Vivo X Fold 2 review

As Samsung has held the worldwide foldable cellphone market in a death-grip for the previous few years, fans have lengthy appeared with envy on the many and different folding telephones on sale in China from the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. 

The X Fold 2 – Vivo’s third big-screen foldable, launched alongside the smaller X Flip – is a kind of fashions that’s unavailable outdoors of China (at the least via official channels), however packs a degree of polish that present Western releases merely can’t match. 

A strong design, snug kind issue, and highly effective cameras make this one of the crucial spectacular foldables round on the {hardware} facet – although as is commonly the case, gripes in regards to the software program facet could also be sufficient to place off erstwhile importers. 

Design & construct 

• Vegan leather-based end with marbled strip 
• Strong, gapless hinge 
• No official mud/water safety 

In broad strokes, the X Fold 2 doesn’t do a lot design-wise that differs from different giant format foldables. 

When closed, it appears to be like very like a daily cellphone, and may be comfortably used like that – albeit a cellphone that’s a bit heavy at 279g, and thick at 12.9mm.  

That is slimmer and lighter than Vivo’s personal earlier technology, however it’s truly heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and greater in each manner than current launches from Huawei and Honor. 

Nonetheless, for somewhat further heft you do get a reassuring solidity, and a hinge that closes absolutely and sits flush when it does. It takes each palms to simply open the cellphone up, and it actually does really feel impressively sturdy. 

The X Fold 2 is accessible in black, blue, or my pink mannequin, which is completed in vegan leather-based to cease the cellphone sliding round an excessive amount of and enhance its sturdiness, with out detracting from a premium aesthetic. 

The leather-based is accompanied by a skinny strip of what I imagine is plastic, with a marbled, pearlescent end that shimmers within the gentle. It’s a small little bit of aptitude that I’m a fan of – particularly because the included clip-on case adopts the very same pink leather-based with a clear part to indicate off this shimmering layer. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

There’s actually one notable draw back to the X Fold 2’s construct: there’s no IP ranking, which means it has no official assure of safety in opposition to mud or water. That’s in step with many foldables, however with Samsung and others main the way in which on hardier foldables, Vivo is behind the curve. 

Lastly, a fast little bit of reward for an uncommon addition: a bodily {hardware} swap to activate the cellphone’s Silent mode. Exterior of iPhones and choose OnePlus gadgets this form of toggle is uncommon, however all the time appreciated, and I hope Vivo will add it into extra of its conventional smartphones quickly too. 

Screens & audio system 

• Twin 120Hz AMOLED panels 
• LTPO4 principal show 
• Two in-display fingerprint sensors 

There’s loads to reward in Vivo’s show providing right here. For one, each the 6.53in cowl display screen and the 8.03in principal display screen are 120Hz AMOLED panels, which means you get clean scrolling and nice color high quality on both display screen. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

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The bigger principal display screen additionally advantages from LTPO4 tech, permitting it to range its refresh charge extensively to swimsuit the content material being show. That offers you the advantages of a excessive refresh when it may possibly assist, and higher battery effectivity the remainder of the time.  

As for facet ratio, Vivo has adopted Samsung’s lead in utilizing a barely portrait-oriented principal display screen, which means it’s near sq. however nonetheless taller than it’s large. That’s higher for app optimisation and plenty of multi-tasking work, however rather less nicely suited to watching movies – regardless of which manner you flip the cellphone, you’ll get massive black bars round most content material. 

After all this display screen additionally has the dreaded crease. Right here it’s large however shallow, seen in sure gentle however surprisingly troublesome to really really feel. You actually will overlook it’s there. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Vivo has one different little bit of spectacular aptitude in its shows: in contrast to most foldables this doesn’t use a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, however as a substitute opts for under-display. Or slightly, under-displays, as a result of there’s a sensor beneath every of the 2 screens (and, neatly, registering your finger with one routinely makes it work with the opposite). 

