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Vivo X Fold lands as the foldable phone Samsung has to aspire to with the Z Fold 4

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Apr 12, 2022, 7:36 AM

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Vivo's first foldable phone, the X Fold, has landed as promised and it features three types of glass covers from the Xensation line that the Germans from SCHOTT have developed, including its Flex ultra-thin glass (UTG) over the main screen. Samsung is also using the company's UTG for its foldable lines like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

512GB w/ $200 instant discount, $100 Google Play balance, and a trade-in

$399 ⁹⁹

$1799 ⁹⁹

Expired

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

256GB w/ $50 Samsung discount, $50 Google Play Store credit, and $800 trade-in

$99 ⁹⁹

$899 ⁹⁹

Expired

The Xensation Flex is the only mass-produced UTG for foldable phones at the moment which can be chemically strengthened like Corning's Gorilla Glass editions. SCHOTT also supplies the cover for the external 6.52" X Fold display and claims that its new Xensation α (Alpha) glass there "provides significantly improved drop resistance compared to lithium aluminosilicate (LAS) and aluminosilicate (AS) cover glass types."

Vivo X Fold display(s)

Both the external 6.5" 120Hz display, and the main 8-incher are covered by SCHOTT glass, with the difference that the internal one can bend at tiny 2mm radius, allowing Vivo to take advantage of an ingenious hinge midplate that supports the foldable phone crease to be as flat as possible when the display is unfurled, and drops when you start closing the phone for a tighter fit.

Another of the cover glass virtues has allowed the 8" 2160 x 1916 pixels main display to not only be tucked under a tough yet flexible glass cover, but the screen reflections are also brought down to unheard of 0.91% minimum while the peak brightness level can reach over 1000 nits.

In fact, according to third-party Vivo X Fold display reflection measurements: "The 0.91 percent reflectance is a factor of 5 times lower than most smartphone displays, which have around 4.5 percent reflectance. As a result, ambient light reflections off the screen are then reduced by a factor of 5 compared to most smartphones. This provides a tremendous improvement in display performance in ambient light, including significantly higher color accuracy and image contrast accuracy in ambient light..."

In short, the Vivo X Fold's main display has one of the best outdoor visibility specs on a phone at the moment, and not only a foldable one. To top it all off, the screen is of the LTPO variety that allows it to have a very granular 1Hz-120Hz dynamic refresh rate that Samsung just introduced on the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The display also covers the wide P3 color gamut with perfect individual calibration, as we've come to expect from phones that launch under the OnePlus, Oppo, or Vivo brands.

Vivo X Fold specs and camera

The rest of the Vivo X Fold specs are of no less top-shelf quality, as it comes powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, with a 12GB RAM pack, as well as at least 256GB or 512GB storage. Where it really beats the Galaxy Z Fold 3 yet again, however, is the camera kit developed together with ZEISS and with lenses covered by SCHOTT's Xensation Up glass.

Vivo managed to fit a full-fledged flagship camera set on the X Fold - a 50 MP main camera with Samsung's ISOCELL GN5 sensor that is 1/1.57 inches in size, with f/1.75 aperture and optical image stabilization. The ultrawide angle camera sports a 48 MP sensor, f/2.2 aperture, and a 114-degree lens.

As for zooming purposes, Vivo kitted the X Fold with both a 3x telephoto camera for portraits and magnification at a closer distance, as well as with a periscope zoom lens that offer 5x magnification for those faraway spy shots. Compare that to the puny 12MP kit on the Z Fold 3, and hope that the rumors about the Z Fold 4 inheriting some of the Galaxy S22 series camera hardware will turn out true, for Samsung's own sake.

The Vivo X Fold's quad camera kit with both telephoto and periscope zoom

To round up the list of great specs, at least for a foldable phone, Vivo included a 4500mAh battery that is capable of 66W charging speeds with a cable, as well as 50W wireless charging, the fastest in the industry so far.

Vivo X Fold price and release date

The Vivo X Fold will be launched April 22 for the equivalent of $1400 in its homeland, but when it makes a global debut, the price is likely to be 20%-30% higher, if history is any indication. Thus, we can expect a foldable phone whose pricing is on par with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 yet offers way better specs, so Samsung better step up its foldable game when the Z Fold 4 lands later this summer.

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.