Vivo Apex 2020 is finally here! (Well, kinda…) Although the phone was earlier meant to debut on the grand MWC stage, the show got canceled surrounding the Coronavirus fear. Anyhoo, Vivo has resorted to a press-release instead.
For the unversed, Apex lineup is the brand’s experimental batch with outlandish and visionary phone designs.
TLDR; this year, besides an ultra curved display, it also exhibits a superfast charger, “gimbal-like” stabilized camera with “continuous optical zoom”, and ahem wait for it – an Under-the-effin’-Display-Camera.
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Vivo Apex 2020: What’s so ground-breaking ’bout it?
Starting off with the fascia, look at dem display curves –
Apex 2020 has a 6.45-inch “fullview edgeless” display thanks to a 120-degree curve. It’s even curvier than last year’s waterfall panel on the Nex 3. But, it sticks to the no ports no openings theme and uses virtual buttons instead. The only eh thing is its 1080p resolution.
The first Apex started off the notch-less, seemingly bezel-less approach. This year, it achieves the same by using an in-display camera. Yes, after Xiaomi and Oppo showcased their concepts, it’s Vivo’s time now.
Vivo states it does this by permitting 6x the light transmittance through that part of the screen beneath which the front camera resides. It also employs some algos to enhance the final output. Well, that’s a 16MP snapper for selfies, Vlogs, and video calls.
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Swivel to the back, you have a 48MP primary camera sitting alongside a 16MP telephoto zoomer. It’s 2020 where we have 100x Space zoom on Samsung Galaxy S20 (review) Ultra. So, even if performance and practicality are dicey, we are intrigued by Vivo’s “Continous Optical Zoom”.
What it means, you may ask? We are not sure TBH, but AFAWK, unlike zoom lens on DSLRs, smartphone optics house fixed lens with um… no continuity. Vivo, however, claims the use of an actual moving lens that can magnify from 5x to 7.5x. Inside, the 16MP lens is arranged in a periscope style. Here’s how it apparently looks internally –
Another highlight is the “gimbal-like” stabilization on the main camera. This is said to be 200-percent better than traditional OIS, and thus should deliver smoother video and much longer shutter speeds for low-light photography.
The list of fancy stuff doesn’t end here. Apex 2020 will be tagged with 60W wireless charging, which as per the company should top up a 2,000mAh battery in 20 minutes. Considering the bleeding edge display, a beefy battery seems a must. And a snappy charging would complement that.
Rest of the 169g phone bags 5G connectivity, Snapdragon 865 chip, Android 10, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. Apex 2020 comes in 2 paint jobs viz. black and white.
That’s a lot of new things to nerd about. Still and all, this is strictly a concept for now. Let’s see how it pans out once it reaches tech pandits and is put through the wringer. Moreover, historically, Vivo has materialized the features in its mainstream Nex lineup. But for the moment, we don’t have a word on when the device will see the day.
