Quick summary
The Vivo X Fold 3 is expected to be a new rival to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5.
It will be available in two versions, both featuring a triple camera system on the back and priced competitively against Samsung's offering.
Samsung dominates the folding phone market and is generally regarded as offering the best folding phone options. That's both in terms of the larger Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 which opens like a book and the smaller Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, which has greater retro flip phone charm.
But, there could be a new challenger incoming that could rival Samsung in several areas. According to a certification listing – which generally happens just before a phone is launched to the public – this new phone (via 91mobiles) could undercut Samsung on price and provide a cheaper alternative.
The Vivo X Fold 3 is expected to come in two forms: the regular model will run on slightly older Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 hardware and offer 80W charging, while the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and feature 120W charging, according to rumours.
There looks to be a triple camera arrangement on the rear of both models of the phone, sharing the same 50-megapixel main and ultrawide camera, while the zoom on the Pro model gets s 64-megapixel sensor, so should be the more capable device when it comes to snapping longer range images.
The folding phone market is gathering pace, with interesting additions from the likes of the OnePlus Open appearing in 2023, alongside the Google Pixel Fold – both of which add some choices to the selection.
Rumours have previously suggested that Vivo and Oppo might be looking at pulling out of the market, but the details that have come from the 3C certification authority in China suggest otherwise.
Samsung is expected to launch its next-gen folding phones – the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 in late July 2024 – so there's still time for new entrants to appear to entice customers before we hit that date.
Certainly, Samsung's dominance of the market is expected to continue, with the company in its sixth generation of devices, where other brands are just getting started.
