vivo X300 review: the compact flagship that still goes all in on cameras

The vivo X300 has finally stepped into the spotlight, and our full video review puts the compact flagship through its paces. Announced in China alongside the more lavish X300 Pro and brought to international markets soon after, the X300 is intentionally positioned as the smaller, more approachable member of the family.

In practice it feels closer in spirit to last year’s X200 Pro mini than to the standard X200, aiming squarely at people who want top-tier hardware without committing to a giant slab of glass.

That compact philosophy is built around a 6.31 inch display, which strikes a balance between one hand usability and enough canvas for games, movies and social feeds. The panel pushes a sharp 1216 by 2640 resolution, runs at 120 Hz for super smooth scrolling, and has ample brightness so the content remains visible even under harsh daylight. It may not be the biggest screen in vivo’s portfolio, but it is clearly tuned to feel fast and flagship grade rather than like a compromise.

Under the hood, the X300 relies on MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500, the current top dog in the Helio makers stable. Paired with generous RAM and speedy UFS 4.1 storage, the chipset gives the phone the sort of headroom you expect from a proper high end device. Multitasking, demanding games and camera processing all benefit from the extra performance, and the thermal behavior in our testing remained under control, which is particularly important inside a smaller chassis.

Where the vivo X300 really tries to stand out is the camera system. The headline feature is the 200 MP main camera, designed to combine huge amounts of detail with clever pixel binning for more manageable shots in everyday use. It is joined by a 50 MP ultrawide camera with autofocus, meaning it can double as a close up shooter for dramatic perspectives, and a 50 MP periscope telephoto with 3x optical zoom for portraits and distant scenes. On the front there is yet another 50 MP camera with autofocus, promising sharp selfies and reliable video calls without the usual focus hunting.

Battery life is the one area where vivo leaves a bit more room for debate. In the European Union configuration, the X300 ships with a 5,360 mAh cell. That is still significantly larger than what you get in similarly sized competitors such as the Samsung Galaxy S25, but some rival Chinese brands are now pushing capacities even higher in phones of comparable size. For most users the X300 should comfortably last a day, yet heavy gamers or shutterbugs who lean on the bright display and powerful cameras may still find themselves watching the percentage more closely in the evening.

The memory and storage options also underline the flagship ambitions. The global lineup includes a 12 GB RAM variant with 256 GB of storage, priced around 1,049 euro in parts of Europe or about 75,999 rupees in India, as well as a 512 GB configuration that goes up to roughly 81,999 rupees. Those are serious prices that clearly put the device in competition with the biggest names in the Android world, but they are partly justified by the camera hardware and cutting edge processor.

All of this makes the vivo X300 a very focused proposition. It is not trying to chase the absolute biggest battery or the largest screen; instead it targets a niche of enthusiasts who value pocket friendliness, premium performance and a stacked camera system in roughly equal measure. If that mix sounds appealing, vivo’s compact flagship deserves a closer look, and our detailed video review dives into image quality, performance numbers and real world battery results.

If you want to go even deeper, our extensive written review explores every corner of the experience, from software quirks to long term stability and charging behavior. Together, the two reviews should answer the key question for anyone eyeing this phone: does the vivo X300 deliver enough flagship magic in its smaller frame to justify the asking price, or should you look elsewhere in the crowded high end segment?