vivo X500 Series Launches Today: Dimensity 9600 Pro, 200MP Zeiss Camera

Vivo’s X500 series — the X500, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max — officially launches in China today, September 21, 2026, bringing a 2nm MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro chipset, a 200MP periscope camera with a 400mm teleconverter accessory, and a redesigned Zeiss camera module to vivo’s flagship line. I’ve been watching the specs leak out for weeks, and the confirmed details from vivo itself are genuinely impressive on the camera side — this is a phone series built around imaging first, everything else second.

The event runs at 7:00 PM China time today, so if you’re reading this before pricing hits, that’s expected — vivo has confirmed the hardware in stages over the past month but has been unusually disciplined about not leaking prices ahead of the stage announcement. Here’s everything vivo has confirmed, what’s still a leak, and how the three models actually differ from each other.

Three Phones, Three Very Different Cameras

Vivo split the X500 line by camera hardware more than by anything else this year. The base X500 gets a 6.59-inch 1.5K OLED display, a 50MP Sony LYT-828 main sensor with Zeiss gimbal stabilization, and a 64MP Sony LYT-610 telephoto rated at CIPA 5.5 stabilization with 4K 120fps recording — a genuinely strong setup for what’s supposed to be the “entry” flagship in the lineup, running on a Dimensity 9600M chipset.

Step up to the X500 Pro and the telephoto gets a real upgrade: a 64MP Zeiss APO lens at 85mm equivalent focal length, now rated at CIPA 7.0 stabilization with improved autofocus, still shooting 4K at 120fps. The Pro’s exact display size is still a little fuzzy in pre-launch coverage — most reporting points to a 6.37 to 6.4-inch LTPO OLED panel, with the precise number confirmed only at today’s event.

The X500 Pro Max is where vivo clearly spent its engineering budget. It runs the new Dimensity 9600 Pro built on TSMC’s 2nm process — one of the first phone chips to ship on that node — paired with a 6.85-inch 2K LTPO OLED panel running at 144Hz. The main camera uses a Sony sensor with LOFIC technology for a claimed 17 stops of dynamic range, shooting 4K at up to 240fps for slow motion and 4K 120fps DCG HDR for standard footage. The telephoto is the headline spec: a 200MP Zeiss APO periscope lens on a 1/1.4-inch Samsung ISOCELL HP0 sensor, offering 4x in-sensor hardware zoom and up to 30x through vivo’s Super Capture Engine, all rated at CIPA 7.0 stabilization.

Vivo is also selling a Zeiss clip-on telephoto extender for the Pro Max that pushes the effective reach to roughly 400mm — about 16.6x optical zoom — plus a matching camera grip accessory, both shown off ahead of launch though availability outside China hasn’t been confirmed.

Battery, Charging, and Design

The base X500 carries a 7,500mAh battery with 90W wired and 40W wireless charging — a big cell for a phone this size, continuing vivo’s trend of prioritizing battery capacity even on its slimmer models. Vivo hasn’t published exact battery figures for the Pro and Pro Max independently ahead of the event, but given the series pattern, expect similarly large cells rather than a step down.

Design-wise, the Pro Max uses a circular Zeiss-branded camera module on a flat metal frame, with a dedicated action button and dual stereo speakers. Vivo has shown the Pro Max in silver and orange finishes ahead of launch, and the base X500 is expected in four color options. All three models run Android 17 with vivo’s OriginOS 7 on top.

Pricing: What’s Confirmed vs. What’s Leaked

As of this writing, vivo has not published official prices for any of the three models — that’s expected to happen live at today’s event alongside the RAM and storage tiers. Chinese leak accounts have been circulating numbers for weeks, with the X500 Pro’s lowest configuration pegged around CNY 6,299 and Pro Max estimates ranging from roughly CNY 6,999 up to CNY 8,499 depending on the source and storage tier. I’d treat all of those as rough ranges rather than hard numbers until vivo’s own event page or Chinese retailers post the real thing — pre-launch leak pricing on vivo’s X series has been off by a meaningful margin in past years, especially with memory chip costs having climbed sharply industry-wide this year.

Availability outside China — including whether the X500 series gets a global or India rollout under the X-series naming vivo sometimes changes for other markets — hasn’t been addressed yet either. Past X-series generations have taken anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to reach international markets, if they arrive under the same name at all.

Quick Reference: vivo X500 Series

FAQ

When does the vivo X500 series go on sale?

The launch event is today, September 21, 2026, at 7:00 PM China time. Chinese retail availability typically follows within days of a vivo launch event, though vivo hasn’t published exact sale dates for each model as of this writing.

How much will the vivo X500 Pro Max cost?

Official pricing wasn’t out as of publishing — it’s expected live at today’s event. Leaked estimates from Chinese sources range from roughly CNY 6,999 to CNY 8,499 depending on storage configuration, but treat those as unconfirmed until vivo announces official numbers.

What’s the biggest difference between the X500 Pro and Pro Max?

The chipset and the telephoto camera. The Pro Max gets the newer 2nm Dimensity 9600 Pro and a 200MP periscope telephoto with hardware in-sensor zoom, while the Pro uses a 64MP Zeiss APO telephoto and, based on current leaks, an unconfirmed but likely different chipset tier.

Will the vivo X500 series launch outside China?

Not confirmed yet. Vivo hasn’t announced international availability, and past X-series phones have had inconsistent timing and naming when they’ve reached global or India markets.

I’ll update this once vivo’s event wraps and official pricing lands — for a phone series this camera-focused, the real story is going to be how those numbers stack up against the leaks.