Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra VS Vivo X Fold 5

The most fundamental design difference here is form factor: the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a traditional candy-bar slab, while the Vivo X Fold 5 is a foldable device. This shapes every other dimension in this group. The Vivo's unfolded width of 142.7 mm gives it a tablet-like display footprint, whereas the S25 Ultra's 77.6 mm width is optimized for one-handed use. Yet when folded, the Vivo becomes far more pocketable in terms of width — a core practical benefit of the foldable form factor.

Despite being a foldable — a category historically associated with bulk — the Vivo X Fold 5 is impressively thin at 4.7 mm when unfolded, compared to the S25 Ultra's 8.2 mm. That is a meaningful engineering achievement. Weight, however, is nearly identical: 218 g vs 219 g, so neither phone has an advantage in hand feel from a mass perspective.

On water resistance, the S25 Ultra holds a clear edge: its IP68 rating means full waterproofing (submersion up to 1.5 m), while the Vivo's IP58 rating offers a lower dust ingress protection level, making it water-resistant but less robustly sealed against particulates. For users who prioritize durability in varied environments, the S25 Ultra wins this category outright. Overall, choosing between these two comes down to priorities: the S25 Ultra offers a more durable, one-handed-friendly build, while the Vivo X Fold 5 trades some protection for a versatile, impressively slim foldable design.

Screen size is where the foldable nature of the Vivo X Fold 5 pays its biggest dividend: its unfolded 8.03″ OLED panel dwarfs the S25 Ultra's already-generous 6.9″ display, making the Vivo significantly better suited for media consumption, multitasking, and document viewing. The S25 Ultra hits back on sharpness, however — its 498 ppi pixel density is noticeably crisper than the Vivo's 413 ppi, a gap that becomes perceptible when reading fine text or viewing detailed images up close. Both panels share a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support, so motion smoothness and baseline HDR quality are evenly matched.

The Vivo X Fold 5 adds Dolby Vision support, giving it a wider HDR ecosystem advantage for compatible streaming content, and it includes a secondary screen — a crucial differentiator that lets users interact with the phone while folded without opening it, a genuine convenience in daily use. The S25 Ultra, meanwhile, features branded damage-resistant glass on its display, providing meaningful real-world protection against scratches and drops that the Vivo's inner panel cannot match.

Taken together, the two phones target different display priorities. The S25 Ultra is the sharper, more durable single-screen experience, while the Vivo X Fold 5 offers a larger canvas, Dolby Vision, and the practical utility of a secondary display. For pure screen real estate and versatility, the Vivo holds the edge; for pixel density and display durability, the S25 Ultra wins. Users who prioritize media and productivity will lean toward the Vivo, while those who value crispness and resilience will favor the S25 Ultra.

The chipset gap here is substantial and defines this entire category. The S25 Ultra runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite built on a 3 nm process, while the Vivo X Fold 5 uses the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 — a mid-tier variant of that generation, fabbed at 4 nm. The Geekbench 6 scores make the performance delta concrete: the S25 Ultra posts a multi-core score of 9846 versus the Vivo's 5570, and a single-core score of 3057 against 2019. That is not a marginal difference — it means the S25 Ultra handles demanding workloads like video editing, gaming, and AI-driven tasks with measurably greater headroom.

The memory story adds nuance. The Vivo counters with more physical RAM — 16 GB versus 12 GB — which can help sustain more apps in the background simultaneously. However, the S25 Ultra's RAM runs at a faster 5300 MHz versus 4800 MHz, and its memory bandwidth of 85.1 GB/s significantly outpaces the Vivo's 64 GB/s. Faster bandwidth directly benefits GPU rendering, computational photography, and any task that moves large amounts of data quickly. The S25 Ultra's GPU clock of 1200 MHz versus 1100 MHz further reinforces its graphics advantage.

One point worth flagging: the Vivo's TDP of 12.5W is notably higher than the S25 Ultra's 8.2W, meaning the Vivo's chip draws more power relative to the performance it delivers — a less efficient trade-off that can affect sustained performance and thermals under load. The S25 Ultra wins this category clearly, offering a faster, more efficient chip with superior memory throughput. The Vivo's extra RAM is a genuine but secondary benefit that does not offset the raw performance gap.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Vivo X Fold 5 both feature advanced camera systems, but there are several differences in their setups. The Galaxy S25 Ultra boasts a quad-camera setup with a 200 MP, 50 MP, 50 MP, and 10 MP configuration, while the Vivo X Fold 5 has a triple-camera system with 50 MP for all three lenses. The S25 Ultra offers a higher variety of megapixels, particularly with the 200 MP main camera, compared to the Vivo X Fold 5's more uniform 50 MP lenses.

When it comes to aperture size, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a range of apertures: f/1.7, f/3.4, f/1.9, and f/2.4, which should provide flexibility in low-light performance and depth of field. In comparison, the Vivo X Fold 5 has apertures of f/1.6, f/2.6, and f/2.1, offering slightly smaller apertures overall. Both devices have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS), phase-detection autofocus, and laser autofocus for better photo and video clarity, and both support slow-motion video recording, HDR modes, and manual exposure and focus settings.

