Vivo X200 FE Review: A Compact Beast That Wont Break Your Bank

Compact phones are a dying breed, a secret whispered among tech enthusiasts. While demand simmers, manufacturers largely ignore this craving. Outside China, options dwindle to a precious few. But hold that thought. Enter the Vivo X200 FE, a contender in the "almost flagship" arena – think OnePlus 13R, OnePlus 13s, or the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE. It’s stepping into the ring, ready to champion the cause of powerful performance in a pocket-friendly package.

The X200 FE: Not quite budget, yet it won’t bleed your bank account dry like those thousand-dollar flagships. It’s nestled perfectly in that sweet spot of premium without the exorbitant price. In a world of ever-expanding phone sizes, the X200 FE dares to be different with its surprisingly compact design. But there’s more – think endurance fit for a marathon, thanks to a battery that just keeps going. And the cameras? They’re packing ZEISS optics and tuning, promising stunning photos. Is it flawless? No. But this handset delivers a compelling blend of features and value. Let’s dive into what makes the X200 FE shine, and where it could use a little polish.

Vivo X200 FE

Rating

star

star_empty

€799

The Vivo X200 FE: a pocket-sized powerhouse punching way above its weight. This isn’t just another phone; it’s a statement. Experience flagship-level performance, capture stunning images with its surprisingly adept camera system, and stay powered up for days, all wrapped in a design that screams premium without shouting. Prepare to be amazed by what this compact contender can do.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Matte-textured glass finish, highly resistant to fingerprints and scratches
Dimensity 9300+ chip performance and efficiency is excellent
A massive battery whose size is surprising in a compact body
Clear, vivid and bright AMOLED display, visible even in sunlight
Battery charges from 20 to 100% in just around 45 minutes
Main and periscope cameras offer great results
Premium glass and metal build with IP68/IP69 rating

Cons

8MP ultra-wide sensor is too out of place in the powerful camera system
No wireless charging
Despite stellar performance, UFS 3.1 storage and USB 2.0 are not up to par for its price range
Extremely slippery design

Disclaimer

Vivo’s X200 FE landed on our desks, courtesy of the manufacturer. For a month, it wasn’t just another gadget; it was our daily driver. Unfiltered opinions ahead – this review is all us, no sponsorships involved.

Buy at Aliexpress

Table of Contents

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Vivo X200 FE: Specs
Vivo X200 FE Review: Hardware and Design
Vivo X200 FE Review: Display
Vivo X200 FE Review: Performance
Vivo X200 FE Review: Benchmarks
Vivo X200 FE Review: Battery Life and Charging
Vivo X200 FE Review: Software
Vivo X200 FE Review: Camera
Should You Buy the Vivo X200 FE?

Vivo X200 FE: Specs

Vivo X200 FE

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Vivo X200 FE Review: Hardware and Design

The Vivo X200 FE is a breath of fresh air in a world of oversized smartphones. Its compact 6.31-inch display and featherlight 188-gram build make one-handed use not just possible, but pleasurable. Remember the days when phones didn’t require two hands and a prayer? This phone brings that blissful era back. After years wrestling with behemoths boasting 6.7-inch screens or more, the X200 FE felt like a revelation. I braced myself for a cramped experience, but the screen’s size quickly became its superpower.

Forged from aerospace-grade aluminum, the phone’s frame inspires confidence. In hand, it’s a reassuringly solid, premium slab. Weeks in, and not a scratch blemishes its surface. The design aesthetic is minimalist, prioritizing clean lines and practicality. The textured glass back, a fingerprint-smudge vanquisher, is a double-edged sword. Its smooth finish grants it an almost alarming slipperiness, demanding a case for the carefree.

The phone feels like a precisely crafted object; no unsightly seams or worrying give here. Be warned: as expected from a camera-centric flagship, the substantial camera bump protrudes, turning tabletop use into a seesaw experience without a case.

Forget babying your phone. The X200 FE boasts IP68 and IP69 ratings, making it practically invincible against dust and even high-powered water blasts. I took the plunge and dunked it – zero issues. Everything worked flawlessly. The only hiccup? Like most phones, the touchscreen gets a little wonky when wet.

