SCHOTT Helps Enable vivo X Fold 2 and vivo X Flip Feature

vivo’s new flagship phones vivo X Flip and vivo X Fold 2 are fully packed with glass innovations from SCHOTT. The vivo X Flip is the first foldable phone to be certified by TÜV Rheinland to withstand more than 500,000 folds, and this model features SCHOTT UTG, a flexible glass that’s thinner than a human hair with an outstanding bending strength after processing.

In addition, both models feature external displays that are protected by SCHOTT’s most drop-resistant cover glass Xensation α (Alpha). The imaging system vivo co-engineered with ZEISS are protected by high-performance Xensation Up. cover glass tailored for camera modules.

Ultra-thin glass, “UTG”, has become an industry standard for foldable displays. With about 60 years’ experience in producing thin glasses with the innovative down-draw technology, SCHOTT has won a 1992 Guinness World Record for developing the thinnest glass on Earth and developed even thinner glass of 16 μm in the laboratory.

SCHOTT has been the first company to mass produce UTG that can be chemically strengthened. This special member of the SCHOTT UTG portfolio can achieve an extremely small bending radius after processing and has the potential to bend hundreds of thousands of times.

SCHOTT UTG has enabled over a dozen innovative foldable models from leading smartphone manufacturers and helped open new design possibilities in consumer electronics.

The imaging system is co-engineered by vivo and ZEISS, SCHOTT’s sister company, and are protected by SCHOTT high-performance cover glass Xensation Up. Designed for camera module geometries, Xensation Up. cover glass is exceptionally thin yet durable to protect the internal optics components.

The external displays of the new models are protected by Xensation α, SCHOTT’s most drop-resistant cover glass made from the robust lithium-alumino-borosilicate (LABS) glass. This glass type combines the chemical strengthening potential of lithium-alumino-silicate glass with the scratch resistance of borosilicate glass as well as the stability similar to glass-ceramics.

Schott reports that Xensation α offers 100% improvement in drop resistance on rough and uneven surfaces compared to other premium cover glass and is more scratch resistant than conventional LAS glass as shown in the Knoop scratch test.

This launch continues the long-term partnership between the leading Chinese smartphone manufacturer and the German sister companies under the Carl Zeiss Foundation – ZEISS and SCHOTT. vivo has been the first smartphone manufacturer to feature SCHOTT’s latest high-performance cover glass Xensation α.

vivo’s first foldable model, vivo X Fold, also came loaded with SCHOTT specialty glass innovations, including foldable ultra-thin glass from SCHOTT UTG series and high-performance cover glass from the SCHOTT Xensation series.

“We are very pleased to be a trusted partner for our customer,” said Dr. Feng He, head of global product management and application of UTG Cover at SCHOTT. “As a pioneer in UTG and cover glass, SCHOTT has a wealth of knowledge gained over the past decades. We are excited to take part in shaping the future of foldable devices.”