Android

Monsters from Asia: vivo X5Max, the world's thinnest production phone

posted by Chris P. / Mar 26, 2015, 3:05 AM

Monsters from Asia: vivo X5Max, the world's thinnest production phone

It's hardly news now, but we'll say it again: Android manufacturers are dead-set on their ambition to bring impossibly thin devices to the market, regardless of the cost to user experience. We've seen what incredible trade-offs are involved with sub 0.2-inch (5 mm) phones like the Oppo R5, but handset makers obviously see a niche for such design-centric pieces nevertheless.

The vivo X5Max is one such device, but it offers an even thinner, 1.87-inch profile (4.75 mm), and unlike the Oppo R5 (which is a sister company to vivo), it features a 3.5 mm audio jack. But that number is only for the sticklers for details, as the X5Max actually measures just 0.15 inches (3.98 mm) at its thinnest point. Incredible, especially considering that vivo has used metal in the construction, and the X5Max is every bit the premium device that the company is revered for.

So how did vivo do this? Well, the company isn't likely to ever share all the details of the process, but we were told that they're using a specially designed motherboard that's only 0.067 inches thick (1.77 mm), and screen assembly and speaker box that measure in at 0.05 inches and 0.09 inches (1.36 / 2.45 mm) respectively.

Surely, that leaves little room for anything resembling powerful internals, right? Not quite, for vivo has fitted within an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615, 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel selfie snapper, a 2,000 mAh battery, and even a dedicated Yamaha YSS-205X chip to handle audio output (vivo is well loved among audiophiles). The device runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat, with the company's proprietary Funtouch OS 2.0 skin on top.

So how much for the razor-thin vivo X5Max?

vivo X5Max

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7 Comments

1. YuutaHideki

Posts: 2; Member since: Jul 08, 2013

too early to read comment bashing how thin is this phone. :c

posted on Mar 26, 2015, 3:17 AM 0

4. techperson211

Posts: 1280; Member since: Feb 27, 2014

Battery life is the most important part for a consumer even if it's paper thin but wouldn't last a day then what's the use of having a smartphone if you constantly have to charge it and some of us are not fond of bringing power bank. Please don't tell me about quick charge.

posted on Mar 26, 2015, 4:09 AM 0

2. arch_angel

Posts: 1651; Member since: Feb 20, 2015

ok so its thin has good specs. but whats the battery life going to be like tho?

posted on Mar 26, 2015, 3:36 AM 2

3. Tondern

Posts: 164; Member since: Feb 23, 2015

I'm sorry PA it's not niche at all to make a sickly thin phone anymore, it's a mainstream selling point. What 2013 and 2014 gave us in battery life improvements, we see all that dissipate for a spec paper achievement.

posted on Mar 26, 2015, 3:37 AM 0

5. phonehome

Posts: 812; Member since: Dec 19, 2014

Thin phones are nice. Mediocre battery life is not. That said, is it still possible (sooner rather than later) to have a flagship as thin as this (and with nothing protruding), and with a battery that can last more than a day with heavy usage?

posted on Mar 26, 2015, 4:24 AM 0

6. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

This i yet another phone that proves Samsung could have kept microSD support and still make a thin device. Whoever designed the above phone, needs to get hired by Samsung. This person has taste and skill.