vivo X Fold5 has the biggest battery (6,000mAh) and best protection (IP69+) of any foldable

The vivo X Fold5 has arrived – it’s thinner, more powerful and more durable than its predecessor. It was unveiled in China earlier today and hopefully it will follow in the footsteps of the X Fold3 Pro and get a wider release soon.

vivo X Fold5

The new model keeps both displays the same size – 6.53” cover display and 8.03” inner display. The inside one is now a Zeiss Master Color Screen and has second generation of Armor Glass.

The vivo X Fold5 is slimmer – it measures 9.2mm folded and 4.3mm unfolded for the Titanium version, which is a bit lighter at 217g too. The White and Green Pine versions are a bit thicker and heavier at 9.7mm folded/4.55mm unfolded and 226g. For comparison, the vivo X Fold3 (which was thinner and lighter than the X Fold3 Pro) measured 10.2mm/4.7mm and weighed 219g. The hinge is made of high-strength steel and carbon fiber to be as durable and as light as possible.

The X Fold5 becomes the first foldable to earn the highest water resistance ratings – IPX8 (submersion) and IPX9+ (water jets). It’s rated IP5X for dust ingress and can operate in very cold environments, down to -20°C.

The vivo X Fold5 is rated IP68/IP69+ and can work down to -20°C

The impressive feats of engineering don’t stop here. This is also the foldable with the biggest battery yet – 6,000mAh (split into two Si/C cells with capacities of 3,275mAh and 2,725mAh).

The vivo X Fold5 has the biggest battery in a foldable yet at 6,000mAh

Okay, it’s not the thinnest horizontal foldable, but the practical considerations may win over in the end. For example, vivo engineers managed to find room for 40W fast wireless charging, in addition to 80W wired charging, which can come in handy.

Going back to the displays, the inner panel is an LTPO OLED with 120Hz refresh rate, 2,480 x 2,200px resolution (10.1:9 aspect ratio) and 10-bit colors. Peak local brightness is 4,500 nits.

The cameras boast a 50MP main with a 1/1.56” Sony IMX921 sensor and a Zeiss T* coated f/1.57 lens with OIS. The “Zeiss Super Telephoto” module is a 3x periscope lens (f/2.55) with OIS and a 50MP 1/1.95” Sony IMX882 sensor. The ultra-wide is a third 50MP sensor (1/2.75”) and has a 15mm f/2.05 lens, also with Zeiss T* coating.

Triple 50MP Zeiss cameras on the back of the vivo X Fold5

The X Fold5 has 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 7 (be), Bluetooth 5.4 (aptX HD and Lossless, LDAC, LHDC), NFC and off-grid text and voice over Bluetooth at up to 1km distance. The USB-C port supports USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) and DisplayPort for video output.

The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 – yes, a chip that is about to be two generations old in a few months. It is paired with 12GB/16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB/512GB/1TB of UFS 4.1 storage.

The old chipset is a bit of a disappointment and the display and camera upgrades are not earth-shattering. But the battery upgrades and top-level IP rating, plus the more slender build certainly look great.

vivo X Fold5 in colorways

And here’s the best part – the vivo X Fold5 is not that expensive... for a foldable. The 12GB/256GB variant starts at CNY 7,000. For comparison, an Oppo Find N5 (12GB/256GB) is CNY 9,000. The pricing for all storage options is in the table below, plus conversions to dollars.

The vivo X Fold5 is currently on pre-order at the official online store in China and sales start next week on July 2.