Vivo X500 Pro Max launched in Europe

The Vivo X500 Pro Max has officially launched in Europe since Tuesday, October 27. According to reports, Vivo claims to have designed it to be the best smartphone for photography.

Photography test in Tenerife

A test was conducted in Tenerife, in the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands, which is considered a setting conducive to beautiful photographs. The test included a photo comparison with the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, and the iPhone 18 Pro.

Use of Zeiss teleconverter

The test included the use of the 400 mm teleconverter from Zeiss offered as an accessory by Vivo on the X500 Pro Max. Some photos taken with the Vivo X500 Pro Max included a rock wall in the Teide National Park, where the photo illustrated the mineral rendering of the volcanic rock, with each crack, layer, and scale clearly visible.

Wildlife photography example

Another photo captured a sperm whale off the coast of Tenerife. The 400 mm telephoto lens froze the scene at 1/100 s, capturing the suspended droplets, the dark skin, the blowhole, the folds, and the wet reflections of the whale. The photo also showed the notch on the dorsal fin, which is the use case that Vivo highlights for wildlife photography.

Backlit and low-light performance

A backlit shot showed the sun in full frame without burning the sky around the star, and the fog enveloping the landscape was rendered in a subtle gradient. The foreground vegetation remained detailed and legible while photographing against the light, and the rocks retained volume instead of turning into black silhouettes.

Sunset and night photography

A sunset photo showed the sun disappearing slowly, with its disk remaining contained, the orange lens-shaped cloud retaining all its swirls, and the sea of clouds remaining white without being burned. At night, at high altitude, the X500 Pro Max produced an image that was unexpected from a smartphone.

Moon photography details

A Moon photo was taken with the zoom pushed to 1,600 mm with the teleconverter mounted, which is a 4x cropping beyond the 400 mm optical of the accessory. The relief stood out along the terminator, the boundary between the day and the night on the Moon, with shadows that seemed to carve the craters.

Portrait and ultra-wide-angle shots

A portrait photo was taken at 566 mm from a boat, producing a portrait of surprising precision. Other interesting examples included the ultra-wide-angle lens handling scenes filled with sunlight, retaining details both in the sky and in the shadowed areas.

Market availability and pricing

A persistent frustration was that the Vivo X500 Pro Max still had no official release date in France. The price had, however, been announced at 1,599 euros for the smartphone in its 256 GB storage configuration.