vivo confirmed its new X300e runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip on July 27, hours before the phone’s official China launch. A 7,200 mAh battery and a triple rear camera built around a periscope telephoto lens round out the headline specs. vivo co-engineered the camera system with ZEISS, though so far only the telephoto lens carries that partnership’s name.
That chip pick fits a pattern spanning the whole X300 lineup: three chipmakers, five phones, one nameplate.
The Trailer Confirms the Chip vivo Kept Teasing
vivo had already shown the X300e’s design in an earlier teaser. Monday’s video adds the missing piece, rotating the phone through several angles and naming its processor for the first time: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
The clip also reconfirms basics vivo had revealed piecemeal over the past week. A 7,200 mAh battery backs the phone, and a triple camera array covers the rear, anchored by a periscope telephoto lens. vivo has ZEISS listed as a co-engineering partner on the imaging system, but the company has confirmed that branding for the telephoto lens only, leaving the primary and ultrawide cameras unaddressed.
vivo had locked in the July 27 China unveiling date before it confirmed a single spec, then used the following days to fill in pieces of the sheet one at a time.
vivo Is Running Three Chipmakers Under One Nameplate
vivo’s X300 series opened with the X300 and X300 Pro, both built around MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500. When vivo added the X300 Ultra and X300s in March, it split the family’s silicon in two: the X300 Ultra got Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the true top chip in Qualcomm’s lineup, while the X300s stayed with MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500.
The X300e now adds a third option. Its Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 shares Qualcomm’s third-generation Oryon CPU cores with the Elite Gen 5 chip inside the X300 Ultra, and both are built on the same 3-nanometer TSMC process, but the Gen 5 pairs those cores with a less powerful Adreno 840 graphics unit. Five phones, one nameplate, three different chipmakers’ silicon underneath.
| Model | Chipset | Display | Signature Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| vivo X300 Ultra | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | 6.82 inch, 2K, 144Hz AMOLED | Dual 200MP rear cameras with Zeiss-tuned optics |
| vivo X300s | Dimensity 9500 | 6.78 inch, 1.5K, 144Hz AMOLED | 7,100 mAh battery |
| vivo X300e | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 | 6.59 inch, 1.5K, 120Hz OLED (per carrier listing) | 7,200 mAh battery; ZEISS confirmed only on the telephoto lens |
The pattern reads like deliberate segmentation rather than a single upgrade path. A Snapdragon Elite flagship sits at the top, a MediaTek workhorse fills the middle tier, and now a second, lower Snapdragon tier targets buyers who want flagship branding without the Ultra’s price, all sold under the same X300 name. The X300e’s oversized battery also continues a battery-first bet against thinner rivals that vivo has leaned on across the lineup.
A Flagship Chip’s Slightly Less Flagship Sibling
Qualcomm has pitched the chip as delivering flagship performance across a wider range of premium phones, distinct from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that leads its lineup. The naming is close enough to confuse a casual shopper. The specs underneath are not identical.
- 36% faster CPU than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, by Qualcomm’s own performance comparison
- 11% faster GPU against that same Gen 3 baseline, running on the Adreno 840
- 46% higher AI processing throughput versus the Gen 3 chip it replaces
- Eight cores total, two prime cores at 3.8GHz plus six performance cores at 3.32GHz, built on TSMC’s 3-nanometer node
For vivo, the distinction means the X300e can carry a flagship label at a lower price than the X300 Ultra without sharing the Ultra’s most expensive parts. For buyers comparing spec sheets, it means two Qualcomm chips with nearly identical names sit a full tier apart.
The Camera Math Behind Two 50s and an 8
The rear array carries two 50MP sensors and one 8MP sensor. vivo has confirmed the primary camera uses a 50MP sensor and the ultrawide uses an 8MP sensor. The telephoto camera, expected to also use a 50MP sensor behind periscope optics, is the one vivo has explicitly tied to ZEISS’s imaging work. A 50MP sensor handles selfies on the front.