Forget the usual suspects. This phone shields its display with a layer of Schott Xensation Core glass, a premium touch in a world of Corning clones. And for extra peace of mind? A surprisingly durable, pre-installed screen protector is already on guard.

Dressed to impress, the phone flaunts a quartet of captivating colors: the sun-kissed Amber Yellow, the cool whisper of Frost Blue (like the model we’re showcasing), the sophisticated Luxe Black, and the playful Pink Vibe. Color availability might play hide-and-seek depending on your region, but fear not! Vivo anticipates your desire for a complete aesthetic experience by including a color-coordinated case. This isn’t some flimsy afterthought; it’s a sturdy shield that feels genuinely premium. Be warned, though: while grippier than the phone’s naked allure, the case’s smooth finish still possesses a hint of slipperiness.

The right side of the device hosts both the volume rocker and power button, a design choice that initially tripped me up. Muscle memory screamed for a two-handed screenshot, splitting the button action across the frame. Down below, a USB-C port stands ready for charging and data transfer, flanked by a stereo speaker setup. While I adapted to the unified button placement after a few days, I still yearn for the tactile efficiency of discrete controls on opposing sides.

The USB-C 2.0 port? A head-scratcher at this price. Data transfer crawls where it should sprint. Not a total knockout, granted, but a definite jab. Heavy file users, prepare for a patience test. You’ll be longing for a speedier connection.

The Vivo X200 FE isn’t just another phone; it’s a pocket-sized powerhouse crafted for discerning users. Forget compromises. This is premium, distilled. Expect head-turning aesthetics, rock-solid durability, and unwavering performance, all in a delightfully compact design.

Vivo X200 FE Review: Display

The window to your digital world, the screen, is where premium smartphones truly shine. The Vivo X200 FE doesn’t disappoint. Feast your eyes on its 6.31-inch 8T LTPO AMOLED display, boasting a crisp 2640 x 1216p resolution and a silky-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. What does this technical wizardry mean for you? Expect visuals so sharp they practically leap off the screen and an interface so fluid it feels like pure magic.

Dive into your favorite shows, movies, and games with the Vivo X200 FE’s display – prepare to be mesmerized. HDR content explodes to life, showcasing inky blacks and dazzling highlights without a hint of that annoying "black smear." But the real magic? Lightning-fast responsiveness. Game on, knowing every tap and swipe registers instantly, giving you the edge you need to conquer any challenge.

LTPO tech: a chameleon for your display. Witness the refresh rate morph from a power-sipping 1Hz to a buttery-smooth 120Hz, all on the fly. In practice? It’s liquid motion, no stutters, no hiccups – just pure visual grace.

Vivo boasts a dazzling 5,000-nit peak brightness on the X200 FE. While you won’t hit that mark in everyday use think HDR video playback in specific display zones sunlight readability is a non-issue. More impressively, the auto-brightness is dialed in perfectly. Forget constant fiddling with the brightness slider; the X200 FE intuitively adapts, delivering ideal visibility in any environment. It’s the kind of seamless feature that elevates the entire user experience.

Say goodbye to eye strain! Vivo’s new phone boasts a 2,160Hz PWM dimming, turning those late-night scrolls and extended reading sessions into a visual spa day. I’ve used it, and under any lighting, it’s simply a treat for the eyes.

The fingerprint sensor is a hidden marvel lightning fast and consistently accurate. It’s so dependable, failed attempts are simply a forgotten memory.

The Vivo X200 FE doesn’t just offer a great viewing experience; it throws open a window to another world. Colors explode with vibrant accuracy, details leap off the screen, and immersion becomes effortless. Forget simply seeing; prepare to be captivated. This isn’t just one of the best phone displays in its class; it redefines the class.

Vivo X200 FE Review: Performance

The Vivo X200 FE packs a punch under the hood, brandishing the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+, a near-flagship engine from yesteryear. It’s strapped with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM – our test unit boasted a cool 12GB – and a roomy 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Now, while the Dimensity 9300+ still flexes serious muscle, the UFS 3.1 storage feels like a pinch penny at this price. Competitors are zipping past with UFS 4.0. Add a decidedly old-school USB 2.0 port, and you’ve found the phone’s hardware Achilles’ heel.

