A fold above the rest

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro has quickly become my favorite smartphone. It features the best camera setup on a foldable phone, the crease is minimal, and Vivo impressed me with smart software features for improved productivity. I expected the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to take the baton from the OnePlus Open for the best foldable phone, but the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro has topped the charts ahead of the Fold 6’s launch.

I prefer foldable devices for added functionality and the convenience of having a tablet-sized screen in your pocket. However, it often involves compromises, especially in design and cameras.

For example, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 offers the most polished software experience on a foldable device, while the OnePlus Open features the best multitasking software with Open Canvas. And Honor made the slimmest foldable phone with the Magic V2.

However, they all have their flaws – Samsung and Honor’s cameras aren’t up to par for a premium phone, while OnePlus offered the right balance between design, features and cameras, Vivo has now surpassed that with an even better camera system good. more ergonomic design and wireless charging.

It’s expensive, but the new Vivo foldable is my favorite phone for three reasons.

A great device for media consumption

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro doesn’t feel heavy in the hand, thanks to its 11.2mm thickness and 236g weight. While I find the Honor Magic V2 more ergonomic due to the slimmer form factor. Even the OnePlus Open is not far behind at 239 grams. But the Vivo Fold feels more natural to handle and unfold. However, the rear is prone to scratches and is the slipperiest of the lot. I recommend using a box over it.

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro features a 6.5-inch cover display and an 8-inch foldable display. Both are bright and sharp with support for HDR10+, Dolby Vision and a 120Hz refresh rate. I unfold my phone whenever I need to read an article or an ebook (I read a lot on my phone) and I didn’t feel the need for it to be brighter under any circumstances. It was a pleasant experience consuming content on this device.

By comparison, the OnePlus Open’s flip screen still feels better with its 20.1:9 ratio, but Vivo phones have always been taller than rivals, and you get used to it. My ongoing irritation with foldouts – the black bars on the cover screen for Instagram stories – remains. It will only be resolved once Instagram optimizes its app better for foldable devices. It has improved over time with the navigation bar on the left edge for the home screen, but it is still not fully optimized for foldable devices.

As for the crease, it’s the least noticeable on the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro among all the book-style folding and flip phones I’ve used, including Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus, Tecno and Honor. The reading and viewing experience is top notch. The hinge is strong and the phone stays put up to about 150 degrees unfolded. Overall, it’s a well-built phone for media consumption. The speakers are loud but sound shallow for my liking. I recommend watching videos with headphones on.

Smart Software Surprisingly Likeable

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, the same as the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Oppo Find X7 Pro and other 2024 flagship phones. Qualcomm has done a great job with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and it’s still not I have seen a bad phone with this processor. The Vivo phone comes equipped with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage.

Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is smooth and responsive in everyday tasks. My regular usage includes a lot of social media (Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp), browsing and reading (Chrome or Kindle), a bit of navigation and listening to songs (YouTube Music or Spotify). I had no problem switching between apps, multitasking and everyday use.

During my review process, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro regularly lasted me an entire day. It packs a 5,700mAh battery that supports 100W fast charging and 50W wireless fast charging. The phone can go from 15% to 90% within 35 minutes with wired charging, the latter requiring the Flash 2 vertical charger. Vivo’s.

What I expect from Vivo is great hardware and cameras, but the most surprising part of using the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro was being impressed by FunTouch OS 14, based on Android 14. Two features that stood out to me are the Fold-to-Calendar of partition and AOD table.

Using the Fold-to-Split feature when unfolded, a quick bend and unfold (going from a flat 180-degree to 160-degree and back to 180-degree in one second) causes a screen split. As a writer (and chronic internet person), I research things and keep adding to Google Keep side-by-side, or sometimes I have Twitter and Chrome open on the same screen, and I’ve found this to be better than gestures in any smartphones. It’s more natural and faster than some slides.

As for the Desk Calendar AOD, you can think of it as a variant of the iPhone standby, minus the charging bit. You can put the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro in tent mode with an always-on display and it will tell you the time – useful as a night clock.

Apart from these obvious features, FunTouch OS on X Fold 3 Pro offers a lot of AI intelligence like Annotation Assist, Translation, Transcript Assist and more. If I could change one thing about the software, I’d like FunTouch OS to feel faster.

The best cameras in a foldable device

I loved the camera system on the OnePlus Open and it’s the best the company has made. However, after switching to the Vivo X100 Pro in December 2023, I couldn’t go back to Open. The X100 Pro has remained my travel companion ever since, and the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro comes close to it despite its hardware limitations.

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro features a triple rear camera setup backed by ZEISS optics. It consists of a 50MP main camera, a 64MP telephoto lens that supports 3x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom, up to 100x digital zoom and macro shooting, along with a 50MP ultra-wide-angle sensor. This makes it the best camera system you can get on a foldable phone right now and it comes close to the Vivo X100 Pro.

Vivo X Fold 3 Pro captures amazing photos with nice colors, which is expected from a premium phone. However, I would like to discuss the telephoto camera. It offers multiple focal lengths, hybrid zoom and up to 100x digital zoom.

I love the camera setup on the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro and appreciate the Styles in Portrait mode. For example, I took the above photos in a museum with the camera using the Vintage style in Portrait mode, which adds more of a feel to the photo.

You have to experiment with the camera to find the right styles for different scenarios, given that these can’t be changed by editing in the Gallery app.

While there are times when there is a bit of a halo effect around the edges of the subject, most photos look stunning. The 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera also keeps colors and tones in line with the main camera.

You also get a 32MP front-facing camera on both the lid screen and the foldable inner screen, primarily meant for video calling. To take selfies on any foldable phone, I recommend unfolding the device and using the primary camera system.

Vivo X Fold 3 Pro review: Verdict

I’m looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which is scheduled to launch next week. If you want the most polished experience on a foldable phone, Samsung continues to shine with OneUI in the Galaxy Z Fold series. However, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro offers an excellent balance of hardware, camera and software.

Vivo X Fold 3 Pro features great displays, powerful performance, exceptional cameras, productive software features and good battery life. I expect it will be hard for Samsung to beat the near-perfect Vivo foldable.

For frequent travelers, it’s worth noting that the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro lacks eSIM support. I often add temporary eSIM to my phone when traveling abroad. If that’s not a concern for you, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is the best foldable phone you can buy right now — despite its hefty price tag of INR 1,60,000 ($1,910).