Tested: Vivo X51 5G Mobile Phone Review

Vivo sells some of the best-value Android smartphones on the market, but does its premium X51 have what it takes to go up against the competition?

Price: £749
Cameras: 5 (Selfie, Ultrawide, Wide, Portrait and 5x Zoom)
Screen: 6.5″ AMOLED (90hz)
Battery: 4315mAh

The world of Android smartphones confuses me. Not because it’s inherently confusing but because I have exclusively used iPhones since 2007. That’s a serious amount of baked-in loyalty. Being an Apple sheep, you only have a few new phones each year to keep up to date with, whereas the Android camp’s choice is impressive. That’s why, when the Vivo X51 arrived on my doorstep, I knew nothing about it.

Here’s what I learned: It seems to be designed to go up against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S20/S21; it has a premium design; it has one of the best feeling backs to a phone I’ve ever seen; and it has a bright and a vivid 6.5-inch AMOLED screen that wraps over the edges of the phone.

You’ll find a Snapdragon 765G processor with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Hardly budget specs, but not ones that’ll blow your socks off, either. It has a 4315mAh battery with 33w fast charging. That’ll reportedly give you a 57% charge in just 30 minutes. I tend to charge at night, so I can’t confirm the speeds, but I never found the capacity lacking.

The design is one of the nicer phones I’ve tried recently. It feels premium, if a little light. I’m not a fan of the tapered screen design on any phone — call me old-fashioned, but I like what I’m looking at to be flat. You can decide for yourself if that’s a deal breaker. The back of the phone comes in Alpha Grey, which shimmers in the light. It has a lovely matte texture and doesn’t seem to show fingerprints — a feature I wish more phones had.

The screen is bright and sharp. The colours are a little punchy for my tastes, but many will enjoy the vivid look it brings to photos and wallpapers. If faithful and neutral recreations are your thing, then this isn’t the phone for you. Sound recreation isn’t strong, unless you’ve got some good headphones; the single mono speaker is okay in isolation, compared to many stereo options, but it sounds weak and a little harsh. This issue is completely solved with the TWS Neo wireless headphones that are currently being offered for free with the X51 right now.

Where the X51 aims to excel is in the camera department. The little Vivo phone has a total of five cameras. A 32mp front selfie camera and a further four on the back. The primary wide camera packs 48mp and an impressive built-in gimbal. It offers smoother video and superb night shots. The other cameras are handy but in a different league. There’s a 13mp portrait camera and two 8mp cameras. One is an ultra-wide, and one is a 5x telephoto. The quality on offer from the secondary lenses is good enough for social media but doesn’t hold up as well on a large screen as the main camera does. That said, the fact that you have the option is impressive, especially at this price point.

Here are four photos taken on my morning walk. I stood in one spot and took a single shot with each camera. It demonstrates the flexibility you have with this phone.

Vivo X51 5G Mobile Phone Verdict

The X51 has an impressive set of features and an attractive design for the price. It has a few areas that let it down for me, but I suspect they won’t be an issue for most buyers. If camera flexibility and night photos are high on your priority list, this might be the phone for you. As the name suggests, it also has 5G, which, although not really a benefit right now, will ensure it remains future-proof.