Even though OnePlus came quite late to the foldable smartphone party last year, it managed to make quite a splash when it announced its first foldable smartphone at its global launch event in India. It was relatively slim and lightweight when folded, but also had an excellent camera system (which was unheard of for a foldable device). Considering that Samsung was still trying to make its Galaxy Z Fold 5 thinner (it still felt thick), the Open was a very easy win for OnePlus. Add to that a lower starting price of Rs 1,39,999 with a smooth and near-flawless OxygenOS, and we have an easy recommendation for those looking for a good balance of features at an affordable price.
A few months later, BBK’s sibling Vivo also decided to bring an existing model (previously launched in China) to India. With the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 on the horizon, Vivo’s approach to its first foldable phone in India was a bit extreme in terms of design and price. Despite some flaws, the phone still lived up to expectations and did so quite well, as I mentioned in my review.
The OnePlus Open’s vegan leather back panel certainly adds character to its design, in addition to the grip
When every millimeter counts
While OnePlus raised the bar at launch, Vivo quickly stole its crown when it comes to design. The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is slimmer (both open and folded) than the Open, but it’s also lighter. I also prefer its slightly tapered corners to the Open’s sharp corners that dig into my hand when folded. The X Fold 3 Pro is all about the margins, and you can tell by how incredibly delicate it looks when unfolded. Vivo has even gone to the extreme of curving one side of the display’s lid screen and the opposite back panel so that it doesn’t feel as boxy as flat displays (like the OnePlus and Samsung).
Both foldable smartphones offer notification sliders, but OnePlus has a three-step one that is much easier to use due to its design.
Despite the extreme measures, the OnePlus Open wins when it comes to one-handed use. It’s not as slim as the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro, but its shorter display makes it more comfortable to use with one hand. Despite the slightly narrower display (and foldable design), the Vivo is quite tall and requires two hands to do anything. It’s wide enough to do everything you’d do on a regular phone, though.
The display on the Open model is compact, while the display on the X Fold 3 Pro model is taller
The main reason I was never confident using the Vivo is its slippery glass build. The OnePlus Open (both the standard model and the Apex Edition) has a grippy vegan leather back panel, which gave me confidence when holding it.
Even though both models have a similar, bookish shape, they appear completely different when the main foldable display is unfolded.
The OnePlus Open’s 7.82-inch internal display has a square aspect ratio that’s mostly useful for opening apps side-by-side. The Vivo’s rectangular 8.03-inch display, thanks to its size, handles both productivity and entertainment tasks well.
The software in both foldable devices can run four applications simultaneously
Software matters
However, it’s not exactly a perfect fit for Vivo in the software department. OnePlus has done a surprisingly good job with everything from app scaling to multitasking with its Open Canvas software, courtesy of Oxygen OS. That was impressive considering it was the brand’s first foldable smartphone at the time of launch. Everything from apps to games works perfectly and works well even when switching between displays.
Vivo, on the other hand, surprisingly didn’t do a great job with the execution. While I absolutely love the Desktop AOD mode on the Vivo, I noticed that apps wouldn’t stretch to fit the screen when I held the foldable smartphone horizontally. This resulted in a black bar that plagued most third-party apps, including many Google apps. With almost an inch of space lost on the left side of the screen due to this optimization issue (which Vivo has yet to fix), the software feels quite unfinished, even though it packs a lot more software and hardware features than Open. However, none of these phones can compare to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 or Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold when it comes to AI tricks. Both OnePlus and Vivo are a full year behind Samsung and Google when it comes to deep AI integration in their devices.
Even though Vivo (right) is months into its launch, it still hasn’t managed to get rid of the black bar on the left side that covers up a lot of space on the large display.
