Vivo announces its first folding phone

Vivo has announced the X Fold, its first folding phone. The X Fold takes a similar approach to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series and its competitors, with a large 8.03-inch folding screen on the inside for tablet-style use and a more conventional phone-sized screen — in this case, 6.53 inches — on the outside.

Like Samsung, Vivo’s folding display uses a layer of Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) produced by Schott, which should help with durability. GSMArena reports that its hinge allows the phone to fold flat or to be propped open at angles between 60 and 120 degrees. According to Android Authority, Vivo advertises that the phone’s screen should survive 300,000 folds, which appears to be a big increase over the 200,000 folds Samsung claimed for its most recent generation of foldables.

Image: Vivo

Beyond its folding capabilities, the Vivo X Fold sports recognizably flagship specs. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and has a 4,600mAh battery that can be charged at 50W wirelessly or at 66W using a cable. Both its screens support up to a 120Hz refresh rate and have ultrasonic fingerprint scanners built into them.

There are four cameras on its rear: a 50-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide, a 12-megapixel 2x telephoto, and an 8-megapixel 5x periscope, according to Android Authority. Both inner and outer screens come with hole-punch selfie cameras with a resolution of 16-megapixels.

Vivo is part of the BBK supply chain empire, sharing ownership with Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme. Oppo released its first folding phone last year, the Find N, which was an impressive device with slightly smaller screens than the Vivo X Fold. Both of these devices are exclusive to China for now.

The Vivo X Fold’s price will start at ¥8,999 (around $1,413) for its 12GB RAM, 256GB storage model. There’s also a 512GB storage variant that’ll retail for ¥9,999 (around $1,570).