Rating： 5
I purchased vivo’s first folderable phone, the vivo X Fold.
Both inside and outside support 120Hz and in-screen fingerprint recognition.
The vivo X Fold is a foldable smartphone powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
It is the highest level for a latecomer from a Chinese manufacturer and is highly specified with the familiar ZEISS T* coated camera, 120Hz refresh rate support for both screens, in-screen fingerprint recognition, and USB 3.2 Gen 1 port.
This review is done with version PD2178_A_12.0.14.5.W10, 12GB+512GB version.
Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 review – Incredible 265g lightweight 8-inch foldable smartphone – AndroPlus
AndroPlus- AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate support for both screens
- Ultra-fast ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint recognition on both screens
- 8.03-inch screen that can display comic book spreads
- Less likely to show creases
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 + LPDDR5 + UFS 3.1
- 50MP quad camera with ZEISS T* coating
- 2x telephoto & 5x telephoto, up to 60x zoom support
- 66W wired & 50W wireless charging support
- USB 3.2 Gen 1, video output support
- Built-in Hi-Fi DAC CS43130
- Heavy
- Easily gets hot when playing games
- The inner screen is not suitable for games due to the aspect ratio
- Gmail notifications are easily delayed
| vivo X Fold V2178A | |
|---|---|
| OS | Android 12 |
| RAM | 12GB LPDDR5 |
| Storage | 256GB / 512GB UFS 3.1 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Display | Inner: 8.03inch 2160 ×1916 Aspect ratio 4:3.55 120Hz LTPO AMOLED Outer: 6.53inch 2520 ×1080 Aspect ratio 21:9 120Hz AMOLED |
| Size | Unfolded: 162.01 x 144.87 x 6.28~7.40mm Folded: 162.01 x 74.47 x 14.57~14.91mm |
| Weight | 316.2g |
| SIM | nano SIM + nano SIM |
| Rear Camera | 50MP OIS (Samsung S5KGN5) + 48MP (Ultra-wide SONY IMX598) + 12MP (PortraitSONY IMX663) + 8MP OIS (Periscope telephoto OmniVision ov08a10) |
| Front Camera | 16MP (Samsung S5K3P9) 16MP (Hynix hi1634q) |
| Battery | 4600mAh |
| USB Port | USB Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1, DisplayPort Alt Mode) |
| Bands | 2G GSM: GSM850/GSM900/DCS1800/PCS1900 2G CDMA: BC0/BC1 3G WCDMA: B1/B2/B4/B5/B8/B19 4G FDD-LTE: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B66 5G SA: n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n20/n28/n66/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78/n79 5G NSA: n38/n41/n77/n78/n79 |
Index
- 1 Both inside and outside support 120Hz and in-screen fingerprint recognition.
- 2 Almost invisible crease display
- 3 Touch delay is a little larger on the inner display
- 4 Both screens support in-screen fingerprint recognition
- 5 Leather back
- 6 Genuine protective case protects outer display.
- 7 Camera with ZEISS T* coating for excellent night vision
- 8 Equipped with alert slider
- 9 USB Type-C port for high-speed data transfer and video output
- 10 66W wired & 50W wireless charging
- 11 Stereo speakers
- 12 Extensive 4G/5G bands
- 13 High performance but prone to overheating
- 14 Bootloader Unlockable
- 15 Conclusion
The vivo X Fold has a rather luxurious outer box.
The accessories can be found by pulling out the lower part of the inner box.
Included are a USB Type-C to C cable, 66W charger, manual, earphones, and club card.
The included charger has two USB Type-C ports.
The vivo X Fold charger is compact with two ports, and its foldable plug makes it easy to carry around.
Supports PPS 5 to 20V / 3.25A.
Almost invisible crease display
The vivo X Fold has an 8.03″ 2160 x 1916 resolution with an aspect ratio of 4:3.55 on the inside display that can withstand 300,000 folds.
The crease is barely noticeable and can be seen when the screen is turned off and reflected in the light.
When folded, the magnets make it stick together perfectly.
It is also great that it is almost straight, with only a slight slant to the side with the outer camera attached.
The angle can be fixed at 120 to 130 degrees.
Due to the center of gravity, if the angle exceeds 120°, it may float or open on its own, so it may not be practical.
The high degree of freedom of angle may be useful for video playback.
Many previous foldable smartphones have taken the stance that the inside is only the main display and the outside is the sub-display, but the vivo X Fold is different.
Both the inside and outside of the vivo X Fold are AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate support, and the outside display has a 21:9 aspect ratio, which is within common sense.
It has a DisplayMate A+ rating and uses Samsung E5 material.
It is not suitable for games as it narrows the field of view, but it is perfect for displaying manga spreads.
For example, when the Kindle is in landscape mode, it will be displayed as a spread, and in portrait mode, it will be displayed as a single page.
You can also force show front camera and change the aspect ratio to 16:9 or 4:3 for each app.
The outer display is 21:9, the same as Xperia and Motorola phones, so the outer display is better for games that require a wider horizontal field of view.
