Vivo X Flip Review: What Can Surprise This Flip Phone?
Vivo X Flip is Vivo’s foray into the world of clamshell foldable smartphones. This device takes inspiration from the nostalgic flip phones of the late 90s and early 2000s, bringing back the familiar form factor with a modern twist. While Vivo may be a bit late to the game compared to Samsung, Oppo, and Huawei, the X Flip offers an appealing combination of affordability and impressive hardware.
Vivo X Flip: Video Review
| Specs | Vivo X Flip |
| Display | 6.74 inches, 1080 x 2520 pixels, Foldable LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+ |
| Cover display | AMOLED, 3 inches, 422 x 682 pixels, 14.5:9 ratio |
| CPU | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm) |
| GPU | Adreno 730 |
| RAM | 12GB |
| ROM | 256GB, 512GB |
| Card slot | No |
| OS | Android 13, OriginOS 3 |
| Main Camera | 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide), Laser AF, OIS; 12 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 106˚ (ultrawide) |
| Selfie Camera | 32 MP, f/2.5, (wide) |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| Battery | Li-Po 4400 mAh |
| Charging | 44W wired |
| Dimensions | Unfolded: 166.4 x 75.3 x 7.8 mm |
| Folded: 86.4 x 75.3 x 16.6 mm | |
| Weight | 198 g (6.98 oz) |
| Colors | Rhombic Purple, Silk Gold, Diamond Black |
Unboxing
The Vivo X Flip comes packaged in an oversized silverish box, creating a sense of anticipation as you open it. Upon unboxing, you’ll find the smartphone itself, along with several accompanying accessories to enhance your user experience.
To protect the smartphone, Vivo includes a two-piece snap-on protective cover within the box. This cover is designed to safeguard the device from scratches, scuffs, and minor impacts, ensuring its longevity and preserving its pristine condition. The snap-on feature allows for easy installation and removal, providing convenience without compromising on protection.
In addition to the protective cover, the box also contains a 44W adapter and a USB cable. The 44W adapter enables fast charging capabilities, allowing you to quickly replenish the device’s battery life. The accompanying USB cable ensures seamless connectivity for data transfer and charging purposes.
Design
The Vivo X Flip showcases a stylish design with attention to detail and premium build quality. The frame of the device is made of aluminum, treated with a semi-glossy finish, adding a touch of sophistication to its overall look.
One notable feature of the X Flip is its large 3.0-inch horizontal cover display. The bezels extend to the entire back of the device horizontally, seamlessly integrating the cover display into the design.
Located in the upper left corner of the cover display is a circular camera bump adorned with a Zeiss logo.
When closed, the Vivo X Flip achieves a completely flat profile, with no visible gaps. This attention to detail ensures a seamless and uniform design, further enhancing the device’s aesthetics. When unfolded, the X Flip resembles a regular smartphone, allowing users to enjoy a familiar user experience.
The crease, often a concern with foldable devices, is barely noticeable both visually and tactilely. Thanks to the 5.3mm waterdrop hinge structure, the crease is subtle for the fingertips and doesn’t hinder the user experience.
The X Flip can stand steadily on its own within a range of approximately 60 to 120-degree angle. This feature enables convenient hands-free usage, whether for video calls, media consumption, or other tasks. The well-designed hinge mechanism ensures the phone maintains its desired position without accidentally closing or opening.
On the right side of the handset, in the top half, you’ll find the power button and volume controls. The power button also doubles as a capacitive fingerprint sensor, offering quick and reliable biometric security.
The bottom of the device features a USB-C port, the primary microphone, and the loudspeaker. The SIM card slot, which accommodates two nano-sized cards, can be found on the bottom as well, while the X Flip does not have a dedicated microSD card slot. It’s worth noting that the X Flip does not have an official IP rating for water and dust resistance.
The Vivo X Flip comes in three attractive color options: Rhombic Purple, Silk Gold, and Diamond Black.
