We asked, you told us: The vivo Nex is cool, but better software is a must

The vivo Nex: Futuristic and ambitious. An exciting smartphone packed with the latest technology, but not without a few flaws. So, who’s buying?

The vivo Nex surprised us for many reasons. The dual cameras on the back take photos that challenge the Pixel 2. The big full-size screen (without a notch!) courtesy of the under-display fingerprint sensor delivering a the-future-is-here-now experience.

The front-facing camera on a pop-up slider is very cool, too. It’s also surprisingly robust.

I had the chance to play with a vivo Nex in person, when our Managing Editor and vivo Nex reviewer Kris Carlon brought one along to a meeting. We played with it, we tested it out, and we really put the mechanics of the slider through its paces. The good news is that it does seem far less fragile than you might fear. It’s a great looking device.

But would you buy one? It’s priced at around $720 or so, which makes it a properly flagship price point to weigh up. And unfortunately, the software experience when taking a phone designed to work in China into not-China isn’t seamless. That makes all the advertising for the vivo Nex in the World Cup and otherwise a little confusing. Is this a sign that the phone is going global?

Well, not yet, but the vivo Nex is at least launching outside of China in Hong Kong, Russia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and India (at a suggested Rs. 48,990) for now. That leaves Europe and the U.S. out at least for the time being.

So, our poll did a bit of the legwork for vivo to discover if you would buy the Nex if it came to your region, and get your thoughts as to why or why not.

Here’s how roughly 40,000 of you voted on the website poll, on our YouTube poll, Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter:

Would you buy the vivo Nex if it came to your region?

There are a few ups and downs between the results. Instagrammers recorded by far the most positive responses, in a little hint for who vivo should target their advertising at. The most adamant against the vivo Nex were those voting on YouTube, with just 15 percent saying yes.

But where we could run more than two options, we saw a healthy vote for ‘undecided’. Which is fair enough; if vivo can improve the software experience, that will drastically help the device. And that’s what reviews are for – finding something out before you buy!

Here are some of the comments from across the polls – many of which had similar themes on price, UI, lack of NFC or IP68 protection – but it wasn’t all bad:

• Yes: But only if the price point is much lower than it is now. I don’t care all that much about IP68, the lack of NFC is annoying, and the UI is an iOS ripoff with vivo’s own spin. Given those factors, which I can live with, if it was priced as a mid-range to a lower-end phone I’d go for yes just for the weirdness factor.
• Yes: That screen! Makes other phones look old.
• No: Phone with moving part? No thanks!
• No: The Apple iPhone UI is an immediate no.
• Undecided: Can’t be seen using that iPhone look-alike UI. If only it had a stock look, or Oxygen OS since OnePlus and vivo are owned by BBK.
• Undecided: Where is the ‘I don’t have the money’ option?

Thanks again for voting, and keep an eye out on the news about the Nex coming to your area.