Vivo’s new X500 flagship phones have arrived in China, and as usual the company’s focus is firmly on photography. The X500 Pro Max — a new tier in its lineup — is the first phone to use new sensors and silicon from Sony and MediaTek that enable impressive dynamic range and slow-motion video recording.

The X500 Pro Max uses Sony’s new Lytia L910 image sensor, its first to use LOFIC, a sensor technology that enables expanded dynamic range. The 50-megapixel, 1/1.28-inch-type sensor delivers what Vivo calls “true 17 EV ultra-high dynamic range,” more than the 16.5 stops claimed by the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. The excellent 200-megapixel, 3.7x telephoto from the X300 Ultra returns here too, along with support for that phone’s 400mm teleconverter lens.

The X500 Pro and Pro Max are also the first phones run on MediaTek’s new Dimensity 9600 Pro, with the 9600M found in the base X500. The 2nm Pro chip brings with it the usual performance bumps, but also the ability to record 4K 240fps slow-motion video. 10bit Log recording and new cinematic video styles are included too.

Display sizes range from the compact 6.36-inch Pro to the 6.85-inch Pro Max, with the base X500 in-between. All three phones feature OLED displays, silicon-carbon batteries between 6,510mAh and 8,000mAh in size, and run on Vivo’s OriginOS 7 software. Today’s launch is China-only, but a global launch is coming, though we don’t yet know when.