We’ve seen several compelling wide foldable smartphones thus far. Huawei was first to boot, with the Pura X Max in April this year. Samsung followed with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 back in July, and Apple announced its wide foldable (and its first foldable phone in general) in September: the iPhone Duo. Those three phones are not identical, but they all belong in the same foldable smartphone category. A category that has more to offer than square book-style foldables, in my opinion.
Several interesting wide foldable phones are coming
With that being said, more wide foldables are on the way. OPPO is rumored to announce its take on a wide foldable in Q1 2027, while Motorola could push its iteration before the end of 2026. We’ve already shared specs of Motorola’s wide foldable, its sketches, and even some concept images based on the provided information. That phone will seemingly be the most compact wide foldable thus far. I’m looking forward to both of those phones, but I’m most intrigued when it comes to… Vivo.
Why? Well, because of the Vivo X Fold 6, which I reviewed recently. While I still believe that OPPO has an advantage on the software side of things, Vivo came dangerously close ot that with the OriginOS 7 Fold. Based on my Vivo X Fold 6 usage, OriginOS 7 Fold is much smoother than OriginOS 6, and it offers very compelling multitasking features. In all honesty, its Origin Workbench is the feature I enjoyed more than any other multitasking offering thus far, and that goes for all brands that shipped wide foldables that I’ve used.
Vivo’s take on a foldable phone is what interests me the most, for several reasons
I am quite excited about OPPO’s wide foldable as well, but Vivo is particularly interesting for two main reasons: the aforementioned features and its camera. The Vivo X Fold 6 is the best smartphone camera amongst the foldable phones. I’ve used the phone extensively to prove that fact. The OPPO Find N6 is not far behind, as it also offers great camera performance (for a foldable), but the Vivo X Fold 6 is in a league of its own. It has great main and periscope telephoto camera performance in particular. Its ultrawide camera is a step or two behind, but still good.
What’s interesting is that we’ve barely heard anything about Vivo’s wide foldable. It was reported back in May that Vivo is working on a wide foldable, but no timeline was given, nor was any other information, basically. It was only said that future models will feature a wider folding design. I sure hope that doesn’t mean we’ll have to wait until Q3 or Q4 to get Vivo’s take on a wide foldable, though. It would be unwise for the company to wait that long. Considering the lack of information, I am worried, but I’m still hoping it will launch at some point in H1 2027.
In addition to the camera and software, the way Vivo handled the X Fold 6 design is also impressive
What also left an impression on me when it comes to the Vivo X Fold 6 is its design. Vivo went with a little bit more curves than the competition, which made the phone that much more comfortable to hold and use, while it also made it feel slightly smaller in the hand than it actually is. The company made all the right moves when it comes to the design of that phone, although its display crease control is not yet on the same level as OPPO’s. That’s something I hope will improve before Vivo’s wide foldable comes to the market.
While the Vivo X Fold 6 is a great phone, and square book-style foldables are great in general, wide foldables offer something more. They’re not only better for content consumption in general, both horizontal and vertical, on the main display. On top of that, those phones are better for one-handed use, in my opinion, due to the smaller footprint when folded. On top of that, typing on the cover display is considerably easier. That display is wider than on other book-style foldables, and also wider than on regular phones.
Multitasking on OriginOS 7 Fold is outstanding
Those are quite a few advantages on their own, not to include multitasking in the equation. Considering the wider main display on wide foldables, you do have more space to spread out your apps horizontally. That is what most people want anyway, it makes sense. Seeing optimized Origin Workbench on Vivo’s wide foldable is what I’m eagerly awaiting. I just hope that the company will not cut corners in the camera department. Even if the same camera setup from the Vivo X Fold 6 ends up being transferred to the company’s wide foldable, that will be enough to convince me to use that as my daily driver. Well, assuming no major downsides end up surfacing in the meantime, of course.
We have plenty to look forward to as far as wide foldables are concerned. Quite a few of them are on the way. The ones from Vivo, OPPO and Motorola seem particularly interesting. However, will be tough to compete with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and iPhone Duo; that’s for sure. Those are two of the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world.
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