For front cameras, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a 12 MP front-facing camera, while the Vivo X Fold 5 features a dual 20 MP front camera setup. Both devices lack front-facing LED flashes and do not support Dolby Vision recording. The S25 Ultra supports shooting raw images, while the X Fold 5 does not. Additionally, both phones can create panoramas in-camera and offer timelapse functions. In terms of optical zoom, the S25 Ultra has a 5x zoom lens, while the X Fold 5 is limited to 3x optical zoom.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Vivo X Fold 5 run Android 15, and they share many similar software features. They both include clipboard warnings, location privacy options, camera/microphone privacy options, theme customization, and the ability to block app tracking. Both devices also have dark mode, Wi-Fi password sharing, battery health checks, extra dim mode, and support for split-screen functionality. Additionally, they both offer on-device machine learning, customizable notifications, and the ability to play games while they download.

While both phones share features like notification permissions, media picker, and focus modes, the devices differ in a few areas. The Galaxy S25 Ultra includes support for cross-site tracking blocking, while the Vivo X Fold 5 does not. The S25 Ultra also offers a more robust experience with features like PiP (Picture-in-Picture), the ability to be used as a PC, and dynamic theming. The X Fold 5, on the other hand, lacks the ability to be used as a PC and does not include focus modes.

Both phones support widgets, offline voice recognition, voice commands, and track the device's position, with no major differences in these areas. Neither device offers Quick Start or Mail Privacy Protection. Both are free and open source, and both have a multi-user system, which allows multiple people to use the same device with different accounts. However, only the Galaxy S25 Ultra includes the ability to offload apps and has a front-facing LED flash, which the Vivo X Fold 5 lacks.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Vivo X Fold 5 both feature sizable batteries, but they differ in capacity and charging speeds. The Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with a 5000 mAh battery, while the Vivo X Fold 5 is equipped with a slightly larger 6000 mAh battery. Both phones support wireless charging, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra offers wireless charging at a speed of 15W, whereas the X Fold 5 supports faster wireless charging at 40W.

When it comes to fast charging, the Galaxy S25 Ultra supports 45W fast charging, while the Vivo X Fold 5 takes the lead with an 80W fast charging speed, allowing for quicker recharging. Both devices also feature reverse wireless charging, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra supporting a reverse charging speed of 4.5W, and the Vivo X Fold 5 offering 5W reverse wireless charging, meaning the X Fold 5 can charge other devices slightly faster.

Neither device offers a removable battery, but both feature a rechargeable battery and a battery level indicator. The Galaxy S25 Ultra does not come with a charger, while the Vivo X Fold 5 includes a charger in the box. Both phones have the same essential battery features like a rechargeable battery, ensuring efficient power management during use.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Vivo X Fold 5 lack a 3.5 mm audio jack, focusing on wireless audio options. Both devices feature stereo speakers, ensuring an immersive audio experience. In terms of audio codec support, both phones include aptX, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra supports both aptX HD and LDAC, while the Vivo X Fold 5 supports aptX HD and aptX Adaptive, but does not support LDAC. Neither device supports aptX Lossless or has a radio.

While both phones offer high-quality audio playback, the Galaxy S25 Ultra provides a broader selection of audio technologies, supporting LDAC for high-resolution audio streaming. In contrast, the Vivo X Fold 5 compensates with aptX Adaptive, which can adjust to network conditions for better performance in dynamic environments.

Overall, both phones offer strong audio capabilities with their stereo speakers and various aptX technologies, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a slight edge with its support for LDAC, ideal for audiophiles who prioritize high-resolution streaming.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Vivo X Fold 5 both offer extensive connectivity features, with support for 5G, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4, and USB Type-C with USB 3.2. Both devices support Wi-Fi 4, 5, 6, and Wi-Fi 7, along with Wi-Fi 6E, ensuring fast and reliable wireless connectivity. They also offer similar download and upload speeds, with 10,000 MBits/s for download and 3,500 MBits/s for upload. Both phones feature dual SIM card slots, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra also supports 2 eSIMs, while the Vivo X Fold 5 only supports 2 SIM cards.

When it comes to sensors, both devices include a gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, GPS, and cellular module. However, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has additional features like a barometer and support for ANT+, which the Vivo X Fold 5 lacks. The X Fold 5, on the other hand, includes an infrared sensor, a feature that is not present on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Other features such as fingerprint scanners are present on both devices. The Galaxy S25 Ultra also includes a stylus, while the Vivo X Fold 5 does not. Both devices lack features like 3D facial recognition, an iris scanner, or a built-in projector. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has some extra functionality with support for Galileo, but the Vivo X Fold 5 also supports this system. Neither device supports motion or optical tracking, and neither has HDMI output.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Vivo X Fold 5 are equipped with a video light, which can be useful for photography in low-light conditions. Neither device features sapphire glass on the display, so both are likely to have more traditional glass protection. Additionally, neither phone has a curved display or an e-paper display, ensuring a more conventional flat display setup for both devices.

Overall, the miscellaneous features of both the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Vivo X Fold 5 are quite similar, with only the video light being a standout shared feature. Both phones exclude advanced display types like sapphire glass or e-paper, and they lack curved display designs.