Vivo X Fold 5: In the rapidly evolving foldable smartphone landscape, Vivo has emerged as a formidable challenger to Samsung’s long-standing dominance with the launch of the X Fold 5. Released on July 2, 2025, this latest iteration represents more than just an incremental upgrade—it’s a statement of intent that redefines what consumers should expect from premium foldable devices in terms of design, battery life, and overall user experience.
Design Excellence: Engineering Marvel in Ultra-Thin Profile
The Vivo X Fold 5 achieves what many thought impossible: creating a foldable smartphone that feels remarkably similar to traditional slab phones in everyday use. At just 4.3mm when unfolded and 9.2mm when folded, weighing only 217 grams, this device represents a remarkable feat of engineering that makes it one of the thinnest and lightest book-style foldables available globally.
The transformation from its predecessor is dramatic. The previous X Fold 3 measured 11.2mm thick when folded and weighed 279g, making the X Fold 5’s improvements immediately apparent to users. This dramatic reduction in bulk addresses one of the primary complaints about foldable devices—their unwieldy nature compared to traditional smartphones.
Vivo has achieved this slim profile without compromising structural integrity. The device features enhanced build quality with IP58 and IP59+ ratings, providing unprecedented protection against dust and water ingress for a foldable device. This level of protection surpasses most competitors and demonstrates Vivo’s commitment to creating a device suitable for real-world use rather than laboratory conditions.
Display Technology: Dual-Screen Excellence
The X Fold 5 features two exceptional AMOLED displays that showcase Vivo’s expertise in screen technology. The main 8.03-inch foldable display offers a resolution of 2480×2200 pixels with an impressive peak brightness of 4500 nits, ensuring excellent visibility even in direct sunlight. The cover display measures 6.53 inches with a 21:9 aspect ratio, providing a more traditional smartphone experience when folded.
Both displays utilize LTPO technology with dynamic refresh rates up to 120Hz, dropping as low as 1Hz to conserve battery life. This adaptive behavior ensures smooth performance during intensive tasks while maximizing power efficiency during static content viewing. The displays support HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, providing cinematic color reproduction and contrast for multimedia consumption.
The foldable display’s crease remains minimal compared to many competitors, and the overall viewing experience proves exceptional for both productivity tasks and entertainment. The cover display’s 21:9 aspect ratio, while slightly narrow for some users, provides adequate functionality for quick tasks without unfolding the device.
Performance: Flagship Power with Proven Reliability
Under the hood, the X Fold 5 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the same chipset used in the X Fold 3 Pro. While not the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite found in some competitors, this proven processor delivers exceptional performance across all usage scenarios, from intensive gaming to professional productivity applications.
The device comes with generous memory configurations: 12GB RAM with 256GB or 512GB storage options, plus a flagship 16GB RAM variant with 1TB storage. All storage utilizes UFS 4.1 technology, ensuring lightning-fast data access and application loading times. This combination provides seamless multitasking capabilities, essential for maximizing the potential of the large foldable display.
Real-world performance proves exceptional, with users reporting smooth operation across demanding applications. Gaming performance remains excellent, with titles like GRID Legends and War Thunder Mobile running without issues. The device handles multiple applications simultaneously through Vivo’s enhanced multitasking features, making it particularly attractive for productivity-focused users.
Camera System: Zeiss Partnership Delivers Professional Results
The X Fold 5 features a comprehensive triple-camera system co-engineered with Zeiss, ensuring professional-grade photography capabilities. The main camera utilizes a 50MP Sony IMX921 sensor with an f/1.57 aperture and optical image stabilization, providing exceptional detail and low-light performance.
The camera system includes a 50MP ultrawide lens with a 120-degree field of view and autofocus capabilities, plus a 50MP telephoto camera offering 3x optical zoom and macro capabilities. This versatile setup ensures users can capture high-quality images across various scenarios without compromise.
Particularly impressive is the telephoto camera’s ability to shoot portraits at different focal lengths, especially at the 50mm mark where it excels in detail capture. The system supports advanced features like multifocal portraits, telephoto nightscape, and stage portrait studio modes, providing creative flexibility typically found in dedicated cameras.
For selfies, the device includes 20MP cameras on both the cover and inner displays, ensuring high-quality self-portraits regardless of which screen is in use. The ability to use the main camera system for selfies by utilizing the cover display provides even better image quality when needed.
