The vivo X300 series has expanded. It first launched with the X300 and X300 Pro in November 2025, followed by the X300 Ultra in end-April 2026. Barely a month later, the X300 FE is announced and is the most affordable X300 series smartphone at S$1099. Vivo sent me the smartphone together with the Telephoto Extender Kit for review. The X300 FE comes in two colours, Mist Purple and Luxe black, and each colour comes with protection case in identical colour pairing.
While all the previous X300 series feature a large circular camera system, the X300 FE appears in a strip which looks cleaner and less elaborate. Obviously the camera system is not as high-spec and here is the comparison table.
| X300 FE | X300 | X300 Pro | X300 Ultra | |
| Front Camera | 50MP f/2.0 | 50MP f/2.0 | 50MP f/2.0 | 50MP f/2.45 |
| Rear Ultra Wide | 8MP f/2.2 | 50MP f/2.0 | 50MP f/2.0 | 50MP f/2.0 |
| Rear Standard | 50MP f/1.57 | 200MP f/1.68 | 50MP f/1.57 | 200MP f/1.85 + 5MP f/2.0 |
| Rear Telephoto | 50MP f/2.65 | 50MP f/2.57 | 200MP f/2.67 | 200MP f/2.67 |
| Support Extender | 200mm Gen 2 | No | 200mm Gen 1 | 200mm Gen 2, 400mm Gen 2 |
You can see that the main downgrade is the ultra-wide lens which is a mere 8MP. While nowhere in the flagship league, it still looks good to me. The image appers sharp edge to edge without visible vignetting effect (these issues are often corrected by the camera processor). However, the camera only lets you use the ultrawide lens to record 1080p resolution video.
One advantage over the X300 is it supports the telephoto extender, giving budget-conscious consumers an option to upgrade the zoom quality . A special snap-on case is required to secure the bulky lens. The good thing is that the lens thread mount can be removed so you can use the case normally without the lens mount protrusion. The position of the extender is at the lower part of of the smartphone which also makes it more ergonomic to hold it, plus the setup does not topple when placed on a surface.
Without the extender, telephoto shots look like most of the super-zoom smartphones, processed by AI to conjure details that are not there. With the extender, the camera “sees” more details without guessing, and captures them better. Just look at the clockface to prove the point.
I also liked shooting in Portrait mode as it allows me to adjust the bokeh intensity post-shot. The background softening effect goes all the way to f/0.95 which completely blurs any details. In the shot below, I tuned it to f/4 to provide some detail but enough to separate from the main focal subject.
With the X300 FE, you can generate AI scenes with camera images, but you need to first shoot in the “AI Creation” shooting mode. To regenerate other effects, you have to select the shot image to see the “AI Creation” option unlike other smartphones where you can generate using any photo from your gallery. Nevertheless, I am impressed with how the AI recognises the various elements to convert into a realistic scene, and it does not seem to have any limitation to the number of images generated.
The X300 FE camera also features a “Street Photography” camera mode by swiping up the standard camera screen to reveal a pro-looking skin. You can customise the shutter button with your name and you can choose various film colour styles. Moreover, you can also create your own presets containing the colour style, EV, bokeh, lens type, etc. Once saved, you can reuse it to produce a consistent look for your journalistic imagery.
Performance-wise, the X300 FE is running on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset. It is snappy for editing photos on the go or handling a busy day of social media management. I love how the OriginOS provides homescreen options during the initial setup process, like choosing the system navigation softkeys, or the notification centre styles (vivo supports a single dropdown screen instead of two). They’ve managed to fit a 6500 mAh Bluevolt Battery into this compact frame which I find is a good size to handle. When pairing it with 90W FlashCharge, the phone gets fully charged within an hour. vivo is also promising 5-year OS updates and 7-year security maintenance, ensuring the phone remains up-to-date throughout its usable lifetime. Plus, with IP68 and IP69 ratings, this phone is built to survive the elements.
For music lovers, while the stereo speakers sound rather treble-biased without much bass nor midrange fullness, there are quite a handful of audio personalisation when connected to earphones and wireless earbuds. I thought the audio redirect is rather useful to allow me to select the audio from an app to be sent to a Bluetooth device. The ear customisation feature is also useful for senior users.
Final Thoughts
The vivo X300 FE is probably the most affordable smartphone that supports a telephoto extender, an accessory that is essential to capture your idol performing on stage in a stadium setting. While the specs have been stripped down, the UI operations and camera quality do not feel lacking. The OriginOS 6 feels mature and delivers good customisation options. The phone is well-built and the display is vibrant, the street photography mode puts the owner into a creative mode to capture journalistic-styled images using artistic Zeiss-approved filters.
The vivo X300 FE retails in Singapore at S$1099, while the Telephoto Extender Kit (Gen 2) is sold at S$299. For more product info, visit the official product page at https://www.vivo.com/sg/products/x300-fe