Despite being quite late to the foldable party last year, OnePlus managed to make some noise when it announced its first foldable device at a global launch event held in India. It was relatively thin and light when folded, but also had an excellent camera system (something unheard of in foldable devices). Given that Samsung was still trying to make its Galaxy Z Fold 5 slimmer (it still felt bulky), the Open was a very easy win for OnePlus. Couple that with its lower launch price of Rs. 1,39,999 with a smooth and near-flawless OxygenOS, and we end up with an easy recommendation for those looking for a good balance of features at an acceptable price.
Several 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 for its first foldable in India was a bit extreme in terms of design and pricing. Despite a few flaws, the phone managed to live up to expectations and did pretty well, as I mentioned in my review.
The vegan leather back panel of the OnePlus Open surely adds some character to its design besides grip.
When every millimeter counts
While OnePlus raised the bar at launch, Vivo was quick to steal the crown when it comes to design. The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is thinner (both open and folded) than the Open, but it’s also lighter. I also prefer its slightly tapered corners compared to the Open’s sharp corners that dig into your palm when folded. In fact, the X Fold 3 Pro is all about margins, and you can tell by how incredibly delicate it looks when unfolded. Vivo even went so far as to curve one side of the cover display and the opposite rear panel so that it doesn’t feel as boxy as flat displays (e.g. OnePlus and Samsung).
Both foldables offer alert sliders, but OnePlus has a three-stage one that's much easier to use due to its design.
Despite taking extreme measures, the OnePlus Open comes out on top when it comes to one-handed use. It’s not as thin as the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro, but its shorter cover screen makes it more comfortable for one-handed use. Despite having a slightly narrower cover screen (and a folded design), the Vivo is quite tall and needs two hands to get things done. However, it’s wide enough to do everything you’d do on a regular phone.
The Open's screen is compact, while the X Fold 3 Pro's is taller
The main reason I never felt safe using the Vivo is due to its slippery glass design. The OnePlus Open (both the standard model and the Apex Edition) has a grippy vegan leather back panel, which gave me more confidence when holding it.
Despite their similar book-like form factors, both models feel quite different once you open their main folding displays.
The OnePlus Open’s 7.82-inch internal display has a square aspect ratio, which is especially helpful when opening apps side-by-side. Vivo’s 8.03-inch rectangular display, thanks to its large size, handles both productivity and entertainment tasks well.
The software on both foldable devices can manage four apps at once.
Software matters
Vivo doesn’t have perfect software, though. Surprisingly, OnePlus has managed to get everything from app scaling to its Open Canvas multitasking software working well with Oxygen OS. This is impressive, considering it was the brand’s first foldable device at launch. Everything from apps to games works flawlessly and performs well even when switching between screens.
On the other hand, Vivo surprisingly fell short in execution. While I love the desktop-like AOD mode on the Vivo, I did notice that apps didn’t stretch to fit the screen when I held the foldable horizontally. This results in a black bar affecting most third-party apps, including many Google apps. With almost a centimeter lost on the left side of the screen due to this optimization issue (which Vivo has yet to resolve), the software feels rather unfinished even if it packs a lot more software and hardware features than the Open. However, Neither of these phones can compete with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6 or Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold when it comes to AI. Both OnePlus and Vivo are still a year behind Samsung and Google when it comes to deeply integrating AI into their devices.
Months after launch, Vivo (right) has yet to figure out how to get rid of the black bar on the left, which takes up available space on its large screen.
Neither foldable is slow when it comes to performance. However, Vivo offers the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, while OnePlus’ processor is a bit older, with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Both phones offer 16GB of RAM, and thus, you’ll never have any issues navigating their respective operating systems. One detail worth noting is that Vivo handles heat better, be it in gaming, outdoors, or even on camera. This is a bit surprising since it’s the thinner of the two.
| Reference points | Vivo X Fold 3 Pro (Cover/Main) | OnePlus open (cover/main) |
|---|---|---|
| AnTuTu v10 | 20,51,650 / 20,63,526 | 13.05.500 / 12.64.480 |
| PCMark 3.0 Workload | 14.489 / 14.251 | 10.276 / 10.521 |
| Geekbench V6 Unique | 2.143 / 2.167 | 1.426 / 1.056 |
| Geekbench V6 Multi | 6.562 / 6.800 | 4.096 / 4.114 |
| GFXB Tyrannosaurus Rex | 120 / 120 | 60 / 60 |
| GFXB Manhattan 3.1 | 120 / 105 | 60 / 60 |
| Car chase in GFXB | 102 / 67 | 60 / 46 |
| 3DM Extreme OpenGL Slingshot | To the maximum / To the maximum | To the maximum / To the maximum |
| 3DM Slingshot | To the maximum / To the maximum | To the maximum / To the maximum |
| Wildlife in 3DM | To the maximum / To the maximum | To the maximum / To the maximum |
| Unlimited wildlife in 3DM | 17.985 / 18.721 | 13.913 / 13.731 |
Vivo's X Fold 3 Pro is currently the only foldable in India to offer not one but two in-display fingerprint readers.
It's always about the cameras.
As with all smartphones (foldable or not) available today, a lot depends on the performance of its camera. No one wants to invest in a smartphone that costs over a hundred thousand dollars only to carry a second flagship phone just to take photos and record videos.
Daylight camera samples (tap image to enlarge)
Even though both cameras perform way above par, I have to conclude that Vivo manages to do a better job with photos than OnePlus. Photos from the main and telephoto cameras (both stabilized with OIS) come out sharper, have a good level of 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’ve 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. Vivo’s telephoto camera also handles moving subjects better, resulting in sharper photos when capturing children or pets. In low light, Vivo once again manages a better dynamic range, showing more detail in the darker areas of an image.
Low-light camera samples (tap images to enlarge)
Vivo's ultra-wide camera had some white balance consistency issues during our testing, but these appear to be resolved with software updates. In terms of quality, both ultra-wide cameras offer similar performance.
Selfie camera samples (tap images to enlarge)
The OnePlus Open's video recording capabilities are better than the X Fold 3 Pro. The phone handles a 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 issue
Battery life is another area where people don’t expect to compromise, and this is where Vivo delivers better than OnePlus. While the OnePlus Open will get you through a full day of heavy use, Vivo tops this by easily managing a day and a half of heavy use, which is almost as good as a regular premium smartphone. The X Fold 3 Pro is also much faster at charging its larger 5,700mAh battery, going from 0 to 100 percent in just 43 minutes. The Open is a little slower at charging its smaller 4,805mAh battery, managing a full charge in 53 minutes. Vivo also offers 50W wireless charging, something the OnePlus doesn’t have, and I’m sure this may be a deal breaker for some.
The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro (right) is thinner than the competition but still offers 50W wireless charging
What makes each one so special?
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6, despite betting heavily on AI this year, will still remain the go-to foldable for many because it’s been around since the first model launched in India. But for those willing to try something new, Vivo’s X Fold 3 Pro offers better value for money despite its higher price tag of Rs. 1,59,999. It’s a foldable to pick up if you’re looking for a device that can compete with the bar-shaped Android flagships, especially when it comes to stills and battery life. It also offers the largest and widest display possible on a foldable today. So, it’s also good if you plan to get some light work done (using a Bluetooth keyboard) while on the go.
Given its more affordable price tag, which starts at Rs. 1,39,999, the OnePlus Open will still be the foldable of choice for those looking to try out the foldable format for the first time. More affordable price tag aside, OnePlus is also offering an extended warranty called OnePlus Care (which Vivo doesn’t), and this should give any buyer who is clumsy or worried about breaking their foldable’s display more confidence when investing in a foldable.