The vivo X500 Pro Max may have already appeared in real world photos

Chinese Weibo tech blogger 搞机王腾霄 (Wang Tengxiao) shared images that allegedly show Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou shooting an advertisement for vivo in Melbourne. The photos were reportedly taken by a fan who ran into the singer on the street.

The images show a man who appears to be Chou holding up a vivo smartphone against a backdrop of colonial-era architecture consistent with Melbourne's CBD.

The phone in the photos offers clues to its model. The vivo logo on the camera module is rotated sideways, matching the orientation used on the X300 Ultra and X300s rather than the usual placement on the standard X300 and X300 Pro. The telephoto lens opening at the top, visible in the photos, further points to this being the X500 Pro Max rather than the base X500 or X500 Pro, since those models are rumored to have a 1/1.95-inch 64MP sensor for the telephoto camera, which does not take up as much space.

The vivo X500 Pro Max is rumored to be powered by the Dimensity 9600 Pro and to feature a typical vivo flagship camera system with the upcoming Sony LYTIA L910 main sensor, an 85mm telephoto camera with a 1/1.4-inch sensor, the same size as in the previous generation and a 50MP ultrawide camera. The X500 series is expected to launch in September.

The unveiling of a celebrity ambassador often precedes flagship launches by several weeks in China's smartphone market, so if the rumor proves accurate, an official announcement would likely come closer to the launch.