Displays
The Vivo X Flip boasts impressive displays that enhance the overall user experience. The internal display is a 6.74-inch screen with a resolution of 2520 x 1080 pixels. It features a 21:9 aspect ratio, providing a wider and more immersive viewing experience. The LTPO technology ensures a smooth and fluid display performance with a 120 Hz refresh rate, contributing to seamless scrolling and improved responsiveness. While the official peak brightness figure is not provided, the main screen remains bright enough even under harsh sunlight, ensuring good visibility in various lighting conditions.
The cover screen of the Vivo X Flip measures 3.0 inches and offers a pixel density of 267ppi. With a resolution of 422×682 pixels on a 3-inch diagonal, it provides a compact yet functional secondary display. The cover screen also utilizes OLED technology, ensuring vibrant colors and deep blacks. However, it has a 60Hz refresh rate, which is lower compared to the main display.
The cover screen of the X Flip offers a range of possibilities, providing quick access to various functions and features. Users can swiftly access quick settings, check notifications, make and receive calls, take pictures and videos, record audio, check the weather, and set a timer. Additionally, certain Chinese apps allow full keyboard input on the cover screen, enabling convenient usage of applications like WeChat. It even provides functionality beyond smartphone usage, allowing users to use a navigation app, watch videos, or control their car’s lock/unlock feature.
It’s important to note that the cover screen’s capabilities are currently limited to Chinese apps. Vivo has not provided the freedom to run any app on the display screen. However, this limitation may not be a significant issue, considering that the X Flip is primarily targeted for the Chinese market. Future international versions of the phone may have different app compatibility and functionality.
Performance
The Vivo X Flip is equipped with the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, which ensures smooth performance and efficient multitasking capabilities. Although it may not be the latest high-end Qualcomm chip, it is more than capable of handling demanding tasks with ease. The device comes with 12GB of RAM, providing ample memory for seamless multitasking and smooth app switching. Users can choose between two storage options: 256GB or 512GB, offering plenty of space for storing apps, media, and files.
Operating on the Vivo X Flip is Origin OS 3, which is based on Android 13. This custom user interface enhances the overall user experience, providing a clean and intuitive interface with additional features and optimizations specific to Vivo devices.
Benchmark tests such as GeekBench and Antutu reveal the performance capabilities of the Vivo X Flip. In GeekBench, the X Flip showcased performance on par with comparable devices in both single-core and multi-core tests. It delivered competitive numbers alongside devices like the Moto and Galaxy, while surpassing the Moto in the multi-core test. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset in the X Flip outperformed the Dimensity 9000+ chip found in the Find N2.
In Antutu, the Vivo X Flip scored an impressive 1060911, outperforming the Moto and Galaxy, which scored 975461 and 800001, respectively. These benchmark scores demonstrate the device’s capability to handle demanding tasks and graphics-intensive applications.
In graphics benchmarks, the X Flip performed comparably to other flip phones like the Moto and Razr in onscreen tests. However, the Vivo X Flip exhibited a tendency to dominate in offscreen runs, showcasing its graphics processing capabilities.
Under sustained load on the processor, the Vivo X Flip demonstrated decent stability. In the CPU Throttling test, it scored a 71% rating, indicating a gradual reduction in performance. Similarly, in the 3DMark Wild Life Stress test, it achieved a 64% stability result. While these numbers may not appear outstanding, comparing them to the CPU Throttling scores of other devices like the Galaxy Z Flip4 (41%) and the Razr (50%) provides a more favorable perspective.
Benchmark tests highlight the X Flip’s competitive performance, outscoring comparable devices in both CPU and graphics benchmarks. The device exhibits decent stability under sustained load, showcasing its ability to handle demanding tasks. Overall, the Vivo X Flip offers a compelling package for users seeking a powerful and capable foldable smartphone.
Vivo X Flip: Camera
The Vivo X Flip boasts an impressive camera setup that enables users to capture stunning photos and videos. The main camera is a 50MP sensor (IMX 866V) with a large 1/1.149″ size, featuring an f/1.75 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS). This camera excels at capturing detailed images with excellent dynamic range. The colors rendered by the main camera tend to have a warmer tone, but they remain natural-looking. Green tones, especially lighter greens, may appear more vibrant than in reality. Additionally, the Zeiss mode enhances images with softer green tones, providing a different aesthetic.
