TL; DR (tap to expand)
- New leaks suggest the vivo X500 Pro may replace the large 200MP periscope camera from the X300 Pro with a smaller 64MP 1/2-inch 3X periscope sensor.
- vivo is currently testing the phone with a 50MP 1/1.28-inch LOFIC main sensor, 50MP ultrawide camera, and MediaTek’s upcoming 2nm Dimensity D9600 chipset.
- The X500 Pro will likely use a smaller 6.3-inch to 6.59-inch display, while a separate X500 Pro Max may continue using the larger 200MP zoom hardware.
Reliable Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station has shared early engineering details about the vivo X500 Pro, and one of the biggest changes is the telephoto camera. According to the leak, vivo is currently testing the X500 Pro with a 64MP 1/2-inch 3X periscope camera instead of the large 200MP 1/1.4-inch periscope setup used on the current X300 Pro.
That is a pretty major shift. The rumored 64MP 1/2-inch sensor is also the same one currently rumored for the base OPPO Find X10, so vivo seems to be scaling things back a bit on the smaller Pro model next year.
Smaller Phone, Smaller Camera Hardware
The reason likely comes down to size. Leaks suggest the X500 Pro will move toward a more compact flagship form factor with a display somewhere between 6.3 inches and 6.59 inches. However, that doesn’t sound like a big challenge anymore since we have 6.3 inch flagships like the Find X9s Pro with a 200MP periscope (even though it’s 1/1.56-inch).
Moving from a 200MP 1/1.4-inch periscope to a 64MP 1/2-inch sensor is a noticeable downgrade on paper, especially for long-range zoom performance and low-light telephoto shots.
New LOFIC Main Camera and 2nm Chipset
The rest of the camera setup still looks fairly strong. The engineering sample reportedly uses a 50MP 1/1.28-inch LOFIC main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide camera, and a 64MP 1/2-inch 3X periscope camera. The LOFIC sensor should help improve dynamic range and highlight control.
For performance, vivo is reportedly testing MediaTek’s upcoming Dimensity D9600 series chipset. The higher-end D9600 Pro version may use a 2nm manufacturing process, while the standard D9600 could still use 3nm.
So, what about the 200MP periscope? Leaks suggest that the new vivo X500 Pro Max model will keep the larger 200MP periscope setup and essentially become the real successor to the X300 Pro (review) for users who care more about zoom performance.
At the same time, vivo may skip launching a separate Ultra model next year entirely and instead simplify the lineup into Pro and Pro Max variants.
Everything right now is still based on early engineering samples, so final specifications could still change before launch later in 2026.
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