Vivo's NEX Dual Display comes with two screens, 10GB of RAM, and no front camera

Vivo was one of the first brands to roll out a phone with a mechanised slider in the first-gen NEX, and the manufacturer is now introducing a new version that ups the ante. The Vivo NEX Dual Display has a dual-screen design — with a front 6.39-inch screen joined by a 5.49-inch display at the back — along with three rear cameras coupled with 10GB of RAM.

Interestingly, there's no front camera on the NEX Dual Display; you'll instead have to rely on the display at the back of the phone to take selfies. There are three cameras at the back of the phone, with a primary 12MP f/1.79 lens joined by a 2MP "Night Video" camera and a Time of Flight 3D camera. Vivo says it is leveraging the unique dual display form factor to roll out features like Mirror Mode and Pose Director:

Mirror Mode allows users to see themselves in the rear display while being photographed or filmed, while Pose Director can show a posed image or video in the rear display as reference for imitation.

There's also a Lunar Ring at the back that works as a notification light and as an LED module when taking photos, and the phone comes with AI-assisted scene recognition, portrait mode, and a slew of filters.

The front 6.49-inch Super AMOLED 19:9 screen has a resolution of 2340x1080, and round the back there's a smaller 5.49-inch Super AMOLED 16:9 display with a resolution of 1920x1080. The NEX doesn't miss a beat when it comes to the internal hardware, with the phone offering the Snapdragon 845, 10GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, an in-display fingerprint sensor, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB-C, and a 3500mAh battery with 22.5W fast charging.

The phone comes with the latest version of Funtouch OS, which is based on Android 9.0 Pie. The NEX Dual Display is set to go on sale in China from December 29 for the equivalent of $725 (¥4,999), and right now there's no mention of international availability. But with Vivo having a strong presence in Asian markets, it's possible we'll see the phone make its way to other countries in the region shortly.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on the dual-screen design of the NEX?

Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor overseeing Asia at Android Central. He leads the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, contributing to reviews, features, and buying guides. He also writes about storage servers, audio products, and the semiconductor industry. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.

4 Comments

Nearly nerd-vana? Really like the concept of being all-in on a no-notch solution design is great, whether this device is successful or not! Mostly a spec beast, except 3500 mah battery seems a little small to power 2 screens. Must be some software optimization to minimize use of rear screen to save power like one screen off while other being used, and notification light on the back? That seems counter intuitive. Guess worrying about breaking or scratching a second screen not that different than any of the glass back phones.
Say what you want but I think having zero bezels is a real PITA. It makes holding the device extremely hard to not accidentally touch the screen when you dont intend to. I personally prefer a little bezel like my Note 9 so when I am consuming video I can hold it on the sides comfortably.
I like the way phones were designed about 2-3 years ago. 16:9 rectangle displays with no weird notches or rounded corners and the bezels were just large enough that they made holding the phone easy. (Headphone jacks and notification lights were also common.) Bullet holes, notches and phones with bezels so small you accidentally touch the display are annoying and don't do anything to improve phones. It's like they do this stuff just because they can without having any good reason. For me personally I use a selfie cam like once every two years so if they have to give me a phone without a notch, bullet hole or bezels I would rather they just get rid of the front facing camera and maybe put a small mirror or reflective back on the phone I could use in a pinch if I ever did need to take a picture of myself. Old flip phones did it this way and it worked fine.
I'll be sticking with my Sony XZ1 compact for this reason. 16:9 4.6" display, headphone jack, no notch, etc etc. I've also never cared about bezels. Ever. They have never gotten in the way of me using whatever phone I've owned, but people will like what they like and that's that.