Vivo S20 and S20 Pro Smartphones Review – The Vivo S20 and S20 Pro were announced in November 2024 but didn’t start shipping to customers until December 2024. They are only available in China at the moment, but given Vivo’s history, the two phones should be released globally. However, this is yet to be confirmed by the company. The two phones look extremely similar to Vivo’s other smartphones. In fact, most Vivo phones have started to look so similar that it is hard to distinguish one from the other.
A new phone design from Vivo would be surely appreciated. If you can look past the outer design, you will find the new phones quite good. The Vivo S20 and S20 Pro feature premium hardware inside, including 5G connectivity, to deliver a fantastic user experience. Vivo is hoping the powerful hardware components inside would be enough to excite new users. Let’s begin with a detailed review of both Vivo S20 and S20 Pro and see if these smartphones are worth purchasing.
Table of Contents
Vivo S20 and S20 Pro Smartphones Review
Highlights
- Both Vivo S20 and S20 Pro feature the same 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate support.
- The Vivo S20 features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 5G chipset, while the Vivo S20 Pro features the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ 5G chipset.
- Both phones have Android 15 with an OriginOS 5 user interface for higher customization options.
- The Vivo S20 features a 50MP dual rear camera system, while the Vivo S20 Pro has a 50MP triple rear camera system. Both phones have the same 50MP selfie camera.
- The Vivo S20 has a 6500mAh battery, while the Vivo S20 Pro is equipped with the 5500mAh battery. Both phones support the same 90W wired fast charging support.
Design and Display
The Vivo S20 and S20 Pro have the same design language but differ in shapes. The former features a flat design, while the latter has a curved design with significantly more premium quality. The side and mid-frame of the two phones are plastic, but the rear panel is made of glass, which will feel more premium in your hands.
The Vivo S20 comes in Gray, Gold, and White colors, while the Vivo S20 Pro is available in Gray, Purple, and Gold colors. The two smartphones are protected by IP64 dust and water resistance. As for the display, both Vivo S20 and S20 Pro feature an extremely bezel-less screen, which delivers better visual fidelity. They have the same 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The two displays also have support for up to 1 billion colors, which delivers better color reproduction and a higher contrast ratio. The screens can also get extremely bright at 5000 nits, which makes it easy to view, even under direct sunlight. Also, the Vivo S20 has a scratch and drop resistance display, but the same cannot be said for the Pro model, which seems pretty weird considering the Pro model is the more expensive variant.
Memory and Internal
The Vivo S20 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 5G chipset, which can reach clock speeds of up to 1×2.63 GHz, while the Vivo S20 Pro has the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ 5G chipset, which can reach clock speeds of up to 1×3.4 GHz. While both chipsets can run most apps and games smoothly, the latter is significantly more powerful and is capable of playing games at higher graphical fidelity and performance.
The two chipsets also support 5G connectivity and are capable of browsing the internet at gigabit-level speeds and running online games at low latency. For RAM and storage, the Vivo S20 will be available in 8+256GB, 12+256GB, 12+512GB, and 16+512GB of RAM and storage configurations. However, the Vivo S20 Pro will be available in 12+256GB, 12+512GB, and 16+512GB of RAM and storage configurations.
When it comes to the software side of things, the new smartphones are running on the latest Android 15 with an OriginOS 15 user interface for higher customization. Vivo did a great service to its users by including the latest Android version out of the box.
Camera
The Vivo S20 features a 50MP dual rear camera system, while the Vivo S20 Pro has a 50MP triple rear camera system. The primary camera of both phones has the same 50MP sensor, and pictures coming out of the 50MP main sensor produce superb pictures. These pictures have high details, better clarity, and a natural color tone.
The second camera is where the differences start. The Vivo S20 has an 8MP ultra-wide secondary camera, which takes some shots with average detail levels and a natural color tone. On the other hand, the Vivo S20 Pro has a 50MP ultra-wide camera, which produces pictures with a wider field of view while preserving the fine details in the picture just like the main camera.
