We mainly focus on flagship devices from Vivo here but there is always an exception and today, the exception is this: the new Vivo S19 Series that was revealed in China last week. The Vivo S19 Series and the many devices that emerged from China in recent months showcased the maturity in the design of Android smartphones.
There used to be a time when Chinese smartphone makers were eager to mimic the design of successful brands like Samsung and Apple but not anymore. The Vivo S19 Series is another example of a refreshing design. Two models are revealed: the Pro and the standard models, namely Vivo S19 [CH] and Vivo S19 Pro [CH].
Visually, the differences between the two are subtle but I am sure the handling will be super obvious. Both devices share the same camera module design but the Pro model is rocking a curved frame sandwiched between a curved back and a curved display. On the other hand, the standard model has a straight frame between a flat display and a back with a very subtle curve.
Speaking of the display, both models share the same 60/120 Hz 6.78” 1.5K (2,800 × 1,260 pixels) AMOLED display offering 1.07 billion colors and an 8000000:1 contrast ratio. Other common features include a 50 MP selfie camera with dual soft lights (basically, flash), 80 W fast charging, in-display fingerprint sensor, face recognition, dual nano SIM, USB 2.0 with Type-C interface, et cetera. The S19 and S19 Pro benefit from Blue LM, Vivo’s Large Language Model.
The key differences between the S19 and S19 Pro include the rear cameras, battery capacity, the chipset, the BT version, and the Wi-Fi. While both have a 50 MP main camera and an 8 MP wide-angle camera, the main camera on the S19 is outfitted with a Samsung GNJ while the S19 Pro has a Sony IMX921.
In addition, the Pro benefits from an additional 50 MP telephoto with 50x super zoom. So the S19 has a dual camera set while the S19 Pro has a triple camera setup. Both devices have a studio-grade soft ring light but the Pro’s flash intensity will change according to the zoom.
Interestingly, Vivo has relocated the IR blaster to the camera module. On the S19, it can be found masquerading itself as a camera on the camera module and the Pro module, it is embedded in the main sub-camera module along with the main camera and the wide-angle camera.
The battery is also very different between the two models. The S19 has a 6,000 mAh battery while maintaining a crazy thin profile of just 7.19 mm while the S19 Pro has a 5,500 mAh.
In processing power, the S19 is powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 Mobile Platform while the Pro model is powered by Dimensity 9200+. Depending on the RAM size, the S19 may have the LPDDR5 or the LPPDR4X memories. Similarly, the storage may be UFS 3.1 or UFS 2.2 depending on the storage size. Damn, it’s complicated. But does it need to be so?
Meanwhile, the S19 Pro uses LPDDR5X and UFS 3.1 across the board. The Pro further benefits from an IP68/IP69 rating and stereo dual speaker. I find it interesting that the Pro model has Bluetooth 5.3 and dual-band Wi-Fi while the “lesser” S19 is rocking BT 5.4 and tri-band Wi-Fi. However, the Pro supports both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 but the standard model only supports Wi-Fi 6.
The new Vivo S19 and S19 Pro are available for pre-order in China with a starting price of 2,499 yuan [CH] and 3,299 yuan [CH], respectively (about US$345 and US$456).
Images: Vivo [CH].
