vivo hosted its first-ever Tech Day occasion in India lately on the Nationwide Stadium, New Delhi, the place it talked about 5G, its collaboration with ZEISS for the X80 series, and the V1+ imaging chip. The corporate additionally showcased pattern-creating and dual-color altering design applied sciences that have not been launched available in the market but. Whereas not fairly new, one of many gadgets on the vivo Tech Day was the vivo X Fold, which was unveiled in April and continues to be solely accessible in China. We had the prospect to attend the occasion and spend a while with the vivo X Fold, so listed below are some impressions of vivo’s first foldable smartphone, which design-wise, is an identical to the China-exclusive vivo X Fold+ launched final month.
The vivo X Fold packs two screens – a 6.53″ cowl show of two,520×1,080-pixel decision and a foldable show of two,160×1,916-pixel decision that measures 8.03″ diagonally and is surrounded by plasticky bezels. Each are 120Hz AMOLED panels, however the cowl show can solely swap between 60Hz and 120Hz refresh charges, whereas the folding display screen can alter the refresh charge between 1Hz and 120Hz since it is the LTPO sort.
The X Fold’s outer show has a centered punch gap for the 16MP selfie digicam, and you will find yet one more once you unfold the smartphone. Whereas the selfie shooter on the within is not the under-display sort just like the one we have seen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, what we get with the X Fold are 3D in-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanners on every of its screens, making it the primary folding smartphone to have a UD fingerprint reader since even the Fold4 comes with a side-mounted sensor. We like vivo’s answer higher because it’s extra handy for unlocking the smartphone.
Turning the X Fold round, you get a leatherette-covered rear panel no matter whether or not you’re holding the blue shade mannequin or the black model, besides that the latter has a vertical stripe operating throughout the size with the vivo branding on it. The blue model undoubtedly appears cool, however those that desire a stealthy, formal look can go along with the black mannequin.
vivo X Fold has two shade choices
The leatherette makes the vivo X Fold really feel premium and good to carry, and its end is similar to the protecting case that comes bundled with the vivo X80 Pro. And based mostly on our expertise with utilizing the X80 Professional with the case since its launch in April, we’re positive the X Fold’s leatherette-covered panel will assist with the grip and will not appeal to any fingerprint smudges.
The vivo X Fold’s again panel sports activities a quad digicam system comprising 50MP major (with OIS), 48MP ultrawide, 12MP telephoto, and 8MP periscope (with OIS) models. It is housed inside an oblong digicam island spanning the smartphone’s width and comes with ZEISS branding and T* coating. The island’s design is paying homage to the vivo X80 Professional.
Whereas the again panel is proof against fingerprints, the identical can’t be mentioned for the digicam island, which was fast to smudge. It is not actually a deal-breaker, however we would like vivo to handle this with its future smartphones.
vivo X Fold’s digicam island is paying homage to X80 Professional’s, and it’s a fingerprint magnet
One of many largest highlights of the vivo X Fold is its folding display screen, which vivo says has an “undetectable crease” achieved along with UTG (ultra-thin glass) and a custom-made Aerospace-Grade unibody hinge product of six aerospace-grade supplies.
vivo X Fold’s hinge
The telephone maker additionally claims that the X Fold was opened and closed (folded-unfolded) 300,000 instances, and even after that, the crease’s depth and width remained inside the acceptable vary to supply a fantastic consumer expertise, thus incomes it TUV Rheinland’s “Dependable Folding” certification.
Whereas all that sounds nice, how does the vivo X Fold’s crease look in actuality? Properly, you’ll be able to really feel the crease when utilizing the smartphone, however you get used to it rapidly since it’s barely noticeable when viewing content material.
The hinge additionally felt good and stable because it managed to maintain the folding display screen open at totally different angles, making it simpler for the customers to file movies, take photographs, make video calls, and possibly even use the smartphone as a miniature laptop computer in the event that they really feel adventurous.
vivo X Fold partly unfolded • vivo X Fold totally unfolded
What’s additionally noteworthy concerning the vivo X Fold’s hinge is that there is not any hole when the smartphone is closed – that is very spectacular for a first-gen foldable smartphone. That is properly complemented by the satisfying sound made when the telephone is closed, which can be confidence-inspiring.
vivo X Fold has no hole when it’s closed
The general construct of the vivo X Fold is good. It has a steel body with antenna traces on all sides. The ability button and quantity rocker are positioned on the best facet, and on the left is the alert slider.
vivo X Fold comes with an alert slider
On the backside is the USB-C port with the SIM card slot, microphone, and speaker grille. And up high is one other speaker with an IR blaster and a secondary microphone.
vivo X Fold includes a USB-C port, two audio system, and an IR blaster
General, we actually appreciated the vivo X Fold’s design, and it is secure to say that the Fold+ is not any totally different design-wise because it’s actually the X Fold with a distinct chipset, greater battery (but similar dimensions and weight), sooner charging, and a 3rd shade choice – pink. You may check the vivo X Fold and X Fold Plus’ detailed specs comparison here.
The vivo X Fold models showcased on the Tech Day occasion ran Android 12-based OriginOS Ocean. That was anticipated because the X Fold is China-exclusive, and vivo smartphones in China run OriginOS as a substitute of FuntouchOS we get on the worldwide fashions.
It is unclear if vivo will launch the X Fold or the X Fold+ exterior China, however vivo officers advised me that the model does not have plans to launch any foldable smartphone in India for a while. That is a little bit of a bummer since vivo did a extremely good job with the display screen crease for its first foldable smartphone, and it could be nice to have some options to Samsung’s foldables from the BBK group in India and different markets. This is hoping we’ll see BBK manufacturers launch their foldable smartphones exterior China quickly.
