Vivo X Fold 3 and 3 Pro Smartphones Review

Vivo X Fold 3 and 3 Pro Smartphones Review – Not too long ago, Vivo launched their new 5G advanced phones, while the company also focused on bringing their new foldable series. Recently, the company unveiled the Vivo X Fold 3 and Fold 3 Pro smartphones. Both of them bring flagship-level features with stunning hardware and software configurations. They come with a book-like foldable design layout.

Vivo foldable smartphones have been delivering great devices for the last couple of years, and the recent Vivo X fold lineup isn’t that bad either. The company is clear about producing a premium phone with top-notch features. On the other hand, we covered all of the details, including the difference between them. So, let’s not delay and dive into the Vivo X Fold 3 and 3 Pro smartphones review.

Vivo X Fold 3 and 3 Pro Smartphones Review

Highlights

1. The Vivo X Fold3 and Fold3 Pro offer an 8.03-inch Foldable LTPO AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate.
2. Under the hood, the X Fold3 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with decent graphic support.
3. On the other hand, the X Fold3 Pro brings the top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.
4. As for the software experience, the phones deliver the Android 14-based OriginOS 4 custom skin.
5. Both devices bring a 50MP triple camera setup, while the pro variant offers a dedicated periscope telephoto lens.
6. The non-Pro variant comes with a 5500 mAh battery with 80W wired charging and the Fold3 Pro offers a 5700 mAh battery with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging support.

Design and Display

The Vivo X Fold 3 and Fold 3 Pro offer black and white paint job, which looks pretty cool. It’s just plain colors, but the premium material used on the back panel gives a distinct look. Yet, the primary high of this phone would be the horizontal inward foldable screen. Once the screen is folded, both phones just look like the standard Vivo X series phones. Besides this, the circular camera module makes the appearance superb.

Following this, the Lecia branding is present on the camera module, which gives a good statement when it comes to delivering exceptional camera results. At the same time, the premium design layout gives the phone an aesthetic vibe. However, the design aspect can be subjective for many people. Anyway, you will find a 6.53-inch AMOLED screen on the outer panel, which grants Dobly vision with a 120Hz refresh rate.

The colors and contrast are accurate, while the touch responses aren’t that disappointing. Unlike other foldable phones, the company does put some effort in as you won’t even notice bezels on the outer display. Although, the security features are slightly different in both of the phones. The non-Pro model offers a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, whereas the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro offers a dual-screen under-display fingerprint sensor.

To put it in simple words, you will receive in-display fingerprint security on both the outer and foldable screen of X Fold 3 Pro. Following this, it brings the ultrasonic Face ID feature, which further enhances the security aspect. Both models offer the same foldable 8.03-inch LTPO AMOLED with carbon fiber hinges. The screen resolution is good, and you can rely on the 120Hz refresh rate for a sleek response.

In terms of content consumption, both of the modes offer HDR10+ crisp viewing experience with Dolby Vision adding more depth in colors. Following this, the brightness levels can easily go up to 4500 nits. Although, the phone struggles to unfold the screen up to 180 degrees. Hopefully, the IPX8 water resistance does improve the overall built quality of the Fold 3 Pro.

Memory and Internal

Under the hood, the Vivo X Fold 3 attains the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which can handle high performance, provide fast internet, and many more things. Alongside this, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro brings the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. Through the latest chipset, you can dive into the world of extreme gaming and high performance. Not to forget, 5G connectivity is available in these new devices.

Through this, you can experience higher mobile connectivity improves the internet speed and latency over the standard 5G connectivity. Both models offer the China-exclusive OriginOS 4 customization with the latest Android 14 onboard. This combination indicates that the company might not release this phone outside the borders of the Chinese smartphone market.

On the other hand, the hardware is paired with the 16GB RAM so that the users can smoothly navigate through various tasks, and run multiple apps, and even then, the phone still has RAM left for other activities. Alongside the LPDDR5X RAM, the Fold 3 Pro has 512GB to 1TB storage UFS 4.0 space. As for the non-pro model, you will also have an additional 256GB storage with 12GB and 16GB RAM configuration.

