Vivo’s ultralight selfie screen could be the year’s standout mobile accessory

Vivo launched the flagship X500 series of phones, with three new models A new monitoring screen comes in the X500 Pro Max photographer's kit, or it can be purchased separately At launch, all the phones and accessories are China-only, with a wider rollout TBD Vivo quietly launched a really neat accessory alongside its new flagship X500 series of phones — an ultra-slim and light Bluetooth monitoring touchscreen — and, having paired it with the new X500 Pro Max, I wish it were compatible with my phone.

The monitoring touchscreen, aka a selfie screen, mirrors your phone's camera app, complete with touchscreen control over key camera settings and subject tracking, and can be attached to the phone magnetically or used as a remote monitor within its Bluetooth range.

Why not just use your phone's selfie camera instead, you ask? Well, the quality of the rear-facing selfie camera is always inferior to the front-facing cameras, as are the camera settings available.

A selfie screen, on the other hand, unleashes the device's superior front cameras — in the case of the Vivo X500 Pro Max, a triple array including a 50MP main camera and a 200MP 3.5x telephoto camera.

We've seen this kind of selfie screen tech before; Insta360's Snap Selfie Screen comes to mind.

However, it needs a cable to connect to a phone, it has an annoying protective cover that flaps around when the screen is in use, and the display is smaller and harder to see.

The new Vivo accessory, however, is better and more sophisticated in every way.

The selfie screen without its magnetic rubber case Tim Coleman Tim Coleman Tim Coleman Tim Coleman The dedicated case Vivo makes to magnetically attach accessories such as the selfie screen Tim Coleman The best mobile accessory for 2026 so far? Vloggers should take note of Vivo's new selfie screen.

For one, it can snap onto the device magnetically, or be used by hand, so long as a Bluetooth connection is possible.

No cable needed.

Used as a remote monitor, you can position your phone somewhere, say, on a tripod, and then walk into the shot and see what your phone is seeing, no cameraperson needed. (Great for group photos as well, by the way.) It's clearly a trend — the Insta360 Luna Ultra vlogging camera features a removable touchscreen and controller module (which also has a built-in mic), while DJI launched a remote controller with a screen for its Pocket 4 series .

Whether used remotely or attached magnetically, the Vivo selfie screen's 3.92-inch AMOLED display with 419 pixels per inch (PPI) is clear and crisp.

It’s also super light and thin, measuring just 5.65mm thick and weighing 68g — you'll barely feel it on the phone.