Not so long ago, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Vivo showcased their innovation on the Vivo X21 UD, a smartphone that comes with an under display fingerprint scanner. Now the same smartphone has been entered in India as Vivo X21. Vivo X21 (known as Vivo X21 UD in China) is the world’s first smartphone to feature an in-display fingerprint scanner.
Vivo X21 Specifications
- Display: 6.28-inch Super AMOLED display, Full HD+ resolution (2280 x 1080 pixels), 19:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- Software: Funtouch OS 4.0 based on Android 8.1.0 Oreo
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, in-display
- Face Unlock: Yes
- CPU: Up to 2.2 GHz octa-core Kryo 260 processor, Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC, 14nm, 64-bit
- GPU: Adreno 512 (~850 MHz)
- Memory: 6 GB RAM, LPDDR4X
- Main Camera: Dual cameras12 MP (f/1.8) + 5 MP (f/2.4) Dual Pixel, AI Beauty Mode, Portrait Mode and LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 12 MP (f/2.0), AI Beauty Mode, Screen Flash
- Storage: 128 GB internal, expands up to 256 GB via microSD card (SIM2 slot)
- Cellular: 4G LTE, 2x nano SIM, microSD on SIM2 slot, VoLTE-enabled
- Connectivity: micro USB, 3.5 mm headphones jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS
- Colors: White, Black, Red
- Battery: 3,200 mAh with Fast Charging
- Price: Rs 35,990
- Availability: Flipkart exclusive and available on Vivo E-Store
The Vivo X21 UD which was launched in China back in March is now launched in India as the Vivo X21. Don’t get confused with the names, the Indian variant has the name, Vivo X21, not the Vivo X21 UD (UD stands for Under Display).
What’s an in-display fingerprint scanner? It means the fingerprint scanner is embedded inside the display and not externally on the back or front bottom mounted that you usually see on most smartphones. The user can unlock the Vivo X21 just by placing the finger on the bottom-half of the screen where the scanner glows.
Design-wise, it looks very much identical to the Vivo V9. On comparing it with the Vivo V9, what has changed is the back camera which is now placed horizontally instead of vertically. You will find a notch at the top carrying a selfie camera, earpiece, and a couple of sensors.
On flipping the phone, the Vivo X21 flaunts a glass body on the back, which is not exactly a unibody (like the Vivo V9), yet the build appears to be solid. The rear side is covered with 3D glass that uses the color-bending technique which makes light and shadow dance across the surface with every moment.
The Vivo X21 sports a 6.28-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of Full HD+ (2280 x 1080 pixels) and a 19:9 aspect ratio.
Talking about the imaging, the cameras include a 12 MP f/2.0 selfie camera on the front notch while the rear side holds a dual camera setup with 12 MP f/1.8 + 5 MP f/2.4 dual pixel cameras. The cameras support AI capabilities like Portrait mode, AI Beauty, and AR Stickers for an amazing camera experience.
What keeps the phone running is a 3,200 mAh battery that supports fast charging, it ships with a 9V, 2A charger. The Vivo X21 boots up in Android 8.1 Oreo and you will find the Funtouch OS 4.0 skin on top of it. It’s the latest Android build as of now and is certainly ahead than many smartphones.
Unlike Vivo V9, the innards are highly upgraded, instead of the midrange Snapdragon 626, the Vivo X21 equips an upper midrange Snapdragon 660 with 8x Kryo 260 cores clocked at 2.2 GHz.
The Snapdragon 660 is a better performer as compared to the Snapdragon 636 found on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, however, as far as the pricing is concerned, OnePlus 6 and Honor 10 clearly wins in the performance department with its Snapdragon 845 and Kirin 970 respectively.
Other specs include a 6 GB LPDDR4X RAM module and a large 128 GB internal storage that expands up to 256 via microSD card on the SIM2 slot. Although the storage is quite large for an average user, the microSD expansion can be handy for some, if not all.
The SIM tray is at the unusual location at the bottom and it supports 4G LTE network with VoLTE-enabled. At this price, the Vivo should certainly offer a type-C USB port, but the company is sticking to the traditional micro USB port.
Stay tuned for more updates of the Vivo X21 and full review. Here’s our unboxing video of Vivo X21 in Hindi.
