Vivo’s latest X500 lineup has three smartphones, and smack dab in the middle of the standard X500 and the extravagant X500 Pro Max is the small X500 Pro . It’s a compact flagship that promises top-tier performance, capable cameras, and a massive battery with fast charging that keeps you away from a charger for as long as possible.

I’ve spent the past couple of days with it, and I have to say, this is one seriously well-rounded smartphone. I’ll have to admit, I was quite skeptical when I looked at the spec sheet. The Pro branding comes with certain expectations, especially from a company that’s been pushing smartphone photography as aggressively as Vivo. The Vivo X500 Pro loses the larger 200MP telephoto camera found on its Pro Max sibling, while OriginOS has never been my favorite Android skin.

However, actually using the phone has challenged quite a few of those reservations.…