Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 vs Vivo X Fold5: Which foldable flagship wins in 2025?

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 or Vivo X Fold5—which foldable is better? Let’s find out!

Design

The Galaxy Z Fold7 is Samsung’s slimmest foldable yet—just 8.9mm folded and 215 grams. It feels impressively sleek and lighter in the hand. The hinge is sturdier and smoother this year, though there’s a bit of stiffness when you unfold it—probably to make it more durable. But that camera bump sticks out more now, so there’s a noticeable wobble when it’s on a table. Still, with Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 protection on the outer screen and an Advanced Armour Aluminium frame, this Fold feels solid.

Vivo’s X Fold5 is slightly thicker—9.2mm folded—but it’s built like a tank. You get IPX8, X9, X9+ water resistance, along with IP5X-like dust protection, and it can even handle minus 30°C cold. I actually preferred unfolding the Vivo—it’s smoother, and the extra thickness gives you a better grip. With the Samsung, I was always a little worried it might slip out of my hand.

Displays

When it comes to screens, Vivo throws the first punch. Its 8.03-inch LTPO AMOLED is ridiculously bright at 4500 nits, with Dolby Vision for cinematic HDR. Even the cover screen hits 5500 nits.
Samsung fights back with its 8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, which is vibrant and smooth at 120Hz, but maxes out at 2600 nits. The big news here is the outer display—it’s now wider and feels like a proper smartphone screen.

Performance & Software

On the performance front, Vivo packs the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3—still powerful, but the same chip from last year’s X Fold3 Pro. Samsung steps it up with the Snapdragon 8 Elite and custom Oryon cores. It’s faster, more efficient, and even the benchmarks back it up.

And software-wise, Vivo’s Funtouch OS 15 is improving but Samsung’s One UI 8 is still the king for foldables, with smoother multitasking and 7 years of updates.

Cameras

For cameras, Samsung brings a 200MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP 3x telephoto, plus 10MP selfie cameras on both the cover and inner displays. Vivo counters with its triple 50MP ZEISS setup for the main, ultra-wide, and 3x periscope telephoto lenses. Vivo’s optics deliver punchier colours and sharper details across all cameras—especially on zoom shots. I mean… yeah, it’s ZEISS.

Verdict

Ultimately, Samsung is thinner, faster, and its software is unmatched. But Vivo fights back with insane durability, a brighter, more cinematic display, and better versatility in cameras. If you want power and polish—go Samsung. But if you want toughness and better screens—go Vivo.