vivo X Fold2 review

Introduction and specs

Nowadays, if you want to be taken seriously, you need to have a foldable smartphone in your portfolio, whether a flip-style or standard foldable phone. And vivo has both. The subject of this review, however, is the vivo X Fold2. It delivers a handful of upgrades over its predecessor while also standing out from the crowd with unique solutions. It's quite disappointing that we won't be seeing the vivo X Fold2 outside of China, though.

The first thing to notice is that the X Fold2 has not one, but two fingerprint readers, both under-display and both ultrasonic. This is the only foldable smartphone with two fingerprint treaders that we know of. But more on that later.

Secondly, the X Fold2 offers the fastest wired charging solution in a foldable form factor - boasts an impressive 120W wired and 50W wireless charging. Battery capacity has also gone up compared to the original X Fold and is now 4,800 mAh, which puts it on par with some flagships based on the standard form factor.

vivo X Fold2 specs at a glance:

• Body: 161.3x143.4x6.0mm, 279g; glass and vegan leather body, metal frame.
• Display: 8.03" Foldable LTPO4 AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1800 nits (peak), 1916x2160px resolution, 10.15:9 aspect ratio, 360ppi; Cover display:, AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1600 nits (peak), 6.53 inches, 1080 x 2520 pixels, 21:9 ratio.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.2 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 13, OriginOS 3.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.49", 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/2.0, 47mm, 1/2.93", 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, 2x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.0, 16mm, 108˚, 1/2.93", 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF.
• Front camera: Wide (main): 16 MP, f/2.5; Wide (internal): 16 MP, f/2.5;
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4800mAh; 120W wired, 100% in 26 min (advertised), 50W wireless, 100% in 40 min (advertised), 10W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.3, aptX HD; NFC.
• Misc: fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers.

The main display also gets a proper upgrade. Although the same in size as last year, 8.03", it's now LTPO4 Foldable OLED, supporting not only HDR10+ but Dolby Vision on top of the fast 120Hz refresh rate. The external display retains its size as well but doesn't skip on the high-end features such as 120Hz refresh rate and Dolby Vision support.

Of course, the X Fold2 runs on the latest flagship hardware available - Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, paired with at least 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. And depending on how you view it, the camera department gets a modest upgrade too. The new main sensor is now bigger, but the periscope 5x zoom camera is replaced by a standard 2x zoom camera. The good news is that the latter is now equipped with a bigger and better sensor with a wide f/2.0 aperture for improved low-light performance. The ultrawide gains autofocus but no longer uses a Quad-Bayer sensor. So as you can see, it's a mixed bag.

But to be fair, foldables have never been about cameras. Perhaps due to hardware limitations or price constraints, the standard flagships are still the better choice when it comes to cameras. Still, we see the X Fold2 as a competent rival to the big names in the industry and to our disappointment, only Chinese users will be able to get one.

Unboxing the vivo X Fold2

The handset comes in a big, luxurious-looking retail box and it's placed inside unfolded. The box contains a 120W-capable charging brick and a USB-C to USB-C cable for charging and data transfer.

Vivo has included a two-piece protective case, which mimics the exact design of the X Fold2, so you don't lose the aesthetics.