Vivo Skips X Fold 4 and Launches The Featherweight Fold 5 – Talk Android

I woke up to the news that the Vivo X Fold 5 had officially launched. For a second, I thought I’d slept through a whole year’s worth of product cycles. If my memory is correct, Vivo launched the X Fold 3 and X Fold 3 Pro in March 2024. At the time, those were the most advanced foldables they had ever released. Naturally, you’d assume the next foldable from them would be the X Fold 4. As in, the number that follows 3.

Apparently, there’s a twist this year. The Vivo X Fold 5 is officially out and lighter than its predecessor. More surprisingly, it now houses a 6,000mAh battery, which should make most competitors hide in shame. Here’s everything it brings.

Vivo’s improvements on the Fold 5

Why Vivo decided to ditch the X Fold 4 name for its new foldable is unknown. But as expected, the Fold 5 brings thoughtful upgrades to the brand’s already strong foldable lineup. For one, the weight has dropped from its predecessor’s 219g to 217g.

The phone’s camera module is a large circular island with Zeiss branding at the center. The old version sits in a vertical pill-shaped housing with three lenses stacked plainly in a line. The module houses three 50MP cameras. Two 20MP selfie cameras as before, now shrunken from 32MP each. One is on the inner display and another on the cover screen.

The main screen is 8.03 inches, while the secondary screen is 6.53 inches, with their resolutions being 2480 × 2200 and 2748 × 1172 respectively. Both displays use AMOLED technology and offer 120Hz refresh rate.

Even with its slimmer build, the X Fold 5 still manages to fit in a 6,000mAh battery with support for 80W fast charging and 40W wireless charging. The Fold 3 was working with a 5,500mAh cell and also used the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. The newer phone now replaces it with the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the Fold 3 Pro and the Adreno 750 GPU.

Related: Vivo X200 Pro Review

Atomic workbench, Apple bridge, and IP9X rating

The Fold 5 comes with Android 15 out of the box. Last year, the Fold 3 Pro was the first device to get the OS worldwide. That said, it ushers in new Atomic Workbench. It’s a system-level workspace that allows you to run up to five apps simultaneously in floating windows that can be resized and layered. 

Another intriguing addition is the Apple ecosystem bridge. The X Fold 5 can mirror iOS notifications, calls, and messages, and connect to an Apple Watch for calls, messages, and health data syncing.

The specifics are still unclear and likely require the iPhone to act as a relay. But this is the first time any Android phone has attempted to bridge that wide a gap. OnePlus and its subbrands have tried with the Share to iPhone feature, but it’s not even close to this level.

IP9X water resistance on the device goes beyond regular IPX8 ratings to offer even better pressure handling. What you’re used to is IP68 rating, whereas an IPX8 rating would mean that you’ll get up to 1.5 meters of submersion for 30 minutes.

The X means the device wasn’t tested or rated for dust protection, which is a common situation with foldables, given that hinges are hard to seal completely. IP9X means that the X Fold 5 can handle water being sprayed at it forcefully at close range and still survive. It’s the highest level of water jet protection defined in the IEC 60529 standard.

Pricing and availability 

The Vivo X Fold 5 is now officially available for purchase in China. Pre-orders are live through the official store, with full sales starting at 10 AM on July 2. That’s only a few days from now. 

The foldable is offered in multiple configurations, including 12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB, 16GB + 512GB, and a high-end 16GB + 1TB model. Pricing starts at ¥7,999, which roughly converts to around $1,115 USD, depending on exchange rates. Vivo is yet to confirm when the X Fold 5 will see an international launch and how differently designed it would be from the Chinese model.