GoKawiilA few months ago, I wrote that the telephoto camera is the only lens that matters any more, at least when it comes to Ultra-class flagships. As phones got better, cameras became where manufacturers tried to stand out. As cameras got better, telephoto lenses became the next point of focus. The most recent Ultra phones from Xiaomi, Oppo, and Huawei have all made the telephoto, above all, their selling point. Vivo’s X300 Ultra is doing something different.
Instead of pushing its telephoto hardware to further extremes, Vivo has mostly left it be. The company has focused its efforts on a significantly improved 35mm main camera, unique among the competition for its narrow, natural focal length. Combined with the best ultrawide camera in any phone and new pro-level video features, the result is a camera system that feels equally balanced between all three rear lenses. It’s a less flashy approach, but the total package is more versatile and useful than its rivals and my favorite to use so far.
The main camera is certainly the best of the three. The 200-megapixel, 1/1.12-inch-type Sony Lytia 901 sensor delivers a serious jump in both size and resolution from last year’s X200 Ultra. But it preserves that camera’s best feature: a 35mm-equivalent focal length. That’s narrower than most other phones — 23–26mm is typical — but closer to what photographers tend to look for in their default lens because it feels natural, close in scope to the human eye. It’s also closer to the focal length many phones used to use. If you’ve ever lamented the fact that your main camera feels more and more like an ultrawide, this is the phone for you.
The telephoto camera also has 200-megapixel resolution, with an 85mm focal length and 1/1.4-inch sensor, essentially the same specs as the X200 Ultra. The slightly narrower f/2.7 aperture might make the X300 look like a downgrade, but improved stabilization and sensor and processing tweaks give this iteration an edge overall.
There are three true rear lenses here, plus a color spectrum sensor. Street Photography mode is where you’ll find the camera’s film simulations.
Then there’s the ultrawide. This also hasn’t changed much year over year, but remains unique for its sensor size. It’s larger than the one on the iPhone 17 Pro’s main camera and supports optical image stabilization too. It’s in every sense a main camera spec with an ultrawide lens on top. No other ultrawide comes close.
The selfie camera is the only one that isn’t especially impressive: a 50-megapixel shooter with a comparatively small 1/2.76-inch sensor. It’s fine; the other cameras are great.
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