The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the heavyweight foldable phone to beat right now, and if it’s succeeded by the Z Fold 4, it’ll likely take the top spot on our list of best foldable phones – but Vivo is likely next Company trying and snaking into it.
The Vivo X Fold is due out on April 11th, and we know that because the company has been heavily teasing the phone – in fact, it has posted two videos of the upcoming foldable on the Chinese social media network Weibo, which you can find here and here can find.
The first video, which was the earliest published, shows the phone’s outer display and ends with the thing starting to open. Next to a volume rocker and power button, we can see what looks like an alert slider, so the phone might get one of those.
The second video is the most revealing and shows the phone from many angles – well, except for the one angle that would show if there’s definitely a volume rocker or not.
We can see very clearly that this is a book-style fold-out device, like Samsung’s Z-Folds, with a very large inner screen and a circular camera hump that houses four lenses.
Something else stands out too: this is a very nice looking foldable phone.
Analysis: The first attractive foldable phone?
In general, if you spend a lot of money on a smartphone, you can expect a good looking phone with slick designs and quality materials used in top-end phones…
… so except for foldables. Although they often cost a lot of money, they can often look pretty plain (apart from the fact that they obviously fold).
However, the Vivo X Fold looks different. The video shows a nice looking two-tone blue and black phone with some shiny highlights, and it’s also clear that the back is clad in either leather or faux leather (a non-animal alternative).
Faux leather feels great, a fact that Vivo is obviously very keen to emphasize given the slow capture of a finger stroking the back of the X Fold.
So the Vivo X Fold could have a much more attractive design than we’ve seen on other foldable phones, forgoing the glass or plastic back for a premium-feeling material and using a smart use of color to make the handset stand out.
Not everyone cares about the looks of a phone – for some, it’s just functional devices for communication, gaming, or photography. But when you’re paying “foldable phone money” – or a steep price – you expect an attractive handset.
Of course, this is all based on the teaser meant to create excitement for a phone, so we might find the phone disappointing in real life – or, more likely, it might never reach our shores because Vivo is unveiling many phones that are only available in their home country start China.
We’ll have to wait until April 11th to find out more.
