vivo Opens X500 China Launch as Memory Costs Push Flagship Prices Higher

BEIJING - vivo is launching the X500, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max in China today at 19:00 Beijing time, putting MediaTek’s first TSMC 2nm phone chip and a ZEISS-led camera stack on stage in a market where DRAM costs have already forced the company to raise prices on an older Ultra model, according to tech-ish coverage dated Sept. 21, 2026, and earlier confirmations from Gizmochina and vivo Creator Festival materials.

The Pro and Pro Max run MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600 Pro, described in coverage as the first phone processor built on TSMC’s 2nm process. The standard X500 is expected to use a Dimensity 9600M part at about 4.21GHz, a different and slower silicon choice under the same series badge, per tech-ish and secondary chip reports. Software is OriginOS 7. vivo has listed the X500 series among the first devices to carry the new skin.

Photo: vivo

Photo: vivo

Imaging remains the series pitch. Coverage of vivo’s Creator Festival and design reveals points to ZEISS optics and a BluePrint LightGuard 900 main camera approach on the Pro models. The Pro Max is reported with a 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP0 periscope telephoto on a 1/1.4-inch sensor, ZEISS APO certification, CIPA 7.0 stabilization, and support for a 400mm teleconverter accessory. Its main camera is described as a Sony LYT-910 on a 1/1.28-inch sensor that can tilt through about 3 degrees, plus a 50MP Samsung ultrawide. The X500 Pro is reported with a 64MP Sony LYT-610 telephoto starting around 85mm and without the Pro Max gimbal treatment. The standard X500 is said to inherit the X300 Pro’s Sony LYT-828 main camera on a 1/1.28-inch sensor, rated about CIPA 5.5.

Photo: vivo

Photo: vivo

Memory costs are the commercial backdrop. tech-ish reports DRAM contract prices up more than 340% across 2026, with NAND flash up more than 320%, and estimates that memory and storage for a 12GB and 256GB handset that once cost about CNY500 to buy now run around CNY2,200. On Sept. 18, vivo raised X300 Ultra list prices across configurations, including a move from CNY6,999 to CNY7,499 on the 12GB and 256GB model and from CNY11,999 to CNY13,999 on the photographer’s kit, according to the same report.

Photo: vivo

Photo: vivo

X500 starting prices remain leaked and unconfirmed until tonight’s event. Chinese accounts cited by tech-ish put the standard X500 anywhere from about CNY5,299 to CNY6,499, the Pro from about CNY6,299 to CNY7,499, and the Pro Max from about CNY6,999 to CNY8,499. Those figures should be treated as rumor ranges, not official MSRPs. Battery capacities of about 7,500mAh on the standard model and about 8,000mAh on the Pro models likewise remain leaked unless vivo confirms them on stage. Charging claims in the same leak set include 90W wired and, on some models, 40W wireless.

Global timing is open. The prior X300 Pro took roughly two months to move from China to some export markets. Buyers outside China should wait for regional announcements rather than treating China launch-night pricing as a world list.