Vivo’s next base flagship, the tipped X500, is being lined up to drop the 200MP main camera of its predecessor for a 50MP Sony sensor, according to a Weibo leak picked up on July 3. The post from tipster Digital Chat Station, detailed in the July 3 write-up of the X500’s 50MP main sensor, lays out the rear camera array on an engineering prototype. Vivo has not confirmed any of the spec details.
The same leak pairs the 50MP main with a 50MP ultrawide and a 64MP periscope telephoto at a 70mm focal length. The X500 is tipped to debut in China around September 2026, with a possible global launch later in the year.
Digital Chat Station Shares the X500’s Rear Camera Layout
Digital Chat Station is among the more cited Weibo tipsters on Chinese smartphone leaks. The early-July post lays out the rear camera setup on what the leaker identifies as an X500 engineering prototype. Gizmochina’s write-up of the same post draws the same picture from the same source.
The triple rear camera on the tipped X500 puts a 50MP Sony sensor in the main slot, paired with a 50MP ultrawide and a 64MP periscope telephoto at a 70mm focal length. The X500 Pro leak from the same tipster, covered by Notebookcheck earlier in 2026, lined up with the same 50MP main and 64MP periscope. Telephoto macro support has not yet been confirmed for the base X500’s final hardware, per Gizmochina, though the tipster expects it to be included. The throughline across the two leaks is the exit from the 200MP main that shipped on the vivo X300.
- Main camera: 50MP Sony, 1/1.28-inch sensor
- Ultrawide: 50MP
- Periscope telephoto: 64MP Sony, 1/2.0-inch sensor, 70mm focal length
- Display: 6.37-inch
- Battery: 7,500mAh
- Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 9500-series
Why a 50MP Sensor Could Beat a 200MP One
Megapixel counts have been sold as a quality shorthand in smartphone marketing for years. A lower pixel count, on paper, sounds like a step back from a 200MP module. The maths of sensor size pushes the other way.
A 200MP main has to fit more, smaller pixels into a fixed sensor area. Phone makers rely on pixel-binning to combine groups of pixels into one larger effective pixel, and the binned output is what most users actually see. A sensor with bigger physical pixels skips that bin step entirely. Each pixel soaks up more light per shot. In low light, the cleaner image data is there before any software processing steps in.
The trade is resolution in good light. The 200MP main on the X300 let a photographer crop aggressively, framing 35mm or 50mm shots from a single image. A commenter on the GSMArena coverage called that feature the X300’s strongest.
Vivo’s X Fold 6 pairs the 200MP Samsung HPB main sensor the X500 is leaving behind, as the X Fold 6’s 200MP Samsung HPB main camera profile shows. The base X500 swap is not a company-wide signal, just a tier-specific rebalance. Pixel count is not the same thing as image quality. The new main’s pixels are physically larger, which is where the trade-off lives.
Smartphone cameras that share a sensor size class typically land in similar image-quality territory. The 1/1.28-inch sensor size puts the new main in that physical area class. That size does most of the work in low light.
The Ultrawide and Periscope Joining It
The tipped X500 puts the 64MP periscope next to the new main. The periscope uses a 1/2.0-inch Sony sensor at a 70mm focal length. In 35mm terms, that is roughly a 2.5x to 3x reach from the main. Notebookcheck’s earlier X500 Pro coverage pinpointed the optical reach at 3x zoom, in the same focal-length range.
A 50MP ultrawide sits on the other side. The leak does not tag a sensor maker for the ultrawide. So what separates it from a lower-resolution ultrawide on price-tier phones is not yet known.
Per Gizmochina, telephoto macro support has not yet been confirmed for the base X500’s final hardware. The tipster expects it to be included. A 64MP periscope at 70mm is a common backbone for smartphone telephoto macro in this class. Vivo’s own update cycle typically firms spec sheets months before launch. Final hardware is not yet locked.
The base and Pro X500 share the new main, per both leaks to date. The 64MP periscope’s 70mm focal length also matches between the two reads. Where the two leaks differ is in the chipset tier, which only the Pro has been tied to in leaks so far.
Where the 200MP Sensor Ends Up
The X500 does not retire the 200MP main across the lineup. Per Notebookcheck’s read of the same tipster’s post, the 200MP sensor is reserved for the Pro Max variant. The base X500 and the X500 Pro both move to the 50MP main in this reading. The Pro Max holds the higher pixel count.
