vivo unveils a custom Sony sensor with 17 stops of dynamic range and 4K slow-motion at 240 fps. Learn what this means for underwater video.
This article is not a review. It's important to state this upfront, because there's a strong temptation to treat what follows as a product specification, but it is not.
On August 24, 2026, Han Boxiao, product manager at vivo, posted an official teaser on Weibo for the highly anticipated X500 series, scheduled for release in September. He announced that this generation aims to take mobile video to a new level, and he provided three key figures.
These three figures are worth paying attention to, because one of them directly addresses the most significant limitation of underwater photography in natural light. Here's what we know, what we still don't know, and why I'm closely following this release.
A custom sensor called Phantom 500, developed with ZEISS and Sony, announced with a 17 IL dynamic range. This is likely a variant of Sony's recently released LYT-910 LOFIC sensor, adapted for vivo.
4K slow motion at 240 frames per second, combined with 4K at 120 frames per second in HDR. This would be the first phone to combine both.
CIPA 7.0 stabilization extended to the main module. In the previous generation, the X300 Ultra reserved this level of stabilization for the telephoto lens.
That's all. No sensor size, no aperture, no battery capacity, no water resistance rating, no price. A teaser remains a teaser.
An IL, also known as a stop, represents a doubling of the amount of light. Each additional IL doubles the dynamic range the sensor can handle between the brightest and darkest areas in a single image.
Now, imagine a typical diving scene. You are twelve meters deep on a drop-off. At the top of the frame, the surface, illuminated by the sun, is brilliantly bright. At the bottom, the drop-off plunges into deep blue, almost black. Between the two, is your subject.
This scene is an extreme example. With insufficient dynamic range, there is no good exposure setting: either you expose for the surface and the drop-off becomes a black mass with no detail, or you expose for the drop-off and the surface becomes a pure, unrecoverable white.
This is why so many underwater photos taken in natural light give the impression of a compromise. It's not the photographer who lacks talent, but the sensor that lacks dynamic range.
Seventeen ILs, if the figure is confirmed by an independent measurement, places this sensor above most cinema cameras from ten years ago. This won't replace good composition, but it would remove a constraint that weighs on every underwater photo shoot.
High-frame-rate slow motion sounds like a marketing gimmick, and often it is on land. Underwater, it's different.Most interesting animal behaviors are too fast to be captured in real-time. The relaxation of an octopus, the strike of a lionfish, the opening of a school of fish that closes behind a predator: at 30 frames per second, you can see that something happened, but you can't see what.
A 4K slow-motion mode, and not a degraded resolution as is often the case, allows you to maintain detail while extending the motion. For documenting behavior, this is a valuable tool.
However, there is a significant limitation: slow-motion requires a lot of light. Filming at 240 frames per second mechanically reduces the available shutter speed. At twenty meters in natural light, the question of whether this feature remains usable is a valid concern, and the promotional material obviously doesn't address this.
This is the feature that sets vivo apart from all the other manufacturers we reviewed in August.
DiveVolk has published an official compatibility guide for the vivo X300 and X300 Pro with the SeaTouch 4 Max Platinum. The manufacturer has also produced a Platinum V2 version specifically designed for the foldable vivo X Fold6, which was used for a film shot at the Great Blue Hole in Belize, which we covered in our article about the first foldable smartphone for diving.It's important to remember a key fact: the smartphone category of the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026 was won using a vivo X100 Ultra in a SeaTouch 4 Max housing. We discussed this here.
In other words, when a vivo model is released, the likelihood of a compatible underwater housing being available is significantly higher than for any other brand. This isn't a guarantee, but it's a strong indicator.
Let's be specific about the unknowns, because there are many, and none of them are insignificant.
The physical size of the sensor is not specified, and 17 stops of dynamic range on a small sensor is not the same as 17 stops on a large sensor. The aperture is also unknown. We have no information about native RAW capabilities, bit depth, or the availability of a Log profile.
The chassis and cooling system are not documented, which prevents any assessment of the risk of condensation inside the housing. We have covered this issue in detail in our article on overheating and condensation.
Finally, a fundamental question: vivo models intended for the Chinese market lack Google services, which makes apps like MotionCam Pro and Blackmagic Camera unavailable. The international version, when it exists, resolves this issue. The release schedule outside of China is not yet known.For all these reasons, we are not publishing an AquaExposure score for this device. Our rating system requires verified specifications, and assigning a score to a phone when we don't know the sensor size would be equivalent to inventing a number. A score will be available when the specifications are released.
I am genuinely curious about this release, and it's rare for a teaser to generate this much interest.
The reason is simple: vivo is the only manufacturer that meets both the technical requirements and the availability of a compatible underwater housing. The other devices released this month either have excellent sensors but no way to get them underwater, or they have potential compatibility but lack compelling photographic capabilities.
If the 17 MP sensor is confirmed by an independent measurement, and if DiveVolk follows suit as it has with the last two generations of devices, this phone will become a serious recommendation for underwater video in natural light.
In the meantime, don't make any reservations, don't sell your current equipment, and most importantly, don't buy anything based on a Weibo post. We will republish a complete review with a score as soon as the official specifications are available, and not before.
Has the vivo X500 Pro been released? No. There is only an official teaser from August 24, 2026, with a launch expected in September in China. This article is not a review.What do 17 stops of dynamic range mean? Each stop doubles the amount of light captured. Seventeen stops means being able to record simultaneously areas separated by a factor of over one hundred and thirty thousand.
Why is dynamic range so important underwater? Because the typical underwater scene presents a bright surface alongside a very dark foreground. With insufficient dynamic range, you have to choose between overexposing one and underexposing the other.
Will there be a housing for the vivo X500 Pro? Nothing has been announced, but DiveVolk has produced housings for the X300 and X300 Pro, as well as the X Fold6. This is the best precedent on the market.
Should you wait for the vivo X500 Pro for underwater video? If you are serious about filming and can wait until the fall, it's worth checking the final specifications. However, you shouldn't make a decision based on a teaser.
Better dynamic range does not replace proper exposure control when descending. This is one of the skills we work on in the AquaExposure training program.
No. As of the date of this article, only an official teaser was released on August 24, 2026, on Weibo by Han Boxiao, a product manager at vivo. The launch is expected in September 2026 in China. No complete specifications have been published, so this article is not a review.
An IL, or stop, represents a doubling of the amount of light. A range of 17 IL means that the sensor can simultaneously record a very bright area and a very dark area, separated by a factor of over one hundred and thirty thousand. No smartphone sensor had achieved this level until now.
The typical underwater scene presents an extreme situation- the brightly lit surface at the top of the frame can be thousands of times brighter than the darker areas at the bottom. With insufficient dynamic range, you are forced to choose between an overexposed surface and an underexposed foreground. This is the most significant challenge in underwater photography using natural light.
Nothing has been officially announced, but the track record is the most promising of all the brands we follow. DiveVolk has officially released housings for the vivo X300 and X300 Pro models, compatible with the SeaTouch 4 Max Platinum. They have also produced a Platinum V2 version specifically for the foldable vivo X Fold6. vivo is structurally the brand that benefits the most from the housing manufacturer.
If you are serious about filming and can wait until the fall, then yes, it is worth waiting to see the final specifications. However, no decisions should be made based on a teaser, and the figures announced on Weibo have not yet been confirmed by independent testing.
