Vivo S15 and S15 Pro launch as new mid-range smartphones with 120Hz AMOLED displays, customized silicon and more

The Vivo S15 and S15 Pro have just been announced as the OEM's latest mid-range smartphones, although they could also be referred to as an amalgamation of former flagship specs, especially the S15. The Pro, at least, gets the new Dimensity 8100 processor, whereas the S15 is the world's latest Snapdragon 870 device - or Snapdragon 870 "Enhanced Edition" device, to be more precise.

This is due to Vivo's claims of in-house modifications to the chipset that make it faster and better than any other standard 870 out there, thanks to what the OEM calls its in-house "VMET memory technology". The S15 also benefits from a vapor chamber-based cooling system which, like that of its Pro sibling, is rated to reduce temperatures by up to 1.2°C while gaming.

This, apparently, boosts the S15's AnTuTu score to nearly 770,000. Then again, that of the S15 Pro is touted to stay well above 800,000, thanks in part to the Gaming Graphics Core Pro, a new "independent display chip" that should augment the Mali GPU of the 8100.

Both customized chipsets drive 120Hz AMOLED displays in the new Vivo S-series phones. The S15 Pro has a 6.56-inch FHD+ panel with E5 technology, HDR10+, 1,500 nits of max brightness and a touch-sampling rate touted to boost from 300Hz to 1,000Hz at need. However, the vanilla model makes do with a 6.62-inch FHD+ panel with last year's E4 spec with a 1,300-nit max brightness.

They leave the S15 and S15 Pro looking very like S15e units, albeit with 32MP punch-hole cameras and one more rear camera. On that note, the latter has indeed launched with the IMX766V as a main rear camera. This sensor is, as the name suggests, a special Vivo-tweaked edition of the 50MP Sony IMX766, and also features new "Hummingbird" stabilization and HDR.

It is joined by a 12MP ultrawide-angle camera that also handily doubles as a macro shooter and a 2MP depth sensor. The S15, on the other hand, has less buzzword-y 64+8+2MP rear shooters, although it does have a newer flat-edged chassis compared to the S15 Pro.

They both have OriginOS based on Android 12 out of the box and 4,500mAh batteries, although the Pro is the only one with Vivo's new 80W charging technology. The S15 starts at 2,699 yuan (~US$402) for an 8GB RAM/128GB internal storage SKU, whereas the Pro does so at 3,399 yuan (~US$502) with an 8GB RAM/256GB configuration.