This phone doesn’t just run, itflies. Apps snap open faster than you can blink, and juggling a dozen tasks feels like a breeze. Forget lag – this thing purrs even when pushed to its limits. That next-gen processor everyone’s raving about? Honestly, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference. This phone delivers pure, unadulterated speed in your hands.

The X200 FE punches above its weight in the gaming arena. Its secret weapon? A 3800 mm² vapor chamber cooling system that tames the heat like a pro. Don’t let its non-gaming phone status fool you; this device packs serious raw power, enough to thrill even demanding gamers. The only caveat? Remember you’re dealing with a compact champion. Its smaller frame means heat dissipation isn’t quite as expansive as on larger rivals.

Call of Duty: Mobile cranks everything to eleven straight out of the box – maxed-out graphics, breakneck frame rates, the works. But here’s a pro tip: sacrificing visual fidelity for "Ultra" frame rates unlocks buttery-smooth, lag-annihilating gameplay. Trust us, you’ll thank us later when you’re dominating the leaderboards.

Genshin Impact, on the other hand, opts for a more balanced approach. It defaults to "High" graphics, a respectable 30fps, and a slightly shy shadow quality. Craving a more fluid experience? Dial down the "render resolution" to "medium" and prepare for a glorious 45fps adventure. Your eyes (and your combos) will be singing.

Vivo has put a lot of effort into the gaming aspect of the device. Funtouch offers an “Ultra Gaming” mode that goes far beyond what Android natively includes. It does the typical thing, which is to optimize available hardware resources to get the best possible performance while you play. However, you’ll also find a lot of additional options that aren’t just bloatware but quite useful. These options will be available from a sidebar that you can display by sliding from the left side of the game UI.

Unleash your phone’s inner beast with gaming boosters, split into two potent arsenals: the "Performance Panel" and "Game Tools." The "Performance Panel" lets you intuitively crank up frame rates with simple sliders while showcasing the touch sampling rate. "Game Tools" is where things get wild: map actions to motion, record epic wins, and supercharge haptics with 4D vibration. Activate "Charge Bypass" and game on, plugged in, without battery drain!

Vivo X200 FE Review: Benchmarks

The X200 FE blazed through synthetic benchmarks, posting impressive scores. Its svelte design, however, means it runs a little warmer under pressure. Think of it as a finely tuned sports car – it gets atouchhot, but never overheats, even when pushed to its limits. It’s a minor warmth, a whisper of heat compared to the competition.

Geekbench:

Starting with Geekbench 6, the device achieved scores of 2,189 and 7,029 on the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.

| | | | | | — | — | — | — | |Device|Single-Core|Multi-Core|GPU| | Vivo X200 FE | 2,189 | 7,029 | 14,753 | | POCO F7 Ultra | 2,889 | 8,326 | 17,293 | | Google Pixel 9 Pro | 1,961 | 4,715 | 6,519 |

3D Mark’s Wildlife Extreme Stress Test :

We subjected the phone to 3D Mark’s Wildlife Extreme Stress Test – a digital crucible forged to push smartphone silicon to its breaking point. Many devices tap out before the final bell, succumbing to thermal overload. This isn’t just a GPU benchmark; it’s a trial by fire, exposing weaknesses in thermal management and separating the contenders from the pretenders.

The Vivo X200 FE faced our graphically intense 20-lap gauntlet and emerged with a 58.4% stability score. While that number hints at a slight thermal throttle, remember this phone’s petite frame. Think of it like this: it’s a marathon runner packing the muscles of a sprinter. Only the most visually punishing games, cranked to their absolute maximum settings, will eventually push it to its limit after extended play.

| | | | | | — | — | — | — | |Device|Best Loop|Lowest Loop|Stability| | Vivo X200 FE | 4,511 | 2,633 | 58.4% | | POCO F7 Ultra | 5,981 | 4,141 | 69% | | Google Pixel 9 Pro | 2,573 | 2,051 | 79,7% |

Antutu :

We also put the handset to the test in the very popular Antutu benchmark.

