inch size. It has an f/1.68 aperture and optical image stabilization. It is joined by a 50MP ultra-wide camera and a 64MP telephoto camera. The telephoto uses Sony's LYTIA 610 sensor, offers a 72mm equivalent focal length and supports 3x optical zoom.

The telephoto camera also has OIS and can focus from as close as 15cm. That makes it useful for close-up shots as well as regular zoom photos.

Vivo is also offering optional zoom accessories, including the ZEISS Teleconverter G2.

The X500 is the first phone to use MediaTek's Dimensity 9600M processor. The chip is built on a 3nm process and uses an eight-core CPU with an Arm G1-Ultra GPU. Vivo pairs it with 12GB of LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage.

The phone also includes Vivo's V3+ imaging chip. This works alongside the main processor to handle image and video processing.

One of the more unusual camera features is native 8K Live video. Vivo says the X500 can also record 4K Live video with cinematic color styles.

The battery is probably the feature that will get the most attention. The Vivo X500 packs a 7,500mAh battery. It supports 90W wired charging and 40W wireless charging, so the large battery does not come with slow charging.

The phone also has an ultrasonic 3D fingerprint scanner, an IR blaster and stereo speakers. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC.

The X500 has IP68 and IP69 protection against dust and water - a novelty for a phone of this segment.

The Vivo X500 is launching in China in three configurations:

The phone will go on sale in China on September 24. Vivo has not yet announced global availability. For me, the standard X500 is an interesting part of the new lineup because Vivo has not stripped away the features that matter. You still get a high-end display, a large battery, fast charging and a proper telephoto camera.

The 7,500mAh battery is the standout feature, but the combination of that battery with a 144Hz display and the Dimensity 9600M makes the X500 look like much more than a cheaper version of its Pro siblings.