Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Foldable telephones are beginning to get commonplace, however a number of elements have saved them from going mainstream. And no, I’m not simply speaking about their sky-high worth factors. Whether or not it’s their relative thickness, battery life, or digital camera high quality, foldable telephones have typically been a compromised expertise in comparison with their mainstream counterparts. As a lot as I like my OnePlus Open, it’s designed for a particular, productivity-minded viewers. Nonetheless, if foldables are to be the way forward for smartphones, they should ship on all fronts. And up to now, nearly no foldable has delivered on that.
That is the place the vivo X Fold 3 Professional is available in. Whereas it doesn’t stray from the norm when it comes to worth, it would simply be the primary foldable smartphone to supply a very no-compromises expertise. Its declare to fame lies in a number of world-first options that, at the least on paper, don’t simply carry function and expertise parity with typical flagships however exceed them in significant methods.
After utilizing the X Fold 3 Professional for the previous few weeks, I’m satisfied that vivo has crafted the primary foldable that’s ok to tackle any premium smartphone — and never simply on the deserves of its bigger display screen property. However greater than that, it units the bar extremely excessive for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 to match.
Slim with out compromises
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Foldable telephones have intrigued me because the first Samsung Galaxy Z Fold launched in 2019. Nonetheless, Samsung’s tall and skinny entrance show has all the time been too slender for comfy on a regular basis use, and if rumors are to be believed, the newest iteration gained’t make many modifications on that entrance. Final 12 months’s OnePlus Open modified the sport with a wider 6.31-inch entrance show, lastly getting me to decide to the shape issue.
The vivo X Fold 3 Professional takes it a step additional. Its 6.51-inch display screen with a 21:9 side ratio, just like typical smartphones, affords simply the correct quantity of additional room to sort lengthy messages or emails comfortably. This refined change additionally creates a extra usable entrance show with room for an additional row of icons or a much bigger digital camera viewfinder. Personally, I nonetheless choose the marginally wider stance of the OnePlus Open, but it surely’s actually all the way down to particular person desire, and each telephones are considerably higher than what Samsung affords.
The bigger entrance panel additionally interprets to a bigger internal show. The 8.03-inch display screen is noticeably larger than what Samsung and OnePlus supply. Enhanced productiveness is a giant promoting level for foldables; a bigger show definitely performs into that narrative. Nonetheless, measurement isn’t the whole lot.
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On the OnePlus Open, the matte display screen guard inspired me to learn extra on the big display screen, however a matte show isn’t perfect for watching media or reviewing photographs. The vivo X Fold 3 Professional takes a special strategy. As a substitute of a matte display screen guard, its giant, vibrant show boasts a claimed 4500 nits of brightness to fight daylight glare. It’s vivid and vivid sufficient to make you wish to unfold the display screen and pop open Netflix or YouTube. The gorgeous show additionally makes the perfect try I’ve come throughout but to cover the telltale foldable crease, doing so nicely sufficient to be nearly invisible. I’ve flown a number of flights to Europe over the previous few weeks, and the X Fold 3 Professional has persistently changed my iPad as my multimedia supply.
On that observe, a big a part of why I carry the X Fold 3 Professional in every single place with me is its light-weight design and dimensions. Weighing in at 236g, the foldable doesn’t really feel all that completely different out of your normal sweet bar flagships, and that makes all of the distinction.
The ultra-slim design, mild 236g weight makes the X Fold 3 Professional really feel like another mainstream flagship.
vivo claims that the thickness has additionally been diminished to about 11.2mm, which doesn’t account for the digital camera module. Whereas the telephone nonetheless leaves a bulge in my pocket, it’s much less outstanding than earlier than — a step in the appropriate path. vivo achieved this weight discount with a brand new carbon fiber hinge mechanism rated to outlive 500,000 fold and unfold cycles for twelve years. Realistically, there’s no approach to take a look at that declare, however the hinge feels rather more strong than the already wonderful one on the OnePlus Open. In case you like the thought of turning your smartphone right into a mini laptop computer, the vivo X Fold 3 Professional’s hinge meeting is well-suited to holding numerous angles as a substitute of simply unfolding flat. Furthermore, vivo has considered that use case with particular software program optimizations that I’ll focus on later.
Again to the design — more often than not, my foldable telephone stays, nicely, folded, and I believe that is true for the overwhelming majority of foldable telephone house owners. As such, usability, when folded, is a vital criterion. vivo’s efforts towards making a foldable telephone that appears like an everyday smartphone are commendable. Just like the earlier era X Fold 2, the X Fold 3 has under-display fingerprint readers each on the entrance and internal show, making accessing the telephone a breeze.
Flagship internals
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Powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and 16GB of RAM, I had no main considerations about efficiency, nor was I anticipating any. Heck, even the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered OnePlus Open is greater than sufficient for my use circumstances. What issues extra, particularly on a foldable, is the software program—each when it comes to polish and large-screen optimizations.
It is not as feature-packed as Samsung’s flagships, however the X Fold 3 Professional brings a number of foldable-focussed enhancements.
Working Funtouch OS 14, based mostly on Android 14, the vivo X Fold 3 Professional affords a elegant expertise — for probably the most half. It’s exhausting to miss the abundance of pre-installed apps. Whereas a number of will be eliminated, not all can. There’s ample customization on supply, similar to another vivo telephone, however I used to be extra considering foldable-specific optimizations, and there are a number of attention-grabbing decisions right here.
The one which stood out to me was a built-in split-screen mode that turns the telephone right into a laptop-like expertise. Flex Mode, activated when the telephone is folded someplace between 75 and 115 levels, is especially spectacular. It splits the energetic show in half and provides a touchpad alongside the underside edge. Moreover, you’ll discover shortcuts for fundamentals like taking screenshots or adjusting display screen brightness and quantity. I’d have brushed it apart as a gimmick, however I discovered it fairly handy from time to time to prop up the telephone and use Flex Mode to look at YouTube.
