Vivo X Fold 5 Review: A Slim Powerhouse That Takes Foldables Seriously

Foldable phones have always felt like tech showpieces—futuristic, flashy, but often compromised. Vivo, however, seems determined to change that perception. With the new Vivo X Fold 5, priced at ₹1,49,999 for the 16GB/512GB variant, the company is not just entering the premium segment—it’s aiming to dominate it. Launched alongside the Vivo X200 FE, this foldable directly competes with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, yet undercuts it on price while packing similar top-tier features.

What makes this device compelling is how refined and everyday-ready it feels. It’s not just about bending screens; it’s about delivering a complete smartphone experience—with a sleek design, excellent cameras, and a massive battery—without feeling bulky or fragile. I’ve spent some time with the X Fold 5, and here’s what I found.

A Foldable That’s Surprisingly Slim

The Vivo X Fold 5 is just 217 grams, and it’s well-balanced in hand. The matte frosted glass back resists fingerprints, and the black variant I reviewed looked sharp and minimal. When closed, the phone is 9.2mm thick; when open, it goes down to just 4.3mm, thinner than most slab phones.

The hinge here is where Vivo really shines. It’s rated for 6 lakh folds and uses a droplet design that minimizes the crease. When open, the device sits completely flat with no visible gap between screens. The hinge also supports flex mode, which is great for hands-free video calls.

On the durability front, it’s impressive. The phone boasts IP5X, IPX8, and even IPX9 ratings—higher than Samsung’s IP48. That means it can handle dust, submersion, and even high-pressure water jets.

However, there’s one thing I didn’t love—the side-mounted fingerprint sensor. It works well, but Vivo ditched the under-display fingerprint reader here, which felt like a step back for a phone this advanced.

Displays That Stun Indoors and Out

Both screens on the X Fold 5 are AMOLED and tuned beautifully. The outer display is a 6.53-inch panel with a tall 21:9 ratio. It’s wide enough for comfortable typing and daily use. The refresh rate goes up to 120Hz and brightness peaks at 4,500 nits, making it extremely readable even in direct sunlight.

Open it up, and you get a massive 8.03-inch display that feels like using a compact tablet. This too runs at 120Hz with LTPO tech, adjusting the refresh rate based on what you’re doing. The colours are vibrant, viewing angles are solid, and the anti-reflective coating helps reduce glare.

Yes, the crease is there, but you’ll barely notice it when watching content or reading. Vivo has done a solid job keeping it minimal.

Funtouch OS Gets Smarter, But Still Room to Grow

The X Fold 5 runs Funtouch OS 15 based on Android 15. It’s clean and easy to use, and importantly, well-optimized for the foldable form. Vivo includes a persistent taskbar on the big screen and supports split-screen multitasking with ease.

One standout feature is Origin Workbench. Swiping in from the bottom right lets you shrink the current app and access a sidebar with floating apps. It’s genuinely useful and not just a gimmick.

Still, it’s a little disappointing that the phone ships with Android 15 and not Android 16, especially since Samsung’s Fold 7 does. Vivo promises 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security patches, which is decent but not best-in-class.

Last Year’s Chip, But Not Last in Performance

Inside the Vivo X Fold 5 is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, paired with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. While most new flagships have moved to the 8 Gen 3 Elite or newer, this chip still handles everything thrown at it.

In my experience, apps launched quickly, gaming was smooth, and multitasking didn’t slow the phone down. The vapor chamber cooling system kept things under control even after long gaming sessions.

Yes, the 8 Gen 3 is technically a step behind, but unless you’re running heavy benchmarks all day, you won’t notice.

Cameras That Deliver More Than Just Numbers

Vivo’s partnership with Zeiss really pays off here. The triple rear setup includes a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 50MP 3x telephoto lens. The main camera uses Sony’s IMX921 sensor and shoots sharp, colour-accurate photos in both daylight and low-light.

The telephoto lens is particularly impressive. At 3x optical zoom, portraits come out crisp with great background separation. Even at 5x and 10x digital zoom, results are usable in good light.

The 50MP ultrawide is also solid. There’s minimal distortion, and colour consistency between lenses is excellent.

Selfies are handled by two 20MP sensors—one on the cover screen and another under the main display. The under-display one is softer and less reliable, so I suggest using the outer selfie camera or even the rear cameras with the cover screen preview.

Massive Battery, Surprisingly Fast Charging

Foldables often struggle with battery life, but the X Fold 5 packs a 6,000 mAh battery—the largest in any foldable yet. It easily lasted me a full day of heavy use, often ending the day with 30% still left.

It supports 80W wired charging, which gets you to 50% in about 30 minutes and full in an hour. There’s also 40W wireless and 10W reverse charging, adding flexibility.

In short, it’s the best battery performance I’ve experienced on a foldable.

Verdict: Refined, Reliable, and Ready for the Real World

The Vivo X Fold 5 stands out because it doesn’t feel experimental. It feels ready. The design is sleek and light, the displays are rich and bright, and the cameras are surprisingly capable. Add to that the stellar battery and smooth software, and you get a foldable that’s worth considering—if you can live without the absolute latest chip or Android version.

For ₹1,49,999, this phone still costs a lot. But compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, which asks for more with fewer features, the X Fold 5 feels like a smarter buy.