Vivo Apex 2020 Concept coming this week with 48MP ‘gimbal’ camera - Android

Vivo/Weibo

The Vivo Apex series of concept smartphones traditionally gives us a taste of cutting-edge design and technology. Back in 2018, we saw a device with a huge fingerprint reading area and pop-up camera, while 2019 gave us a 5G concept phone with no buttons or ports.

We eagerly anticipated the Vivo Apex 2020 concept phone at MWC 2020, but the company was one of many forced to postpone its plans as a result of the expo’s cancellation. Fortunately, Vivo has now announced on Weibo that its concept is coming on Friday February 28, complete with a picture seen above.

Vivo/Weibo

Vivo’s ads for the concept phone are still up in Barcelona though, with several journalists taking photos of them. And the firm is touting a so-called 48MP “gimbal” camera for the device. Gimbals are usually used in a professional or semi-professional setting to stabilize a camera, so this could essentially be a miniature take on that.

Then again, isn’t optical image stabilization basically a miniature version of a gimbal? Either way, it seems like Vivo is bringing a solution for superior stabilization, so we’re eager to hear more about it. Check out the ads below, courtesy of Yasuhiro Yamane.

そして出てくると出口はすべてVIVO APEX 2020。バルセロナに来た人たちは「なんだこれ?」だろうなあ pic.twitter.com/R0uRJCmqgE

— Yasuhiro Yamane/山根康宏 (@hkyamane) February 20, 2020

Vivo’s ads also mention “5-7.5x optical zoom” capabilities, and a rectangular camera setup reminiscent of a periscope camera. You have to wonder whether the company managed to mate optical zoom hardware to a periscope sensor.

Will we see both of these features in a future Vivo phone though? Well, the Vivo Apex 2018 was the basis for the Vivo Nex in many ways, but the Vivo Apex 2019 didn’t lead to a commercial device. So it’s anyone’s guess at this point. Otherwise, the phone’s branding also mentions 5G, pointing to a Snapdragon 865 processor or the Snapdragon 765 series.

In any event, you can check back here on Friday for more on the Vivo Apex 2020 Concept!

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