The inner display dynamically changes from 1Hz to 120Hz with LTPO, but the outer display has only 60Hz and 120Hz.
The outer display has edge only on the right side.
You can split the display by swiping up with three fingers on the inner display.
However, only compatible apps are displayed on the home screen, so if you want to force open a non-compatible app, you have to open it from a shortcut app.
Although only Chinese apps are supported, with some apps, such as Jingdong, the screen can be split so that the product search screen is on the left and the product details are on the right.
The first photo below shows the inner display and the second shows the outer display, both of which are diamond arrays.
Widevine L1 allows streaming in HD quality on Amazon Prime Video (beta) and others.
Touch delay is a little larger on the inner display
The touch performance of the inner display is a bit low, perhaps because the mechanism must be able to withstand folding.
The touch latency measured by WALT Latency Timer was 22.0ms from touch to kernel, 6.5ms from kernel to Java, and 28.2ms for screen drawing, for a total of 56.7ms.
Even the Pixel 6 has a total latency of about 47.8ms, so this is not a problem for normal users, but it is not suitable for serious gamers.
On the outer display, touch to kernel was 12.3 ms, kernel to Java was 5.2 ms, and screen drawing was 22.1 ms, for a total of 39.6 ms.
Both screens support in-screen fingerprint recognition
Until now, all foldable smartphones have had fingerprint sensors on the sides.
The vivo X Fold uses in-screen fingerprint sensor on both screens, and it also uses 3D ultrasonic technology.
On the inside display, the authentication sensor is on the right side, and it authenticates much faster.
It is fast on the outside display too.
Leather back
The back of the vivo X Fold has a leather-like feel to it.
However, since it is a folding phone, one side of the phone is exposed to the outer display, so the outer display is covered with fingerprints…
It weighs 316.2g including the protective film that is attached to both sides from the beginning.
When folded, it is as thick as two smartphones, and is very chunky.
Genuine protective case protects outer display.
A genuine protective case will help protect the outer display from fingerprints and scratches.
This type protects only the upper and lower frames of the area where the camera is located.
It weighs 58.4g.
In this way, the protrusion of the camera can be suppressed.
The lid is attached with magnets.
By turning on the screen with the lid closed, the clock and battery level can be displayed in the translucent area.
It also has a stand function.
Camera with ZEISS T* coating for excellent night vision
vivo X Fold has
- 50MP OIS (Samsung S5KGN5)
- 48MP (Ultra-wide SONY IMX598)
- 12MP (PortraitSONY IMX663)
- 8MP OIS (Periscope telephoto OmniVision ov08a10)
quad cameras.
It is co-developed with ZEISS and has ZEISS T* coating to suppress flare and ghosting.
The photos I have taken are stored here.
Taking advantage of the adjustable angle, the camera can be set at 90° to display the preview on the upper screen and the shutter release button and the photos taken on the lower screen.
If you place it on the floor, you can take stable pictures without the need for a gimbal, but it is better to put a protective case on it because the outer display will be grounded.
The night view mode is particularly strong, and the camera takes very bright pictures even in almost pitch-dark conditions.
The video cannot be taken very brightly and is about the same as the naked eye.
When I shoot a video of the same location as the photo above, it looks like this:
The white splash is also very well controlled, so much so that it is better than the vivo X80, which uses the RGBW method.
There is also a starry sky mode.
It takes a few seconds to take a picture, so it is a little difficult when hand-held, but it is possible to capture stars that are difficult to capture in normal mode.
The lower limit of ISO is 50.
It can also be set to 50 in manual mode.
Thanks to the 2x and 5x telephoto, even distant subjects can be captured beautifully enough.
Note that the camera used is automatically selected based on the distance from the subject, so if the distance is close, the digital zoom of a 50MP camera may be used even if the camera is set to 5x.
Here is the 2x.
Even at 5x, the text is clearly visible and the lines of the building pattern are not smashed.
Hybrid zoom up to 60x is possible, but 60x would make the image look like a coloring book.
The most practical zoom range is probably 20x at most.
When the zoom is 20.5x or higher, the overall view appears in the upper right corner.
For some reason, it is upside down…
Distortion seems to be slightly greater in ultra wide-angle mode.
The portrait mode blurs the background nicely.
A ZEISS Natural Color mode is available, which is said to capture natural colors.
Comparing the ZEISS Natural Color and AI modes, the AI mode has a more vivid sky color than the actual one, and it seems that the ZEISS Natural Color is better for recording and the AI mode for social networking.
The photos below are 1x, 2x, and 5x with ZEISS Natural Color turned on, respectively, but the saturation seems to drop slightly when switched to anything other than 1x (50MP camera).
The actual coloring is closer to that of the 1x.
The first is ZEISS Natural Color, and the second is AI mode. AI mode seems to have higher saturation and stronger sharpness.
Equipped with alert slider
The alert slider found on iPhone and OnePlus phones is also available on the vivo X Fold.
Simply slide it to silent mode for convenience.
On the right side are the power and volume buttons.