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Elsewhere, the fold-to-split performance is completely a gimmick. The gesture depends on a snap of the telephone to separate energetic apps in half. Consider it like a shortcut for the built-in split-screen gesture. Nice in principle however finicky in execution; I simply can’t see anybody persistently snapping their expensive telephone in half for ever-so-slightly quicker multitasking. It doesn’t assist that the function isn’t constant sufficient in execution.
Lastly, should you’ve ever wished an especially costly flip clock, the X Fold 3 has you lined. Putting the telephone in tent mode can activate a big wide-screen always-on show. It’s curiously just like Apple’s Standby Mode on the iPhone. Nonetheless, it doesn’t require your telephone to be positioned on cost to activate. Small wins. I ended up utilizing the function pretty recurrently, although I’d be cautious of unintentionally knocking the telephone to the ground whereas brushing your hand throughout the desk.
Past that, vivo claims the standard Google Gemini-powered suspects, similar to translation instruments, transcription, and higher note-taking. The general package deal isn’t fairly as complete as Samsung’s, nor does it carry an equal of the superb Canvas multitasking system on OnePlus telephones, but it surely has sufficient to fulfill most customers.
Greatest digital camera on a foldable up to now?
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Whereas digital camera programs on foldable telephones have been enhancing, they nonetheless lag behind conventional sweet bar telephones as a consequence of fundamentals like measurement constraints. The vivo X Fold 3 Professional is the primary foldable I’ve used that comes near belaying that. The sensor configuration consisting of a 50MP major digital camera, a 64MP telephoto lens with 3x zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide sensor is only one a part of the equation. A lot of the X Fold 3 Professional’s imaging prowess comes from software program. I’ve waxed poetic about how a lot I just like the vivo X100 Professional’s digital camera system. The X Fold 3 Professional doesn’t fairly match that, but it surely comes shut. Not simply that, it’s a big differentiator over the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which is predicted to hold ahead a really acquainted set of sensors. As for the X Fold 3 Professional, I’ll let the digital camera samples do the speaking.
Throughout its lenses, the vivo X Fold 3 Professional captures gorgeous pictures. On a current journey to Copenhagen, I made a decision to not carry alongside my digital camera, and the outcomes didn’t disappoint. Whereas I’m used to slinging my SLR or a extra camera-focused smartphone together with my OnePlus Open, I didn’t miss these in any respect. Certain, the outcomes aren’t fairly as spectacular as these from the vivo X100 Professional, however even in low mild, X Fold 3 Professional exhibits a number of restraint over noise. Some element is misplaced to noise discount when pixel peeping, however I’ve been reviewing the photographs on a big 4K monitor, and the photographs look fairly darn good. Extra so when you think about that these are from a foldable telephone. The telephone additionally carries ahead the complete suite of lens simulations and filters I’ve come to get pleasure from on the X 100 Professional.
Super longevity
I don’t understand how vivo managed it, however the X Fold 3 Professional ships with an infinite 5,700mAh battery. That might be spectacular on any telephone, however is doubly so on a telephone as slim and light-weight as this. In fact, it lends itself to unbelievable longevity, and a day and a half of use on a single cost is definitely doable — even with prolonged use of the internal show. It boggles my thoughts that Samsung continues to ship the Z Fold-series with a measly 4,400mAh battery, however right here we’re.
The huge 5,700mAh battery retains the X Fold 3 Professional going all day lengthy, and extra.
Elsewhere, the vivo continues to upstage Samsung and OnePlus with its charging specs. With help for 100W charging, quicker than the 67W supported by OnePlus and 4 instances as quick as Samsung’s 25W charging, the X Fold 3 Professional takes just a bit over thirty minutes for a full cost. Do you have to, like me, choose wi-fi charging, there’s help for that, too — all the best way as much as 50W.
vivo X Fold 3 Professional: My new favourite foldable, hamstrung by missing availability
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vivo took the kitchen sink strategy to the X Fold 3 Professional, and it exhibits. I may argue in regards to the lack of larger sensors from the vivo X100 Professional, however that telephone is sort of as thick because the X Fold 3 Professional with out having a complete hinge and folding display screen meeting. It is sensible that vivo needed to reduce. Regardless of that, the picture high quality right here is superb, and so is the efficiency. Whereas not as complete as Samsung’s, the software program package deal nonetheless has sufficient to please all however probably the most critical productiveness lovers. It’s no joke: the vivo X Fold 3 Professional is probably the most full foldable I’ve used up to now, and I’ve used many. Nor does it make me really feel that I’m lacking out on cameras, charging tech, or different options in comparison with the perfect mainstream flagships. Regardless of that, there are two areas the place the telephone falters — software program updates and availability.
Restricted availability and missing software program updates maintain again the vivo X Fold 3 professional.
With simply three promised updates and 4 years of safety patches, the X Fold 3 Professional simply can’t match up with the 5 years and past of help provided by Samsung. Elsewhere, availability is one other concern. The vivo X Fold 3 Professional is simply obtainable in India and Indonesia. That alone makes it a non-starter as a viable different to the most well-liked foldables in the marketplace for many. vivo isn’t making an attempt to be aggressive with pricing both. In India, the telephone is priced at Rs. 1,60,000 (~$1,900), which is par for the course for high-end foldables however sure to make you assume twice earlier than splurging.
Regardless of that, it’s secure to say that vivo’s telephone units expectations sky-high for what a 2024 foldable ought to pack at a minimal and fires warning pictures at Samsung’s glacial tempo of innovation.