As for audio, Vivo has kitted the X Fold 2 with stereo audio system, however mounted on the identical facet of the cellphone, one on the high and one on the backside. Which means you’ll solely get the stereo impact when holding the cellphone sideways. Given the facet ratio on the principle show you’d most likely try this anyway when watching video, however another foldables have neatly alternated the position so that you just get stereo each which manner. 

Specs & efficiency 

• Prime-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip 
• 12GB RAM 
• As much as 512GB storage 

It shouldn’t come as a shock that Vivo has spared no expense with regards to the core specs right here. 

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip contained in the cellphone is the most recent and best round, delivering efficiency on a par with the very best telephones available on the market. It outpaces different massive foldables we’ve examined, and solely lags behind its Vivo X90 Professional sibling on graphic benchmarks as a result of it has to drive a a lot bigger show.

That’s helped by a beneficiant allocation of 12GB of RAM – necessary for the multi-tasking enabled by that massive show. 

Storage is available in a alternative of both 256GB or 512GB. 

5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, and NFC make up the connectivity choices, and all are as much as the most recent requirements. Simply keep in mind that for those who’re going to import the cellphone from China then networking could also be somewhat ropey – examine that the cellphone helps the identical 5G bands as your community. 

Digicam & video 

• Highly effective triple rear digital camera 
• No periscopic zoom 
• Pair of an identical selfie cameras 

Vivo is an organization recognized for its digital camera capabilities, so it’s no shock to search out that the triple rear digital camera setup within the X Fold 2 is among the many extra highly effective you’ll discover in a foldable. 

As normal, Vivo’s dealing with of sunshine is outstanding. This doesn’t use one of many giant 1in sensors you’ll discover within the firm’s X90 Professional flagship, however it nonetheless does an important job in dim or numerous lighting, appropriately exposing even tough parts like a campsite hearth at evening. 

The primary digital camera is joined by a pair of succesful 12Mp lenses – one ultrawide, and one 2x telephoto. Through the day you’ll battle to identify a high quality distinction apart from some slight variations in color tuning, however in low gentle they drop off extra. 

That’s very true for the ultrawide, which is dreadful at nighttime. I noticed the issue at a live performance the place the ultrawide fully failed me, with a pinkish hue surrounding each shot. Restarts and the like couldn’t repair the issue, and in the long run I had to surrender on utilizing the ultrawide that evening – it merely can’t deal with the darkish in any respect. 

Eager followers might word one different odd draw back: there’s no signal of the 5x periscope zoom seen on the primary Vivo X Fold and X Fold+ follow-up. It’s not clear why this was dropped, however it’s a disgrace to lose that added versatility. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

As for selfies, there are punch-hole cameras on each shows. To maintain issues easy, these are the very same 16Mp, f/2.5 setup, so you’ll be able to all the time use whichever is most handy. Neither is actually wonderful – photographs are somewhat comfortable, and the sluggish aperture limits the dynamic vary – however they’re adequate for social media and video calls. 

Video goes as much as 8K@30fps or 4K@60fps on the principle rear digital camera (which additionally advantages from optical stabilisation for steadier footage), although caps at a miserly 1080p@30fps on the entrance. That’s sufficient to hamper anybody with ambitions to vlog utilizing the selfie cameras – although with a little bit of wrangling this may be achieved utilizing the rear lenses as a substitute.  

Battery & charging 

• Greater than a day’s battery 
• Exceptionally quick 120W wired charging 
• 50W wi-fi 

With two shows to run – and one among them fairly massive – foldables have some distinctive challenges with regards to battery life, and that’s earlier than you point out the truth that the battery itself needs to be cut up in two elements. 

That makes the X Fold 2’s longevity all of the extra spectacular. It simply lasts a full day of my typical use, typically with half the battery left by the point I head to mattress. At a push it might most likely stretch to 2 days, although provided that use it sparingly. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Charging is much more spectacular. The 120W wired charging restored 59% of the battery in quarter-hour, and a whopping 98% in half an hour in my checks. That’s somewhat slower than Vivo’s declare of a full cost in 26 minutes, however hardly any much less spectacular. 

