by Mark Shephard
Every foldable manufacturer claims their phone is the fastest, coolest, and most powerful. But as someone who uses foldables to actually create content, I’ve learned that what matters isn’t what’s printed on the chipset box — it’s what happens when you push these foldables on a real workload.
So I lined up my three current 2025 favorites for a proper showdown:
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Elite
- Honor Magic V3 – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
- Vivo X Fold 5 – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 + 16GB RAM
No benchmarks. No throttled “performance mode.” This was a nose-to-nose real-world video editing test: launch PowerDirector, import a 4K video, add subtitles, and export it back out — exactly what I do when I prep short-form videos for this channel. When the CPU heats up… and RAM actually gets used… that’s when you see what separates marketing hype from practical horsepower.
Round 1 – Subtitle Rendering
All three phones chewed through the subtitle generation surprisingly well — but the winner wasn’t who I expected.
| Phone | Finish Order | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Z Fold 7 | Fastest | Elite chip kicked in late to win |
| 2) Honor Magic V3 | Right behind | Beat Vivo even with less RAM |
| 3) Vivo X Fold 5 | Slowest | 16GB RAM didn’t help at all |
Takeaway – Samsung’s Elite chip isn’t just a marketing name, and Honor’s optimization is impressive. Meanwhile, Vivo’s fancy specs don’t seem tuned for real creative loads.
Round 2 – 4K EXPORT BATTLE (Heavy CPU Render)
This is where the gloves came off.
| Phone | Finished In | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy Z Fold 7 | Fastest overall | Rendered nearly twice as fast as Vivo |
| Honor Magic V3 | +15–20% faster than Vivo | Great showing for “non-Elite” chip |
| Vivo X Fold 5 | Last place | Heated up, throttled, and dragged to the finish line |
Watching the progress bars crawl across the screen made it very clear: chip tuning and software optimization trump RAM quantity. The Vivo X Fold 5, despite packing the most RAM, couldn’t keep pace once things got hot. Honor’s Magic V3 not only handled thermals better but finished a solid 20% faster in the end.
What I Learned From This Test
- ✅ Elite means Elite. Samsung wasn’t bluffing — the “Elite” chip on the Fold 7 is noticeably faster under heavy real-world loads.
- ✅ RAM ≠ real-world speed. The Vivo’s 16GB did nothing to help once thermal throttling kicked in.
- ✅ Honor Magic V3 is the quiet assassin. It beat the Vivo while staying cooler and smoother — impressive for a more affordable phone.
- ❌ Specs sheets can lie. If you make decisions based on RAM or clock speeds alone… this test proves you probably shouldn’t.
Who Should Care?
If you only scroll Instagram, respond to texts, and watch YouTube — honestly, any of these phones will feel fast.
But if you use your foldable to create, edit, game, or multitask like a laptop — performance does matter. Waiting on an export bar doesn’t just waste time — it kills creativity.
Want to Watch the Action Yourself?
In the full video I show temperatures, throttling, progress bars, and all — so you can see exactly how each phone acted under pressure. Click below to watch the showdown… and let me know in the comments:
- Did the Vivo disappoint you as much as it did me?
- Did the Snapdragon Elite chip perform like you expected?
- Want me to run this same test with the Honor Magic V5 next?
P.S. If you want to see how the Fold 7 fares against its own brother — the S25 Ultra — Check this out…..