For buyers at the base X500 tier, that swap is what arrives. For buyers chasing the top of the X500 lineup, 200MP lives on at the Pro Max. The X500 Pro sits in between.
The 200MP designation is also the headline feature the global X-series market knows vivo for. Holding the 200MP module back for the Pro Max keeps that story intact even as the rest of the lineup goes in a different direction. The base X500 will not carry the 200MP name when it ships. The Pro Max keeps the previous generation’s signature pixel count.
| Model | Tipped main camera | Source |
|---|---|---|
| X500 (base) | 50MP Sony, 1/1.28″ | GSMArena |
| X500 Pro | 50MP Sony, 1/1.28″ | Notebookcheck |
| X500 Pro Max | 200MP (sensor reserved) | Notebookcheck |
The Rest of the Hardware
Outside the camera stack, prior leaks tied to the X500 name a 6.37-inch display, a 7,500mAh battery, and a MediaTek Dimensity 9500-series chipset. A 7,500mAh cell on a 6.37-inch phone would push the battery past the X300 base and most 2026 flagships. The numbers come from earlier X500 posts by the same tipster and from GSMArena’s July coverage.
Notebookcheck’s X500 Pro coverage lists a 6.37-inch flat OLED LTPO display at 1.5K resolution. The chipset there points to a 2nm Dimensity 9600 series. The panel’s LTPO and 1.5K are typical flagship specs. The Pro may sit on a different silicon and a slightly different panel tech from the base.
Another leak, via Gizmochina, has put the base X500 display at 6.59 inches at 1.5K resolution. The figure does not square with the 6.37-inch number in the GSMArena write-up. The two diagonals likely reflect different X500 models or a leak still in motion. Battery and chipset numbers appear more stable than display diagonals at this stage. Until vivo confirms, all of these remain tips.
The Dimensity 9500-series chip keeps the base X500 in flagship-silicon tier. The Pro variant’s reported step up to a Dimensity 9600 series would put a real silicon gap between base and Pro on the X500 line. Notebookcheck’s X500 Pro coverage also names OriginOS 7, based on Android 17, as the expected software, a stack likely shared across the lineup. Vivo has not confirmed details of any of this.
How the X500 Lineup Fits Together
Vivo is shaping the X500 family as a five-phone roster, not a single handset. Gizmochina’s earlier lineup reporting lists X500e, X500, X500 Pro, X500 Pro Max, and X500 Ultra as the five slots. The launch timing is split: GSMArena’s coverage of the camera leak puts the X500, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max in China around September 2026, with the X500e and X500 Ultra tipped to debut together early next year.
September is roughly two months out from the July 3 leak date. A wider global rollout is rumoured for November or December, per Notebookcheck on the X500 Pro. Vivo has not announced a date. The X300 Ultra, currently sitting atop vivo’s premium phone lineup, brought a 400mm Zeiss telephoto lens kit to MWC 2026, as the X300 Ultra’s 400mm Zeiss telephoto lens kit coverage noted. The X500 Ultra will look to top that configuration when it lands.
- Around September 2026: X500, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max launch in China
- November to December 2026: possible global rollout of the X500 line
- Early 2027: X500e and X500 Ultra expected to debut together
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the vivo X500 launching?
Vivo has not confirmed a launch date. GSMArena’s write-up of Digital Chat Station’s leak puts the X500, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max in China around September 2026, with a possible global rollout later in the year.
Is vivo dropping the 200MP camera entirely?
No. Notebookcheck, summarising the tipster’s leak, reports that the 200MP sensor is reserved for the X500 Pro Max variant. The base X500 and X500 Pro are tipped to use a 50MP main sensor instead. The shift moves the largest pixel counts upmarket within the same family.
What is the tipped main camera sensor on the X500?
The leak points to a 50MP Sony sensor measuring 1/1.28 inches. That main is paired with a 50MP ultrawide and a 64MP periscope telephoto at a 70mm focal length.
Will the X500 have a periscope telephoto?
The tipster’s leak says yes, with a 64MP periscope telephoto using a 1/2.0-inch Sony sensor at a 70mm focal length. Notebookcheck’s coverage of the X500 Pro leak names the sensor as Sony’s IMX06H. The optical reach from that sensor is 3x zoom.
