This new foldable finally lets Apple fans try Android without ditching their gear

Phone Arena

5 hours ago

Vivo's new book-style foldable just dropped in China and it's looking seriously impressive – lightweight build, huge battery, Zeiss cameras, and a whole bunch of premium extras packed in. The X Fold 5 is official
Vivo has officially launched the X Fold 5, the successor to last year's X Fold 3 – which held the crown for the lightest book-style foldable at 219g. This time around, Vivo shaved off a couple grams, with the X Fold 5 coming in at just 217g.
It is also thinner than before and as you probably guessed, yes, 'thin' is the new flex in the foldable world. Still, it doesn't quite take the top spot. The Titanium version folds down to 9.2mm, while the Clear and Green Pine colorways are a bit chunkier at 9.7mm. That still leaves the Oppo Find N5 as the slimmest foldable at 8.9mm.
The new foldable comes in three colors. | Image credit – vivo And since I already mentioned the colors, the X Fold 5 comes in:
vivo X Fold 5 is promised to be tougher than the previous gen. | Image credit – vivo Durability also gets a big upgrade. Vivo says the phone is waterproof, dustproof and even freezeproof, with ratings of IP5X for dust, IPX8 for water and IPX9 for high-pressure and hot water resistance. The outer screen glass also has improved puncture resistance, which is definitely a welcomed upgrade over the previous generation. Vivo X Fold 3 Pro review: do not underestimate the challenger
And speaking of screens, you get an 8.03-inch inner display and a 6.53-inch outer screen, both running at up to 120 Hz refresh rate and hitting up to 4,500 nits of brightness. The hinge uses steel and carbon fiber, weighs just 14.24g, and folds down to just 16.6mm wide.
The hinge is made of steel and carbon fiber. | Image credit – vivo
However, despite the lightweight design, vivo managed to squeeze a 6,000mAh battery into the X Fold 5 – making it the first foldable to hit that number. That puts it right up there with standard flagships like the OnePlus 13. And even more surprising? It's a regular lithium-ion battery, not silicon carbon, as expected.
When it's time to charge, you get 80W wired and 40W wireless, so you won't be stuck waiting forever to juice up.
There is a 6,000mAh battery inside. | Image credit – vivo Now, back to the vivo X Fold 5. It packs Zeiss-branded cameras: 50 MP main camera
50 MP telephoto
50 MP ultra-wide
20 MP front camera
The main and telephoto cameras come with OIS (optical image stabilization), while both front and rear support video stabilization. The telephoto lens gives you 3x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom and digital zoom is available front and back, in case you really need to push it.
You get three cameras on the back. | Image credit – vivo
The vivo X Fold 5 runs OriginOS 5 on top of Android 15 right out of the box – but what really stands out this time, at least in my opinion, is a software feature we don't usually see on an Android phone.
vivo claims it the X Fold 5 works smoothly with Apple devices. | Image credit – vivo Yep, according to vivo, the X Fold 5 can connect to iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods and even MacBooks. And not just for show – it's actually supposed to do things like: Pair with an Apple Watch to take calls, read messages, check notifications, and sync health data.
Connect AirPods smoothly.
Access Mac files via a native file manager.
Drag and drop between Mac and phone using split-screen mode.
Control your Mac remotely and even project the Mac UI to your TV.
Plus, iPhone messages, calls, and notifications can flow straight to the X Fold 5.
If it works as advertised, this could be huge. I mean, finally, Apple ecosystem users might be able to use a foldable phone without ditching all their other devices.
The X Fold 5 also leans hard into multitasking. It supports up to five apps running at once, lets you track content in real-time, switch between windows on the fly, and drag files between apps like a mini desktop.
One thing that might disappoint: it's powered by last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Not a dealbreaker – it's still a great chip – but for a flashy new foldable, we were hoping to see the Elite.
There are plenty of AI-powered features, too, but let's be real – we'll have to wait and see which ones make it out of China before we get too hyped. So far, vivo hasn't shared global rollout details. Well, yes, the global rollout is sure to happen lately. But, as of now, the X Fold 5 is China-only, and there is no word yet on when it'll launch elsewhere. However, regardless of when, don't hope for it to reach the US, so if you want it, you will need to import. In China, it starts at ¥6,999 (around $975 when directly converted) for the 12GB + 256GB model and goes up to ¥9,499 (about $1,324 when directly converted) for the 16GB + 1TB config. Outside of China, expect those prices to go up – if or when the phone even launches globally.
And this is exactly why Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, coming July 9, still has the edge – availability. Even if vivo has the upper hand in some areas (like battery and charging, for example), Samsung's foldables are easier to buy, support more markets and are way more familiar to most users. And, of course, vivo's features look awesome on paper – but we'll hold off final judgment until we see the global version in action. One thing's for sure: my colleague, who already swears the X Fold 3 is the best foldable out there, will definitely have thoughts. So yeah – stay tuned for that. Secure your connection now at a bargain price!
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