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

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.