vivo Nex 2 leak makes us wonder if the dual-screen trend is actually happening

Back in July, we had the opportunity to review the vivo Nex. In a time when most manufacturers are maximizing screen real estate and working to hide notches, vivo ingeniously created a pop-up selfie camera which allowed for an uninterrupted front panel. During our time with the Nex, we found the rear camera to be startling good, so much so that we pitted it against the Pixel 2 in a competition that was too close to call. The main drawback we encountered was the crippled FunTouch OS, an iOS-lookalike skin of Android 8.0 Oreo.

OPPO introduced its own retractable camera phone shortly after, the Find X. Now it’s vivo’s turn to borrow off a competitor, specifically the dual-screen nubia X, which went on sale in China on November 5.

Recently leaked images on Weibo claim to reveal a Nex 2 that bears a strong resemblance to the nubia X.

The photos clearly depict a vivo-branded device with a large front panel that looks a lot like the one on the original Nex. Another screen graces the back of the device with three cameras resting above it. Including a second display certainly eliminates the need for the pop-up selfie camera. However, the first-gen Nex didn’t exactly fare well in terms of battery life during our review. Adding a second screen will definitely suck more juice, all for the sake of maintaining a notch-free front. The original Nex included a 4,000mAh battery, but even that wasn’t sufficient to last us into the evening on days with heavy usage.

On the other hand, if the Nex 2 retains the camera quality of its predecessor, selfies should look phenomenal. The original model included only two lenses. Adding a third is becoming standard in the industry; HUAWEI started the trend with the P20, followed by LG’s V40 ThinQ, and Samsung’s Galaxy A7. The extra lens is likely for ultra-wide-angle shots, which make for great group selfies or panoramic landscape photos. Extra lenses can also enable better low-light performance by taking multiple exposures and combining them in one shot.

We’ve only seen leaked images of the Nex 2, so we have no solid information about the specs. However, the original Nex is powered by a Snapdragon 845 and 8GB of RAM with a 6.59-inch Super AMOLED screen, so we expect to see the same on its replacement.

The original Nex also included an in-display fingerprint reader that hopefully has improved a bit, since we had some issues during our review of the first generation. There’s the obvious question of how vivo will tackle the dual-screen fingerprint issue: does it include one inside each display or go the nubia X route and move them to the side of the device? We’ll have to wait for more leaks to find out.

The current vivo Nex sells in India for 44,990 rupees, roughly $635.

As a side note, here’s what can be achieved on a dual-screen phone (nubia X):

Are dual-screen phones a good idea? Would you prefer having a second screen even if it means sacrificing battery life and making your device more fragile? Drop us a line in the comments!