" Sinking King " Charge towards high-end ， The biggest opponent is oneself 。

The " Sinking King " ( lower-tier markets leader) Aims for the High-End, But Its Biggest Rival Is Itself.

vivo's X series is now more expensive.

On the evening of September 21, vivo unveiled its latest flagship models, the X500 series. As with previous generations, "imaging" remains the most crucial keyword at this launch event.

The X500 series further enhances portrait, telephoto, and video capabilities. The X500 Pro Max features a 50-megapixel LOFIC primary camera and a 200-megapixel telephoto lens, while the X500 Pro and Pro Max support up to 4K 240fps video recording.

Prices are also on the rise. The X500, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max start at 5,499 yuan, 6,499 yuan, and 6,999 yuan, respectively. In contrast, the previous generation's X300 and X300 Pro started at 4,399 yuan and 5,299 yuan, representing price increases exceeding 1,000 yuan.

Image Source: vivo

It's worth noting that these price hikes have sparked considerable criticism among netizens, with some even stating, "I was going to buy it, but this price is a deal-breaker," and "I had pre-ordered the X500 Pro at the store, but as soon as the price was announced, I requested a refund!"

Image Source: Screenshot from comment section

Aside from being influenced by rising industry costs, it's not surprising that vivo has positioned the X series at a higher price point. Over the past few years, from Zeiss collaborations to advancements in portrait and telephoto capabilities, the X series has become vivo's most crucial asset in its push for the high-end market.

On one hand, the smartphone market has entered a phase of intense competition, making it increasingly difficult to rely on a vast product lineup and offline channels to achieve scale. On the other hand, Apple and Huawei continue to dominate the core positions in the high-end market.

As selling in large volumes becomes more challenging, has vivo managed to establish a foothold in the high-end smartphone market?

01. The Foundation Begins to Weakening

Half a year ago, vivo was one of the few players in the smartphone market still experiencing growth.

According to IDC data, in the first quarter of this year, vivo was the only leading domestic Android manufacturer to achieve year-over-year growth in shipments. The X300 series continued to sell well, and the X200s became the best-selling X series model in vivo's history, propelling vivo into the top three in China's high-end market (priced above 600 USD).

However, by the second quarter, the situation had reversed. China's overall smartphone shipments declined by 4.3% year-over-year, while vivo (including iQOO) saw an 11.4% drop, with its market share falling from 17% to 16%. Globally, vivo's shipments also fell from 26.3 million units to 21.2 million units, a 19.6% year-over-year decline.

Image Source: Screenshot from IDC report

In just one quarter, vivo shifted from counter-trend growth to a double-digit decline.

The issue doesn't lie entirely with the products, as the X series has become one of vivo's most consistently performing product lines in recent years. What has truly changed is the marketing model that once supported vivo's massive sales volume.

For a long time, vivo's most enviable asset among peers wasn't a specific flagship model but its distribution channels.

During the heyday of internet-focused smartphones, when brands like Xiaomi shifted their launch events online, vivo and OPPO opened stores in lower-tier markets such as counties, towns, and rural areas. From the Y series and S series to the later iQOO, vivo used a dense range of product price points to cater to different consumer groups, relying on distributors and offline stores to place phones directly in front of consumers.

This model was once extremely effective.

Compared to Apple, which releases only a few models each year, vivo could sell everything from budget to flagship devices. Unlike brands reliant on online traffic, vivo could reach consumers who didn't research specifications, wait for e-commerce sales, or even prefer to buy phones directly in-store.

As a result, even without a super flagship model like the iPhone or Huawei Mate, vivo repeatedly claimed the top spot in China's smartphone shipments over the past few years.

But by 2026, business had become more challenging.

While the X series determines how high vivo can go, it's the mass-market products like the Y and S series, along with the vast offline distribution network, that truly determine how many phones vivo can sell in a year. As mass-market consumers replace their phones less frequently and low-end products become less profitable, the scale advantages built on "more products + more stores + broader coverage" can no longer fully offset the market's overall contraction.

