Beebom
Rating8
The Vivo X300 FE nails the essentials for a compact, flagship-grade smartphone. It brings much-needed upgrades that were absent in the previous generation, offering impressive performance and all-day battery along with a refined design. At Rs 79,999, the Vivo X300 FE is slightly more expensive than its standard X300 sibling but still great for anyone looking for a good camera phone.
Pros
- Clean, standout design
- Smooth and responsive display
- Great gaming performance
- All-day battey
- Exceptional main and telephoto cameras
Cons
- Average ultrawide shots
- Pre-loaded with bloatware
The small phone market landscape has changed drastically over the years. Although the definition of a "small" phone has changed, their size is still smaller than the Pro Max's of this era, and phones in this segment cater to users with specific use cases, including camera enthusiasts. Vivo has set the benchmark for some of the best small camera phones, and it's continuing this legacy with its latest Vivo X300 FE smartphone, but does it succeed? Read our Vivo X300 FE review to find out.
Unboxing
Inside the box, Vivo maintains its tradition of providing a complete starter kit so that you don't have to run to your nearest phone shop to buy accessories. Here's everything you get inside the Vivo X300 FE box:
- Vivo X300 FE smartphone
- Screen protector (pre-applied)
- Colour-matched protective case
- 90W USB Type-A charger
- USB-A to Type-C charging cable
- SIM ejector tool and manual
The unboxing experience itself was quite decent. The colour-matched green case for our Olive Green variant is an absolute eye-catcher. Although I wish Vivo would finally let go of the USB Type-A charger for a USB Type-C one and include a Type-C to Type-C cable.
Vivo X300 FE Key Details
- Adreno 829
- 1.5K AMOLED
- LTPO
- HDR10+
- 90Watt (wired)
- Wireless Charging Supported
- Charger in the box
- Sony IMX921
- Sony IMX882
- Omnivision OV08F10
OIS
8K@30fps
- 256GB (UFS 4.1)
- Samsung ISOCELL JN1
- 4k@30fps
- Glass (Back)
- Aluminium Frame (Side)
- IP68/IP69 (Dust and Water Resistant)
- 5 year(s) of OS Update
Vivo X300 FE: Design and Build
- 150.83 x 71.76 x 7.99 mm, 191 grams weight
- Glass back with Aerospace-grade aluminum
- IP68/69 water resistance
Starting with the in-hand feel, if I were handed both the X300 FE and X200 FE in both hands blindfolded, I'm sure I would assume both are the same phones. The physical footprint remains the same as last year, but the back design of the Vivo X300 FE has undergone a massive shift.
The glass back now meets sturdy aerospace-grade aluminium. We got the Olive Green variant, and I personally believe it's the best among the other two – Lilac Purple and Noir Black.
The back now has a horizontal metal camera island instead of a circular housing. Initially, I was worried the shift might introduce an imbalance when using the smartphone, but the weight is surprisingly well distributed across the body.
Another perk of this design is that it eliminates the table wobble completely. Durability remains pretty great too, with an IP69 rating and SGS drop resistance.
Display and Audio Quality
- 6.31-inch 1.5K flat display, 120Hz LTPO
- 5,000 nits peak brightness with Schott Xensation glass protection
The display specifications look familiar, but we found out that the X300 FE was a bit brighter when playing HDR at 2,750 nits. The Zeiss Master Colour tuning was pretty evident and gave us great colour accuracy. The phone fully supports HDR playback on streaming platforms like Netflix and YouTube. However, the most significant QoL update is an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.
Unlocking the Vivo X300 FE has been an absolute breeze. It's drastically faster than the optical sensor used in the X200 FE, and it worked flawlessly even with wet and dirty fingers. That said, the audio performance was a mixed bag. It initially required some tuning, as the 60:40 split speakers sounded a bit bland and flat, and it lacked bass. Fortunately, a new update fixed this issue.
I had zero complaints about the display, just like my colleague Anshuman in his Vivo X200 FE review. It's bright, sharp and vivid for content consumption.
Performance Tested
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (3nm), Adreno 840 GPU
- 12GB LPDDR5X Ultra RAM, UFS 4.1 Storage
Vivo swapped MediaTek for Qualcomm this year, and the X300 FE is powered by Qualcomm's latest sub-flagship processor. Day-to-day performance was a breeze with quick app opening times, webpage response times and great multitasking, with most apps being retained in the memory.
This easily makes it one of the most powerful compact flagships out there. Our Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 vs Dimensity 9500 comparison reveals the Snapdragon doesn't trail behind the Dimensity by much, but what does that mean in real life?
