Chinese phone vendor Vivo launched its second generation foldable phone, the X Fold+, in China at a release event on Monday night, with a price tag of RMB 9,999 – RMB 10,999 ($1,396 – $1,536).

Why it matters: Vivo’s new foldable phone uses a new high-end processor the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, following its rivals like Motorola, Xiaomi, Samsung, and Huawei. The phone maker’s market campaign focused on attracting consumers who prefer a stronger camera system and dual-fingerprint recognition (on both internal and external displays).

  • China’s high-end phone market saw an increase in sales in the second quarter of this year, despite the overall decline in smartphone sales, with Android phones taking a bigger market share, according to reports from Counterpoint Research and IDC. Foldable phones, considering their expensive price tags and market targeting, could have more opportunities than before.

Details: The Vivo X Fold+, compared to its predecessor, has similar specs in terms of body size, case design, weight, display, and cameras. But the new generation is equipped with a new processor, better charging speed, and an improved battery.

  • The phone adopts an inner folding design. A highlight of the phone is that it supports similar experiences to Samsung’s Infinity Flex, in that it is foldable in a variety of angles.
  • With 311g, the phone weighs heavier than rival’s offerings. The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 and Huawei Mate Xs 2 weigh 262 g and 255 g, respectively.
  • The new model also upgraded its charging offering. With a 4,730 mAh battery and supporting 80 W charging speed, it charges 30% faster than the previous model.
  • Vivo X Fold+ offers a qual-camera system supported by optical firm Zeiss, with frames ranging from ultra-wide to telephoto. The two primary cameras offer 50 million and 48 million pixels in resolution.
  • The phone comes with an 8.03-inch inner and a 6.53-inch external display. Both support a 120 Hz refresh rate. The inner LTPO (a technology that supports adaptive refresh rate to save battery) display features a 2,160 x 1,916 resolution and 4:3.55 aspect ratio, with a pixel density of almost 360 pixels per inch (PPI). The outer display has 2,520 x 1,080 in resolution with a 21:9 ratio.
  • The phone will be available on Sept. 29 in three colorways. Vivo offers two memory combos including 12 GB RAM plus 256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM plus 512 GB storage.

Context: Vivo has so far focused on selling foldable phones in China, it has yet to launch any foldable phones overseas, nor has it revealed any plans to do so.

Ward Zhou is a tech reporter based in Shanghai. He covers stories about industry of digital content, hardware, and anything geek. Reach him via ward.zhou[a]technode.com or Twitter @zhounanyu.