| Device | Score | | — | — | | Vivo X200 FE | 1,958,355 | | POCO F7 Ultra | 2,533,644 | | Google Pixel 9 Pro | 1,148,512 |

Vivo X200 FE Review: thermals

Pushing the limits during benchmarks, this pocket rocket stayed surprisingly cool under pressure. Check out the peak temperatures it hit in each test below.

| Benchmark | Temperature | | — | — | | Geekbench | 45,3 °C/113.54 °F | | 3D Mark Extreme Stress Test | 48 °C/118.4 °F | | Antutu | 41,6 °C/106,9 °F |

We also tested the Vivo X200 FE’s thermals during 4K/60fps video recording, the most demanding recording setting available.

| | | | | — | — | — | |Device|5 minutes|10 minutes| | Vivo X200 FE | 34.83 °C/94,7 °F | 37.36 °C/99,26 °F | | POCO F7 Ultra | 34.66 °C/ 94,4 °F | 35.16 °C/95,3 °F | | Google Pixel 9 Pro | 35 °C/95 °F | 37.27 °C/99,1 °F |

Forget USBs and storage gripes for a moment. The MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ roars to life, paired with lightning-fast LPDDR5X RAM and the Immortalis-G720 GPU’s twelve cores. This isn’t just good performance; it’s a beast unleashed.

Vivo X200 FE Review: Battery Life and Charging

The Vivo X200 FE holds a delightful secret beneath its sleek exterior: a colossal 6,500mAh silicon-anode battery. Forget clunky power banks; this phone laughs in the face of low-battery anxiety. Packing a battery of this magnitude into such a slim profile feels like smartphone sorcery – a power usually reserved for heavyweight, high-priced contenders. In a world of shrinking batteries, the X200 FE dares to be different, offering a battery behemoth in a surprisingly elegant frame.

Power through your day, and then some. This phone laughs in the face of battery anxiety. We pushed it hard – streaming, gaming, and endless scrolling – and it still cruised past the one-day mark, landing comfortably into day two. Even hardcore users can expect a full day of power, and if you’re a Wi-Fi devotee, prepare for marathon sessions of 10+ hours of screen-on time. Mobile data guzzler? No problem. You’ll still squeeze out a solid 8.5+ hours before needing a recharge.

Fueling up is a breeze with the phone’s blazing-fast 90W charging. The company claims a 20-100% charge in approximately 45 minutes. In real-world testing, we went from empty (1%) to full in just under an hour. Keep in mind, European customers will need to supply their own power brick. The good news? It plays nicely with USB-PD and PPS protocols, meaning your existing high-wattage adapters should work wonders. A 65W USB-PD charger worked flawlessly in our tests.

Below you can find the results of the Vivo X200 FE in our battery endurance test compared to other devices.

| | | | | — | — | — | |Device|Battery life|Charging| | Vivo X200 FE | 23:57:17 | 0:55:17 | | POCO F7 Ultra | 21:30:12 | 0:28:20 | | Google Pixel 9 Pro | 21:54:40 | 1:18:30 |

Maximize your battery’s life! Funtouch 15 lets you cap charging, preventing unnecessary wear and tear. Daily driver, not a power user? Limit to 90% and extend your battery’s health. Funtouch 15 gives you the control.

Vivo X200 FE Review: Software

The Vivo X200 FE comes out of the box running Funtouch 15, which is based on Android 15. Vivo promises four years of Android updates, so it should receive even Android 19 in the future. This particular model is set to get monthly security updates as well. During our tests, the phone received four updates to improve camera quality and add a security patch. The device is set to get Android 16 in November along with the other, more expensive Vivo X200 models, by the way.

The software’s user experience? A captivating paradox. Polished visuals meet practical functionality in an interface that initially whispers of intuitive design and effortless navigation.

Vivo’s UI, once a contender, now risks fading into the background. While Pixel phones flaunt vibrant Material design, and One UI empowers users with endless tweaks, Vivo’s interface could be perceived as lagging. Even daring innovations like Apple’s Liquid Retina display underscore this potential gap. However, Vivo’s OS delivers rock-solid stability and a genuinely fluid experience. The days of choppy performance and problematic bloatware, once common among Chinese Android skins, are thankfully over.

