Samsung took me by surprise with Galaxy Z-fold 7 this year. I wasn't expecting a class-leading thin and light design given the relative disappointments of the last three generations of the Z Fold.
I love using the phone in everyday life (heck, we called the Z Fold 7 best folding this year TechRadar Choice Awards), but there are a few things I found on the comparatively lesser-known Vivo X Fold 5 that I wish I had on my Samsung foldable device.
Don't get me wrong, I prefer Vivo's One UI FunTouchOS. But Samsung should borrow this multitasking feature for its next foldable UI (especially since Vivo phones are currently not available in the US, UK, and Australia). Workbench takes multitasking to the next level and enhances the foldable display experience. Let me explain.
Vivo Workbench is a mixture of Stage Manager and Open Canvas.
While split screen has been around on Android phones for years now, Vivo Workbench is a combination AppleStage Manager and OnePlus Open Canvas. This allows an app to take up most of the screen while running four other apps on top of it at the same time. And it's perfect for my active lifestyle.
Unlike dual window mode, Workbench allows me to quickly access Chrome search content and continue recording in a Doc file. It's more convenient than split screen because it's easy for me to see what I'm typing thanks to having two apps and a full keyboard. I can see what I'm typing and still have one-click help material already loaded into Chrome.
I could use swipe to switch between apps, but the system reloads those apps, making the experience less intuitive. Instead, pinned apps stay active and ready to use on my Vivo X Fold 5 whenever needed.
Over the past two months, I've used Workbench more often than I've run multi-window mode on a Samsung or Google folding in the last four years. In my experience, it's also more intuitive on a foldable device than Stage Manager on a Mac because it works better with tap and swipe rather than a keyboard and mouse combo.
On something larger (like a tablet), I instinctively prefer to have a full-screen experience with two windows rather than wasting 30% of the screen on docked windows, because I can't comfortably type on the numeric keypad on such large screens.
On my Mac and iPad, using dual-window mode is faster, but on an 8-inch touchscreen it's the opposite because the docked windows are right where my thumb naturally rests. This way, it's easier for me to click on an app to use it instead of fiddling with the mouse and pointer to click on it.
Foldable flip phones are more productivity-oriented than feature phones, and Vivo's Workbench multitasking feature seems to be the most advanced solution for mobile multitasking. Sure, Vivo may have borrowed some ideas from its competitors to create the Workbench, but the end result is fantastic.
Vivo Workbench's multitasking is as polished as it gets for a productivity-oriented feature. Of course, it may have limited use cases for the average user, but I find it useful for the type of work I do. And it should get even better with minor animation improvements in OriginOS 6.
Having said that, I expect my liking for the Vivo X Fold 5 to increase after installing the new UI. It is visually nicer and better looking than the current Vivo FunTouchOS and also comes with some useful features.
For example, you can drag items (like an address or a photo) onto Origin Island (similar to Apple's Dynamic Island) and paste them or share them with another app without switching the current screen. I'm also looking forward to connecting my Mac Mini to the Vivo X Fold 5 for remote access.
It's nice to know that my foldable phone will get even more features. And maybe OriginOS 6 will finally convince me to upgrade to the Vivo X Fold 5 completely.
As mentioned, the Vivo X Fold 5 is not available for purchase in the US, UK, and Australia, although the phone can be imported through third-party retailers. I wouldn't advise you to do this, but I always want to highlight region-limited features that other markets might benefit from in the future.
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