Wi-fi charging is featured too, although you’ll want an official Vivo charger to hit the total 50W speeds. Count on a a lot slower cost on a third-party Qi charger. 

Software program & updates 

• Ships with Android 13 
• Runs Vivo’s China-only OriginOS 3 
• Unknown long-term assist 

The X Fold 2 ships working Android 13 – up to now, so what. 

What’s extra fascinating is that the cellphone runs the corporate’s OriginOS 3 Android pores and skin. That is truly the primary time I’ve gotten to check Origin out, as whereas it powers all the firm’s telephones in China, world fashions run the abysmally named Funtouch OS as a substitute. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

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That looks like all of the extra a disgrace, as a result of Origin has Funtouch beat hands-down. For one, it appears to be like loads sharper. There’s a definite visible language that borrows somewhat from stablemate Oppo’s ColorOS, however all the time appears to be like its personal, and feels decidedly fashionable. 

There’s loads of customisability, together with altering the impact of swiping in from varied elements of the display screen, and a welcome array of widgets – all interactive and enticing, like a spread of mini apps to set throughout your property display screen. 

There are two main downsides. The primary is that, like many Chinese language Android skins, Origin OS is somewhat too aggressive in its background app administration. It’s gotten in the way in which of me utilizing GPS and monitoring apps whereas working, delays the remaining timer in my exercise app, and infrequently stops me seeing notifications.  

Some – although not all – of this may be fastened by manually tweaking settings for every app, however I want the cellphone would simply let my apps work the way in which they’re meant to by default. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The larger downside that can face any importers is that, as a Chinese language launch, this doesn’t embody Google software program out of the field. It’s attainable to put in it, together with the Play Retailer, however anticipate to spend your first half hour with the cellphone sideloading software program to get every thing up and working. 

Lastly, Vivo hasn’t publicly dedicated to a long-term assist plan for the X Fold 2. The current X90 Professional is getting three years of Android model updates, and hopefully this can too, however for now it’s not assured. 

Worth & availability 

The Vivo X Fold 2 is, sadly, solely accessible formally in China, the place it begins from ¥8,999 (round $1,300/£1,050). 

Should you’re tempted, you’ll be able to import the cellphone from gray market retailers like Giztop or Wonda Cellular, with costs largely across the $1,500 mark on the time of writing – so not too dissimilar to selecting up the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. 

Try our rating of the very best foldables proper now for extra options, or the very best Vivo telephones to see what else the model has launched just lately. 

Verdict 

The Vivo X Fold 2 is a assured foldable that mixes robust efficiency, spectacular battery life, and a succesful digital camera. 

There are downsides. The leather-based end appears to be like the half, however the foldable as an entire is greater and bulkier than different current rivals.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Because it’s China-only you’ll must cope with awkward imports and no Google out of the field, plus different little efficiency annoyances round background apps or that unusual failure of the ultrawide digital camera in low gentle. 

Nonetheless, put up with these minor complications and it is a fairly implausible foldable that reveals Samsung what it has to maintain up with. 

Specs 

• 6.5in 120Hz AMOLED cowl show 
• 8in 120Hz LTPO4 AMOLED foldable inside show 
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 
• 12GB RAM 
• 256/512GB storage 
• Cameras:  
  • 50Mp, f/1.8 OIS principal digital camera 
  • 12Mp, f/2.0 ultrawide 
  • 12Mp, f/2.0 2x telephoto 
  • 16Mp, f/2.5 selfie digital camera x2 
  • As much as 8K video recording 
• 4800mAh battery 
• 120W wired charging 
• 50W wi-fi charging 
• Twin under-display fingerprint scanners 
• Wi-Fi 7 
• Bluetooth 5.3 
• 5G 
• NFC 
• Unfolded: 161.3 x 143.4 x 6mm 
• Folded: 161.3 x 73.4 x 12.9mm 
• 279g