Vivo is reportedly working on a wide-screen smartphone that could arrive in 2027, a move that would place the Chinese manufacturer alongside Xiaomi, Huawei and other brands now exploring phones with broader displays. The claim comes from well-known tipster Digital Chat Station, who shared the detail on the Chinese social platform Weibo.
According to the leak, the device would carry a compact display measuring less than 6.5 inches, smaller than most flagship phones on sale today. That points to a handset that is wide rather than large: a phone shaped for reading and video, but still small enough to hold with ease. The tipster did not name Vivo directly, yet the references in the post have been widely read as pointing to the company.
Vivo has confirmed nothing. The company has said nothing about the device, its specifications or its launch plans, so for now the story rests on a single leak from a source with a strong record on Chinese smartphones. Even so, the timing fits a wider pattern, with several manufacturers now testing wider screens.
Vivo’s Wide-Screen Display
The rumoured phone is expected to use a traditional non-folding candybar design, the familiar solid slab that most people carry, but with a wider aspect ratio than the tall, narrow screens that have dominated the market for years. The wider display would come from a different balance of width and height in an ordinary phone body, not from a hinge.
Huawei has already shown what a wider screen can look like. Its Pura X, introduced in China in March 2025, opened into a 6.3-inch inner display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, closer to the shape of a small tablet than a phone, with a 3.5-inch square screen on the outside for quick tasks. It was the first phone to ship with HarmonyOS installed. Huawei later built on the idea with the Pura X Max, launched in China this April with a 7.7-inch inner display.
Vivo would not be alone in following this direction. Xiaomi, Honor and Oppo are also reported to be developing wide-screen smartphones, with launches expected in 2027. The shared interest suggests the industry sees a gap that folding phones have not fully filled. A folding phone gives a wide screen, but it is heavier, more expensive and more fragile than a standard handset. A wide candybar phone could offer some of the same benefit, a broader canvas for reading and watching, without the hinge.
Revive the X Note Series
Some fans have already suggested a name for the new handset, arguing that Vivo could bring it to market as the X Note 2. The idea comes from the company’s own history, and it is easy to see why the name has caught on.
The original Vivo X Note arrived in April 2022 as a large-screen flagship built for people who wanted a phone that could double as a small tablet. It carried a 7-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a resolution of 1440 by 3080 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate, running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. It packed a 5,000mAh battery with 80W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, and it was priced from 5,999 yuan in China. Vivo never introduced a direct successor, and the line quietly faded away.
If the new phone does carry a display smaller than 6.5 inches, it would be a very different device from the original X Note, and considerably more compact. That has not stopped the speculation, since the X Note name still means a big, bold screen to Vivo’s fans. For now, though, the X Note 2 name is only speculation: Vivo has not confirmed any plan to revive the series.
Expected Launch and Specifications
Beyond the display and the possible 2027 launch, the leak says very little. Digital Chat Station has shared no details about the phone’s processor, its cameras, its battery or its charging, and there is no word yet on its design, its materials or its price. So the only firm claims are the shape of the screen, its size and the year it might appear.
It is not clear whether the phone would join an existing line, such as the Vivo X500 series, or stand on its own as a new family of devices. It is also unclear which markets it would reach first, or whether it would be limited to China, as the original X Note and the Huawei Pura X both were at launch. If the 2027 timetable is right, official teasers and regulatory filings should appear in the months before launch.
What is already clear is that the shape of the smartphone is changing again. For years the race was about taller screens and folding hinges. Now several of China’s biggest brands are asking whether the screen should simply be wider, and whether a compact phone with a broader display can give people the space they want without the weight and cost of a foldable. If Vivo joins that race in 2027, it will not be first, but it may arrive as the idea is ready for a wider audience.
