Vivo X Fold 5 Takes On Galaxy Z Fold 7 With Bigger Battery And Lower Price

Hot on the heels of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 launch, Vivo has announced its flagship folding phone outside of China. The Vivo X Fold 5 packs a bigger battery than its Korean rival and sports three 50MP cameras in a similar slim design. It is powered by the same processor as last year’s Vivo X Fold 3 Pro but costs less than before. Here’s what you need to know about Vivo’s new smartphone.

Slimmer And Lighter Than Before

The Vivo X Fold 5 measures 9.2mm when folded and weighs 217 grams, down from 11.2mm thickness and 239 grams weight of the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro. It is just slightly thicker and heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s 8.8mm and 215g design.

In this similarly slim design, it improves on Samsung’s weakest link. Vivo has managed to pack an almost 37% bigger cell than the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It holds a 6,000mAh carbon-silicon battery as compared to a 4,400mAh battery found on the new Samsung foldable, which charges at 80W wired and 40W wirelessly.

Like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Vivo X Fold 5 feels like more like a slab phone than a thick folding device. It features a new, refined folding mechanism with a carbon fiber support hinge alongside a second-generation Armor Glass on its cover screen for protection.

Vivo says its new foldable is rated IPX8, IPX9 and IPX9+ for water resistance and IP5X for dust resistance. I’m not sure why the X Fold 5’s ingress protection is being marketed like this instead of the usual “IP58 or IP59” rating. I have reached out to Vivo for clarity and will update this story when I hear back.

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Big Displays And Intuitive Multitasking

The Vivo X Fold 5 features an 8.03-inch flexible LTPO display on the inside. It offers up to 4,500nits of peak brightness for supported HDR content. The screen sports a 120Hz refresh rate with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and a 2200x2480-pixel resolution. On the front, you get a 6.53-inch display with the same refresh rate, brightness and a 2748x1172-pixel resolution. Both displays are sharp, vivid and legible in direct sunlight.

The new Vivo phone runs Funtouch OS 15 based on Android 15. It offers a new Stage Manager-like Workbench feature, which is very intuitive for tasks like research and writing on the go. Vivo should consider adding this functionality as a shortcut to its new Shortcut Button. It also offers the Fold-to-Split feature from X Fold 3 Pro, which enters the split-screen mode with a quick bend and unfold.

Three 50MP Cameras And Same Processor As Before

The Vivo X Fold 5 comes equipped with a triple rear camera setup in partnership with Zeiss. It is led by a 50MP primary Sony IMX921 sensor with f/1.57 aperture and OIS support and accompanied by a 50MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom, 100x digital zoom, and 15 cm macro. There’s another 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 120-degree field of view. They perform better than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 in most situations. On the front, you get two 50MP selfie shooters in punch-hole cutouts on both displays.

Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, Vivo hasn’t upgraded its processor. The Vivo X Fold 5 borrows its chipset from the X Fold 3 Pro, so you get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC under the hood. It is paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage. It runs smooth in day-to-day use but tends to get a little warm while navigating on Google Maps or when using the camera.

Despite a generation-old processor, the X Fold 5 doesn’t shy away from offering a bunch of AI features. From reflection removal in photos to call assistant and transcribing features, you can spend a day finding and using all the AI features.

Vivo X Fold 5: Price And Availability

The Vivo X Fold 5 is priced at INR 1,49,999 (approx. $1,745) for the lone 16GB + 512GB variant. It is available in a Titanium Grey finish and is currently available for pre-orders. The new Vivo pgone will be made available through Flipkart and the company’s website starting July 30.