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Earlier this week, I attended an exclusive MediaTek event in Spain to discuss the latest Dimensity 9600 Pro chipset – which is confirmed to be in both the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max and Vivo X500 Pro Max handsets, which are due out soon.
The first of these, the Oppo, which I used for weeks, I have since published the review in full. The latest, the Vivo, was the first time I saw the international handset as destined for Europe – and it confirmed interesting details.
My colleague attended the China launch of the Vivo X500 Pro Max, raved about its camera – which blew his iPhone out of the water – but we knew that this particular handset, with its huge 8000mAh battery capacity, would don’t be released outside the Asian markets.
Vivo has confirmed that it will will be launched in Europe, with an event taking place on October 27, just not in all Countries on the Continent – Great Britain is one key territory that is excluded. Those in Spain, Portugal, Germany and other key countries can get their hands on a unit though.
And so on the battery capacity. When exploring the handset at the MediaTek event, a colleague pointed out that it was the international model – and a further jump in the specification, confirmed Dimensity 9600 Pro, also highlighted the 6750mAh battery capacity.
That’s quite a big jump down from the 8000mAh of its Chinese cousin, but there’s a specific reason for that. CE certification – ie the large stamp on the side of the device in the hand, per my gallery of images here – mandates certain restrictions.
In previous releases, this allowed 7500mAh (in the Oppo Find X9 Pro) and 7150mAh (in the Find X10 Pro Max) to reach the market, as they met specific conditions. However, several countries in Europe set their own thresholds – with Austria, in particular, fixing the ceiling at 6750mAh. It is a transport safety regulation.
Vivo sells in Austria and therefore the international X500 Pro Max battery capacity said. In some past product releases, a software-locked workaround was used – ie a larger battery capacity was “locked” from use, but experienced users figured out how to work around this – and this is no longer a viable nor accepted option.
Oppo notably does don’t sell in Austria, therefore the Find X10 Pro Max model is over the 7000mAh threshold. That this specific model chosen for a lower Battery capacity like its X9 Pro Max predecessor, however, suggests that the brand could have eyes on other countries to sell.
Vivo has yet to officially reveal its international specification of the X500 Pro Max, due to the launch event next week, so this MediaTek access point has given some early insight into what to expect. For pre-orders, pricing and more, you’ll need to head over to Vivo’s official site – with the big reveal taking place on October 27th.