USB Type-C port for high-speed data transfer and video output
The vivo X Fold doesn’t skimp on the USB Type-C port either.
USB 3.2 Gen 1 compatibility allows for fast data transfer, so even if you take a lot of photos or videos, you can quickly copy them to your PC.
Video output in DisplayPort Alt Mode is also supported, allowing you to enjoy games on a large screen.
66W wired & 50W wireless charging
Due to the way foldable smartphones work, it is more difficult for them to support faster charging than regular smartphones.
The vivo X Fold supports wired charging at 66W and wireless charging at 50W, which is as fast as high-end smartphones from a few years ago, so it can charge quickly even though it is a foldable smartphone.
With 66W fast charging, we were able to charge from 10% to 100% in 33 minutes.
The inner display is 8″ with a 120 Hz refresh rate, which means it consumes a lot of power, so it is good to be able to charge quickly.
Stereo speakers
The vivo X Fold has speakers in the same position on both sides.
Mid and bass sounds, such as vocals, are particularly strong, while highs seem to be a bit weak.
It is equipped with the CS43130 Hi-Fi DAC.
Although this is a use of a past VIVO device, it is good to see a foldable phone that is also focused on sound.
With Hi-Fi turned on, highs and other sounds are especially clear and crisp.
The speaker is a tfa98xx.
It seems to be used only by apps with Hi-Fi turned on.
I could turn on not only pre-installed apps but also YouTube and Poweramp, so most music apps should be fine.
There is also a feature to customize the listening experience.
Extensive 4G/5G bands
vivo X Fold supports
- 2G GSM: GSM850/GSM900/DCS1800/PCS1900
- 2G CDMA: BC0/BC1
- 3G WCDMA: B1/B2/B4/B5/B8/B19
- 4G FDD-LTE: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B66
- 5G SA: n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n20/n28/n66/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78/n79
- 5G NSA: n38/n41/n77/n78/n79
and can be used on a wide range of carriers.
High performance but prone to overheating
A device with a large size like a tablet often has excellent cooling performance due to its large area, but a folding smartphone is no different from a regular smartphone because the hinge prevents the smooth transfer of heat to the other side, even if the size itself is large.
In the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, the score was 9873, with a temperature increase from 25°C to 50°C (25°C increase) and 26-74 FPS.
The vivo X Fold seems to be throttling by package name.
In the Geekbench test, the left is the build disguised as Genshin and the right is the normal build, and there is quite a difference.
As it heats up, throttling becomes even more intense, resulting in a situation where “benchmark results look good, but actual performance is below Snapdragon 870”.
Benchmarks are intended to quantify performance during normal use for comparison, so when it’s going to throttle, it should also throttle benchmark applications fairly.
PCMark Work 3.0, which measures performance in everyday use such as document manipulation, scored 12580.
LPDDR5 memory UFS 3.1 storage with particularly fast sequential read/write and memory copy speeds.
Running Genshin at the highest quality and 60 FPS setting and measured with WeTest PerfDog, the average FPS was 49.5 and the smoothness was 5.1.
Battery temperatures rose to a maximum of around 42°C and the frame became hot.
At around 41°C, throttling intensified and power consumption was reduced from 3.6W to 2.6W, and the frame rate dropped gingerly to the 30FPS range.
Bootloader Unlockable
The vivo X Fold is unofficially Bootloader Unlockable, allowing for more customization freedom.
Vivo x70 Pro+ Bootloader Unlock – HOW TO GUIDE
XDA ForumsThe firmware dump of PD2178_A_12.0.14.5.W10 is saved here.
Note that I have also uploaded device-specific images that should not be flashed.
Even with Bootloader Unlock, in-screen fingerprint and face recognition work fine, and OTA is received as well.
Conclusion
- AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate support for both screens
- Ultra-fast ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint recognition on both screens
- 8.03-inch screen that can display comic book spreads
- Less likely to show creases
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 + LPDDR5 + UFS 3.1
- 50MP quad camera with ZEISS T* coating
- 2x telephoto & 5x telephoto, up to 60x zoom support
- 66W wired & 50W wireless charging support
- USB 3.2 Gen 1, video output support
- Built-in Hi-Fi DAC CS43130
- Heavy
- Easily gets hot when playing games
- The inner screen is not suitable for games due to the aspect ratio
- Gmail notifications are easily delayed
I had used the OPPO Find N before, but it was not perfect for use as a main device due to some subtle complaints, such as the fact that the outer display only supports HD resolution and 60Hz, which I could not bring myself to use, and the camera performance was lower than that of high-end smartphones of the time.
The vivo X Fold has solved the weaknesses of the outer display with 120Hz FHD+ resolution and a ZEISS T* coated camera, and both displays are now at the level of “both displays can be used as a main display” with Samsung E5 AMOLED on both sides and in-screen fingerprint recognition.
Unlike the OPPO Find N, which is difficult to unlock bootloader, the vivo X Fold can be bootloader unlocked so deeper customization is also possible.
The downside is that it’s heavy and as thick as two smartphones, but it’s not fatal because the convenience of other aspects outweighs the weight.