Vivo X Fold 5 beats Samsung to launch – but is it a Fold 7 killer?

Vivo's latest foldable could be the one to beat, as long as you're able to buy it

Vivo X Fold 5
(Image credit: Vivo)
Quick Summary

Vivo has revealed the X Fold 5 folding phone, which will go on sale in China on 2 July.

The device has a triple 50-megapixel rear camera setup, three colour options and a 9.2mm thickness when folded.

Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Z Fold 7 on 9 July during its upcoming Unpacked event that will take place in New York City. And it could be the Korean manufacturer's finest foldable hour, considering the full renders that have leaked in recent times.

However, another book-style folding phone has pipped Samsung to the post, and it could turn heads before the Fold 7 official rears its head.

Chinese manufacturer Vivo has announced the X Fold 5, which will go on sale on 2 July, a whole week before all the details of Samsung's folding flagship are formally revealed.

What specs does the Vivo X Fold 5 offer?

Based on the listing for the X Fold 5 on the Vivo China website, this folding phone runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, and is supported by a minimum of 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

It has a prominent circular camera system on the rear that is made up of a 50-megapixel f/1.57 main sensor, 50-megapixel f/2.05 wide-angle sensor, and 50-megapixel f/2.55 periscope sensor. The front camera on both the external screen and internal screen is a 20-megapixel sensor.

Speaking of screens, there is a 6.53-inch external AMOLED display with a resolution of 2748 x 1172 pixels, while the internal display is 8.03-inches and has a resolution of 2480 × 2200 pixels.

Other specifications include a 6,000mAh battery, a side fingerprint sensor, support for 80W fast charging, and support for 40W wireless charging. It will be available in three colour options in China – Titanium, Clear and Green Pine.

The Titanium model measures 159.68 x 142.29 x 4.3mm unfolded and 159.68 x 72.60 x 9.2mm folded and weighs 217g, while the other two models measure 159.68 x 142.29 x 4.55mm unfolded, 159.68 x 72.6 x 9.7mm folded and 226g.

We will have to wait and see what the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7's official specs are to see how the Vivo X Fold 5 fully compares, but even if Vivo's entrant wins on paper, it's possible you might not be able to buy it unless you live in China.

Still, it's always good to see what the competition is doing.

Britta O'Boyle

Britta is a freelance technology journalist who has been writing about tech for over a decade. She's covered all consumer tech from phones, tablets and wearables to smart home and beauty tech, with everything in between. She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and previously did a long stint as deputy editor of Pocket-lint, but you’ll now find her byline on several titles including GQ, the Express, the Mirror, TechRadar, Stuff and iMore. You'll never find her without her Apple Watch on, aiming to complete her rings so she can justify the extra bar of chocolate and she loves a good iPhone trick.

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