Offline channels must also adapt to these changes. When consumers replace their phones every three or even four years, and online and offline prices become increasingly transparent, the reach advantage once provided by a vast terminal network still exists. However, the costs of maintaining this system do not decrease in tandem with reduced consumer replacement rates.

The good news is that vivo isn't without another ace. As its traditional foundation comes under pressure, the X series is moving in the opposite direction—becoming more expensive, more high-end, and increasingly resembling vivo's most critical growth pillar for the next stage.

02. vivo's Journey to the High-End

From a pricing perspective, vivo increasingly resembles a high-end brand.

The newly released X500 starts at 5,499 yuan, while the X500 Pro and Pro Max are priced at 6,499 yuan and 6,999 yuan, respectively, with the highest-end Creator Suite reaching a staggering 12,999 yuan.

Although smartphone price hikes can be attributed to soaring chip costs, surging AI R&D investment, and increased supply chain expenses, vivo's confidence in raising X series prices stems primarily from its imaging capabilities.

Over the past few years, vivo has essentially rebuilt the X series around imaging. From Zeiss collaborations and portrait enhancements to periscope telephoto lenses and BlueImage imaging, the X series has gradually established a relatively clear product identity.

The vivo X300 Ultra, released in late March and launched in early April, started at 6,999 yuan and featured a dual 200-megapixel Zeiss imaging system. Now, less than six months later, the X500 has arrived, with the standard version supporting 8K native Live and the Pro Max further enhancing primary, telephoto, and video capabilities. Imaging has become vivo's most crucial tool for breaking into the high-end market.

Image Source: Screenshot from vivo's official website

However, a high price point doesn't necessarily mean a brand has achieved high-end status. At least based on the current market landscape, the two most dominant players in China's high-end smartphone market remain Apple and Huawei.

In the second quarter of this year, amid a 4.3% overall decline in China's smartphone market, Apple and Huawei saw year-over-year growth of 24.4% and 19.4%, respectively, becoming the only two brands among major players to achieve counter-trend growth.

Other domestic smartphone manufacturers, including vivo, have seen their flagship prices widely reach the 5,000-6,000 yuan range, yet they have failed to truly challenge Apple and Huawei's dominance in the high-end market, with all experiencing varying degrees of market share decline.

Image Source: Screenshot from IDC report

IDC attributes Apple and Huawei's performance to their pricing strategies, product coverage, and strong brand appeal, which stem from two well-established high-end models.

Apple relies on iOS, its in-house chips, and a hardware-software ecosystem comprising the iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Apple Watch to build premium pricing across the entire Apple ecosystem. Huawei, meanwhile, boasts HarmonyOS, chips, communication technologies, and a full range of devices including smartphones, foldables, PCs, automobiles, and all-scenario terminals.

Consumers don't buy an iPhone or Huawei Mate solely because of a single camera or specification.

In contrast, vivo's most distinct high-end identity remains highly concentrated on imaging. This is the X series' greatest success, but it could also become a bottleneck for further growth, as imaging capabilities are increasingly becoming less of a unique advantage for any single smartphone manufacturer.

Image Source: Screenshot from vivo's official website

Looking at mainstream competitors, Xiaomi has maintained a long-term partnership with Leica, OPPO has bet on Hasselblad and imaging flagships, Honor has introduced ARRI's professional cinematic color grading and shooting workflows to smartphones, Huawei has its own imaging system, and Apple continues to strengthen its video capabilities. When competitors all begin to catch up in imaging, the differentiation that a single capability can provide becomes increasingly limited.

IDC even highlighted a pragmatic phenomenon in its analysis of the global smartphone market this year: as low-end smartphone costs rise and manufacturers collectively shift toward higher price tiers, when the price gaps between brands narrow, consumers are increasingly inclined to choose what they perceive as a "high-end brand."

This is the true competition the X500 faces after its price hike. When an X500 Pro Max starts at 6,999 yuan, it's no longer just competing with Android flagships from OPPO and Xiaomi but also with whether consumers might simply spend a bit more to buy an iPhone or Huawei Mate.