- Primary rear camera: 50MP sensor, ZEISS branding not yet confirmed
- Telephoto rear camera: periscope design, expected 50MP sensor, the only lens with confirmed ZEISS tuning
- Ultrawide rear camera: 8MP sensor, ZEISS branding not yet confirmed
- Front camera: 50MP selfie sensor
vivo has worked with ZEISS on phone cameras since 2020, and the two companies renewed their global imaging partnership in August 2025. That history makes the telephoto-only confirmation on the X300e notable rather than routine.
That 8MP ultrawide is modest next to the two 50MP sensors carrying the rest of the system, and it echoes a wider pattern showing up across 2026 flagships. Xiaomi’s 17 Pro Max pairs a 50MP main sensor with an ultrawide built on a smaller 1/2.88 inch OmniVision OV50M40 sensor. Lab testing found that the ultrawide trails the main camera by a wide margin, even though both cameras carry comparable resolution on paper. vivo has not published a sensor size for the X300e’s ultrawide, but an 8MP count puts it in a smaller class than the sensors it sits beside on the same camera island.
What Did the China Telecom Listing Reveal?
A carrier listing spotted on China Telecom’s website ahead of vivo’s own announcement detailed a 6.59 inch display, OriginOS 6 software, and memory configurations reaching 12GB of RAM with 512GB of storage, filling in specs vivo itself had not yet confirmed through its teaser campaign.
Later reporting narrowed those configurations to three tiers: 8GB paired with 256GB of storage, 12GB with 256GB, and a top-end 12GB with 512GB. The listing also pointed to a 1.5K resolution OLED panel running at 120Hz, with HDR10+ support and a 4,320Hz PWM dimming rate meant to reduce flicker at low brightness. That has not come from vivo directly, and OriginOS 6, vivo’s Android-based software interface for its China lineup, arrives with no publicly detailed changes specific to this phone yet.
Pre-order pages that went live ahead of Monday’s event point to Black, Orange and White as the launch color options.
The Only Numbers Still Missing
Pricing is the one figure vivo has not touched, in trailers or carrier listings. Sales are set to open at 9am local time in China on July 27, with the company expected to confirm price and final availability alongside the launch event.
vivo has not said whether the X300e will reach markets outside China. It has also not confirmed ZEISS involvement beyond the telephoto lens. vivo’s fullest ZEISS commitment so far stays reserved for the top of the range: at MWC 2026, the company unveiled a 400mm Zeiss telephoto lens kit built for the X300 Ultra, a level of glass the X300e’s spec sheet gives no sign of matching.
For now, the only certainty is the date already on vivo’s own trailer: China gets the X300e first, on July 27, at 9am.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5?
Both chips share Qualcomm’s third-generation Oryon CPU cores and TSMC’s 3-nanometer manufacturing process, but the Elite Gen 5 pairs those cores with a stronger GPU and holds the top spot in Qualcomm’s lineup. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, used in the vivo X300e, carries an Adreno 840 GPU that Qualcomm positions a tier below the Elite chip found in the vivo X300 Ultra.
Is ZEISS confirmed for all three of the X300e’s rear cameras?
No. vivo has only confirmed ZEISS involvement for the periscope telephoto lens. The 50MP primary sensor and the 8MP ultrawide sensor have not been tied to the ZEISS partnership as of the July 27 launch.
What is OriginOS 6?
OriginOS 6 is vivo’s Android-based software interface for its China-market phones, and it is listed as the X300e’s operating system on China Telecom’s carrier listing. vivo has not detailed OriginOS 6 features specific to the X300e.
Will the vivo X300e launch outside China?
vivo has not announced an international release for the X300e. Its July 27 launch covers pricing, colors and availability for the domestic Chinese market only, based on everything vivo and carrier listings have confirmed so far.
When will vivo announce X300e pricing?
vivo is expected to reveal pricing at its July 27 launch event in China, alongside final confirmation of memory and storage configurations that carrier listings currently put at up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
