Leaks of Vivo’s Nex appear one day before handset's unveiling

Flagship model also set to feature the much-hyped in-display fingerprint sensor

Smartphones

Andrew Barclay

Published: 7:20pm, 11 Jun 2018

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This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Leaks of Vivo’s highly anticipated Nex smartphone seem to confirm what many have been hoping for: A smartphone with nothing on the front except the screen.

The leaks appear to show that the premium version of the handset will have an in-display fingerprint sensor and a selfie camera that physically pops out of the top of the device.

One of the leaks came from an unusual source: Vivo’s own website, which briefly showcased two of the upcoming models, revealing the standard Nex and a premium model called the Nex S. (There’s also expected to be a third version of the device, the Nex A, but that didn’t appear on Vivo’s website.)

This new Vivo concept phone has a pop-up selfie camera

As always, it’s worth taking these leaks with a grain of salt, but the images seem to confirm another much-hyped feature of the device. The lack of a fingerprint sensor on the rear of the Nex S device means it likely sports an in-display fingerprint reader -- another coup for the Chinese smartphone manufacturer which already used the technology in its X21 phone.

But we’re still left with one question: How big the in-display fingerprint scanner will be.

While the X21's sensor only works on an area about the size of a thumb, the Apex prototype we saw at MWC covered about a third of the screen.

The selfie camera we saw on Vivo's concept phone at Mobile World Congress. (Picture: Abacus).

Speculation has been rife for months about the device -- the retail version of the Apex concept that we got our hands on at Mobile World Congress this year -- which is set to be officially announced tomorrow.

In the past 24 hours, a black version of the base model Nex also made an appearance in a short hands-on video on Chinese social media, showing a fingerprint sensor on the rear -- which means the cheapest model will likely miss out on the in-display sensor.

A leak on Chinese microblogging site Weibo purporting to show a hands-on with Vivo’s Nex smartphone. (Picture: Weibo).

Among the other things we've learned from the leaks: The Nex S will come with a 6.59-inch display and the Snapdragon 845 also found in some Samsung Galaxy S9 devices -- along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

There’s a dual 12 and 5 megapixel camera set-up on the back, while the pop-up selfie camera -- which some have taken to calling the periscope -- is believed to be 8 megapixels.

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The base Nex model will likely be powered by the Snapdragon 710 -- along with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

One thing the leaks haven’t been able to answer is the price. Vivo’s website listed both devices at 9,999 RMB -- or more than US$1,500 -- unlikely for a brand known for its budget-friendly prices.

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