Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo recently announced the Vivo NEX Dual Display Edition, the latest addition to the company’s NEX lineup of smartphones. Unlike the original NEX device that sported a pop-up front-facing camera, the NEX Dual Display Edition includes a 5.49-inch AMOLED display at the back of the device, which has a resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:9, and located above the rear display is the triple camera setup. The cameras are equipped with one 12-megapixel dual-pixel sensor from Sony, a 2-megapixel imaging module, and a time-of-flight sensor. The 12-megapixel camera serves as the main shooter of the device, and it features 4-axis optical image stabilization, while the 2-megapixel sensor serves as the specialized night video camera of the device. On the other hand, the time-of-flight sensor enables accurate point-to-point distance measurement for imaging effects and secure facial recognition. Surrounding the three rear cameras is the “Lunar Ring”, which provides diffuse light for selfies. The Lunar Ring also lights up when the device receives notifications.
The rear screen also enables the NEX Dual Display Edition to offer a variety of proprietary features, including the Mirror Mode and the Pose Director. The Mirror Mode displays the user on the rear panel while they are using the triple rear cameras, while the Pose Director shows an image on the display which people may use as a guide for their photographs. Other proprietary software features of the smartphone include AI Scene Recognition, AI Portrait Framing, and AI Filters.
On the other hand, the front panel of the NEX Dual Display Edition contains a 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display, which has a resolution of 2,340 by 1,080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9, and according to Vivo, its latest smartphone offering features a screen-to-body ratio of 91.63%. The smartphone features the Snapdragon 845 chipset from Qualcomm, and it includes 10GB of RAM and 128GB of internal flash storage. Aside from facial recognition, people may also use the handset’s in-display fingerprint sensor, which is located at the lower part of the device’s front display, for biometric authentication. The smartphone can also accept two nano SIM cards at the same time, and it supports the dual SIM dual standby feature. The handset includes a 3,500mAh battery, which can be quickly charged due to the device’s support for fast charging. The NEX Dual Display Edition is currently available in one color option, known as Polar Blue, and it will ship with Funtouch OS 4.5, the latest iteration of Vivo’s proprietary skin based on Android 9 Pie. The device will come on December 29th with a price tag of ¥ 4998, which translates to around $ 724 at the current exchange rate.
Background: Rumors of a dual-display smartphone from Vivo already emerged over the past few weeks, with detailed images of the device released on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo late last month. This new smartphone offering is the third device under the NEX series of smartphones, with the device maker already launching the NEX A and NEX S earlier this year. Both handsets sported a pop-up front-facing camera although the two devices differ in the chipsets incorporated into the units.
Impact: The launch of a dual-display smartphone highlights Vivo’s continued efforts to release devices with innovative designs and hardware features, and it seems that the NEX smartphone series will serve as the company’s brand for these experimental devices. Vivo is also expected to launch its latest device outside of China, although there is little information available about the actual availability and pricing of the device in other countries.