vivo announced the X500 series in China on September 21, alongside a larger X500 Pro Max variant we aren’t covering here. This piece focuses on the X500 Pro, which leads with a 200MP periscope telephoto camera and MediaTek’s new 2nm chip. Pre-orders are already open in China, with retail sales starting September 29. Since vivo doesn’t officially sell phones in South Korea, we compared it against a phone Korean buyers can actually walk into a store and pick up: the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, currently the closest thing on the market to an apples-to-apples flagship rival.
vivo X500 Pro
| Spec | vivo X500 Pro |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.37-inch 1.5K OLED, 144Hz |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro (2nm) |
| Memory/Storage | 12GB RAM, 256GB / 512GB / 1TB (LPDDR6, UFS 5.0) |
| Battery | 6,510mAh |
| Charging | 90W wired |
| Main camera | 50MP (Sony LYT910) |
| Ultra-wide camera | 50MP |
| Telephoto camera | 200MP periscope |
| Video | 17EV TrueDynamic Log, 10-bit 4:2:2, ACES support |
| Price (China) | CNY 6,499 (12GB/256GB) to CNY 8,499 (12GB/1TB) |
| Launch | Announced September 21, China sales start September 29 |
The Dimensity 9600 Pro packs 33 billion transistors on a 2nm process and is the first chip to support the next-generation LPDDR6 RAM and UFS 5.0 storage standards — both meaningfully faster than the LPDDR5X and UFS 4.x generation still standard on most 2026 flagships. Main and ultra-wide cameras both sit at 50MP, but the telephoto lens gets a 200MP sensor in a periscope housing, putting the design weight behind zoom performance rather than wide-angle detail. On video, the phone supports 17-stop dynamic range Log shooting and the ACES color standard, features usually reserved for cinema cameras, which widens how much color grading room you have after the fact rather than baking a fixed look into the footage. The three storage tiers top out at 1TB, aimed squarely at buyers who shoot a lot of high-bitrate Log video and don’t want to manage offloading footage mid-trip.
Against the Galaxy S25 Ultra
| Spec | vivo X500 Pro | Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.37-inch, 144Hz | 6.9-inch, 120Hz |
| Chipset | Dimensity 9600 Pro (2nm) | Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) |
| Battery | 6,510mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Charging | 90W | 45W |
| Main camera | 50MP | 200MP |
| Telephoto | 200MP periscope | 50MP periscope (5x) + 10MP (3x) |
| Price | From CNY 6,499 (China) | From $1,299.99 (US), Korea price TBC |
On paper, vivo leads on battery, charging speed, and refresh rate across the board — 1,510mAh more capacity, nearly double the charging wattage, and a 24Hz higher refresh rate. The Galaxy S25 Ultra counters with a larger screen and a main camera rated four times higher in resolution, though that’s less a clear win than a different design choice: a 200MP main sensor is built to bin pixels together in low light to cut noise, so raw megapixel counts alone don’t settle which camera actually takes a better photo.
Trade-offs and who each phone fits
vivo X500 Pro suits buyers who prioritize battery life, fast charging, and telephoto zoom for photography. Its Log video and ACES support also make it an unusually capable pocket camera for anyone who edits footage afterward rather than shooting straight to a finished clip. It runs Funtouch OS instead of One UI, though, and has no Samsung DeX or Galaxy ecosystem ties, so the switching case is weak for anyone already invested in a Galaxy-and-Windows setup. The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s case rests on its larger screen, the S Pen, and Korea’s established retail and warranty network. It trails on battery and charging numbers, but 45W is still fast enough for most daily use in practice, and having confirmed local distribution and support is a real, practical difference vivo can’t currently match here. Buyers weighing an import purchase should also factor in the lack of official warranty coverage, carrier compatibility questions, and no guarantee of long-term software updates outside vivo’s home markets.
Availability in Korea
vivo does not currently sell smartphones officially in South Korea, and the X500 series announcement made no mention of a Korean launch. Only the China retail date, September 29, is confirmed. Wider global availability and any Korea plans remain TBC. Anyone in Korea wanting one today would be looking at a personal import or gray-market purchase, neither of which carries the manufacturer warranty or carrier support that comes standard with a Galaxy device bought locally.
Verdict
On the spec sheet, the vivo X500 Pro beats the Galaxy S25 Ultra on battery, charging speed, and refresh rate. But the buyers who can actually feel that advantage are, for now, mostly limited to China. For anyone shopping in Korea, this isn’t really a head-to-head between two competing options — it’s a comparison between a phone you can buy and one you can only read specs about. If a 200MP main camera, a 6.9-inch screen, and the S Pen matter to you, the Galaxy S25 Ultra remains the practical pick.