Vivo’s New Foldable Phone Is Obsessed With Photography
The Vivo X Fold6 has gone global, and its camera system is seriously impressive, especially for a foldable phone.
As Apple prepares to launch its first-ever folding iPhone, the iPhone Duo next week, attention on the foldable space is growing. While companies like OnePlus, Samsung, Vivo, and Xiaomi have made foldables for years, Apple’s entry undeniably ratchets up interest in the space.
And while the iPhone Duo makes some notable compromises in terms of camera hardware in the Duo, something the company hopes to overcome through a distinct, improved photographic experience made possible by the new form factor, Vivo is taking a very different route with its latest foldable.
The Vivo X Fold6 has a flagship-level camera system co-engineered by Zeiss, promising nearly the same mobile photography experience as the company’s best slab phones.
At the heart of the Zeiss-engineered rear camera system is a 200-megapixel main camera with a relatively large Type 1/1.4 image sensor and 23mm f/1.7 lens. This is flanked by a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera with a Type 1/1.95 image sensor and a 70mm f/2.6 lens, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera (Type 1/2.76 image sensor and a 15mm equivalent f/2.1 lens).
The iPhone Duo, in contrast, has two rear cameras and no dedicated telephoto. Apple is instead touting the 48-megapixel main camera’s ability to crop to a 2x telephoto (52mm equivalent).
Vivo has stuck with its more traditional, taller folding design, something Apple has eschewed with its passport-size Duo and Xiaomi ditched with its new 18 Fold, which features a 200-megapixel Leica triple-camera system. Which design is better may depend on who is asked, but feedback so far on Apple and Xiaomi’s shorter, squatter design has been very positive.
The Vivo X Fold6 has an 8-inch internal display with a peak local brightness of 5,000 nits. For reference, the iPhone Duo has a 7.6-inch display. They’re very similar in overall size despite their different shapes.
In any event, it is always good to see a foldable phone that doesn’t make many camera compromises. The Vivo X Fold6 doesn’t have quite the same camera system as the company’s new X500 Pro Max slab, which takes mobile photography extremely seriously, but it gets close, at least in terms of overall functionality. And yes, it works with Vivo’s Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2.
In Vivo’s own marketing makes a big deal of the X Fold6’s camera system, describing it as a “flagship Zeiss imaging system.”
“The imaging setup is built to move from documenting the journey to capturing the people in it,” Vivo says.
The Vivo X Fold6 is now available globally and costs €2,200 in Europe, about $2,465 at current exchange rates.
Image creditsVivo
