introduction
Is it leaflet season at the GSMArena or what? It sure looks like it’s raining phones that fold in half left and right. Here we have the X Flip, vivo’s first attempt at a flip phone. No stranger to foldable phones, the company is in the second generation of phone design becoming a tablet, but the X Flip is only now joining the likes of the Galaxy Z Flip and Motorola Razr to fight for the hearts of phone lovers smaller.
There’s a catch, though: the X Flip, just like the X Fold2 and the X Fold won’t be leaving China. So while we’re happy to have one in our hands for review to see where it stands alive compared to others in the field, the X Flip’s viability as a potential purchase from a Westerner’s perspective is questionable at best. But let’s go ahead we will, anyway.
The X Flip joins the clamshell crowd in what can almost be called its maturity and as such, it did a few things right the first time around – things that Samsung, for example, is only prepared to tackle for the Z Flip5. The cover display is the first of these, a nice 3-inch unit that’s not quite as big as the Razr 40 Ultra or even the Find N2 Flip, but still much better than Samsung’s current one. The internal display is also perfect right from the start: an almost crease-free 6.74-inch LTPO OLED with a well-adaptable refresh rate.
While hardly an industry-leading cameraphone — foldables don’t normally come close — vivo’s X Flip features a very promising dual setup that has the potential to be best on a clamshell overall. Let’s hope they didn’t screw up the cover screen implementation – we’ll see.
Last year’s best Snapdragon is in charge, such as on Razr 40 Ultra and Z Flip4, although the next-generation Galaxy will feature the next-generation Snapdragon, but the X Flip’s SD 8+ Gen 1 should be enough good, really. The 4,400mAh battery sounds better than just “good enough,” though the lack of wireless charging is certainly a flaw on an otherwise solid spec sheet. It also lacks any hint of dust and water resistance, leaving the Galaxies as the only foldables that can certifiably survive a dunk in a jar of water.
vivo X Flip specifications at a glance:
- Body: 166.4×75.3×7.8mm, 198g; aluminum frame.
- Screen: 6.74″ LTPO AMOLED foldable, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, resolution 1080x2520px, aspect ratio 21:9, 407ppi; Display cover:, AMOLED, 3 inch, 422 x 682 pixels, aspect ratio 14.5:9.
- chipsets: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.5 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 730.
- Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
- Operating system/software: Android 13, OriginOS 3.
- Rear camera: Broad (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 1/1.49″, 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 106˚, 1/2.93″, 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF.
- Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.5, (wide).
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Drums: 4400mAh; 44W wired.
- Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; WiFi 6; Bluetooth 5.3, aptX HD; NFC.
- Various: Fingerprint reader (side mounted).
Vivo X Flip unboxing
Our X Flip arrived in an oversized silver box that’s much sleeker than the one the Galaxies ship in, though it’s similar in elegance to the Find N2 Flip. Inside, you’ll find a two-piece snap-on protective cover with a particularly sticky gold periphery, a 44W adapter, and a USB-A-to-C cable.
Comparing with other offers in the field, we would call it a standard package. We would like to use the opportunity to once again single out the Galaxy for its cable-only retail package. The vivo (along with its somewhat related Oppo counterpart) might get some criticism for an overly bulky presentation, while the Razr 40 Ultra’s in-between approach of packing everything you need into a reasonably sized box seems the most sensible.
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