Therefore, for vivo, which is striving for high-end status, it must confront a question: Beyond imaging, why are consumers willing to pay 6,000-7,000 yuan or even more for a vivo smartphone?

In other words, to truly establish a high-end brand identity, vivo needs to find values beyond imaging that are harder to replace.

03. Is vivo Starting to Streamline?

As the smartphone market faces pressure and competition in the high-end segment intensifies, vivo underwent a significant management reshuffle this year.

In February, vivo founder Shen Wei announced he would step down as president while retaining his role as CEO. Hu Baishan, formerly executive vice president and COO, was promoted to president and COO, with core businesses such as China now reporting to him.

Shen Wei continues to serve as CEO, focusing more on the company's long-term strategy and direction, while delegating daily operations to Hu Baishan. This marks a rare high-level restructuring in vivo's history.

Image Source: Screenshot from Weibo

Hu Baishan is not an outsider suddenly parachuted in. After graduating from Zhejiang University in 2000, he joined the vivo system and has been with the company for over 25 years. Notably, his involvement in recent years hasn't been limited to smartphone sales. From vivo's imaging collaboration with Zeiss to the establishment of the Central Research Institute and ventures into MR, robotics labs, and other cutting-edge fields, Hu Baishan has long participated in vivo's technological strategy and new business Layout (layout).

Now, with him taking on greater operational responsibilities, it signifies that vivo's challenges are no longer just about maintaining smartphone sales but about redefining where a mature smartphone company should allocate its capital, talent, and R&D resources.

Shen Wei's answer this year is three words: "Fewer Bets, Heavier Bets."

This contrasts with the trend of smartphone manufacturers chasing every new window of opportunity (trend) in recent years. When AI glasses became popular, they made glasses; when MR took off, they developed headsets; when large language models surged, they invested in AI; when embodied AI emerged, they began researching robots.

As smartphone growth peaks, finding the "next smartphone" has become a shared anxiety among all leading manufacturers.

vivo has also made numerous attempts in the past but began actively streamlining its efforts this year. In early 2024, according to self-media outlet " Intelligence Emergence " (Smart Emergence), citing insiders, vivo executive vice president Hu Baishan and other top leaders concluded that AI glasses "would be difficult to differentiate in the current landscape" and subsequently halted the project.

The decision wasn't based on an inability to develop the product but on an assessment that the AI glasses market would remain limited in the short term, with insufficient product differentiation and immature technology failing to provide a sufficiently polished user experience.

This decision reflects vivo's current mindset. Rather than securing a presence in every hot sector, it's better to concentrate limited resources on a few areas truly worth long-term investment and with the potential to scale.

The remaining priorities are becoming clearer.

The first priority remains smartphones. Even as the market enters a mature phase, smartphones remain vivo's largest user gateway and most established commercial foundation, with the X series shouldering the crucial high-end transformation task.

The second priority is AI. Instead of creating a standalone AI hardware device, vivo's more practical approach is to integrate AI into smartphones and operating systems, embedding it into high-frequency usage scenarios for existing users.

A longer-term priority is robotics. vivo has established a Robotics Lab, extending its accumulated capabilities in vision, AI perception, and other fields into the physical world. However, compared to smartphones, which sell over a billion units annually, robotics is still far from being ready to take over.

Image Source: Screenshot from Weibo

For at least the next few years, vivo will still find it difficult to move away from the smartphone business.

Robotics may represent the future, and AI offers new imaginative possibilities, but what can truly transform vivo's revenue structure and support R&D investment in the short term remains smartphones—and whether it can sell more phones at higher prices.

From this perspective, the X500 represents more than just an annual flagship update.

When Shen Wei advocates for "fewer bets, heavier bets," when Hu Baishan takes charge of daily operations, and when some seemingly exciting new ventures are proactively cut, the X series emerges as vivo's most certain and practical "heavy bet" at present.

The question is, will this bet pay off?