I’ve almost always only shot with smartphone cameras. Even at a time when mobile shooters hadn’t yet aced lowlight photography or when optical zoom was not a smartphone cam thing. It’s why there’s an extra bit of anticipation each time there’s a new mobile shooter in the house. If you’re a smartphone photography enthusiast (who isn’t these days), there’s a lot to be excited about Vivo’s X90 Pro. It’s part of the X90 duo (that also includes the more affordable Vivo X90) that both feature the latest generation of Vivo-Zeiss co-engineered imaging systems. But as we discovered, there’s more to this device than it’s stellar rear camera.

Amp up your Instagram game

Let’s dive straight into the camera. If there’s one reason this phone has to be on your radar, it’s the rear cam. Vivo is playing up the Zeiss 1-inch Main Camera with the IMX989 sensor. It brings increased light sensitivity to capture high-detail and clear images in extreme low light. According to Vivo the new sensor has increased the light intake capacity by 43% which allows it to capture brighter and cleaner night images. Aside from the 32MP selfie shooter the rear camera system combine 50MP primary lens, a 50MP Portrait cam and a 12MP ultra-wide lens. This cam truly aces portraits, with its large aperture of f/1.6 with OIS. It captures subtle details even in lowlight.

We didn’t check out the astrophotography feature but enjoyed using the long exposure mode which is great to capture urban scenes and traffic lights at night. Vivo also touts its new spectrum computation technology developed along with Sony that delivers more authentic colours. This is one of the best smartphone cameras out there but there are rival cameras that offer a better optical zoom. The X90 Pro is not afraid of the dark and shoots great lowlight images and videos.

Breaks the clutter

While the Zeiss camera system might be the headline feature, it’s the design that actually bowled us over. Function meets form in a design that truly breaks away from the standard design templates of most flagship smartphones. The rear of the device might remind you of a pro cam with its raised camera module. The rear is finished with a unique vegan leather finish that makes this device great to clasp. It might be the taller frame but you don’t feel the heft (about 215 gm) despite its premium frame finished with an aluminium alloy. We’ll say this: the X90 Pro is one of the best looking flagship smartphones you can but now.

The stuff that matters

The X90 Pro scores with its immersive 6.78-inch AMOLED display (2800 x 1280 pixels / 452 PPI). With a screen: body ratio of 93.53% and a 120Hz refresh rate, this is truly binge proof. I enjoyed Asphalt 9 on the device. With a peak brightness of 1300 nits, it’s certainly not the brightest display out there. Vivo opts for a Mediatek Dimensity 9200 processor that is backed by 12GB. The device should satisfy your need for speed, it clocked 4150 in our Geekbench (multi-core) benchmark test that puts it in the top tier. The X90 Pro also checks the battery box with a 4870 mAh battery. There’s a 120W charger in the box that can power your device in under 30 minutes. One more reason apart from the stellar cam, why the X90 Pro deserves to be on your list if you’re shopping for a flagship smartphone.

The Vivo X90 Pro (12GB/256GB) comes in Legendary Black costs Rs 84,999.