Vivo yesterday released three new premium devices in Beijing China: X9, X9 Plus, and Xplay6.

X9 and X9 Plus are the successor of vivo’s top-selling X7 series which was launched four months ago. 20MP+8MP dual front camera is the most eye-catching feature of X9 and it promised to provide a great selfie experience. Specification-wise, X9 is powered by Snapdragon 625 and equipped with 5.5-inch AMOLED FHD display, 16MP rear camera, 4GB RAM, and 3050mAh battery. X9 Plus is further upgraded to Snapdragon 653, 5.9-inch AMOLED FHD display, 6GB RAM and 4000mAh battery.

Xplay6 is the surprise of the event. Priced at RMB4498 (US$654), Xplay6 is positioned as the flagship device in vivo’s product portfolio and comes with Snapdragon 820, 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED double-edged display, dual rear camera, 6GB RAM, 128GB ROM and a 4080mAh battery.

It is worth-noting that vivo has so far released six premium smartphones during 2016 alone, which clearly shows the vendor’s ambition to shift towards high- and premium- segment. We expect X9 series will generate meaningful volume to the vivo, backed by strong consumer demand on X7 series, vivo’s dedicated investment on sales and marketing, as well as its solid online channel promotions. Xplay6 is a strong candidate to fill in the vacuum of Samsung Note 7 recall especially in China. Its shipment volume highly depends on the sufficient supply of key components like flexible OLED displays.