What you need to know
- The Vivo NEX 3 has a waterfall display with curved edges and 99.6% screen-to-body ratio.
- The device eschews physical buttons for virtual ones that deliver a haptic feedback.
- There's also a 64MP camera at the back, Snapdragon 855 Plus, and a 4500mAh battery with 44W fast charging.
- Like previous devices in the NEX series, the NEX 3 will be limited to select Asian markets.
For the last two years, Vivo has served up innovative designs in the NEX series. The first-gen NEX was one of the first phones with a retractable camera, and last year's NEX Dual Display had two screens.
This time around, Vivo is showing off its take on a true bezel-less phone. The NEX 3 is now official, and it has a Waterfall FullView curved display with a 99.6% screen-to-body ratio. The screen curves along the sides, so much so that there's no room for physical buttons. The NEX 3 instead has virtual Touch Sense buttons that work in conjunction with a haptic motor to deliver an experience that's "tangible, comfortable and futuristic."
The screen itself is a 6.89-inch OLED display with no cutout — there's a 16MP retractable front camera — and you get an in-display fingerprint sensor. The panel has HDR10, a coating that's designed to act as a blue light filter, and a "multi-scenario ambient light" around the screen's edges that "opens the door to a new audiovisual adventure with music rhythm recognition and unique notification reminders."
Under the hood, the NEX 3 is powered by a Snapdragon 855 Plus, and the phone will be sold in 8GB or 12GB configurations with 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage. The phone has a 4500mAh battery with Vivo's 44W Super FlashCharge charging tech, and there's also a liquid cooling chamber. There's a 64MP primary shooter at the back, along with a 13MP wide-angle lens and a 13MP zoom lens. Vivo will make the NEX 3 available in both 4G and 5G-enabled variants.
As for availability, the NEX 3 will be sold in "Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia and other markets" in the coming months. If history is any indication, it will be limited to China and select Asian markets.
