Vivo X300 Ultra: review of the model said to have the best smartphone cameras to date
Vivo's X300 Ultra, unveiled at the company's launch event in Hangzhou, China in May 2026, has left a deep mark on the past three years of flagship-phone reviews. The Verge's review piece described the phone's camera system as "the most advanced smartphone camera on the market today" — an assessment that puts the model above the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max, Google Pixel 11 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. The Verge's reviewer, Allison Johnson, wrote: "The X300 Ultra has been built not as a phone with a camera, but as a camera with a phone attached."
The phone's four rear cameras are the result of Vivo's years-long collaboration with the German optical company Zeiss. The main camera uses Sony's new LYT-900 sensor, a 1-inch unit that is the largest sensor in any current flagship phone. The sensor operates at a 23.5 mm equivalent focal length and f/1.3 aperture, giving it a light-gathering capacity not previously seen in smartphones during night-time shooting. According to Vivo's technical brief, the LYT-900 has a maximum dynamic range of 17 EV — at the level of professional mid-range full-frame cameras.
The second camera is an ultrawide at 14 mm equivalent. This sensor is 1/1.5-inch and operates at f/2.0. The third is a 70 mm mid-telephoto telescope camera, 1/1.5-inch sensor at f/1.8 — a lens Vivo highlights under its "street photography" billing. The fourth camera is the X300 Ultra's most striking feature: a periscope telephoto lens at 200 mm equivalent and f/2.5. The lens is positioned as the smartphone counterpart to the semi-telephoto portrait lenses of professional cameras, jointly designed with Zeiss and bearing patented "Apo-Sonnar" optical specifications.
The Verge's field testing identified three principal areas where the X300 Ultra stands apart from the other flagships. The first is night photography: even at ISO 6400 it preserves a level of fine detail most phones cannot reach. The second is portrait photography: the natural background blur produced by the 200 mm lens is similar to that of professional medium-format cameras, and removes the need for Vivo's software-based blurring tools. The third is video quality: high-dynamic-range (HDR) recording at 4K 120fps is at a level comparable to professional video cameras.
Other notable elements of the phone's specifications include the processor, a MediaTek Dimensity 9500. RAM goes up to 16 GB and storage up to 1 TB. The display is a 6.85-inch panel at 4032×1808 resolution; the maker terms it "LTPO Pro," with a 144 Hz variable-refresh-rate OLED. The battery has a 6,200 mAh capacity and supports 90 W wired and 50 W wireless charging. The phone has IP68 water- and dust-resistance certification. At 232 grams, it sits mid-pack among flagship rivals on weight.
Looking at positioning in the Chinese flagship phone market, the X300 Ultra's China retail price has been set at 7,499 yuan (about US$1,030). That is below Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max at 7,999 yuan. In the Chinese market, Vivo had reached a 22 percent share in flagship phone sales as of March 2026, the first period it has exceeded Apple's 19 percent share. International availability of the phone is set for September 2026; pricing in Europe is expected at the €1,299 level.
Vivo's offering for the X300 Ultra includes a special package for photography enthusiasts: 25 mm wide-angle and 85 mm portrait add-on lenses produced by Zeiss, attached via a magnetic mount on the back of the phone. The add-on lenses are part of a separate package priced at €549. The approach could mark a new category for phone-camera hybrid products; it remains to be seen whether Apple and Samsung will adopt similar marketing strategies.
The Verge's review also notes some downsides. Johnson said the phone's software experience, Vivo's "OriginOS," has inadequate adjustments for Western markets. Google Play Store integration is absent in the China market but will be available in the international version; however, most of Vivo's default apps appear not to be optimised for Western users. The reviewer also flagged a performance drop under sustained heat: in particular, 4K 60fps video recording showed a fall in quality after 25 minutes.
Tom Kang, principal analyst at the market research firm Counterpoint Research, assessed the phone's global impact: "Vivo has set a new standard in the phone-camera hybrid category. Traditional flagship makers like Apple and Samsung will have to respond by aggressively increasing the sensor sizes in their cameras to match this standard." According to Kang, the launch of the X300 Ultra is a force likely to transform substantially the camera systems of 2027 flagship phones.
Vivo's head of product development, Jia Jingdong, set out the company's roadmap at the launch event: "The X300 Ultra is the fruit of Vivo's collaboration with Zeiss that has been running since 2020. Our plan for the next three years is to use this phone as a starting point and improve smartphone photography capabilities by 20 percent each year. By 2029 we expect the boundary between phone and camera to be practically invisible." Jia's statement could change the direction of competition within the phone industry.