Another year, another concept phone. Vivo has revealed a new Apex concept smartphone and like the 2018 and 2019 concepts, the Vivo Apex 2020 Concept is as bold in the innovation front. It has one key feature that Apple is striving to achieve and that is, a device that is void of ports and holes.
With a hole-less design, it relegates the phone to just one charging method and that is wireless charging in which it touts Vivo’s Wireless Super FlashCharge 60W technology. Vivo said its 60W wireless charging can is capable topping a 2,000 mAh battery in just 20 minutes. Don’t be alarmed by the small battery capacity. Vivo did not say that the phone has a meager 2,000 mAh battery.
Like its previous concept phones, there are a lot to be excited about the Vivo Apex 2020 Concept Smartphone. In addition to the clean, hole-less design, it has a 645-inch display that features ridiculous bend, or 120-degree to be precise, on either sides. I guess you could call it an extreme waterfall display. Vivo is referring the display as a 120-degree FullView Edgeless Display.
With display with such an extreme curve, side buttons are now replaced by pressure sensors like it was on Nex 3 and Huawei Mate 30. Not surprisingly, imaging – both rear and front – is the major innovation here. While it appear to only had a dual-camera setup (16 MP + 48 MP) around the back, it does have quite a bit of innovations going on there.
For starter, the 16 MP main sensor is capable of 5-7.5x “continuous optical zoom,” afforded by actual moving lens elements, that allows the camera to continuously zoom and focus at the same time.
The 48 MP camera, on the other hand, boasts a “gimbal-like structure” that is supposedly superior than optical image stabilization. A “gimbal” packed inside a smartphone. Lets just let that sink it for a bit.
Finally, the front has Vivo’s iteration of under display camera which both Oppo and Xiaomi are also working on. Vivo’s said its selfie camera, which is of 16 MP, uses an innovative screen pixel layout and circuit design to improve the quality of under display camera. However, just how good that is remains to be seen.
Other spec-sheet details include Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform, 12 GB RAM, 256 GB storage, voice tracking auto-focus, instant photobomb removal on photos, and Vivo’s third generation Screen SoundCasting tech which uses the display as the speaker, thus negating the need for actual speaker grilles.
There’s no telling when these innovations will appear in mass market phones, but knowing Vivo, you know it will make good of its concept.
Images: Vivo.
