Vivo X80 Lite Review: Good front camera, but...
A TEST REPORT from Fabian Menzel 
on November 09, 2022, 9:00 | Write a comment
With the Vivo X80 Lite, the Chinese manufacturer presented a cheaper Lite version of the X series for the first time. It is offered in Austria for a recommended retail price of 449 euros, which suggests that it has absolutely nothing to do with the X80 Pro.
According to Vivo, it is more of a continuation of the inexpensive V series, which focuses specifically on the quality of the front camera. This also applies to the new X80 Lite, which is equipped with a 50 megapixel front camera and should therefore ensure excellent selfies. But, is this really the truth? And how do the display, the performance and the battery life perform? We now look at all of this in this detailed test report.
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Haptics & design – steps backwards
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- The Vivo X80 Lite in Diamond Black. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- Depending on the light, it looks as if the back is covered with small diamonds. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- The bezels around the screen could definitely be thinner. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Neat processing
Display - solid
The notch is no longer really contemporary. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Colors are reproduced naturally enough in "Professional" mode, but overall the display is calibrated slightly too cold, although this is not noticeable during everyday use. As is typical for OLED, we are dealing with perfect black and contrast values here. The viewing angle stability and brightness are appropriate for the price. In direct sunlight, it could be a bit brighter to make content easier to read, but overall the brightness of the X80 Lite is perfectly fine.
Software – Funtouch OS 12
The in-house user interface Funtouch OS in version 12, based on Android 12, is used as the software. The settings are very clear, there is an app drawer and a number of useful additional functions, such as a good always-on display, a dark and eye protection mode and some dynamic effects. Here, for example, the animation can be changed when unlocking via the fingerprint sensor integrated into the display.
Gesture control is of course also on board, but animations don't look nearly as nice as on the X80 Pro, which may be due to the much weaker processor.
Performance – too little
Inside is the Dimensity 900 from MediaTek, which is supported by 8 GB of RAM. The internal memory is a whopping 256 GB and can be expanded via a microSD card, which is very commendable.
The everyday performance is not bad, but definitely far too little for a recommended retail price of 449 euros. Apps do not start and close quite as quickly as you would expect from a smartphone in this price range. There are occasional minor stutters and delays, which are noticeable even with less complex tasks. Games can be played with decent graphics, but again: that is too little for 449 euros, especially because the Dimensity 900 is already 2,5 years old and therefore no longer really future-proof. For this price, almost all competitors use significantly better processors.
Battery – commendable
The battery is 4.500 mAh and can be fully charged in about an hour with the included 44 watt power supply. A few competitors are a bit better here, but I'm also satisfied with the loading time of the Vivo X80 Lite.
We like the battery life even better than the charging times. At the end of the day, with a screen-on time of 5 to 6 hours, the smartphone still had between 45 and 55 percent battery left, which should be more than enough for even heavy users to get through a day without charging. Big praise to Vivo.
Camera - average
On the back we get a triple camera setup, which we already know from the V21 and know V23. The main sensor with 64 megapixels is of average size and should be able to capture a relatively large amount of light thanks to the bright aperture of f/1.89. In addition, there is the typical 8 megapixel ultra wide-angle camera with a sensor size of 1/4 inch, which we see in almost all smartphones for 200 to 400 euros. A 2 megapixel sensor is responsible for macro shots. The front camera, which has a resolution of 50 megapixels, is quite large and even has an autofocus on board, stands out positively. Unfortunately, there is no second front camera like the V23.
The triple camera of the Vivo X80 Lite. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Let's start first with the main camera, which shoots almost the same results as the V23. Unfortunately, Vivo overdoes it quite a bit with the colors, because every picture looks far too oversaturated. We like the dynamic range much better, which has been a great strength of Vivo smartphones for years. The sharpness, on the other hand, is quite average. The low light shots are okay in night mode, but Vivo could still improve the white balance a bit with future updates.
The quality of the ultra-wide-angle camera is less convincing. We like the dynamic range here too, but colors are reproduced too unnaturally and details leave a lot to be desired, which is particularly noticeable at the edges. For 449 euros I expect more.
As with almost all other smartphones in the middle to upper class, the image quality of the 2 megapixel macro camera is also very disappointing on the X80 Lite. Pictures lack some details and colors are too pale.
Good front camera
I really like the 50 megapixel front camera. Some details are preserved and face colors are beautifully rendered naturally. The dynamic range is decent and portrait shots are also impressive. In addition, the autofocus works quickly and always reliably. There is only a little room for improvement in poor light conditions. The V23 5G felt like it had an even better front camera, but the X80 Lite also has one of the currently best front cameras in a smartphone.
Other - good fingerprint sensor, disappointing vibration motor and more
I would like to highlight the fingerprint sensor in the display, which is easy to reach and unlocks the device quickly and reliably.
Unfortunately, Vivo only installs a mono speaker on the underside, which is easy to cover up and doesn't sound particularly good either. It gets loud enough, but sounds very thin. Almost all competitors are clearly superior here.
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- The fingerprint sensor is pretty good. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- Vivo installs a mono speaker on the underside. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- The mono speaker doesn't sound particularly good. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Last but not least, I would like to address the vibration motor, which is a major weakness in all current mid-range smartphones from Vivo and unfortunately this is also the case with the X80 Lite. It feels very cheap and sounds rather annoying. Xiaomi, Realme and OnePlus are noticeably better here.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that the Vivo X80 Lite is not a bad smartphone. With the battery life, the decent display, the good front camera and the large flash memory, the smartphone has some strengths that we already have in the Vivo V23 5G which currently costs the same. In addition, the similarly priced V23 5G is of higher quality and also has a more powerful processor and an even better selfie experience.
Therefore, we would not recommend the Vivo X80 Lite at the moment, even if you value a good front camera, because there is a better alternative with the similarly expensive V23 5G. However, if you don't value the front camera at all and are only looking for a good mid-range smartphone, the V23 5G is also less worthwhile for the current price. Instead, we suggest you take a look at this Realm GT Neo 2, OnePlus Nord 2T or Samsung Galaxy S21FE to throw.