Vivo XPlay 5 Elite Has 6GB of RAM : With Price Tag of $655 USD or 4,288 CNY in China

Last year, Taiwanese electronics company Asus surprised the entire tech community by releasing an Android smartphone with a whopping 4GB of RAM; It was the best-selling TechPinas Badge of Excellence awardee Asus ZenFone 2. A few months after the release of that handset, though, other manufacturers started to follow suit until 4GB pretty much became the standard for the amount of RAM on new flagship level models.

Well, just a few days ago, Chinese handset brand Vivo formally announced their latest flagship smartphone - the XPlay 5 Elite - which comes with an unbelievable 6GB of RAM! This model is the very first handset in the world to that much amount of RAM, ensuring industry-leading multitasking performance

This smartphone is so good at running multiple applications that it even has a feature that allows you to run two apps on the same screen at once; Similar to that of Windows 10 or TouchWiz UI on Samsung's top-of-the-line Galaxy Note models.

Obviously, ultra-smooth and seamless multitasking performance made possible by its 6GB RAM is the main selling point of this model; But that's definitely not the only thing that's of note about the Vivo XPlay 5 Elite.

The smartphone also comes with other stellar technical specifications including the fairly large and super crisp 5.43-inch Quad HD Curved Super AMOLED display, powerhouse Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset running FunTouch-OS-skinned Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, massive 128GB of storage (that's sadly not expandable), 4K 30fps video recorder, LTE connectivity support, Dual SIM Dual Standby capability, Fingerprint Scanner, and the sizable (albeit non-removable) 3,600 mAh battery pack.

The device sports a 16 MegaPixel phase autofocus rear camera with f/2.0 aperture - allowing it to perform well in low light conditions - and Dual Tone LED flash. This shooter is complemented by the 8 MP selfie cam in front with f/2.4 aperture.

And it also doesn't hurt that XPlay 5 Elite looks like it's the gorgeous love-child of the Apple iPhone 6S and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge -- flanting a unibody metal shell with white antenna bands at the back and a brilliant screen that gently curves down either sides.

Vivo has recently started hiring individuals to be part of its marketing and distribution teams here in the Philippines. Right now, the company hasn't issued official word on the XPlay 5 Elite's local availability -- but I think that if Vivo will be able to establish its presence well in our market soon, they might consider launching the handset here within the next few months.

Meanwhile, Vivo XPlay 5 Elite is already slated to be launched in China later this month, March 2016, with an official SRP of 4,288 CNY -- that's around $655 USD or Php 30,600. There, upon initial release, the smartphone will be able in three colors, namely, Rose Gold, Silver, and Gold.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name	Vivo XPlay 5 Elite
Type	Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category	High-End (Flagship Level)
Dimensions	153.5 x 76.2 x 7.6 mm
Weight	157.8 grams
Available Colors	Silver, Gold, Rose Gold
Operating System	Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Funtouch OS 2.6 interface
Display	5.43 inches (~69.5% screen-to-body ratio), 1440 x 2560 pixels (~541 ppi pixel density), Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Processor	Quad Core Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 chipset = Dual Core 1.8 GHz Kryo + Dual Core 1.6 GHz Kryo, Adreno 530 GPU
RAM	6GB of RAM
Internal Storage	128GB of ROM, non-expandable
Camera	Main: 16 MegaPixels, f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus, Dual Tone LED flash, 1/2.8" sensor size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR Front: 8 MegaPixels, f/2.4 aperture
Video Capture	Main: 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps Front: 1080p@30fps
Audio and Video Playback	MP4, DviX, XviD, H.264, WMV, MP3, WAV, FLAC, eAAC+, WMA player
Ports	microUSB 2.0, USB OTG, 3.5 mm combo jack
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE, apt-X, 3G HSPA+; LTE Cat6
GPS	Yes, with GLONASS, A-GPS, and BDS
FM Radio	Yes
Sensors	Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Gyroscope, Barometer
Network	2G Network GSM 900 / 1800, 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100, 4G Network LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
SIM Card Type	Dual nanoSIM
Battery	Non-Removable 3,600 mAh Li-Ion battery
Uptime	TBD
Value-Added Features	Glass-Sandwich Design Language, Value for Money, Top-Notch Imaging Capabilities, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of ROM
Announcement	China ~ February 2016
Availability	China: March 2016
Price	Official: 4,288 CNY or around Php 30,000 to Php 31,000