Vivo’s NEX Dual Display Edition offers double the fun

We all know how crazy fierce the smartphone industry is. Smartphone manufacturers are coming up with newer technologies faster than you can say ‘hello’ in a bid to outsmart (pun intended) one another. One of them is leading global technology company Vivo, which has just launched its new flagship NEX Dual Display Edition smartphone.

Two screens, too fun!

Yes, this isn’t the first dual screen phone that the market has seen, but after a few days of hanging out with Vivo’s new NEX Dual Display Edition (NEX DDE), it seems pretty promising to me.

Vivo has installed a fully usable touchscreen on the back of the smartphone to circumvent the need for a selfie camera. Let’s be honest, selfie cameras are usually not as great as the rear camera in terms of resolution. So, this basically means better quality selfies. Who’s going to say no to that? Definitely not me.

Having the Super AMOLED display on both sides, this flagship series offers a 100% immersive viewing experience with a wide range of colours, accompanied by an incredible degree of colour clarity that allows for fantastic resolution. I’ve noticed that images viewed via the NEX DDE have bright, vibrant and great colours. The Ultra FullView Display on the front has no notch and also allows for an immersive screen that I can hold comfortably in one hand.

There’s also a Lunar Ring embedded in the rear screen of the NEX Dual Display Edition which exhibits different lighting effects under different circumstances. It displays different colours when charging, playing music and when there’s an incoming call or notification. The Lunar Ring feature is also very useful for selfies. The LEDs can produce diffusion lighting when in selfie mode or during video calls to give me additional lighting.

Now, one might be skeptical about the practicality of having two screens; I was at first too. But this dual display feature lets me alternate between front and rear screens for easy multitasking. I could swipe the applications currently running to the rear screen to be put on hold without having to minimize those apps running in the background. Multi-tasking FTW.

To add on to the multitasking point, I discovered that I could also split the screen on selected applications by swiping down with three fingers. For instance, messages on the top half of screen and calculator on bottom half of screen. For someone who’s not great with numbers like me, this feature definitely came in handy when I was shopping online using the NEX DDE. It was much easier to calculate the amount I had to pay with the items and prices on the same screen as my calculator. Of course, it would also be great for the multi-taskers out there.

One of the features I was personally quite excited about, this one is for the gamer geeks like me, is ability to shift certain game controls to the rear screen. One problem I always face when playing battle royale games like PUBG and Fortnite on mobile is that there were too many controls (shooting, moving, shifting camera angle) for my two thumbs, so this feature definitely comes in handy. Considering how popular battle royale type games are right now, this ability to shift game controls to the rear screen definitely helps create a smoother and less salty gaming experience.

Be the perfect Instagram boyfriend

Many millennials nowadays have pretty good photography skills to take Instagram-worthy photos. Unfortunately, I am not one of them and my friends would ALWAYS call me out for my terrible photo-taking skills. So if you’re like me, Mirror Mode might just be your life-saver.

I tried the Mirror Mode (and my terrible skills) out on a friend and I was pretty impressed. With Mirror Mode, she could position herself better to lengthen her legs and make herself look skinnier hence we didn’t spend three hours taking photos again and again. So if you have a demanding girlfriend who wants aesthetically pleasing photos for her Instagram account, Mirror Mode is here to save the day (You can thank me later).

To add on to Mirror Mode, there is also a unique feature called Pose Director, where you can pull up an image or video onto both screens during Mirror Mode as a reference for imitation.

Of course dual screens aren’t all Vivo’s new NEX Dual Display Edition has to offer, considering how tight competition is, Vivo has more tricks up its sleeves. The NEX Dual Display Edition boasts a whopping 10GB RAM and Vivo’s fifth generation in-screen fingerprint scanner that can apparently unlock your phone in 0.29 seconds (I mean, who’s counting right?).

This smartphone is also equipped with three cameras, the 3D Time of Flight (TOF) camera, a night video camera and the 12MP Dual-Pixel main camera.

The 3D Time Of Flight (TOF) camera’s 3D sensing capabilities makes point-to-point distance measuring possible, giving you a 3D model of your face for enhanced facial recognition protection and photo editing for both your face and even body. This sensor can also be used to scan real world objects into 3D space, giving you modeling capabilities for apps like Facebook.

Love taking videos at night? The specialized night video camera lets you film clear footage in low-light environments and in motion.

The aesthetics department

If you’re worried about finding a suitable casing for the NEX Dual Display Edition smartphone, you don’t have to. A PC+ LSM (Polycarbonate and Liquid Silicone Mould) custom made case for this phone will be included as an additional accessory with your purchase. The edge of the case is slightly elevated so that both screens will not be scratched when placed on flat surfaces.

Aside from that, you can customize your “casing“ for the phone simply by setting a specific display on the rear screen. I quite like this feature. I usually purchase my phone casings online but with this, I don’t have to spend time searching online to purchase a casing and waiting for it to arrive. It helps to save some time and money, especially if you’re one of those who change your phone casing ever so often.

In Singapore, customers will also get to enjoy a two-year warranty for the NEX Dual Display Edition, which includes a free screen replacement within the first three months of purchase. Both screens will be replaced for free should they be damaged at the same time.

Overall, I personally think that Vivo has taken a large step forward with the NEX Dual Display Edition considering the history of dual screen phones This phone is great for the selfie-maniacs and those who are required to multi-task often. Considering its specs, it is no doubt an impressive phone for its price.

The NEX Dual Display Edition is available at $1,099 (without contract) in Polar Blue through telcos M1 Limited (M1), Singtel, and StarHub, and authorized dealers including Challenger.

NEX Dual Display Edition Specs: