TL;DR
- Vivo has revealed that the X200 Ultra will have an optional add-on camera lens.
- This lens attaches to the 200MP periscope camera and enables 8.7x optical zoom and “highly usable” 35x zoom.
- This news comes after companies like realme and Xiaomi showcased concept phones with add-on lenses.
We’ve seen concept phones with external camera lenses from several brands over the years, with realme most recently showing off this tech at MWC 2025. Now, vivo has revealed that it’s bringing this concept to reality with the upcoming X200 Ultra.
Vivo executive Han Boxiao announced that the upcoming X200 Ultra smartphone will offer an add-on ZEISS camera lens. This add-on lens, which seemingly requires the company’s newly announced camera grip, uses the phone’s 200MP 3.7x periscope camera and enables a 200mm or 8.7x focal length at an f/2.3 aperture.
Interestingly, the company adds that 800mm or 35x zoom is “highly usable” and that 1600mm (70x) is equivalent to 30x zoom without the external lens. The executive also posted a few sample photos taken with the external lens. Check them out below.
In any event, this looks like a bulky package to carry around, and this was one of our main complaints about concept phones with these external lenses. We’re still glad to see a smartphone brand offering a commercial version of this tech, giving users better zoom if they really need it.
Would you buy an external lens like this for your phone?
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There are still a few unanswered questions about this add-on lens though, such as pricing. We’re also hoping the lens supports deep integration with the camera app, such as portrait mode (with bokeh styles), 4K/120fps video, night mode, and more.
In any event, the vivo X200 Ultra and its add-on lens are scheduled to launch in China on April 21. The new phone will have a 35mm 50MP main camera, a 200MP 3.7x periscope camera, and an ultrawide camera that’s apparently on par with the main camera. The company has also promised video capture quality on par with iPhones. So we’re definitely keen to see if the X200 Ultra is the new king of camera phones.
