Vivo has earned its place as a frontrunner in the smartphone market, which is something I only discovered now while working on this article series. So my guess is that they earned this position by consistently delivering thoughtful innovations, like every other Chinese company out there, so rather than relying on flashy gimmicks, they focus on features that genuinely enhance user experience, and again, this is not a Vivo thing, that's just how Chinese phones are made in my opinion. Now here's what makes Vivo stand out!

1. OriginOS

Vivo’s OriginOS reimagines the Android experience with a sleek, functional design, which most people call a wannabe iOS, not my words though. There isn't much to say about this since it's just an Android skin that has its own quirks, just like the rest. However, what I can comment on is the layout for widgets, which ensures an organized home screen, and also features like Nano Alerts that deliver notifications in a subtle, non-intrusive way. So from Vivo's perspective, OriginOS is all about making Android simpler, cleaner, and more intuitive, but I believe Android is already good just the way it is. It's worth noting that OriginOS is primarily for the Chinese market, with Funtouch OS used for global versions of Vivo phones.

2. ZEISS Camera Collaboration

Now to the exciting ones, let's start with the partnership between Vivo and ZEISS. By integrating ZEISS optical technology, Vivo offers cameras that capture photos with great clarity and precision, and they are packed with features like portrait effects and advanced lens quality to elevate your photos to what we’d call kinda-professional standards, hence making every image a potential masterpiece. This long-term strategic partnership, established in December 2020, includes a joint R&D program, the "Vivo ZEISS Imaging Lab."

3. V1+ Imaging Chip

The V1+ Imaging Chip is Vivo’s proprietary contribution to better image processing, and yes, almost all smartphones have something of their own that does this, but hear me out first. So this is designed to enhance low-light photography and the chip works behind the scenes to reduce any noise and improve clarity in photos and videos. It’s mostly effective in dim conditions, ensuring your nighttime shots look vibrant and natural, whereas my nighttime images look like something that was taken at night, literally. The V1+ also boosts display performance and is designed to be highly energy-efficient.

4. Gimbal Stabilization

Believe it or not, Vivo’s got some Gimbal Stabilization technology that mimics the effect of a physical gimbal, reducing motion blur and delivering steady footage. This works differently to the stabilisation technologies other phones use, I don't know how but it's just the special one on the block. Unlike traditional Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) or Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS), Vivo's gimbal system physically moves the camera module to counteract larger degrees of shake, providing a more stable output, especially in video.

5. Dual-LED Flash with Aura Light

We all know that portrait photography can be tricky in low light, especially for people like me who rely on their phones to adjust every setting, now Vivo addresses this with its "Dual-LED Flash" and "Aura Light." So this feature creates a soft, diffused light that enhances skin tones and eliminates harsh shadows. The Aura Light is an enlarged ring-light design that provides more even and natural illumination compared to a standard flash, particularly beneficial for portraits in challenging lighting.

6. Ultra Large VC Bionic Cooling System

We all know that high-performance smartphones often run the risk of overheating. In fact, I saw this ad by Xiaomi where they created chocolate bridges and put two phones on top of them running Genshin Impact, we won't get deep into that though. Back to the main point now, Vivo addresses this with its Ultra Large VC Bionic Cooling System. Which is an advanced cooling mechanism that efficiently dissipates heat, ensuring the phone remains cool even during demanding tasks like gaming or video editing. So it’s just a really cool feature that keeps performance smooth and uninterrupted, no matter how hard you push the device. Vivo often integrates large vapor chambers and multi-layer cooling solutions to manage thermal performance effectively.

Conclusion

Now there isn't much I could find about Vivos, they are really solid devices but they lack the "WOW" factor most smartphones have, and yes, they do have their own things going on, but they're just not enough to woo me, so sorry Vivo, maybe next time. Anyway, this is the fourth post in our series on exclusive smartphone features, and there’s still more to explore so stay tuned.

Don’t miss out on the rest of the series, subscribe to the Tino Talks Tech newsletter or enable notifications to stay in the loop. I promise it’s worth it!