But that’s not all! Prepare to be amazed by genuinelyusefulAI sprinkled throughout. Ditch writer’s block with the AI writing assistant baked right into Notes. Imagine effortlessly understanding anyone, anywhere, with live call translation. Need meeting minutes in a flash? AI Transcript Assist conjures up concise summaries from sprawling conversations. Vivo even throws in DocMaster, your personal file-wrangling wizard for effortless conversions and edits. And, of course, Google’s Gemini arrives packing heat: Circle to Search magic and on-screen translation superpowers at your fingertips.

Vivo’s Gallery app boasts AI smarts, including an "AI Photo Enhance" that promises to breathe new life into your snapshots. The reality? It’s a gamble. Sometimes it’s a photo-saving hero, other times it’s a bit too enthusiastic, leaving portraits looking like they’ve been airbrushed by robots. However, the AI eraser is surprisingly effective, banishing unwanted objects and even pesky reflections from glass. Need a PDF? The Gallery app can whip one up from your images in a snap.

Vivo’s OS? Solid, yet subtly irksome. That smooth app drawer? Interrupted. Vivo decided to tuck its widgetsinsideit. Imagine flipping through apps, then BAM! Widgets. Customization cravings? Prepare to be denied. The launcher’s allergic to third-party icon packs. Seriously, no icon love allowed. Bummer indeed.

The frustratingly permanent bottom app dock creates a chasm of empty space on the home screen. Sure, a custom launcher can bridge this gap, but why should it be necessary? Fingers crossed that Vivo fills this void and grants us dock-free freedom in future updates.

Android’s theming engine lets you bathe your phone in a unified color palette, transforming app icons and key interface elements. Tweak the icon shapes – square, circle, or that quirky "squircle" – for a personalized touch. While some app icons stubbornly resist the theme’s allure (a minor tragedy when it’s your go-to app), you can embrace true minimalism by banishing icon labels from your home screen altogether.

Funtouch 15 puts you in the privacy driver’s seat. Lock down your apps tighter than Fort Knox with PIN or biometric protection, or vanish them completely from prying eyes by hiding them from the app drawer and home screen. Plus, gain forensic-level insights into your app’s activity, seeing exactly when they’ve tapped into your location, camera, and microphone, all neatly organized in a chronological timeline.

Vivo X200 FE Review: Camera

The Vivo X200 FE screams camera prowess from its distinctive rear bump. While it forgoes the headline-grabbing 1-inch sensors, prepare to be surprised by its content creation capabilities. The triple-camera array is spearheaded by a 50MP Sony IMX921 (f/1.88 aperture, 1/1.56″ sensor). This isn’t the sensor that breaks the internet, but it punches far above its weight, capturing images bursting with detail and vibrancy.

But the real showstopper? The 50MP periscope Sony IMX882 sensor boasting a 3x optical zoom that pulls you into the action. Sound familiar? It’s strikingly similar to the Vivo X200’s periscope,almost. The FE model takes a detour with an M-style prism. The trade-off? Sleek design, yes, but wave goodbye to dedicated macro shots. No tiny worlds to explore here. Macro enthusiasts, you’ve been warned.

Each lens, armed with OIS and legendary ZEISS optics, promises brighter images and banished lens flare. But promises aside, the main and telephoto sensors deliver stunning results. The real showstopper? A near-instant shutter speed that leaves even top-tier flagship phones in the dust.

Main camera samples:

The main lens delivers consistently impressive results, no matter the lighting. Expect sharp, vibrant photos that dodge the "washed-out" look plaguing competitors, thanks to Vivo’s restrained image processing. HDR performance is another win for the X200 FE, expertly balancing highlights and shadows for truly dynamic shots.

As darkness deepens, the main sensor soldiers on admirably. Yet, the twilight hours reveal a subtle truth: this isn’t quite a flagship camera. Watch out for harsher highlights and deeper shadows as light becomes scarce. While detail remains respectable avoiding the dreaded "oil painting" look of lesser phones complex scenes awash in artificial light can still pose a challenge.

