The Vivo X90 Pro (Review) sets itself apart from the plethora of flagship smartphones with its exceptional camera performance. In my assessment of the phone, I highlighted its exemplary image-capturing capabilities, particularly through its primary sensor. At its price, expectations are certainly high for the X90 Pro in other aspects of the smartphone experience as well.
However, since its primary focus (no pun intended) is on its optics, in this comparison let’s pit the X90 Pro against recent flagships in the same price range. The Google Pixel 7 Pro (Review) seems like a fair pairing considering its own camera prowess and a price tag that’s pretty close to the X90 Pro. I took both phones to Vietnam to get some camera samples and here are the results.
daylight hdr
Let’s first take a look at how well both the phones capture pictures in daylight. The Vivo X90 Pro uses a 50MP Sony IMX989 1-inch sensor as the primary camera, while the Pixel 7 Pro features a 50MP Samsung GN1 shooter. However, what matters just as much is how well-tailored the computational photography chops behind the scenes of each phone are. The Pixel benefits from Google’s experience in post-processing images over the years, while Vivo takes advantage of its custom V2 chip to improve its image processing pipeline. Although the cloudy conditions in Hanoi, Vietnam weren’t the best for photography, there are still noticeable differences between the output of the two phones.
In this shot of Halong Bay, you can see that the X90 Pro tries to bring out better details in the background mountains. In addition, the color of the ocean is fairly true to reproduction life while the pixel produced a dark green color. Dynamic range is optimum for both but the X90 Pro does a better job in terms of exposure. A slightly closer crop on the ferry reveals that in terms of details, the X90 Pro is slightly ahead but to the naked eye both the phones work the same.
In addition, the Pixel 7 Pro adds a slightly cooler tone to the overall image, which I believe is a result of cloudy weather. It’s also important to note that all the shots I took on the X90 Pro were on the ZEISS Natural color mode, which enhances the realism of the shot. As such the saturation levels on the Vivo offering were under control while the Pixel bumped up the vibrance a bit.
However, in this second shot of an indoor Buddhist temple in Ninh Binh, the Pixel 7 Pro tones down the color levels. Focus and detailing remain accurate on both devices, although the X90 Pro is more on point with its highlights. You can also see that the lamps right next to the red idol are overexposed on the Pixel 7 Pro, while the X90 Pro kept it under control. From these two comparative shots, it can be understood that Vivo X90 Pro has the upper hand in daylight.
Winner: Vivo X90 Pro
ultra-wide shot
As far as ultra-wide shots go, the Pixel 7 Pro and Vivo X90 Pro do a great job of widening the field of view without distorting the edges. Detail is in focus as it’s evenly spread across the frame, which is sharper than I’d expect given the lack of proper sunlight. However, here the Pixel 7 Pro performs more effectively with overall color temperature and saturation levels. In the case of the Vivo X90 Pro, the water color and the gate in the center are a bit muted.
Also, the sidewalls leading to the gate get sharper relief with the Pixel 7 Pro compared to the X90 Pro. Finally, thThe e Pixel shot reveals a gloomy appearance of the sky, similar to the current weather conditions. Overall this round would go to Google’s offering as it produces better colors and has slightly more detail.
Winner: Pixel 7 Pro
portrait shot
Vivo has made some efforts to improve the bokeh images especially of the X90 Pro and there are also some modes tuned by ZEISS for shooting. However, on the Google Pixel 7 Pro, there’s only one option for taking portrait shots, although you can adjust the zoom for distant subjects. In the image above, it is clear that the Vivo X90 Pro has better background blur and the subject appears more prominently.
While the nature of the blur could be a bit soft, the Pixel 7 Pro captures really realistic skin tones. Also the X90 Pro applies some facial retouching to create more Instagram-worthy shots. However, in terms of edge detection and background blur, not to mention multiple modes for snapping portrait images, the Vivo X90 Pro takes the round.
Winner: Vivo X90 Pro
selfie
Talking about the front-facing camera, the Vivo X90 Pro packs in a higher resolution 32MP sensor as compared to the 10.8MP shooter on the Google Pixel 7 Pro. However, looking at the selfie here, you can see that the latter has better detail on the mountains behind my face. Not only that the color of the Gulf is also the right shade of dark green, whereas the X90 Pro sports a slightly blue-ish hue. Finally, details on my face are better in Pixel 7 Pro shots, which makes the handset a winner in this round.
Winner: Pixel 7 Pro
low light photos
The Vivo X90 Pro really benefits from the V2 chip and its larger sensor size when it comes to taking pictures in low light. That’s not to say the Pixel 7 Pro is a slouch as you can see from the camera samples above. Looking at the tree, which is completely wrapped in lights, it is clear that both the phones prefer different saturations in terms of color accuracy. The Pixel 7 Pro’s look is more pastel but the X90 Pro stays in line with the light green shade on the tree. For overall details and shadows, both the devices do a great and similar job.
In this second shot, the white structure in the middle gets better exposure with the X90 Pro. I’d also argue that, even the trees above lit up better on Vivo’s flagships than on the Pixel. With the former the road also looks more spacious and so the round goes to the Vivo X90 Pro.
Winner: Vivo X90 Pro
night mode
When it comes to the dedicated Night Mode, both the devices go out of their way to reduce noise and preserve the maximum amount of details. This shot across a lake in Hanoi, showing the skyline, is quite well-crafted. However, seeing the reflections in the body of water definitely has an added touch of realism with the Vivo X90 Pro. I also like how well the clouds are illuminated through the light from the building in both images. Zooming in a bit, you can also see that lens flare is a bigger issue on the Google Pixel 7 Pro than on the X90 Pro.
In this second shot of the Sheraton building, you can again see both phones taking exceptionally good shots of the landscape. This is a difficult snap to replicate with the amount of reflections in the water and the multiple sources of light. Again the Vivo X90 Pro comes out on top with its Night Mode click when you look at the metered exposure and toned-down lamp flares in the main building.
Winner: Vivo X90 Pro
Decision
This comparison showcases the image-capturing superiority of Vivo’s latest flagship and the company’s fruitful collaboration with ZEISS. In terms of point-and-shoot experience, the X90 Pro is better than the Google Pixel 7 Pro as far as daylight and low-light images from the main sensor are concerned. Portrait images are also more refined on the X90 Pro and there are plenty of styles to choose from. On the other hand, the Pixel 7 Pro gets the advantage of a 5X periscope lens, which the former does not have. Also, I much prefer the selfies captured by the Pixel to the slightly overprocessed look of the Vivo. Overall, it is clear that the Vivo X90 Pro has set the benchmark for smartphone photography and it will be interesting to see what the competitors do to beat it.