The Vivo S20 Pro also has a third camera with a 50MP periscopic telephoto camera, which can capture pictures with 3x optical zoom, and these pictures look fantastic. The detail levels, dynamic range, and color tone are similar to the other two cameras of this phone. Even in low-light situations, the Vivo S20 Pro takes brighter shots compared to its younger brother.
On the front, both Vivo S20 and S20 Pro have the same 50MP selfie camera. This camera can take some excellent selfies that have high detail levels and overall better lighting compared to other smartphones in the same price range. As for video recording, the Vivo S20 and S20 Pro can record videos at up to 4K from both the rear and selfie cameras. The rear cameras of both smartphones have OIS and gyro-EIS, so any footage recorded from them will be quite stable, but the same cannot be said for the selfie camera.
Battery and Others
The Vivo S20 has a 6500mAh battery, which should provide 2 – 3 days’ worth of battery life with low to medium usage. However, the Vivo S20 Pro is equipped with a 5500mAh battery, which is quite a bit lower than the non-pro model. Therefore, it will deliver slightly lower battery life but expect at least a day’s worth of battery life.
Both phones support the same 90W wired fast charging support, which should fully charge them at around the 30-minute mark. Apart from that, both smartphones have Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, an under-display fingerprint scanner, NFC, Infrared, stereo speakers, and a USB Type-C port for charging. The Vivo S20 is available for a price tag of $307 (Rs 25,990 in India) approx, while the Vivo S20 Pro is available starting at $472 (Rs 39,990 in India) approx.
Vivo S20 Pro Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Vivo S20 Pro smartphone.
| Specifications | Vivo S20 Pro |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | November 2024 |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.32 x 2.95 x 0.30 inches |
| Weight | 194 g |
| Size | 6.67 inches |
| Display | AMOLED 1B colors 120Hz 1600-5000 nits brightness 20:9 ratio ~460 PPI density |
| Protection/Others | IP64 dust/water resistant |
| Resolution | 1260 x 2800 pixels |
| OS | Android 15, OriginOS 5 |
| Chipset | 4nm – Mediatek Dimensity 9300+ |
| CPU | Octa-core 1×3.4 GHz Cortex-X4 3×2.85 GHz Cortex-X4 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A720 |
| GPU | Immortalis-G720 MC12 |
| Card slot | No |
| RAM | 12GB, 16GB |
| Internal | 256GB, 512GB UFS 3.1 |
| Camera | 50 MP (wide), PDAF, OIS 50 MP (periscope telephoto), PDAF (15cm – ∞), OIS, 3x optical zoom 50 MP (ultrawide), AF Ring-LED flash, panorama, HDR Max – 4K, gyro-EIS |
| Selfie | 50 MP (wide), AF HDR Max – 4K |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.4, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, LHDC 5 |
| GPS | GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS, BDS (B1I+B1c+B2a), GALILEO (E1+E5a), QZSS (L1+L5), NavIC (L5) |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
| Sensors | Under display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Battery | Si/C 5500 mAh 90W wired, PD Reverse wired |
| Colors | Gray, Purple, Gold |
| Expected Price | $472 (Rs 39,990 in India) approx |
Conclusion
Vivo truly outdid themselves with the Vivo S20 and S20 Pro, and that too, on a budget price tag. The two phones offer a rich and premium experience in every aspect, whether that’s the design, display, performance, camera, or battery life. The Vivo S20 is the cheaper one, but it still delivers quite the experience but has a few cons like the lack of a strong chipset and secondary camera lens, which is fulfilled by the Vivo S20 Pro.
Therefore, if you want a well-balanced smartphone on a budget, go for the Vivo S20, but if you want a bit more gaming performance or camera capabilities, then the Vivo S20 Pro is the one to go for. Also, the camera performance is the best in Vivo S20 Pro, so if you have a preference for camera quality, go with this phone.
The only significant con of these two Vivo phones is the lack of wireless charging, which is present in the Xiaomi Redmi K80 Pro, which is the best alternative to the Vivo S20 and S20 Pro. The Redmi K80 Pro delivers a better chipset and wireless charging and costs only a bit more. However, the final decision is up to you, so it is better to choose a smartphone based on your requirements and needs.
