Samsung’s next-gen foldables will lose to Vivo in one aspect

Competition against Samsung's foldable phones is ramping up. More smartphone makers either plan to release foldable sequels or join the foldable market for the first time this year. And because of this mounting competition, Samsung will no longer be “the first” in some aspects.

Vivo is working on a new foldable phone called the X Fold 2, and according to a new rumor via the Chinese social network Weibo, this upcoming device will be the first to use Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. In other words, it will beat the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 to the punch.

Samsung may still have an ace up its sleeve

Even though Vivo might be the first OEM to release a foldable phone equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, Samsung may still hold an advantage thanks to its partnership with Qualcomm. The Galaxy S23 series features a unique “for Galaxy” version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, boasting higher primary CPU and GPU frequencies for improved performance.

It is possible that the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 will sport a highly optimized chip just for them, thus presenting an advantage over the Vivo X Fold 2 even if they'll come to the market later.

As for other specifications the Vivo X Fold 2 may have, the phone supposedly boasts a 4,800mAh dual battery with support for 120W charging. Sounds impressive, but so does the Oppo Find N2 Flip compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 4, up to the point where it starts falling apart upon closer inspection.

If anything, the Find N2 Flip stands as a reminder that bigger numbers don't always translate to a better user experience, especially in the foldable space where there's still a lot of experimentation going on. So we'll have to wait and see if the Vivo X Fold 2's time advantage over the upcoming Z Fold 5 and its fast charging capabilities will make a real difference.

Samsung will likely announce the next-gen Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 in August-September, which means the Vivo X Fold 2 should come sooner, albeit only in China. Most details about the next Samsung foldables are unknown, but rumors say that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 may get a new hinge while the Galaxy Z Flip 5 may receive a more generous cover display.