The Vivo X200 Ultra Is Here With A Bonkers External 8.6x Lens, 35mm Main Camera
TL;DR
- Vivo has launched the X200 Ultra smartphone in China.
- The X200 Ultra has an optional telephoto converter lens, enabling 8.6x native zoom via the phone’s 200MP periscope camera.
- The phone also has a 35mm main camera, while the ultrawide camera uses the same large sensor as the main shooter.
The vivo X100 Ultra was one of the best camera phones of 2024, although it was unfortunately restricted to China. Now, after weeks of teases, vivo has peeled the curtain back on the X200 Ultra.
The X200 Ultra ticks plenty of boxes for a modern Android flagship phone in 2025. It has a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a 6,000mAh battery, 90W wired charging, 40W wireless charging, and a 6.82-inch QHD+ OLED screen (LTPO, 4,500 nits peak brightness). There are also IP68 and IP69 ratings, although the latter is a bit of a gimmick.
Rethinking smartphone camera hardware
The phone stands out from its predecessor and rival smartphones thanks to its impressive rear camera setup. For one, the main camera is a 50MP LYT-818 sensor (f/1.69, 1/1.28-inch sensor size), making it a little smaller than the one-inch sensors seen on rival Chinese flagships. However, this is a 35mm main camera instead of the ~24mm cameras seen on 99% of smartphones. So you’re effectively getting a ~1.4x main camera compared to the primary shooter on other phones.
Colleague Rob Triggs has long waxed lyrical about the “wonderfully versatile” 35mm focal length, saying that 24mm is too wide for many situations. And with some brands like Xiaomi and Apple offering the ability to set 35mm as the default focal length in their camera apps, vivo’s approach seems like the logical next step. This isn’t the first phone with a 35mm main camera, though, as ZTE has offered this option for several years now. But we’re still glad to see this option on a vivo flagship.
Vivo’s new phone also stands out thanks to the ultrawide lens. The ultrawide camera (14mm, f/2.0) has the same 50MP LYT-818 sensor as the main camera, suggesting a similar level of light capture and detail. In fact, the company previously posted astrophotography snaps taken with this ultrawide lens, as seen above. You should take these images with a pinch of salt, but this suggests a major quality improvement compared to conventional ultrawide cameras seen on other high-end phones.
An optional lens for 8.7x zoom
Vivo’s new phone also has a 200MP 3.7x periscope camera (Isocell HP9, 15cm macro focus), broadly in line with the X100 Ultra and X200 Pro. However, the camera now offers a wider, f/2.27 aperture.
Easily the coolest thing about the X200 Ultra’s camera setup is the optional 2.35x telephoto converter and camera grip. This extra lens attaches to the phone with the aid of the camera grip, turning the 200MP periscope shooter into a native 8.7x (200mm) camera. Vivo also claimed in the run-up to the phone’s release that this optional lens can capture “highly usable” shots at 35x, further claiming that 70x via this lens was equivalent in quality to 30x zoom without the lens. In any event, this might be the first time we see a detachable camera lens on a commercial smartphone.
Would you buy an external lens like this for your phone?
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Meanwhile, the camera grip offers a 2,300mAh battery, separate photo and video shutter keys, a customizable dial, zoom controls, and a detachable shoulder strap. Either way, this accessory seems like a great rival to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s camera grip.
Other notable X200 Ultra camera features include a 50MP selfie camera, 4K/60fps 10-bit Log video on all three rear cameras, 4K/120fps video on all three rear cameras, two custom imaging chips (one for pre-processing and one for post-processing tasks), and a camera shutter button. The latter also lets you slide to zoom or adjust exposure, much like Apple’s Camera Control feature.
The phone also packs dual stereo speakers, an IR blaster, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor by Goodix, the Origin OS 5 Android skin, and cross-platform integration. There’s no word on the update policy, but the X200 Pro offers four major OS upgrades and five years of security patches.
Vivo X200 Ultra pricing and availability
The manufacturer confirmed that the 12GB/256GB vivo X200 Ultra has a recommended price of 6,499 yuan (~$890). Meanwhile, the top-end 16GB/1TB model has a recommended price of 7,999 yuan (~$1,096) and features satellite connectivity. Expect to find the phone in Silver, Red, and Black color options.
Want that external lens? Then you can buy the vivo X200 Ultra Photographer Kit, which includes a 16GB/1TB model, the camera grip and shoulder strap, that 2.35x telephoto converter lens, and a phone case. Expect to pay 9,699 yuan (~$1,329) for this package. Alternatively, you can buy the Photographer Kit without the phone for a promotional price of 1,699 yuan (~$233) and a recommended price of 2,598 yuan (~$356).
Unfortunately, vivo told Android Authority that there were no plans to launch the X200 Ultra outside China right now. That’s a real shame as this certainly looks like an impressive smartphone on its own, while the external lens is a unique proposition.
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