New smartphones unveiled to target photo-taking lovers

Chinese tech company Vivo unveiled its latest flagship smartphones X70 series, which are powered by its self-designed Imaging Chip V1, as it steps up push to grow its research and development to target photo lovers.

The move also comes as Vivo further extends its camera partnership with renowned German lens company Zeiss to refine the photo-taking capabilities of its smartphones.

Priced from 3,699 yuan ($574) in China, X70 series is part of Vivo's broader push to safeguard its top position in its home country. The company has been the No 1 smartphone vendor by shipments in the Chinese market for two consecutive quarters.

The X70 Pro Plus is the top-of-the-line device. It features a Snapdragon 888 Plus processor from the US chip heavyweight Qualcomm Inc, and a 6.783-inch screen. Its Zeiss-branded camera array has a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 48-megapixel gimbal-stabilized ultra-wide sensor, a 12-megapixel telephoto, and an 8-megapixel periscope telephoto. The X70 Pro and X70 have smaller 6.56-inch isplays and Dimensity 1200 processors from MediaTek.

Vivo said its self-designed Imaging Chip V1 is bringing better imaging experience for the X70 series smartphones.

Hu Baishan, executive vice-president and chief operating officer at Vivo, said earlier that V1 is a fully-customized integrated circuit chip dedicated for imaging and video applications with leading edge visual quality, marking a key milestone as Vivo's inaugural breakthrough in independent R&D and chip design.