Vivo announces Nex 3 5G with ‘waterfall’ curved screen, 64-megapixel camera, and virtual buttons

After months of leaks and teases, Vivo’s Nex 3 is finally official. As expected, the headline feature is its “Waterfall FullView” OLED display, which spills over the sides of the Nex 3 and which Vivo claims gives the device a screen-to-body ratio of 99.6 percent.
 
The 6.89-inch 1080p screen’s curvature is so extreme that there’s no room for buttons on the side of the phone. Instead, Vivo is adding virtual buttons called Touch Sense that work alongside a haptic feedback system, similar to the port-less and button-less Apex 2019 concept phone we saw earlier this year.
 
The Nex 3 isn’t quite as futuristic as that device, but it’s still about as technically advanced as Android phones get today. Vivo is releasing 4G and 5G versions, both of which run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 Plus processor and have a vapor chamber cooling system. The battery capacity is 4,500mAh and supports Super FlashCharge 44W fast charging. As with pretty much every Vivo phone these days, there’s an in-display fingerprint sensor.
 
 
On the back there’s a circular triple-camera module that Vivo calls the Lunar Ring, in a throwback to last year’s Nex Dual Display. There’s a 64-megapixel primary camera, a 13-megapixel ultrawide, and a 13-megapixel telephoto. Vivo is also returning to pop-up selfie cameras with a 16-megapixel module on the Nex 3.
 
Vivo hasn’t yet provided pricing or release information for the Nex 3, only saying that it will be “available in the coming months in Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia and other markets.” We’re looking forward to seeing the Nex 3 for ourselves soon — both previous Nex phones have been nothing if not ambitious, and the latest entry is very much in that spirit.

---