Vivo has been on the folding smartphone bandwagon for a while now, with the new X Fold 5 representing the latest of that product lineup. It’s no longer confined to China, either, with an international release for the handset scheduled for right about now.
‘International’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘South African’, so don’t get too excited yet. But folks who are okay with grey imports — an increasingly popular option for nabbing under-supported tech in SA — will find that their handsets will be easier to purchase — and understand, since they won’t default to China’s tech rules.
That’s my X Fold 5
The Vivo X Fold 5 would be worth checking out, whether you’re planning a folding smartphone purchase or not. The exterior display is a 6.53in AMOLED with impressive stats. A 120Hz refresh rate, 5,500 nits of peak brightness, and HDR10+/Dolby Vision support are options we’d be glad to see in any smartphone. The 8.03in foldable screen does almost as well, dropping peak brightness to 4,500 nits but keeping the rest.
Internally, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 handles workload, supported by 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage. A beefier model exists, offering 16GB of RAM and 512GB/1TB storage options. But it’s the cameras that Vivo wants you to be wowed by.
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Zeiss lenses and Sony sensors make up the X Fold 5’s camera array, though if you’re looking for a bonkers megapixel count, look elsewhere. Vivo fields a main 50MP “Ultra-Sensing VCS Bionic”, with a Sony IMX921 sensor behind the glass. The remaining two 50MP sensors, one a Zeiss telephoto lens backed by a Sony IMX882 image sensor, should provide excellent support. The Zeiss lens provides 3x optical zoom and 100x HyperZoom (a nice number but less functional than Vivo would have you believe), while the remaining camera is a 120° ultrawide that doesn’t have quite the same pedigree as its siblings.
A 6,000mAh battery, 80W wired charging, and AI features round out the X Fold 5’s feature set. All that remains is the price. Local pricing isn’t known (and may never exist), but the €850 overseas price works out to about R18,000. Don’t expect to pay that, no matter where you buy from. Shipping and import taxes will knock your wallet around and stuff it in a locker if you don’t fork over at least a few grand more.
