‘Hug style. Without it, you’re nobody,’ said this voice inside my head. Well, you know how some people have long conversations in their mind… I had one a few days back and that was when it occurred to me that a smartphone is more than just a tool for communication. In this world of instant gratifications where even fashion is an instant language, it is style and substance that really matter.
Those days are over when someone went to buy a phone to just talk, send messages, or click pictures. It is no longer enough to buy a phone case with a painting of Monet to tell the world that you’re there to be noticed. Buyers can customize and design their phone cases however they want at Caseface. One wants not just a functional device but one that reflects faithfully what Oscar de la Renta said: ‘Fashion is about dressing according to what’s fashionable. Style is more about being yourself.’ The moment I laid my eyes upon the new Vivo S1, I knew that style was ‘something reflected from our soul to the outside world – an emotion’ as Alber Elbaz put it. One glance at this new smartphone is enough to make any buyer exclaim in excitement: #itsmystyle!
It is time for the Indian consumer to start designing their own dreams and the right start is obviously by walking by every other phone that mentions only performance as their USP. The Vivo S1 comes with a stylish appearance, a stunning camera, and a smooth performance which simply means that ‘elegance is not just standing out, but being remembered’, to quote Giorgio Armani.
In times when AI triple camera in a phone is a fashion, the Vivo S1 goes a step ahead and defines style as the power to shoot with accuracy and precision and helps one get the composition that was only a yearning until now. The camera in this smartphone does this because it has a Sony IMX499 Camera Sensor with 16-megapixel f/1.78 aperture + 8-megapixel 120-degree ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and 2-megapixel bokeh sensor with f/2.4 aperture. This is what is poised to give every user an opportunity to know first-hand what professional photography is all about. Here is a camera that lets a user look at a world on the screen that is as beautiful as the real one. An AI-prompted super wide-angle in a perfect ratio brings home the point that style transforms into a joy when technology supports it.
To assist a user in finding the creative and stylish selfie-historian within, this smartphone comes with a 32MP front camera with f/2 aperture… and, of course, multiple selfie modes, such as AI Face Beauty, AI selfie lighting, and AR Stickers to mention a few.
Elegance is all about talent enclosed in a dash of style and, in the case of a smartphone, it isn’t nearly enough to click great pictures unless one can view the output on a super AMOLED Halo FullView display with a high screen-to-body ratio. This is why the gurus of style talk about perfect symmetry leading to a mind-blowing visual effect. The Vivo S1 has a 16.20cm (6.38 inch) Super AMOLED Display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and the screen-to-body ratio of 90% allows you to enjoy a full view without boundaries. S1 supports an ‘Always On Display’ with no extra burden on the power consumption and this, when translated into user-friendly language, means that one can look at the phone whenever one prefers to check the time or view alerts. In addition to this, when a user customizes this feature’s theme one can add charisma to the phone and let one’s personal style stand out.
All this without a smooth performance isn’t going to let style exist in peace. This smartphone is powered by the all-new MediaTek Helio P65 SoC onboard which is aided by Mali-G52 GPU and an octa-core processor with a 12nm design and clocks speed of up to 2.0GHz. For the tech-savvy style enthusiasts, the S1 is also equipped with 4GB/6GB LPDDR4X RAM and 64/128GB ROM (expandable to 256GB) to boost the fast and seamless performance of multiple apps and mobile games. The phone runs on the latest FunTouch OS 9 with Android 9 Pie out of the box. The phone obviously gives a user everything as it is dressed for high performance because, as Yves Saint Laurent says, ‘fashions fade, style is eternal’.
The other essentials that were earlier in the domain of expensive phones have all been included in this style genius. The Vivo S1 has In-Display Fingerprint Scanning technology which needs a single touch to unlock and the animation effects here bring in those style add-ons that make the heart flutter with pleasure. A 4500 mAh battery with vivo’s own 18W Dual-Engine Fast Charging technology means one doesn’t need to carry power banks that can be so boring for those who care about style!
Lauren Hutton remarked that ‘fashion is what you’re offered four times a year by designers. And style is what you choose’… and Vivo makes even choosing your right smartphone partner so much fun. The 4GB + 128GB, 6GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB (this one to be launched in a few days) variants priced at INR 17,990, INR 18,990 and INR 19,990 respectively and with options of Skyline Blue and Diamond Black are an indication of the way style is finally here to capture a smartphone user’s imagination.
There are many who assume that fashion and style are primarily meant for youngsters and the Gen Z but let me add here that a bit of stylish zing can add so much more happiness to even those who have left the twenties way behind. Even at sixty and a couple of years I too feel the need to add a splash of good taste and I have discovered a new bounce in my step every time I have held the Vivo S1 in my hands! Style, let me say, is the best age-buster and the Vivo S1 re-affirms my faith in this statement.
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Arvind Passey
16 August 2019
