Vivo X Fold 3 Pro Review: A Fold Above the Rest

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

I prefer foldables for the added functionality and convenience of having a tablet-sized display in my pocket, but it often comes with compromises, especially in design and camera.

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

However, they all have their shortcomings: Samsung and Honor’s cameras aren’t the best for a premium phone, while OnePlus offered the right balance between design, features and cameras, Vivo has now outdone the device with an even better camera system, a more ergonomic design and wireless charging.

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

An excellent device for media consumption

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro doesn’t feel clunky in the hand, thanks to its 11.2mm thickness and 236g weight. While I find the Honor Magic V2 more ergonomic due to its slimmer form factor. The OnePlus Open is also not far behind at 239g. But the Vivo foldable feels more natural to hold and unfold. However, the back is prone to scratches and is the most slippery of them all. I’d recommend putting a case on it.

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro has a 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch foldable display. Both are bright and sharp with support for HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and a 120Hz refresh rate. I unfold the phone every time I need to read an article or an e-book (I read a lot on my phone) and I didn’t feel like it needed to be any brighter in any condition. Overall, it was a pleasant experience consuming content on the device.

By comparison, the OnePlus Open’s cover screen still feels better to use with its 20.1:9 aspect ratio, but Vivo phones have always been bigger than rivals and you get used to that. My perennial irritation with foldable phones – the black bars on the cover screen for Instagram Stories – remains. It won’t be fixed until Instagram better optimises its app for foldable phones. Things have gotten better over time with the navigation bar on the left side of the main screen, but it’s still not fully optimised for foldable phones.

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

Surprisingly pleasant software intelligence

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 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 I’ve yet to see a bad phone with this processor. The Vivo phone comes with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage.

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is smooth and responsive for everyday tasks. My normal usage includes lots 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 issues jumping between apps, multitasking, and everyday usage.

During my review process, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro regularly lasted a full day. It packs a 5,700mAh battery that supports 100W fast charging and 50W fast wireless charging. The phone can go from 15% to 90% in 35 minutes with wired charging, while the latter requires Vivo’s Vertical Flash Charger 2.

What I’ve come to expect from Vivo is great hardware and cameras, but the most surprising thing about using the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro was the impression I got from its FunTouch OS 14, based on Android 14. Two features that stood out to me are Fold-to-Split and Desk Calendar AOD.

The Fold-to-Split feature activates a split screen when you unfold it, by quickly bending and unfolding it (from 180 degrees flat to 160 degrees and back to 180 degrees in a second). As a writer (and chronic online person) I research things and keep adding them side-by-side to Google Keep, or sometimes have Twitter and Chrome open on the same screen, and I’ve found this action to be better than gestures on any smartphone. It’s more natural and faster than a few swipes.

As for the Desk Calendar AOD, you can think of it as a variation on the iPhone’s Standby, minus the charging part. You can put the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro into tent mode with an always-on display, and it will show you the time – handy as a bedside clock.

In addition to these notable features, FunTouch OS on the X Fold 3 Pro offers a bunch of AI intelligence like Note Assist, Translation, Transcript Assist, and more. If I could change one thing about the software, it’s that FunTouch OS would feel faster.

The best cameras on a foldable

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

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro features a triple camera setup on the back, 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, putting it close to the Vivo X100 Pro.

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro takes stunning photos with pleasing colors, which you’d expect from a premium phone. However, I’d like to talk about its telephoto camera. It offers multiple focal lengths, hybrid zoom, and up to 100x digital zoom.

I like the camera tuning on the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro and appreciate the styles in the portrait mode. For example, I shot the above photos in a camera museum using the Vintage Style in the portrait mode, which adds more sentiment to the photo.

You’ll need to experiment with the camera to find the right styles for different scenarios. Keep in mind that you can’t change these via the editing feature in the Gallery app.

While there is sometimes a bit of a halo effect around the edges of the subject, most shots look stunning. The 50MP ultra-wide camera also keeps the colours and tones consistent with the main camera.

You also get a 32MP front-facing camera on both the cover screen and the inner foldable display, primarily intended for video calling. For taking selfies on a 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 set to launch next week. If you want the most polished experience on a foldable phone, Samsung continues to excel with OneUI on the Galaxy Z Fold series. However, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro offers an excellent balance of hardware, camera, and software.

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro has excellent displays, strong performance, incredible cameras, productive software features, and good battery life. I expect Samsung will have a hard time beating the near-perfect Vivo foldable.

For frequent travellers, it’s worth noting that the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro doesn’t have eSIM support. I often add temporary eSIMs to my phone when travelling internationally. If this isn’t a problem for you, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is the best foldable phone you can buy right now – despite its higher price tag of INR 1,60,000 ($1,910).