Vivo has just announced the S9 5G and S9e 5G – direct successors to the vivo S7 with an identical design but with improved hardware inside. The hardware is now capable of 5G connectivity, hence the names. And as you’ve probably guessed, the S9e is a toned down version of the standard S9.

Let’s start with the S9 5G. It uses a MediaTek Dimensity 1100 chipset based on the 6nm node and is paired with 8GB / 128GB or 12GB / 256GB memory. The screen is still AMOLED with a diagonal of 6.44 inches and a notch. for the front camera. The panel supports HDR10 + and offers FHD + resolution at 90Hz.
The cameras on the back consist of a 64 MP main unit with an 8 MP ultra-wide lens and a 2 MP lens dedicated to macro photography. The small notch on the front is enough to accommodate a 44MP main camera and an 8MP for ultra-wide stills.
The battery that keeps the lights on is rated at 4000mAh and supports 33W fast charging. The device runs on vivo’s new OriginOS based on Android 10.

The S9e 5G model is quite similar to the original and even retains the same screen, but replaces the notch with a teardrop-shaped model as it only contains a single 32MP camera. The chipset is also downgraded to Dimensity 820 available in two memory configurations – 8GB / 128GB or 8GB / 256GB.

The same triple camera setup can be found on the back with the battery and charging.
Since the devices were first announced for the Chinese market, the price is as follows: CNY 2,999 (~ $ 465) for the base vivo S9 5G or CNY 3,299 (~ $ 510) for the enhanced 12GB variant / 256 GB. The S9e 5G starts at CNY 2399 (~ $ 370) for the 8 GB / 128 GB model and charges CNY 2699 (~ $ 420) for the 8 GB / 256 GB iteration. The S9 5G vanilla will be available from March 12 in China while the availability of the S9e 5G has yet to be disclosed.
Source (in Chinese)