Well, to find out, we tested three of our favourite games – CoD Mobile, Genshin Impact and BGMI. CoD: Mobile reported an excellent 120 FPS on Medium/Ultra settings while the phone warmed up to 41.3°C. Genshin Impact ran at an average of 59.3 FPS at the highest settings in over a 20-minute session, with temperatures reaching 43.5°C.
BGMI, on the other hand, ran at a rock-solid 90 FPS at Super Smooth + Extreme+ settings. Thermals were incredibly recessed at 34.7°C, mainly because the processor wasn't being pushed to its maximum potential.
While the X300 FE lacks a dedicated hardware chip for gaming and frame interpolation, it still manages to offer a robust suite of software features. These include bypass charging, esports mode and a 4D game vibration, making it a capable smartphone for gaming.
Software and Updates
- OriginOS 6 based on Android 16
- Five years of Android updates and seven years of total security patches
Vivo has extended the software commitment on the X300 FE, and it's on par with what most flagships offer these days. However, the device comes pre-loaded with third-party bloatware like Agoda, Facebook and LinkedIn. The setup process pushes services like the Glance lock screen and V-Appstore recommendations. Thankfully, these can be bypassed or disabled.
On the positive side, OriginOS 6 includes a native dialler and a host of customisation options. The new Origin Island and Drag & Go features make multitasking intuitive. We also tried Vivo's new Share & Share feature with AirPods and iPads, and it worked like a charm.
The AI suite has also been expanded with features like Universal Search and a host of photo manipulation features. The note-taking and writing tools worked like a charm as well.
Camera Reviewed
- 50 MP Main (Sony IMX921) f/1.6, 23mm, 1/1.56" sensor size
- 50 MP 3X Telephoto (Sony IMX882) f/2.7, 73mm, 1/1.95" sensor size
- 8 MP ultrawide f/2.2, 15mm, 1/4.0" sensor size | 50 MP selfie camera
The core camera sensors have remained unchanged, with the only difference being the aperture. The main camera on the X300 FE has a wider f/1.6 aperture versus f/1.9 on the X200 FE. This should let more light into the sensor and give you a shallower depth of field. But did it excel in our testing?
Well, I'm happy to report that the main camera captures great pictures. It takes well-balanced shots with good dynamic range. However, there were situations where the camera overexposed images, primarily with subjects. Similarly, the noise filtering algorithm sometimes doesn't work as intended, and the nighttime shots come out a bit noisy. Vivo has some way to go with the tuning on the X300 FE.
However, the star of the show is the 50 MP telephoto experience. With support for Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2, users can get a 200 mm focal distance. The zoomed-in images are crisp and vivid and have excellent dynamic range. The Zeiss colour science makes images look more natural, although the AI algorithms do sharpen things a bit, making zoomed-in shots look a bit too unnaturally sharp.
The only glaring point, though, is the 8 MP ultrawide camera. While adequate for casual daylight snaps, it lacks the resolution and detail necessary to keep up with the premium main and telephoto lenses. The colours are pretty accurate across all three lenses. The front camera, too, takes great pictures. They're sharp, have rich yet natural colours and are always ready to go for social media.
Battery Life and Charging
- 6,500mAh Si-C Battery
- 90W wired charging and 40W wireless charging
Vivo has yet again managed to fit a 6,500mAh battery, and while it's not an improvement, the overall battery life was marginally better due to a more efficient 3nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset (vs 4nm Dimensity 9300+). In my testing, the phone easily pushed through a heavy day of gaming, camera usage and media consumption with plenty of juice left over.
Charging is equally impressive with 90W fast charging, which took exactly 1 hour to charge from 2–100%. More importantly, Vivo finally listened to user feedback and added 40W wireless charging, patching one of the biggest omissions from last year's model.
Vivo X300 FE Review Verdict: Is It Worth Your Money?
The Vivo X300 FE takes an already excellent formula and patches its most glaring holes. With the addition of wireless charging, a faster ultrasonic fingerprint scanner and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, it tries to offer a complete flagship experience and, for the most part, succeeds in doing so.
However, the persistent bloatware and lacklustre 8 MP ultrawide camera hold it back from being a perfect phone. The jump from Rs 54,999 for the X200 FE to Rs 79,999 for the X300 FE is quite steep. For context, the compact Vivo X300 could be bought for around Rs 65,000 as of writing this, and it boasts better cameras than the Vivo X300 FE while coming in at around 20% cheaper.
The bottom line is that the Vivo X300 FE is a great phone, but the steep price increase this year makes it hard to recommend at its current price. That said, aside from pricing, if you need a compact, camera-focused phone that's fast, stylish and long-lasting, the Vivo X300 FE ticks all those boxes.
Disclaimer: The price & specs shown may be different from actual. Please confirm on the retailer site before purchasing.
