The season of foldables has descended and in this review, we’ll be taking a look at the vivo X Fold5. This is the third foldable that we’ve had this year alone, and yes, there is actually lots to compare this phone with.
Specifications
Design and Functionality
Aesthetically, both the X Fold5 and the Magic V5 suffer from the same issue: an outdated design. Perhaps there’s no avoiding the comparison but the shape, look, and feel of Samsung’s Z Fold7 feels like a revolution compared to vivo’s own foldable. As it is with the trend, rounded edges have certainly fallen out of vogue, but to be fair, I think the brand is merely playing it safe this generation.
In vivo’s defense, playing it safe makes the X Fold5 easier to hold and manage. Unlike the Z Fold7, I can actually get some purchase with my fingers on the first try whenever I want to open it up. The struggle to perform this action is absolutely minimal. That being said, none of that detracts from the fact that the X Fold5 also looks a lot like the Oppo Find N5. Not a surprising fact either, given how they are sister brands, and it’s not uncommon for said entities to take a page or two out of each other’s design playbook, or in this case, make a near carbon copy.
On a minor sidebar, you may be interested to know that the Pearl White model of the X Fold5 is ever so slightly thicker than the Titanium Gray model. And by slightly, I mean considerably less than a millimetre. Believe me, I was initially perplexed, but ultimately, it’s an utterly insignificant issue.
But credit where it’s due, the overall thickness or should I say, thinness, of the phone, both folded and unfolded, borders on being damn near impressive. Yes, it’s not Z Fold7 level thin but hey, at least it is still compatible with a stylus. The borders of the foldable display are thin and make it more appealing to the eyes, save for the unsightly and unavoidable crease in the middle. It’s a problem that’s existed since the form factor came into the picture, but the good news is that when the screen is on.
Around the back, the main camera module and its triple-array sensors have been tweaked to be symmetrical, at least numerically. This time around, all sensors are 50MP, rather than just one of them.
Beyond that, the power button on the side also doubles as the fingerprint scanner, a feature that both my colleague and I approve of over the under-display fingerprint scanners that has become the norm. Oh, and a USB-C charging port.
Performance And Battery
The one major issue that plagues the X Fold5, and a crippling flaw in my eyes, is just how much brand-affiliated bloatware is pre-installed on it. Now, I’m not saying that other brands don’t do this – Samsung, Oppo, and Honor are all just as guilty – but the frequency of which this foldable keeps prompting me to either sign up for, activate or even clean up the “junk” that has accumulated on the device is…petty, to say the least. Honestly, there’s not a moment that vivo doesn’t insist on its apps on me.
Even worse is the fact that, in spite of my setting my default language to English, the app still delivers certain prompts in the Malay language. This is clearly a region setting and is really minor, but I just thought I should point it out.
Then there are the extra tidbits from vivo, including the Origin workbench. Truthfully, it’s just a fancy enhancement of the existing splitscreen feature, and while it’s does feel refreshing to see multiple apps running on the side, literally, this feels nothing more than a gimmick.
As for the performance of the X Fold5 and its chipset, it’s what you’d expect from a Snapdragon 8 Gen3. It’s an odd choice by vivo to ship its flagship foldable out with a last-gen SoC, for the obvious reason that its rivals’ foldables are all powered by the more current Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Details of vivo’s choice notwithstanding, the chipset is still powerful and relevant, and the phone still runs fast. Apps open up instantly, switching between apps are lag-free and snappy, and even while “gaming” on the phone, the heat is mainly isolated to the rear of the phone (read: the part with the main camera module).
Battery life is one of the X Fold5’s greatest strengths, based on my tests. Leaving it idle for five days with mobile data on, the phone loses 35% of battery on average. In our video loop and continuous play test, the phone lasted 18 hours on average. That’s decent for a foldable, and in the time I used it, I can
Camera
The triple 50MP, Zeiss-enhanced main camera of the X Fold5 is undoubtedly one of, if not its main, strengths. Just like the x200 Pro that I reviewed earlier in the year, the camera excels in daytime photography. Granted, there’s AI going into overdrive in the background, but the speed at which the phone automatically colour corrects and tweaks the picture to make it clear is welcome.
Speaking of colour, the X Fold5 has a tendency to make the colours pop out, but not in an oversaturated way, as Samsung’s imaging system tends to do. Frankly, it is almost as aggressive as the colour correction of the x200 Pro.
Night time or low-light photography is a hit or miss, especially when I start zooming in. I will admit, it does handle itself in situations where there is virtually little light, albeit at the cost of the final image looking like a water painting, as if someone has taken their thumb and smudged the surface.
Sample Images
Competiton
Oppo Find N5
It is extremely difficult not to make a comparison to the Oppo Find N5. As I mentioned, these phones brands are essentially sisters, and it’s easy to see where the X Fold5 took a whole lot of its design, sans the obvious Zeiss and Hasselblad camera configurations.
Specs-wise, the Find N5 rocks the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite, 16GB RAM, a bigger 8.12-inch foldable LTPO display and bigger 6.62-inch cover panel, and a 5,600mAh battery to power it all.
Camera-wise, the main module has a 50MP wide, a 50MP periscope telephoto, and an 8MP ultrawide. In terms of pricing, the Find N5 cost more at RM7,999, although, like the X Fold5, there’s only one configuration coming into Malaysia.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7
It’s very rare that a foldable undergoes a drastic transformation but when they do, it’s a typical “go big or go home” scenario. And that’s what Samsung did with the Galaxy Z Fold7.
Not only is this foldable thinner than the X Fold5, but Samsung has continued with the squared-shaped look of the Z Fold6, and then some. Both the cover and internal display measure in at 6.5-inches and 8.2-inches, respectively; the processor is Qualcomm’s current generation flagship, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and while and storage options go up to 16GB and 1TB.
Camera-wise, the Z Fold7 has a long lead with pixels; its triple camera module comprises a 200MP wide, 10MP telephoto, and a 12MP ultrawide.
Unsurprisingly, the Z Fold7 is pricey, starting at RM7,799 for the 12GB+256GB configurations, and goes all the way up to RM9,899 for the 16GB+1TB SKU.
HONOR Magic V5
The HONOR Magic V5 is the third foldable that vivo has to contend with, and for good reason. Like the other two foldables, it’s rocking the Snapdragon 8 Elite (it’s hard not to mention this, honestly), and it’s also thinner. Not by much, mind you; the difference is about 0.1mm, but seeing how thickness is the name of the game, it is what it is.
Both the cover and foldable display measure at 6.43-inches and 7.95-inches, respectively. The main camera is a triple-sensor array comprising a 50MP wide, a 64MP periscope telephoto, and a 50MP ultrawide.
Price-wise, the Magic V5 retails the same as the X Fold5 at RM6,999.
Conclusion
The vivo X Fold5 is a foldable that, in my opinion, is caught between a rock and hard place. Is the X Fold5 a bad device or investment? No, it isn’t. As I said, Snapdragon 8 Gen3 isn’t bad, by any measure of the word. Despite the lack of the “Elite” status, it is still a chipset that pushed the AI agenda, and still driving it.
Sadly, that doesn’t change the bitterness of the pill vivo has to swallow: it’s clearly a generation behind in terms of hardware, and that is, unfortunately, a pain point that is ultimately going to come up among consumers, and understandably so: if you’re paying RM6,999 for a flagship, you obviously are going to want the very best and most up-to-date technology on offer.
Still, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, the X Fold5 can still be paired with a compatible stylus, but that is still going to be a separate purchase.
Photography by John Law.
