vivo took the lead this year with its flagship smartphone—the vivo X300 series. It is the first phone equipped with the Dimensity 9500 chipset, debuts the OriginOS 6 operating system, and brings new imaging upgrades, making it highly noteworthy. Continuing the X series’ circular rear design, the most obvious change of the vivo X300 Pro is that it has become “flat,” including the screen, the middle frame, and even the back cover. The body is slightly thinner, with an official thickness of 7.99mm. However, due to the straight frame, the perceived thickness is similar to the curved vivo X200 Pro.

vivo X300 Pro Review

In terms of refinement, the vivo X300 Pro shows more of vivo’s thoughtful design. The matte metal middle frame gives a stronger texture, while the back cover uses a velvet glass process that provides a soft matte visual effect and a silky, fingerprint-free touch. This year’s rear camera module uses a “floating water drop cold-sculpted glass process,” combined with a stepped design to reduce protrusion, and decorative brass-colored lines, offering a much more elegant look than the “large circular ring” of the X200 Pro. On the front, there’s a 6.78-inch BOE Q10 Plus display supporting 2160Hz high-frequency PWM dimming and full DC dimming. It also adds circular polarizer 2.0 technology for better eye protection, reaching a local peak brightness of 4500 nits. However, it remains a 1.5K display. The bezels are narrower than the previous generation, enhancing the front’s visual delicacy.

System: The Major Leap of OriginOS 6

The system experience on the vivo X300 Pro can only be described as a “major leap.” The change is immediately noticeable upon use. There are many updates, but here are a few of the most apparent ones.
First, the lock screen has two major upgrades. The addition of a customizable clock allows users to adjust its style and position, even stretch and deform it to automatically match wallpapers. Second, the new lock screen theme “Fun Grating” lets users add 2–4 images or a video/Live Photo as a lock screen. When the phone is tilted, the wallpaper dynamically shifts with prism, fade, or frosted glass transitions, bringing fun and freshness. vivo X300 Pro Review
The animations for “Atomic Island” pop-ups are smoother, and some notifications now “land on the island.” For example, a low battery alert appears from the Atomic Island, similar to Apple’s Dynamic Island. Multiple notifications from the same app are stacked for tidiness, and can be expanded for details.
The new AI interaction interface is also more immersive—when you wake up Blue Heart AI, instead of a separate window, an AI light effect now integrates directly into the system UI, reducing disconnection and emphasizing its embedded AI nature.

The AI Eraser function has also been upgraded. Previously, it could only remove passersby from static photos. Now, it can remove them from any frame in a Live Photo while keeping the image live.
Other improvements in OriginOS 6 include multitasking, calendar, system manager, animation smoothness, lock screen music, typography, and icons. The overall system feels smoother and more user-friendly.

Performance: First to Feature Dimensity 9500

As the first smartphone to feature the Dimensity 9500 chipset, how does the vivo X300 Pro perform? The CPU includes one 4.21GHz Arm C1-Ultra core, three C1-Premium cores, and four C1-Pro cores, with 32% higher single-core and 17% higher multi-core performance than the previous generation. The GPU is the new Mali-G1 Ultra, with 33% improved peak performance, and it supports 4-channel UFS 4.1 flash storage.
In Geekbench 6, the CPU scores 3202 (single-core) and 9781 (multi-core), compared to the X200 Pro’s 2641 and 8311, respectively. The 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test shows a best loop score of 6309 (vs 6177 for X200 Pro).
In Honor of Kings (120fps mode at 25°C), the X300 Pro maintains 120fps with 1% low at 110fps, consuming only 2.85W.

vivo X300 Pro Review

In Genshin Impact (Very High + 60fps, 30 minutes in Sumeru City), both phones achieved stable 60fps, but the X300 Pro had a higher 1% low frame rate (53.5 vs 33.9), with lower average power (4.08W vs 4.12W).
After 30 minutes, temperatures were slightly lower on the X300 Pro—38.9°C front, 37.3°C back—compared to the X200 Pro’s 39.1°C front, 37.7°C back.

vivo X300 Pro Review

In Honkai: Star Rail (High + 60fps), the X300 Pro averaged 49.4fps vs the X200 Pro’s 44.2fps. However, under heavy load, both experienced frame drops. Power draw was higher at 7.06W vs 6.08W, and the X300 Pro’s front reached 51.1°C.

vivo X300 Pro Review

Overall, the X300 Pro’s performance improvements focus on stability. Under moderate gaming loads, it achieves smoother frame rates, lower power draw, and cooler temperatures, while under heavy loads, it trades higher performance for more heat.

Imaging: Minor Hardware Upgrade, Supports Photography Kit

Compared to the previous generation, imaging hardware upgrades are modest. The main camera is Sony LYT828 (upgraded from LYT818), with a 1/1.28-inch sensor and improved stabilization—OIS 1.5° gimbal-level with CIPA 5.5 certification. The 200MP Zeiss APO periscope telephoto now uses a custom Samsung HPBlue sensor (1/1.4-inch), an upgrade to HP9, also with CIPA 5.5 stabilization.
The biggest hardware change is the front camera—upgraded to 50MP using the Samsung JN1 sensor (1/2.76-inch), the same as the rear ultra-wide.

vivo X300 Pro Review

Key imaging upgrades include:

  1. Support for the Photography Kit with 2.35x teleconverter, enabling 200mm–1600mm focal lengths, ideal for concerts with the “Stage” shooting mode.

  2. Enhanced telephoto stabilization—handheld moon shots remain steady even at 100x zoom.

  3. New “Translucent Portrait” mode producing clearer, vibrant skin tones with refined beauty effects.

  4. Improved 50MP front camera offering sharper, more natural skin tones and detail.

vivo X300 Pro Review

Even with small hardware changes, overall image quality has noticeably improved—colors are more accurate, noise and over-sharpening are reduced, and textures are smoother.

Conclusion: Small Upgrades, Major Experience Leap

The vivo X300 Pro’s hardware brings a typical generational upgrade—Dimensity 9500 improves performance, but vivo’s thermal and stability tuning prioritizes balanced gaming. Imaging hardware sees fine-tuned optimization, such as improved stabilization, photography kit support, and new portrait features.
However, the major leap lies in OriginOS 6. Its enhanced smoothness, refined animations, and new lock screen, notification, and AI features make the system feel completely new. For existing vivo users, upgrading to OriginOS 6 is highly recommended.