China-based tech conglomerate vivo has become the official smart phone of the FIFA World Cup Qatar, as well as the only mobile device to emerge as an event sponsor.
The company’s new X Fold+ —which will launch on the mainland of China in conjunction with the event —is being touted as the first official foldable smart phone in FIFA’s history. The innovative phone will be deployed during the preparation and staging of World Cup matches. According to wireless tech company Qualcomm, the X Fold + utilizes Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 for a 30% reduction in power use to go with a 10% improvement in performance.
FIFA first inked a six-year sponsorship deal with vivo in 2017. Previously vivo has sponsored the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017, the FIFA World Cup Russia in 2018 and the FIFA World Cup Qatar in 2022.
The World Cup’s other innovations in Qatar include facial recognition cameras and drone surveillance for the purpose of crowd security. Event organizers will also deploy over 15,000 cameras to monitor spectators across the eight World Cup venues and on the streets of Doha.