Battery Revolution: Setting New Standards for Foldables
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the X Fold 5 is its battery technology. The device houses a massive 6000mAh battery—the largest ever fitted into a foldable smartphone—achieved through an innovative dual-battery parallel design that combines 3275mAh and 2725mAh cells.
This battery capacity represents a significant advantage over competitors, particularly the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7’s 4400mAh battery. Real-world usage consistently demonstrates all-day battery life even with heavy usage of the large internal display, addressing one of the most significant pain points of foldable devices.
Charging technology proves equally impressive, with 80W wired charging capable of reaching 50% capacity in approximately 30 minutes. The device also supports 40W wireless charging—a rarity among foldables—plus reverse wireless charging for accessories. Unlike many premium devices, Vivo includes the fast charger in the box, eliminating additional purchase requirements.
Software Experience: Android 15 with Enhanced Productivity
The X Fold 5 launches with Android 15 and Vivo’s Funtouch OS 15 (global markets) or OriginOS 5 (China), providing a refined software experience optimized for foldable usage. The interface includes enhanced multitasking features and productivity tools specifically designed to leverage the large internal display.
A standout feature is the Origin Workbench multitasking system, which enables desktop-like functionality with support for up to five applications simultaneously. This feature proves particularly valuable for professionals who need to manage multiple tasks concurrently.
The software includes comprehensive AI features, including Smart Call Assistant for real-time audio-to-text conversion, meeting transcription support, and various AI-powered image editing tools. Integration with Google’s ecosystem provides access to Circle to Search and other advanced AI capabilities.
Market Positioning and Competitive Analysis
Priced at ₹1,49,999 in India (approximately $1,745), the X Fold 5 significantly undercuts the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7’s pricing while offering comparable or superior features in several key areas. This pricing strategy positions it as exceptional value in the premium foldable segment.
Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the X Fold 5 offers several advantages: larger battery capacity, faster charging technology, superior ingress protection, and brighter displays. While Samsung’s device features the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and longer software support commitment, many users will find Vivo’s practical advantages more compelling for daily use.
The device faces limited global availability, launching primarily in Asian markets including India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan. This geographical restriction limits its impact in Western markets where Samsung faces less direct competition.
Innovation Highlights: Apple Ecosystem Integration
One of the X Fold 5’s most intriguing features is its unprecedented integration with Apple’s ecosystem. The device claims to be the first Android smartphone capable of directly connecting to iCloud services, allowing users to access files stored in their iCloud accounts through the device’s file manager.
This integration extends to other Apple services, potentially including Apple Watch health data synchronization and AirPods compatibility with custom animations. This cross-platform functionality represents a significant step toward ecosystem interoperability that could influence future Android devices.
Real-World Performance and User Experience
Early user reviews consistently praise the X Fold 5’s practical advantages over competitors. The combination of slim design, exceptional battery life, and capable cameras creates a device that feels refined rather than experimental. Users report consistently ending days with 25-30% battery remaining even with heavy usage, a significant improvement over most foldable devices.
The improved hinge mechanism rated for 400,000 folds provides confidence in long-term durability, while the overall build quality feels premium and reliable. The device successfully addresses many traditional foldable compromises while introducing features that enhance rather than limit daily usability.
Future Implications and Market Impact
The X Fold 5 represents Vivo’s commitment to the foldable segment and demonstrates that Chinese manufacturers can deliver innovations that challenge established players. Its success in balancing design, performance, and practical features suggests that the foldable market is maturing beyond early-adopter curiosity toward mainstream viability.
The device’s achievements in battery technology, display quality, and build engineering provide a template for future foldable development, potentially influencing industry standards for portability, durability, and battery life.
Conclusion: A Compelling Alternative
The Vivo X Fold 5 succeeds in creating a foldable smartphone that prioritizes practical advantages over specification superiority. While it may not feature the latest processor or claim superiority in every benchmark, its combination of exceptional battery life, slim design, capable cameras, and competitive pricing creates a compelling package that addresses real user needs.
For consumers in markets where it’s available, the X Fold 5 represents perhaps the most balanced foldable smartphone available in 2025, successfully challenging Samsung’s dominance through practical innovation rather than incremental improvements. Its success demonstrates that the foldable future may be defined not by who packs the most cutting-edge technology, but by who best understands what users actually want from these revolutionary devices.