At launch the X70 Pro+ was among those first devices to feature the then top-end Qualcomm platform: Snapdragon 888+. Since that's been superseded by Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, not that the core power from generation to generation is particularly huge. Either way, it makes the X70 Pro+ mighty powerful, as does its 12GB RAM specification (up to 16GB if you include the additional 4GB it can pull from ROM), so for running apps and games there's nothing that's going to bother this device.

But, as a user, there are things that will bother. The 888+ doesn't run especially cool, so longer gaming sessions will produce heat that you'll feel. Furthermore the battery life is, in a word, terrible. We've been using this Vivo for several weeks, even taking it on vacation, and so frequently we were midday topping up the battery that we've rarely to never got through a full day of use. That's the downside of 888+, for sure.

Then there's the software, which is FuntouchOS built over Android 11, that's surprised us by the number of issues it's presented during our use. Generally speaking it's fine, in that it's like stock Google Android, so doesn't muck about with core features, doesn't cause issues with notifications not showing (a typical Xiaomi issue, for example), and such like.

But the software, in this presumably Asian release handset, has presented runtime errors in multiple apps - American Airlines a particularly bothersome one while trying and failing to check-in - causing various crashes and kick-outs.

We've had the software freeze while a folder is open, necessitating a hard restart - but on multiple occasions the software would then be running at 'double scale', making the pressing of buttons and such like impossible without another hard reset to put things right.

During casual use various other oddities also occur. The size of homepage icons, for example, will often change from a given scale to one that's smaller, despite not adjusting this within the settings (you can, though, as the whole system is heavily customisable).

Then there's the Wisdom Engine, which frequently draws your attention to open apps that are consuming power. But even when telling the system that we're fine with, say, WhatsApp running in the background, it'll still suggest you close it to preserve some of the (already poor) battery life.

That the previous X60 Pro was so deft in its handling of software makes it all the more perplexing that the X70 Pro+ has been such a step backwards. Here's hoping it gets polished up and put right, as it's the one main hurdle that's holding this handset back from better.

Cameras

• Quad rear cameras:
  • Main (25mm): 50-megapixel, f/1.6 aperture, 1.2µm pixel size, phase-detection (PDAF), optical stabilisation (OIS)
  • 2x zoom (50mm): 12MP, f/1.6, 1.22µm, PDAF, OIS
  • 5x zoom (125mm): 8MP, f/3.4, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS
  • Wide (14mm): 48MP, f/2.2, 0.8µm, gimbal OIS
• Rear camera: 32MP, f/2.5, 0.8µm

Despite our software qualms, however, it's the X70 Pro+'s camera capabilities that bring it back from the brink. Vivo, in collaboration with Zeiss, is doing some sterling work here - and the camera app functions fast and efficiently.

Just as we said of the X60 Pro, the X70 Pro+'s implementation of a gimbal stabilisation system is without compare - there's nothing else on the market that can stabilise to this degree, making for great video capture in particular.

The overall camera arrangement has shifted for the X70 series compared to the earlier X60 models too - and all for the better. It's not perfect in every regard, as we'll get to, but the combination of main, wide-angle and two zoom lenses provide a real useful variety of lenses. No gimmicks here.

The main camera, which uses Samsung's Isocell GN1 sensor, is particularly standout on the basis of that sensor choice. Images are really detailed, the high dynamic range (HDR) can pull back a lot of overexposure when needed, and the colours are punchy and consistent throughout. Whether shooting off the cuff or holding steady for night shots in low-light conditions, the results are universally impressive. This is a great main camera, no doubt about it.

One of our biggest complaints about the X60 Pro was its wide-angle camera not being all that great. The X70 Pro+ goes one-up here, by using a much higher-resolution sensor, at 48-megapixels, for far improved results. That said, however, you have to accept that ultra-wide cameras will always suffer from some distortion and can't deliver the kind of crisp sharpness of the main sensor. Still, results are generally impressive.

Then there's a duo of zoom cameras on board: a 2x, which is like a 'portrait lens'; and the 5x periscope zoom, which can capture farther-away subjects as if they're close up in the frame. These sensors aren't nearly as adept as the main camera's one, but both are genuinely useful - so long as you can accept additional image noise from the 5x zoom, especially in low-light conditions.

Which is to say: the Vivo X70 Pro+ has one of the better camera setups that you'll find on any flagship phone. There's room for improvement, sure, but with a stabilisation system as advanced as this and top quality from the main sensor, it's mighty impressive - and easy to use too.