Vivo’s X300 E Arrives July 27 as the Sixth Phone in Its Own Family

Vivo has opened pre-sales for the X300 E without saying what it costs, locking in a July 27 launch date in China while leaks fill in the rest: a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip, a Zeiss-tuned triple camera and a 7,015mAh battery packed into a 7.99mm frame.

That launch makes the X300 E the sixth distinct phone Vivo has pushed into its X300 family in under a year, a pace no rival brand is matching right now. The reason has less to do with cameras than with a shrinking home market Vivo can no longer afford to lose ground in.

A Sixth X300 Phone Joins the Lineup in Under a Year

NewsX reported this week that the incoming model joins a family that already includes the Vivo X300, Vivo X300 Pro, Vivo X300 Ultra, Vivo X300 FE and Vivo X300s, making the E the sixth name under one flagship badge. The original X300 and X300 Pro launched together in China on October 13, 2025. The X300 Ultra followed on March 30, 2026, and the X300 FE actually debuted first in Russia that same month before a wider rollout began in April.

Every one of those phones carries the Zeiss name on its camera ring. Not every one of them carries the same chip.

Six phones, two different processors, one camera partner. That split is the actual story behind the spec sheet.

What Leakers Say Is Inside the X300 E

Tipster Digital Chat Station is the source for most of what’s known about the hardware, and Vivo’s own teasers have confirmed the shape of the rest. The phone is expected to ship with Android 16-based OriginOS 6, a metal frame and a redesigned triple camera module that looks nothing like its siblings.

• 5,000 nits peak brightness on a 6.59-inch flat 1.5K AMOLED display running at 120Hz
• 7,015mAh battery with 90W wired charging, packed into a 7.99mm, 203g body
• 50MP Sony IMX921 primary sensor leads a Zeiss-branded triple camera with an 8MP ultrawide and a 50MP periscope telephoto at 3x optical zoom
• 16GB RAM and 1TB storage at the top configuration, alongside a 50MP autofocus selfie camera

Vivo’s pricier Ultra sibling ships with an optional 400mm Zeiss telephoto lens kit for its dual 200MP cameras, a reminder of how far the same partnership stretches above the E’s far more modest zoom. Rounding out the sheet: an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint reader and IP68/IP69 dust and water resistance, features that used to be reserved for a brand’s single top model.

Pre-Sales Are Live, the Price Still Is Not

Buyers reserving the phone before the July 27 event get a concrete set of perks even without a price tag to weigh them against.

• A one-year extended warranty valued at CNY 288, roughly Rs 4,100
• A three-year battery protection plan
• A limited-edition power bank bundled with early reservations

The phone is confirmed for Black, White and Orange colorways, and regulatory filings reportedly tie it to model number V2612A. Compared with the X300 FE, Vivo has already flagged a new metal frame and a reworked triple rear module as the visible break from the rest of the family.

What we know:

• China launch is set for July 27, with pre-sales already open and colors confirmed
• Model number V2612A has reportedly cleared regulatory certification
• Chipset, display and camera details trace back to Digital Chat Station’s leaks and matching certification listings

What’s unconfirmed:

• Retail pricing in China, which Vivo says will come at the launch event
• Whether or when the X300 E reaches India or any market outside China
• Reports tying a possible India debut to October remain unverified rumor, not company confirmation

Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Sits a Tier Below the Elite Chip

Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 on November 26, 2025, months after introducing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 at its Snapdragon Summit. The company built it deliberately as a second, cheaper flagship tier rather than a replacement.

We developed this chipset to give you more choices and flexibility, while still delivering flagship features.

Alex Katouzian, Qualcomm’s general manager for mobile, compute and XR, said that when the chip was first teased at the Snapdragon Summit in September. Qualcomm’s own product page calls the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 premium to the core, and it shares the same 3nm Oryon CPU cores as the Elite version, just clocked slightly lower. That is enough to make the X300 E feel like a flagship in daily use while letting Vivo keep the true Elite chip, and its higher cost, exclusive to the X300 Ultra above it.

The same regular-tier chip now powers the X300 FE, plus phones from OnePlus, iQOO, Motorola and Realme. It has become the default silicon for an entire wave of near-flagship phones built to hit a lower price without looking cheap.

Why Vivo Needs So Many Phones Right Now

China’s smartphone shipments fell 4% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, as memory chip shortages pushed costs up across every vendor, according to Counterpoint Research. Huawei led the quarter with a 20% share, Apple held second at 19% on strong iPhone 17 demand, and Vivo sat fourth with 15%, a share gain of one point from a year earlier on a 2% rise in shipments.

That domestic gain hides a rougher picture abroad. Vivo’s global shipments dropped 6.9% year on year to 21.2 million units in the same quarter, even as average selling prices hit a record $550, up $100 from a year earlier, per IDC’s tracking. Xiaomi and OPPO fell harder over the same stretch, down 19.1% and 9.9% respectively, so Vivo’s slide was the mildest among China’s big three abroad. Still, the pattern is clear: hold the home market with more phones at more price points, while the international business absorbs the pain of pricier components.

Will the Vivo X300 E Ever Leave China?

Vivo hasn’t said. Its two most recent X300 launches, the Ultra and the FE, both went global months after their China debut, cleared by regulatory filings in Indonesia and Europe first. The X300 E carries no such filings yet, and its only global rumor points to a distant, unconfirmed date.

Some reports speculate on an India debut alongside the X Fold 6, a foldable tipped for an October India launch and rumored to pair a 200mm Zeiss teleconverter accessory with its own camera system. Nothing about that timing is confirmed by Vivo. Last year’s X200 Ultra stayed a China exclusive entirely, so precedent cuts both ways.

A global launch would also arrive into a market where Chinese brands are pulling back, not pushing in. OnePlus and Oppo skipping India launches entirely for their newest flagships this year shows the caution isn’t limited to Vivo. A phone built to hit a lower price point at home doesn’t automatically clear the cost of a second launch abroad, especially with component prices still climbing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the Vivo X300 E’s camera compare with the Vivo X300 FE’s?

Both phones lean on a similar Zeiss-tuned triple setup: a 50MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide and a 50MP periscope telephoto at 3x optical zoom. The X300 E’s screen is larger, at 6.59 inches against the FE’s 6.31 inches, and its battery is bigger too, 7,015mAh versus 6,500mAh.

Does the Vivo X300 E support wireless charging?

Leaked specifications list only 90W wired charging for the X300 E, with no wireless charging mentioned. Both the X300 FE and X300 Ultra include wireless charging, so its absence here would mark a real step down from those siblings if the leaks hold up at launch.

What did the original Vivo X300 cost when it launched?

The standard X300 reportedly started around 4,699 yuan, about $660, for its base 12GB/256GB configuration when it launched in China in October 2025. That gives a rough floor for where a cheaper X300 E might land, though Vivo has confirmed nothing yet.

Is the “E” badge new to Vivo’s X300 lineup?

Yes. The X300 E marks the first time Vivo has used an “E” designation inside this series, sitting alongside the existing X300, X300 Pro, X300 Ultra, X300 FE and X300s models.

When did Qualcomm officially launch the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip?

Qualcomm unveiled it on November 26, 2025, positioning it as a flagship tier chip beneath the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The chip has since powered phones from OnePlus, iQOO, Motorola and Realme in addition to Vivo.