I tried Vivo's X500 Pro Max, confirming EU battery reduction – and reason why
The international version features a 6750mAh battery
Earlier this week, I attended an exclusive MediaTek event in Spain to discuss the latest Dimensity 9600 Pro chipset – which is confirmed in both the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max and Vivo X500 Pro Max handsets, due out imminently.
The former of those, the Oppo, which I've been using for weeks, I've since published the review in full. The latter, the Vivo, however, was the first time that I'd seen the international handset, as destined for Europe – and it confirmed interesting details.
My colleague attended the China launch of the Vivo X500 Pro Max, raving about its camera – which blew his iPhone out of the water – but we knew that particular handset, with its huge 8000mAh battery capacity, would not be released outside of Asian markets.
Vivo has confirmed that it will be launching in Europe, with an event taking place on 27 October, just not in all countries on the continent – the UK being one key territory that's excluded. Those in Spain, Portugal, Germany and other key countries, however, will be able to get their hands on a unit.
And so to the battery capacity. When exploring the handset at the MediaTek event, a colleague pointed out that it was the international model – and a further jump into the spec, confirming Dimensity 9600 Pro, also highlighted the 6750mAh battery capacity.
That's quite a big jump down from the 8000mAh of its Chinese cousin, but there's a specific reason for that. CE Certification – hence the big stamp on the side of the device in-hand, per my gallery of pictures here – mandates certain restrictions.
In previous released that's permitted 7500mAh (in the Oppo Find X9 Pro) and 7150mAh (in the Find X10 Pro Max) to enter the market, because they met specific conditions. However, certain countries in Europe set their own thresholds – with Austria, in particular, fixing that ceiling at 6750mAh. It's a transport safety regulation.
Vivo sells in Austria and, therefore, the international X500 Pro Max has said battery capacity. In some past product releases, a software-locked workaround was utilised – i.e. a larger battery capacity was 'locked' from use, but savvy users worked out how to bypass this – and that's no longer a viable nor accepted option.
Oppo notably does not sell in Austria, hence the Find X10 Pro Max model going beyond the 7000mAh threshold. That this specific model elected for a lower battery capacity than its X9 Pro Max predecessor, however, suggests the brand could have eyes on other countries in which to sell.
Vivo hasn't officially revealed its X500 Pro Max's international specification as yet, due to the launch event next week, so this MediaTek access point gave a little early insight into what to expect. For pre-orders, pricing and more, you'll need to head to Vivo's official page – with the big reveal taking place on 27 October.
