Vivo's Xplay7 Could Be the Most Powerful Flagship in 2018

this under-display fingerprint sensor will likely be in the vivo xplay7 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

With the buzz surrounding upcoming flagships at both MWC 2018 and outside events, you’d be forgiven for missing the waves being made by a little-known Chinese manufacturer. Vivo is best known as the first company to crack the in-display fingerprint scanner, a feat that both Samsung and Apple have failed to emulate so far. And as if that wasn’t enough, Vivo was also the first smartphone manufacturer to debut a smartphone with 6GB of RAM — so the Chinese company’s credentials are solid when it comes to technical innovation.

Leaks and rumors have recently surfaced that Vivo is planning the next entry in its flagship Xplay series — the Xplay7. The leaks come courtesy of Weibo, (as translated by FoneArena) and they paint a picture of a monster of a smartphone that could be enough to blow all thoughts of the impending Samsung Galaxy S9 that we expect to see at MWC 2018 next month.

Fone Arena

First up on the spec sheet is a 4K display with a curved edge-to-edge design, similar to the Galaxy S8 and Note 8. Unlike those two phones, however, the Xplay7 is rumored to be packing at incredible 92.9-percent screen-to-body ratio — the aforementioned Galaxy S8 and Note 8 have a ratio of 83.6-percent and 83.2-percent, making this Vivo phone one of the most bezel-less screens we’ve seen yet.

Details on screen size haven’t yet been revealed, but the ratio implies it’s likely to be on the larger size. It’s highly likely that the inclusion of Vivo’s impressive under-display fingerprint scanner is what allowed Vivo to shrink the bezels quite so much, since there doesn’t need to be room on the front of the display for a scanning button.

And it’s not all beauty with no brawn. The Vivo Xplay7 will be utilizing the power of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845, putting it on an even playing field with other 2018 Android flagships like the Galaxy S9, and the innards pack an incredible 10GB of RAM and options for 256GB and 512GB of onboard storage. This would be the world’s first smartphone with 10GB of RAM. Though some phones did reach 8GB in 2017, we’re yet to see a phone hit double digits for RAM. The storage is similarly impressive, with 512GB of onboard storage pushing the Xplay7 to PC levels.

The camera suite that has been installed seems similarly impressive, although details are scarce. What we do know is that the dual-lens camera on the rear will come with Sony IMX sensors and support for 4x optical zoom. There’s also mention of “Face Recognition 2.0,” whatever that is, though it’s likely to be tied into the front-facing camera, and is likely Vivo’s answer to Apple’s FaceID.

What’s the catch? These are only rumors at this stage, with all of this coming from a PowerPoint presentation leaked by Weibo. It’s also highly unlikely we’ll be seeing this phone anywhere but China, but it’s always worth keeping an eye on what Vivo is doing, since its so often ahead of the smartphone technological curve.

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