Vivo launches its first foldable smartphone, the vivo X Fold
Vivo has launched its first foldable smartphone, the vivo X Fold – initially just for the Chinese market. In addition to the X Fold, the X Note and the first vivo tablet, the vivo Pad have also been introduced.
Vivo claims it has integrated an aerospace-grade folding wing hinge into its foldable phone which contains 174 parts and adopts six-layer aviation materials such as liquid metal and high-strength steel for added strength, impact resistance as well as bending and corrosion resistance.
The hinge has been repeatedly tested by TÜV Rheinland over 300,000 times. Based on vivo’s testing lab research, a user will unfold and fold the device approximately 80 times per day, meaning that the vivo X Fold should operate properly for up to 10 years.
The device adopts a floating mid-plate design, which allows the screen to be flatter when unfolded, and leaves enough space for the screen to bend safely when folded, it claims. Incorporated within the 2.3-milimetre bending radius of the waterdrop hinge structure, the display crease is not only narrow but also almost completely flat, avoiding the “bulge” which commonly appears on foldable designs, vivo says.
Vivo has integrated an 8-inch foldable main display on the inner screen, and a 6.53-inch display on the outer side of the device. As foldable smartphones have higher requirements for colour consistency, the vivo X Fold has been built with 120Hz refresh rate on both displays and uses E5 luminous material to ensure a smooth viewing experience, while optimising energy consumption.
The company has also developed its own colour calibration scheme so the precision of colour reproduction on both displays is almost identical. All these led to the X Fold achieving 19 DisplayMate records and an overall A+ level certification, it claims.
Vivo also says the X Fold is the world’s first foldable smartphone featuring a Dual 3D ultrasonic fingerprint reader which allows users to unlock on both displays. The device offers improved fingerprint recognition, and increases the unlocking speed by 38%, compared to traditional photoelectric mechanisms, it claims.
Onboard is a Snapdragon 8 Gen1 SPU customised flagship chipset, with a 4-nanometer MEP process, offering 10% improved performance compared with the previous generation Snapdragon 888 chipset. It’s also equipped with a 4600mAh battery for up to 21 hours of continuous calls, 12 hours of video conferencing, or 8 hours of mobile gaming. Vivo says thanks to the 66W FlashCharge the battery can be topped up to 50% in just 17 minutes and achieve a full charge in 37 minutes.
Finally, the X Fold is equipped with a ZEISS-certified quad-camera setup at full focal lengths, benefiting from the ZEISS natural colour calibration, ZEISS texture portraits and other full-scene effects.
Headquartered in China, vivo is supported by a network of R&D centres in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Xi’an. The vivo X Fold will be available exclusively in China for now in either a classic blue or a calm grey hue.