Neither of the foldable smartphones are slow in terms of performance. However, the Vivo offers the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, while the OnePlus processor is a bit older, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Both the phones offer 16GB of RAM, so you’ll never run into any issues while browsing their respective operating systems. One detail to note is that the Vivo manages heat better, be it gaming, outdoors, or even the camera. This is a bit surprising since it’s the thinner of the two.
| Reference points | Vivo X Fold 3 Pro (cover/body) | OnePlus Open (cover/main) |
|---|---|---|
| AnTuTu v10 | 20,51,650 / 20,63,526 | 13 05 500 / 12 64 480 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 14,489 / 14,251 | 10,276 / 10,521 |
| Geekbench V6 Single | 2,143 / 2,167 | 1,426 / 1,056 |
| Geekbench V6 Multi | 6,562 / 6,800 | 4,096 / 4,114 |
| GFXB T-rex | 120 / 120 | 60 / 60 |
| GFXB Manhattan 3.1 | 120 / 105 | 60 / 60 |
| GFXB Car Chase | 102 / 67 | 60 / 46 |
| 3DM Slingshot Extreme OpenGL | Maximum exhausted / Maximum exhausted | Maximum exhausted / Maximum exhausted |
| Slingshot 3DM | Maximum exhausted / Maximum exhausted | Maximum exhausted / Maximum exhausted |
| 3DM Wild Life | Maximum exhausted / Maximum exhausted | Maximum exhausted / Maximum exhausted |
| 3DM Wild Life Unlimited | 17,985 / 18,721 | 13,913 / 13,731 |
Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is currently the only foldable smartphone in India to offer not one, but two in-display fingerprint readers
It’s always about the cameras
As with any smartphone (foldable or not) available these days, a lot depends on the camera performance. No one wants to invest in a smartphone costing over a lakh, only to carry a second flagship phone just for taking pictures and videos.
Daytime Camera Photo Examples (tap image to enlarge)
While both cameras are significantly better than average, I have to say that the Vivo does a better job with photos than the OnePlus. The photos from the main camera and the telephoto camera (both with OIS stabilization) come out sharper, have good detail, and impressive color reproduction. The OnePlus Open loses out to the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro when it comes to dynamic range and color reproduction. I have noticed many times that the telephoto camera is a bit unreliable in the sense that photos have a warmer white balance, resulting in yellowish tones. The Vivo’s telephoto camera also does a better job with moving subjects, resulting in sharper photos of kids or pets. In low light, the Vivo once again manages to have a better dynamic range, showing more detail in the darker areas of the image.
Low light photo examples (tap images to enlarge)
The Vivo ultra-wide camera had some issues with white balance consistency during our review, but those seem to have been resolved via software updates. In terms of quality, both ultra-wide cameras offer similar performance.
Selfie Camera Examples (tap images to enlarge)
The OnePlus Open’s video recording capabilities are better than the X Fold 3 Pro’s. The phone has better dynamic range (revealing more detail in shadows), offers better noise, and has a more stable frame rate.
Battery life is no longer a sensitive topic
Battery life is another area where people don’t expect any compromises, and this is where the Vivo offers better results than the OnePlus. While the OnePlus Open will get you through a full day of heavy use, the Vivo outperforms it, easily managing a day and a half of heavy use, which is almost as good as you’ll get from a regular premium smartphone. The X Fold 3 Pro is also significantly faster at charging its larger 5700mAh battery, going from 0 to 100 percent in just 43 minutes. The Open is slightly slower at charging its smaller 4805mAh battery, reaching a full charge in 53 minutes. The Vivo also offers 50W wireless charging, which the OnePlus doesn’t, and I’m sure that could be a dealbreaker for some.
Vivo X Fold 3 Pro (right) is thinner than competing models but still offers 50W wireless charging
What makes each of them so unique?
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, despite being heavily AI-centric this year, will still be the foldable smartphone of choice for many, as it has been available since the first model launched in India. However, for those looking to try something new, Vivo’s X Fold 3 Pro offers better value despite its higher price tag of Rs 1,59,999. It’s a foldable if you’re looking for a device that can compete with the usual, stripe-like Android flagships, especially when it comes to photography and battery life. It also offers the largest and widest display currently available on a foldable smartphone. So it’s also good if you plan on doing some light work (with a Bluetooth keyboard) on the go.
Given its more affordable price tag, which starts at Rs 1,39,999, the OnePlus Open will remain the foldable smartphone of choice for those looking to try out the foldable form factor for the first time. In addition to the more affordable price tag, OnePlus is also offering an extended warranty called OnePlus Care (which Vivo doesn’t offer), which should give any buyers who are clumsy or worried about damaging the display of their foldable smartphone more confidence when investing in a foldable smartphone.
