Vivo X Fold 5

At Rs. 459,999 for the 16GB RAM and 512GB version, the Vivo X Fold 5 is one of the more sensibly priced book-style foldables in Pakistan, though still a large outlay.

Main advantages:

• 6000 mAh battery with 80W wired and 40W wireless charging
• Three 50MP Zeiss rear cameras, including a 3x periscope telephoto
• IP5X, IPX8 and IPX9 dust and water protection, rare on a foldable
• Thin and light: 4.3 mm unfolded and 217 g in Titanium Gray

Main disadvantages:

• The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is an older flagship chip than rivals use
• Selfie cameras record only 1080p, and low-light detail is weaker than on Vivo's best camera phones

Vivo Pakistan also offered a free cover-screen replacement for 12 months and a 25% discount on an inner-screen replacement at launch. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra at Rs. 387,495 has a newer chip, more promised updates and a 200MP camera, but no tablet-sized screen and a smaller 5000 mAh battery. Verdict: worth it if you want a foldable you can use as hard as a normal phone; buyers who do not need the big screen get more for less from a flagship slab.

The inner screen is an 8.03-inch foldable LTPO AMOLED at 2200 x 2480 resolution, with 10-bit colour, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. It shifts between 1Hz and 120Hz to save power, and Widevine L1 support means streaming apps play in HD.

• Opened up, it works like a small tablet for videos, split-screen apps and games.
• The crease is hard to notice, even on a dark screen, a clear step up from earlier Vivo foldables.
• Colours are vibrant and outdoor visibility is strong, with vivo rating peak brightness at 4500 nits.

The 6.53-inch cover screen is also an LTPO AMOLED panel at 120Hz with Armor Glass protection, so the phone works like a normal slab when folded. Always-on display is supported.

Vivo says the inner screen's protection layers are tougher than the previous generation's. One small quirk: a faint hole beside the inner selfie camera can be seen at certain angles in bright light.

The Vivo X Fold 5 uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm) with an Adreno 750 GPU, paired with fast LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and UFS 4.1 storage.

• It is the full version of the chip, not a cut-down one, and benchmark scores land at around 1.9 to 2 million, on par with many newer foldables.
• PUBG runs at 90fps and Call of Duty supports 120fps, with heat and throttling kept under control.
• Heavy multitasking, such as video editing while chatting and switching apps, stays smooth.

On the big screen, four to five apps can be opened at once, and Workbench mode saves app groups for one-tap launching, which suits traders, editors and office users. The main limit is age: this is last year's flagship chip, so newer phones are faster on paper, though it remains far more than most people need.

All three rear cameras are 50MP with Zeiss optics: a main camera with OIS, a 3x periscope telephoto with OIS and a 119-degree ultrawide.

• Daylight photos are excellent, with vibrant colours and fine detail that holds up when you zoom in.
• Portraits are a highlight, with natural background blur across several focal lengths.
• Zoom reaches up to 100x digitally, and zoomed shots keep good detail at moderate levels.
• The ultrawide is not as wide as on some phones, but results stay consistent across all three cameras.

In low light, photos look striking at first glance but lose fine detail when zoomed in; night mode improves results. Video goes up to 8K at 30fps with good stabilisation, though recorded audio quality is only average.

Both screens have 20MP selfie cameras limited to 1080p at 30fps. The better option is to use the rear cameras with the cover screen as a viewfinder. Slow motion records at 1080p only, and there is no super-slow-motion mode.

The Vivo X Fold 5 has a 6000 mAh silicon-carbon battery, among the largest in any foldable sold in Pakistan.

• With moderate use (social media, streaming, banking apps and mobile data), a charge lasts about 24 to 28 hours before dropping to 10%.
• With battery saver on, close to two days of moderate use is possible.

Charging is well covered: 80W wired, 40W wireless, reverse wired charging and 5W reverse wireless charging for earbuds or another phone. A charger and a USB-A to USB-C cable come in the box. Full charging times have not yet been confirmed.

The phone runs Funtouch OS 15 based on Android 15, with four major Android upgrades and five years of security patches.

• Flex mode moves controls to the bottom half when the phone is partly folded, handy for the camera.
• Tent mode turns the cover screen on for hands-free videos without a stand.
• Workbench saves groups of apps for quick multitasking on the big screen.
• The cover screen can act as a desk clock.
• A customisable action button switches sound modes by default and can launch any app.

The software feels stable and polished, with no unpleasant surprises in daily use. Foldable-specific options can be adjusted in Settings.