3x telephoto samples:

The periscope sensor delivers truly exceptional image quality, a cut above the rest. Forget the hazy, "foggy effect" plaguing other zoom solutions – this lens offers crystal clarity. Vivo’s pedigree in mobile photography shines through. Years of experience crafting top-tier camera phones clearly inform the image processing here.

The camera app provides quick access to 0.6x, 1x, 2x, 3x, and 10x zoom levels. But the real magic lies in the fine-tuned control. A long press unlocks a carousel, allowing you to precisely dial in your desired zoom up to an astounding 100x. While reaching for the stars at maximum zoom might yield less-than-perfect results, the versatility is undeniable.

Below you’ll find samples taken with the 3x telephoto periscope lens.

Craving extreme close-ups? While the 10x zoom is tempting, results are a mixed bag. Some scenes shine, while others reveal the "AI magic" a little too clearly. But here’s the sweet spot: up to 5x zoom, the quality is shockingly close to optical. Push beyond that, and you’ll see the AI working overtime to reconstruct the image.

When night falls, the 3x telephoto lens transforms into a surprising ally. Like the main camera, it fearlessly captures detail, refusing to let shadows swallow texture. This isn’t just a good telephoto lens; it’s a potential game-changer, especially considering it lives within a phone that doesn’t demand a flagship fortune. It might just be the best 3x zoom lens you can find.

Ultra-wide samples:

The ultra-wide lens on the Vivo X200 FE feels like a tacked-on afterthought. Its 8MP sensor, a relic from the budget phone era, clashes jarringly with the otherwise impressive camera array. Let’s be blunt: the ultra-wide is merely "usable." In perfect lighting, it scrapes by, but forget about capturing detail that rivals the primary or telephoto lenses. Vivo’s image processing tries to salvage the situation, but ultimately, the ultra-wide is a disappointment.

The ultra-wide lens in dim environments? Forget about it. Light spills everywhere, and details vanish faster than free pizza at a startup. It’s a stark reminder that we’re slumming it in budget-camera territory. A measly sensor struggles, making you yearn for a crisp 12MP shooter that could actually capture the night.

By the way, the phone offers a “Supermoon” mode:

Vivo’s camera app throws a party of "styles," but three vie for the spotlight: Texture, Vivid, and Zeiss. While Vivo knows its audience craves vibrant snapshots destined for social feeds hence the default "Vivid" mode it’s the Zeiss mode that whispers promises of true-to-life imagery. This is where the camera’s mettle was truly tested, capturing reality, unfiltered.

Unleash your inner photographer with a suite of dynamic styles waiting to be discovered! Dive into specialized modes like "Food," for mouthwatering shots, or "Stage," engineered to capture electrifying concert moments with its powerful zoom. Activate "Smart Focus" and watch the camera intelligently lock onto and track your subjects. This isn’t just a camera; it’s a playground of features designed to thrill even the most seasoned photography enthusiast.

Forget monotone flashes. Your phone’s flash is a chameleon, shifting between cool and warm tones to capture the perfect light. Think of it as a mini-studio in your pocket, letting you fine-tune the color temperature manually or trusting its AI smarts to analyze the scene. Vivo takes it a step further with "Aura Light," offering adjustable intensity for that just-right glow. And for selfie aficionados? Hidden front-facing flashlights ensure you’re always picture-perfect, even in the dark.

Should You Buy the Vivo X200 FE?

The Vivo X200 FE is one of those great phones that, unfortunately, is not available in the US market. However, it was launched for €799 in EU countries and from ₹51,990 in India. At this point you could probably get it for less. This phone is a serious competitor to other compact devices like the OnePlus 13s and the Google Pixel 10 in its range. It’s an easy recommendation for anyone in the market for a compact phone that doesn’t compromise on the core experience.

You should buy the Vivo X200 FE if:

You want one of the best camera experiences available in a sub-flagship phone. Craving a premium feel without the premium price tag? Hunting for a phone that balances budget with brilliance, even if it means a few clever compromises? Then you’re on the right track.
You want a phone whose battery will easily last more than a day even with intensive use.

You should not buy the Vivo X200 FE if:

The quality of the ultra-wide camera is really important to you.
You prefer phones with large screens.

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