SCHOTT High-Performance Glass Enables vivo’s First Foldable Phone – the vivo X Fold

vivo’s first foldable phone features SCHOTT’s flexible ultra-thin glass (UTG) and break resistant high-performance cover glass.

SCHOTT’s flexible ultra-thin glass from the SCHOTT UTG product family is part of the new flagship phone’s internal display; Xensation α (Alpha) cover glass protects its external display; and Xensation Up. protects its ZEISS camera optics.

The flagship smartphone continues the partnership between SCHOTT and vivo by combining three cutting-edge specialty glass products in one device.

The brand new vivo X Fold comes fully packed with specialty glass made by the #glasslovers from SCHOTT. The phone’s foldable main display features glass from the SCHOTT UTG line-up that can bend hundreds of thousands of times after processing. The secondary display is protected by Xensation α, a high-performance cover glass with outstanding drop performance.

SCHOTT, which is celebrating 30 years of UTG production this year, has positioned itself as a major supplier in the foldable smartphone market and is the only company currently mass-producing UTG that is ultra-thin and ultra-flexible, and also capable of being chemically strengthened. Its material composition gives its ultra-thin glass a bending radius of less than 2 millimeters after chemical strengthening and allows it to bend hundreds of thousands of times.

On the exterior of vivo’s new smartphone, Xensation α (Alpha) provides significantly improved drop resistance compared to lithium aluminosilicate (LAS) and aluminosilicate (AS) cover glass types.

Launched in October 2021, Xensation α is SCHOTT’s latest high-end addition to its Xensation cover glass portfolio. Xensation α is a newly composed lithium alumino-borosilicate (LABS) glass that is made to survive: in addition to its outstanding drop performance, it is also less sensitive to scratches than conventional LAS glasses, as shown in a Knoop indenter scratch test.

“Our partnership with vivo has evolved over the years and allows both companies to showcase the latest technological advancements in our fields,” said Dr. Lutz Klippe, product group manager Cover at SCHOTT. “The vivo S12 Pro was the world’s first smartphone to feature our Xensation α cover glass when it was launched in December 2021, so we are excited that our industry-leading flexible UTG will now be part of the cover solution in its first foldable device as well.”