Camera

The Vivo X series phones are known for providing phenomenal image quality with limited resources. But with the collaboration with Lecia Lenes has gradually enhanced the normal camera results. The Vivo X Fold 3 and Fold 3 Pro arrive with a similar camera setup with a difference of telephoto sensor. In both devices, you can capture fantastic images with the 50MP primary sensor using optical image stabilization.

Following this, the natural colors are flawlessly shown in the image, while the contrast level is accurately managed by the camera software. Alongside this, the lowlight photography results aren’t that bad either. You won’t notice noise or grain if you are using the dedicated night mode. Besides this, a 50MP ultra-wide lens is constant among both models, which ensures a decent dynamic range of photos.

With the Vivo X Fold 3, you will receive a 50MP telephoto lens, which brings 2x optical zoom. The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro, on the other hand, offers a 64MP periscope telephoto lens that offers OIS and 3x optical zooming capabilities. However, a regular smartphone user might not see any difference. But if you are a camera enthusiast, then you want keen details in each image. The Pro model ensures to provide clear details, vibrant colors, and crisp contrast.

You will find a 32MP selfie camera on the inner and cover the screen. Both of them work pretty well with the native camera app, while it also handles 8k video recording with the main camera setup. But, the selfie camera can only record up to 1080p videos, which is slightly disappointing. Yet, there are various video recording features inside the camera app, which can try out according to your needs.

Battery and Others

The Vivo X Fold 3 arrives with a Si-Ca 5500 mAh battery configuration, which can effortlessly provide up to 5+ hours of screen time. Generally, the foldable screen consumes more battery life. But, you won’t notice any problem whether you are playing games or streaming content. Following this, the phone can be refueled through the 80W wired charging support, which can refill the phone in less than 45 minutes.

On the other hand, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro equips a slightly bigger battery configuration. It offers a Si-Ca 5700 mAh battery setup that can provide similar screen time as the non-Pro model. But with this phone, you will receive a 100W wired charging speed and a 50W wireless charging configuration. So the users can choose any charging option according to their requirements. In general, the wired charger can fill the battery from flat to 100 in less than 30 minutes.

As for the additional features, both phones latest generation features, sensors, and communication specs. Alongside this, they also deliver good enough sound output with the stereo speaker with Hi-Res Audio. In terms of the price point, the starting variant of Vivo X Fold 3 will cost around $971 (Rs 80,990 in India) approx, whereas the pro model starting price is roughly $1380 (Rs 1,14,990 in India) approx. Overall, both of them are excellent flagship phones.

Vivo X Fold 3 Pro Pros and Cons

Vivo X Fold 3 Pro Specifications Detail

Down below you can see the full specifications of the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro smartphone.

Conclusion

The Vivo X Fold 3 foldable smartphone brings top-end specs and features according to the 2024 standards. So, if you are looking for a true flagship foldable smartphone experience, the Fold 3 Pro would be a great choice. You will receive almost everything from Lecia optics to seamless software configuration. The phone has an impressive display that can support advanced gameplay and streaming side-by-side.

But if you don’t want to spend much on the hardware and want the foldable phone feel, then the Vivo X Fold 3 could be a better deal. At the same time, the phone does lack a few points when compared to the Pro sibling. In our opinion, the Vivo X Fold 3 should have the same hardware configuration as the Pro model. But anyway, the phone didn’t hold back the users from exploring the goodness of extreme gaming performance and delivers amazing camera results.

However, both of the models are most likely unavailable in the global smartphone market. However, there aren’t many foldable phones that can give tough competition to the new Vivo X Fold 3 series device. But still, you should give a try to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 if you want a more advanced experience with 4/5 years of Android updates. Lastly, you can explore other flagship smartphone options according to your requirements.