A week ago, vivo unveiled the Y6t – a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 powered phone with a 6.74” 720p+ display, a 6,500mAh battery and a low price tag of CNY 1,400 ($205) for a base 6/128GB unit. Now the company is introducing a second take at the same formula that’s an even better deal – and it is teasing the vivo Y600 Pro. But first…
The vivo Y500s boasts a larger 7,200mAh battery, a single cell with 28.23Wh typical capacity. It supports 44W Flash charging (11V at 4A) over USB-C. With a full charge, you can binge watch TV shows for just short of 24 hours or you can use navigation for 15.5 hours. Even if the phone has only 20% left in the tank, it can do navigation (in power saving mode) for 3 hours or so.
This is a Blue Ocean 3 battery, which is safe to charge even in very cold (-20°C) or very hot (40°C) environments. vivo rates it at 1,600 charge cycles (while maintaining at least 80% of its original capacity), which is enough for 6 years of general usage.
The phone has a 6.75” LCD with 720 x 1,570px resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Nestled on top is an 8MP selfie camera with an f/2.1 aperture.
The camera on the back is more interesting with a 50MP sensor and an f/1.8 aperture. It may not sound like much, but the Y6t only has a 13MP camera on its back.
This phone is rated IP68 for submersion and IP69 for protection against high-pressure water jets. There are stereo speakers on board with a one-button cleaning mode that helps get water out of them if the phone goes for an accidental dip. There’s also a side-mounted fingerprint reader.
The vivo Y500s is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 – a fairly old chipset, but it is a 4nm part and it has a 5G modem. There are several configurations available with the base model having 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage. This one costs CNY 1,800 while the top-specced Y6t with 6GB of RAM and 256GB storage is CNY 1,600. With the bigger battery and better camera, the Y500s makes a compelling case for spending CNY 200 extra.
| vivo Y500s | CNY Converted | |
|---|---|---|
| 8/256GB | CNY 1,800 | USD 265 |
| 12/256GB | CNY 2,200 | USD 320 |
| 8/512GB | CNY 2,200 | USD 320 |
Note: there is promotional pricing in effect right now so the 12/256GB and 8/512GB models are CNY 100 off. The Y500s can be had in Obsidian Black, Galaxy Silver and Phoenix Gold.
Before we wrap up, here’s a teaser that’s too hot to put off – the vivo Y600 Pro will have a massive 10,200mAh battery. Like its sibling above, it will be rated IP68 and IP69 and a 50MP camera.
vivo Y600 Pro
Certification info has revealed that this phone will support 80W fast charging. The full reveal is expected later today.
PS. If you like what you see in the Y500s, you should also have a look at the vivo Y500i, which is a very similar device.
