Competition
The X300 Pro’s MSRP is €1400 and that’s a pretty serious number that pits it against some intimidating competitors. A distant relative-turned-rival, another compatriot’s Ultra, a couple of more mainstream offerings, plus some in-house contenders – can the X300 Pro outdo them all?
The most obvious battle is against the Oppo Find X9 Pro. Very similar in concept, the Find easily wins an endurance race and is €100 cheaper (in theory, at least). There are tons of nuances between the two in what’s probably the most important aspect of both of them – the camera, but we’d give the nod to the vivo overall.
It’s a trickier comparison against the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. That one has a higher-class main camera, and a different take on zooming in – two teles are more than one, particularly when one of them is so similar to the vivo’s. There’s also the fact that the Xiaomi is… mature enough to have been discounted already.
You could entertain a couple of less imaginative options. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is an easy choice for a feature-packed Android first and foremost with solid cameras as a bonus, while the Pixel 10 Pro XL is an Android purist’s dream, with more like an alright camera experience.
Oppo Find X9 Pro • Xiaomi 15 Ultra • Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra • Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
The X300 Pro has a couple of viable alternatives in its own squad, maybe even three depending on how you look at it. The X300 non-Pro scores a lot of points for compactness, while delivering camera results above what its physical size would suggest, plus it should be telephoto extender-compatible too. Last year’s X200 Pro is about as good as the X300 Pro, though perhaps the new model’s smallish advancements add up. Then there’s the X200 Ultra, though with that one you’ll have to live with some software limitations because of its China-specific software. All of these will be cheaper, perhaps significantly so.
vivo X300 • vivo X200 Pro • vivo X200 Ultra
Verdict
The X300 Pro is another installment in a beloved series that offers an outstanding camera experience, now made even better by an improved main camera, nicer selfies, and a telephoto extender compatibility until now reserved for the Ultra. It’s doing great on other fundamentals too, boasting a wonderful display, excellent charging speed, and top-tier chipset performance. All of that is packed in a great-looking durable body too.
Some things could have been better, of course. We’re most annoyed by vivo’s decision to limit the handset’s battery capacity in some markets instead of doing what was needed to make it happen. Most competitors will get you nicer speakers, low-light video quality could use some improving, and the thermal throttling, while par for the course, is still worth going into the cons list. The added telephoto capabilities come at a significant extra cost too, and it’s perhaps too much.
Overall though, we still think the X300 Pro is a winner and should be a top choice for anyone in the market for smartphone camera excellence.
Pros
Fully flat design, glass protector friendly, IP68/IP69-rated.
Super-bright display, Dolby Vision capable, excellent overall.
Class-leading charging speed, with both proprietary and standard chargers.
Top-class performance, standout GPU results.
Great camera performance overall. Spectacular telephoto camera, particularly great at night and at close range; nice selfies.
Telephoto Extender compatibility.
Cons
Nerfed battery capacity in EU markets.
Speakers can be better.
Heavy throttling – both the CPU and the GPU can be affected.
Low-light videos not quite up to scratch.
Telephoto Extender Kit is pretty expensive.