Vivo X Fold 2 Review: Flagship Foldable for China Alone

Worth When Reviewed

Not out there within the US

As Samsung has held the worldwide foldable telephone market in a death-grip for the previous few years, fans have lengthy appeared with envy on the many and various 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 type of fashions that’s unavailable outdoors of China (no less than by way of official channels), however packs a degree of polish that present Western releases merely can’t match. 

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

Design & construct 

• Vegan leather-based end with marbled strip 
• Stable, 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 seems very similar to a daily telephone, and might be comfortably used like that – albeit a telephone that’s a bit heavy at 279g, and thick at 12.9mm.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

That is slimmer and lighter than Vivo’s personal earlier era, nevertheless it’s truly heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and greater in each means than latest 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 telephone up, and it actually does really feel impressively sturdy. 

The X Fold 2 is obtainable in black, blue, or my purple mannequin, which is completed in vegan leather-based to cease the telephone 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 consider is plastic, with a marbled, pearlescent end that shimmers within the mild. It’s a small little bit of aptitude that I’m a fan of – particularly for the reason that included clip-on case adopts the very same purple 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 score, which means it has no official assure of safety towards mud or water. That’s according to many foldables, however with Samsung and others main the best way 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 telephone’s Silent mode. Exterior of iPhones and choose OnePlus units this kind of toggle is uncommon, however at all times appreciated, and I hope Vivo will add it into extra of its conventional smartphones quickly too. 

Screens & audio system 

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

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

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The bigger predominant display screen additionally advantages from LTPO4 tech, permitting it to range its refresh fee broadly to swimsuit the content material being show. That provides you the advantages of a excessive refresh when it might probably 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 predominant display screen, which means it’s near sq. however nonetheless taller than it’s broad. That’s higher for app optimisation and many multi-tasking work, however rather less nicely fitted to watching movies – regardless of which means you flip the telephone, you’ll get massive black bars round most content material. 

After all this display screen additionally has the dreaded crease. Right here it’s broad however shallow, seen in sure mild however surprisingly tough to truly really feel. You actually will neglect it’s there. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Vivo has one different little bit of spectacular aptitude in its shows: not like most foldables this doesn’t use a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, however as a substitute opts for under-display. Or moderately, under-displays, as a result of there’s a sensor underneath every of the 2 screens (and, well, registering your finger with one robotically 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 telephone, one on the high and one on the backside. Which means you’ll solely get the stereo impact when holding the telephone sideways. Given the facet ratio on the primary show you’d in all probability try this anyway when watching video, however another foldables have well alternated the location so that you simply get stereo each which means. 

Specs & efficiency 

• High-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 in terms of the core specs right here. 

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip contained in the telephone is the newest and biggest round, delivering efficiency on a par with one of the 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 – vital for the multi-tasking enabled by that massive show. 

Storage is available in a selection 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 newest requirements. Simply keep in mind that if you happen to’re going to import the telephone from China then networking could also be somewhat ropey – examine that the telephone helps the identical 5G bands as your community. 

Digital camera & video 

• Highly effective triple rear digicam 
• No periscopic zoom 
• Pair of equivalent selfie cameras 

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

As traditional, 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, nevertheless it nonetheless does an amazing job in dim or numerous lighting, accurately exposing even tough components like a campsite fireplace at evening. 

The primary digicam is joined by a pair of succesful 12Mp lenses – one ultrawide, and one 2x telephoto. In the course of the day you’ll wrestle to identify a top quality distinction apart from some slight variations in color tuning, however in low mild they drop off extra. 

That’s very true for the ultrawide, which is dreadful at midnight. 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 could observe 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, nevertheless 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 may at all times use whichever is most handy. Neither is actually glorious – pictures are somewhat mushy, and the gradual aperture limits the dynamic vary – however they’re ok for social media and video calls. 

Video goes as much as 8K@30fps or 4K@60fps on the primary rear digicam (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 considered one of them fairly massive – foldables have some distinctive challenges in terms of 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, usually with half the battery left by the point I head to mattress. At a push it might in all probability 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 assessments. 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. Anticipate 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 help 

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

What’s extra fascinating is that the telephone 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, international fashions run the abysmally named Funtouch OS as a substitute. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

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

There’s loads of customisability, together with altering the impact of swiping in from numerous elements of the display screen, and a welcome array of widgets – all interactive and engaging, like a spread of mini apps to set throughout your own home 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 best way of me utilizing GPS and monitoring apps whereas working, delays the remainder timer in my exercise app, and sometimes stops me seeing notifications.  

Some – although not all – of this may be fastened by manually tweaking settings for every app, however I want the telephone would simply let my apps work the best way 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 potential to put in it, together with the Play Retailer, however count on to spend your first half hour with the telephone sideloading software program to get all the pieces up and working. 

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

Worth & availability 

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

When you’re tempted, you may import the telephone from gray market retailers like Giztop or Wonda Cellular, with costs principally across the $1,500 mark on the time of writing – so not too dissimilar to choosing up the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. 

Take a look at our rating of one of the best foldables proper now for extra alternate options, or one of the 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 digicam. 

There are downsides. The leather-based end seems the half, however the foldable as a complete is larger and bulkier than different latest rivals.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Because it’s China-only you’ll need to take care of awkward imports and no Google out of the field, plus different little efficiency annoyances round background apps or that unusual failure of the ultrawide digicam in low mild. 

Nonetheless, put up with these minor complications and this can be 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 inner show 
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 
• 12GB RAM 
• 256/512GB storage 
• Cameras:  
  • 50Mp, f/1.8 OIS predominant digicam 
  • 12Mp, f/2.0 ultrawide 
  • 12Mp, f/2.0 2x telephoto 
  • 16Mp, f/2.5 selfie digicam 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