The Vivo V9 has officially launched, bringing with it a almost bezel-free 6.3-inch display, an iPhone X-style notch, 24MP front camera and 16MP+5MP dual camera setup on the rear.
Vivo is on somewhat of a roll this year. First it gave us a fully-functioning smartphone with an in-display fingerprint scanner at CES 2018, it then put that phone on sale as the X20 Plus UD and most recently, it showed off the Apex Concept at MWC 2018.
The Vivo V9 doesn't quite have the next-generation bells and whistles of either of those handsets, but it is pushing the AI camera angle hard - something that's becoming a common theme among Chinese phone manufacturers of late.
The 6.3-inch IPS display boasts a 19:9 aspect ratio - making it ever so slightly taller than Samsung's 18.5:9 Infinity Display on the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. However, with just a 1080 x 2280 resolution, the full HD panel isn't going to be as pin-sharp as QHD-toting rivals.
Your age is not a secret
The V9's real party trick is built into the 24MP front facing camera, as Vivo claims - with the help of its AI (artificial intelligence) it will be able to work out your age, sex, skin tone and texture.
Now it's not clear how it will do this, or how accurate it will be, but it's something we'll put to the test when we review the handset.
Round the back there's a dual camera setup with 16MP and 5MP sensors stacked vertically - like the iPhone X.
We were disappointed to learn that the fingerprint scanner isn't embedded in the display though, with Vivo opting to place it on the back.
It's also not going to have flagship performance with a more mid-range Snapdragon 626 chipset keeping Android 8.1 running - although it is backed up by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage - plus there's a microSD slot which supports cards up to 256GB in size.
The phone measures 154.81 x 75.03 x 7.89mm, weighs 150g and packs in a 3,260mAh battery.
The Vivo V9 will be available in pearl black and gold color options, although we're yet to know how much it will cost. We'll update this article once we know the Vivo V9 price and the markets where it'll be available.