The X Flip also features a 12MP ultrawide camera with an f/2.2 aperture and autofocus capabilities. This camera allows users to capture wide-angle shots with good detail and color reproduction. The autofocus feature ensures that subjects at different distances remain sharp and in focus.
For selfies, the Vivo X Flip is equipped with a 32MP front-facing camera. This camera captures detailed and vibrant self-portraits, allowing users to capture their best moments with ease.
Low-light photography is another area where the X Flip excels. The device employs aggressive shadow brightening while maintaining good white balance and color saturation. This results in well-exposed images with retained details, even in challenging lighting conditions. Vivo’s night mode, known for its impressive performance, is applied by default in low-light situations, further enhancing image quality.
One advantage of a flip phone design is the ability to prop it up as a makeshift tripod or allow the subject to see the framing as photos are taken. The X Flip’s preview mode shows a cropped view of the framing, and Vivo has implemented a dual-preview feature. By splitting the cover screen into two sections, the subject can view both the cropped picture and the entire framing, providing a more comprehensive preview experience.
Selfies can be taken using the rear cameras by launching the camera directly from the cover screen or switching to Rear HD Selfie mode from the internal camera mode. Users can access camera settings such as the timer, aspect ratio, and shutter release mode. Filters and beauty modes can also be applied via the cover display for portrait shots and videos.
While the internal camera is available for selfies, the superior quality of the rear cameras may lead users to predominantly use them for self-portraits. The internal camera can still be utilized for video calls and other similar purposes.
In terms of video recording capabilities, the Vivo X Flip supports up to 4K resolution at 60fps with the main camera and up to 4K resolution at 30fps with the ultrawide camera. Both cameras are equipped with stabilization, ensuring smooth and steady footage.
Vivo X Flip: Battery
The Vivo X Flip impresses with its substantial battery capacity, making it a standout among flip phones. With a total capacity of 4,400mAh, divided into two cells of 3,173mAh and 1,227mAh, located in each half of the handset, it offers the largest battery capacity available for a flip phone.
In terms of battery performance, the Vivo X Flip achieves a best-in-class Endurance rating of 110 hours, indicating its ability to provide prolonged usage without requiring frequent recharging.
Charging the X Flip is efficient and convenient, thanks to its support for 44W wired charging.
While the battery capacity and charging speed of the X Flip are noteworthy, it is worth mentioning that the device does not offer wireless charging functionality. However, the absence of wireless charging should not significantly impact the overall user experience, considering the device’s impressive battery capacity and fast wired charging.
Vivo X Flip: Conclusion
The Vivo X Flip showcases a well-rounded package for those seeking a modern flip phone experience.
The device’s design is sleek and premium, with an aluminum frame featuring a semi-glossy finish. The X Flip’s standout feature is its ability to close completely flat, leaving no gap when folded.
The X Flip’s display setup is noteworthy. The internal screen boasts a large 6.74-inch display with a 2520 x 1080 resolution and a 21:9 aspect ratio. Its LTPO technology allows for a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, providing a visually pleasing experience. The cover screen offers useful functionality such as quick settings, notifications, and even limited app support.
Performance-wise, the Vivo X Flip is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, it still delivers plenty of power for seamless multitasking and smooth performance. Benchmark tests demonstrate its competitiveness, showcasing its capability to handle various tasks with ease.
The camera capabilities of the X Flip are impressive. The device excels in low-light photography, thanks to Vivo’s aggressive shadow brightening and the inclusion of a dedicated night mode. Additionally, the X Flip offers unique features like the dual-preview mode, which allows subjects to see the framing while taking photos.
Battery life is another strong suit of the Vivo X Flip, thanks to its 4,400mAh capacity. The device also supports fast wired charging with its 44W adapter, ensuring minimal downtime when recharging.
While the Vivo X Flip impresses in many areas, it does have a few drawbacks. The absence of wireless charging and an official IP rating may be disappointing for some users, considering these features have become standard in many flagship smartphones.
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