Vivo kicks off 'stylish, youthful' series with the new S1

• Triple-camera smartphone prices at RM1,099
• Features massive 4,500mAh battery and Ultra Game Mode 

HOW do you appeal to youths? According to Vivo Malaysia CEO Mike Xu, you find the convergence point between technology and fashion. This is the philosophy behind the new S-series of smartphones by Vivo, which starts with the introduction of the Vivo S1 (launched on July 24 in Malaysia).

“As a consumer-based technology brand, Vivo wants to meet the increasingly varied needs of Malaysians,” Xu says. “Our internal research shows the segmentation of young consumers who want a stylish smartphone with features that suit their lifestyle. This is what we want to fulfil through the S-series.”

As you can gather, the “S” in the S-series stands for “Style”. The S1 certainly embodies that – its rear finish, for one, uses a nano-ion coating technique that produces colour gradations when light touches it. It comes in Diamond Black (which, as its namesake, has diamond motifs) and Skyline Blue (which has lighter, gentler blue).

The screen, on the other hand, is a 6.38-inch Super AMOLED FHD+ display. It has resolutions at 1080 x 2340 and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The screen-to-body ratio, as we’re told, is 90%. There’s a little waterdrop notch for the front camera. 

The fingerprint scanner is located behind the screen, which is said to allow unlocking in as fast as 0.42 seconds.

Three for the count

So, you’ve got the fashion part down pat. What about the technology? The Vivo S1 is one of the growing number of mid-range devices are featuring a triple camera setup. Here, you have a 16MP main camera, 8MP AI Super Wide-Angle Camera and 2MP Depth Sensor camera.

The Wide-Angle camera provides photos of up to 120-degrees, while the Depth Sensor camera is for smooth portrait or bokeh results. There are features that help spruce up photos and assist in taking better pictures, such as AI Portrait Framing, Portrait Mode and a Professional Mode.

This is the phone for youths, so the more impressive shooter is of the selfie variety. The Vivo S1 features a 32MP AI Selfie Camera, which Xu says is equipped with a slew of intelligent features ranging from AI Filter, AI Self Lighting, AR Stickers and AI Face Beauty.

“The Vivo S1 carries the specifications that young consumers look for in choosing a smartphone, such as stylish design, smart cameras, clear visual experience with a wide screen and reliable performance,” Xu adds.

Performance for the young

The specifications undoubtedly sounds reliable. The Vivo S1 comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. More reliable is the hefty 4,500mAh battery, which will likely last a full day with plenty left to spare before bedtime. The smartphone also provides 18W Dual-Engine Fast Charging.

As for the other innards, the Vivo S1 sports a Mediatek Helio P65 Octa-Core processor. Operating system will be the Funtouch OS 9, which is based on Android 9.0 Pie.

Another feature for the young-at-heart: the Vivo S1 comes with what they call Ultra Game Mode, which helps the smartphone’s performance become smoother during gameplay while helping conserve battery life. There’s even a floating window that reminds you of the remaining time before a multiplayer game starts, so you can do a quick check on Twitter while waiting.

The Vivo S1 will be available for sale on 27 July 2019 at all Vivo Concept Stores, collaboration partners and authorised dealers at a price of US$266.94 (RM1,099). Pre-orders are available from now until July 26, 2019.

At Vivo Concept Stores, you can pay RM50 to pre-order the device for an instant RM100 rebate when the device arrives. Pre-order buyers can also get a Vshare K1-Bluetooth Speaker as a free gift.