Vivo S1 vs Redmi Note 7 Pro vs Realme X vs others: A mid-ranger face-off

At a launch event in New Delhi today, Vivo has announced the Vivo S1 in India. The smartphone has already been launched in China and Indonesia . Starting on 8 August, the Vivo S1 will be available for purchase on Vivo India’s website and offline retailers.

The Vivo S1 (4 GB RAM + 128 storage) will go on sale both online and offline from 8 August. The prices of the different variants are as follows:

• Vivo S1 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage for Rs 17,990
• Vivo S1 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage for Rs 18,990
• Vivo S1 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage for Rs 19,990

The launch date for the 6 GB RAM variants hasn’t been confirmed yet.

The highlight of the Vivo S1 is its 32 MP selfies camera, the 6.38-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED display, and a 4,500 mAh battery. The snazzy design on the smartphone is also hard to ignore.

Powering the Vivo S1 is an octa-core MediaTek Helio P65 SoC, which is coupled with a 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of onboard storage. For photography, the Vivo smartphone sports a triple-camera system at the rear, which has a 16 MP primary sensor, 8 MP wide-angle sensor and third 2 MP depth sensor. The device runs on Android 9.0 Pie-based FunTouch OS, which is Vivo’s proprietary skin overlaying the main Android OS.

With all its variants priced between Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000, the Vivo S1 stands in competition with the likes of Redmi Note 7 Pro , Realme X , Samsung Galaxy A50 and Poco F1 .

Here’s what there specifications look like in comparison:

| | Weight (gm) | 179 g | 186 | 191 | 166 | 182 | | Dual SIM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | SIM Type | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | | Connectivity Types | GSM / HSPA / LTE | GSM/WCDMA/LTE | GSM / HSPA / LTE | GSM / HSPA / LTE |

GSM / HSPA / LTE

| | Processor | MediaTek Helio P65 SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 | Snapdragon 710 | Exynos 9610 | Snapdragon 845 | | CPU Cores | Octa-core | Octa-core | Octa-core | Octa-core | Octa-core | | CPU Clock Speed (GHz) | 2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6x1.7 GHz Cortex-A55 | 2x2.0 GHz Kryo 460 Gold & 6x1.7 GHz Kryo 460 Silver | 2x2.2 GHz Kryo 360 Gold & 6x1.7 GHz Kryo 360 Silver | 4x2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 |

4x2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 385 Silver

| | GPU | Mali-G52 MC2 | Adreno 612 | Adreno 616 | Mali-G72 MP3 | Adreno 630 | | RAM | 4,6 GB | 4, 6 GB | 4, 6 GB | 4, 6 GB | 6, 8 GB | | Ruggedness | — | P2i | — | — | — | | On-Board Memory | 64, 128 GB | 64,128 GB | 64, 128 GB | 64, 128 GB | 64, 128, 256 GB | | Expandable Memory | Yes, up to 256 GB | Yes, up to 256 GB | — | Yes, up to 1 TB |

Yes, up to 256 GB

| | Sensors | Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, IR Blaster | Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |

Infrared face recognition, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

| | Primary Camera | 16 MP, f/1.8 + 8 MP, f/2.2 + 2 MP, f/2.4 | 48 MP, f/1.8 | 48 MP, f/1.7 + 5 MP, f/2.4 | 25 MP, f/1.7 + 8 MP, f/2.2 + 5 MP, f/2.2 |

12 MP, f/1.9 + 5 MP, f/2.0

| | Optical Image Stabilization | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Camera Array | Triple | Dual Camera | Dual | Triple | Dual | | Autofocus System | PDAF | PDAF | PDAF | PDAF | PDAF | | Secondary Camera | 32 MP, f/2.0 | 5 MP | 16 MP, f/2.0 | 25 MP, f/2.0 | 20 MP, f/2.0 | | Video Capture | 1080p@30fps, 1080p@30fps | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS), 1080p@120fps, 720p@960fps | 1080p@30fps |

2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS), 1080p@240fps, 720p@960fps

| | Flash | LED flash | LED | Yes | Yes | Yes | | OS Version | Android 9.0 (Pie) | Android 9.0 (Pie) | Android 9.0 (Pie) | Android 9.0 (Pie) | Android 9.0 (Pie) | | AI (Smart Assistant) | Google Assistant, Jovi | Google Assistant | Google Assistant | Google Assistant | Google Assistant | | GPS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

| | Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE | 5 | 5 | 5 | | NFC | No | No | No | Yes | No | | Infrared | No | Yes | No | No | No | | Fingerprint Scanner | Yes, under display | Yes | Yes, under display | Yes, under display |

Yes, rear-mounted

| | 3.5mm jack | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Radio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | USB Type | microUSB | Type-C | Type-C 1.0 | Type-C 1.0 | Type-C 1.0 | | USB Standard | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | | Battery (mAh) | 4500 mAh | 4000 | 3765 mAh | 4,000 mAh | 4,000 mAh | | Fast charging | Yes, 18W | Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0 | Yes, 20W | Yes, 15W | Yes, 18W | | Colors | Diamond Black, Skyline Blue, Cosmic Green | Neptune Blue, Nebula Red and Space Black | Steam white, Punk Blue | Black, White, Blue, Coral |

Graphite Black, Steel Blue, Rosso Red, Armored Edition with Kevlar

| | Prices in India |  Starts from Rs 17,990 | Starts from Rs 13,999 | Rs 16,990 | Starts from Rs 18,490 |

Starts from Rs 17,990

|

Conclusion

Of the lot, the Vivo S1 seems to edge ahead in three categories — selfie camera, battery and display. Realme X excels due to its pop-up camera design in this category. Samsung Galaxy A50 also offers a Super AMOLED display and a decent camera. However, when you look at the overall performance, camera and price together, the Redmi Note 7 Pro seems like the phone to beat. Thanks to its sheer internals, the Poco F1 stands out as it has the Snapdragon 845 SoC which is still a very capable SoC. Looking at the price range where it sits, the Vivo S1 surely has some stiff competition.