OnePlus Open Review: A Thinner And More Affordable Flagship Foldable
Samsung was the first manufacturer to make a truly foldable phone, but they got a little carried away. OnePlus launched its first smartphone with a flexible screen and it is already able to compete with the Galaxy Z Fold 5. The Open not only has a larger outer and inner screen, but is also thinner and lighter. Unless you count the giant camera module. And with Open Canvas software, OnePlus takes a new approach to multitasking that makes switching between apps incredibly fast and easy.
But perhaps the most impressive thing Open has done is raise the price of its large, trendy foldable bags. Starting at $1,700, that's $100 cheaper than the Google Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold, and that's before you consider OnePlus' offer that saves you an extra $200 when you trade in the phone . In the year Google launched its first foldable phone, the launch of OnePlus Open added excitement to the category.
Screen: very bright
Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold range, the OnePlus Open has two screens: a 6.3-inch external display and a 7.8-inch flexible panel inside. Both panels are slightly larger than the Z Fold 5's panels, but also have a 120Hz refresh rate. But where OnePlus really pushes is the brightness, which reaches around 1,400 nits in normal use, but in certain situations, such as viewing external HDR content. . And that goes for both screens. However, these numbers are so high that my calorimeter overestimated them, so I can't fully verify OnePlus' claims. However, glare was never a problem.
Design: When every gram counts
At just 11.7mm thick, the Open is also surprisingly thin. Even thinner than the Pixel Fold (12.1 mm). That's all, until you factor in the large camera module, which keeps the actual thickness of the phone at around 18mm. The Open also has a larger external display, which makes typing much more comfortable without the added burden.
The hinges and folds are definitely the most problematic areas. Luckily, OnePlus has done an excellent job with both. There's a small notch in the middle of the main screen, but it's subtle. You won't realize it until you look at it from an acute angle or actually look at it.
The hinge is also very smooth and seems a little spongy compared to competitors. So at some point it opens wide. This is a nice change from the Pixel Fold, which always seemed to stop at 179 degrees, no matter what you did. Another detail I like is that the opening closes flush, so you don't have to worry about keys or other small objects getting in. Unfortunately, you only get an IPX4 water resistance rating, which is much lower than the IP68 rating of the Pixel Fold and Z Fold 5.
Performance: Mobile multitasking is easy.
The OnePlus Open has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, which offers very similar performance to the Pixel Fold and Z Fold 5. The Samsung phone has a roughly 5-10% advantage in benchmarks like Geekbench 6 due to its slightly higher clock speed. However, in everyday life the benefits are almost invisible. But the OnePlus has 16GB of RAM (compared to the Z Fold's 12GB) as well as 512GB of base storage, double that of Samsung and Google.
However, what I like most about Open is its multitasking mode. Of course, for example, you can open two applications in one split screen. But if you want more, OnePlus' Open Canvas software lets you open three apps at once, with small tabs that let you move items with a single click. Each app acts like a little card that pops up when needed and works really well. It's a lot quicker than swiping up to open recent apps, but that's OK. In a change from Samsung and Google's taskbar, OnePlus has added a dedicated recent files icon that makes it very easy to drag and drop documents or photos into emails or messages.
However, as someone who loved the old version of Oxygen OS, OnePlus' current UI design (after the company's merger with Oppo) feels cheap. Except for the quick settings, almost every button is a rounded rectangle, and while they're functional, they're also boring.
Camera: great success with Hasselblad
Since OnePlus started working on camera improvements with Hasselblad, the modules on the back of phones have gotten bigger and bigger. And while it's a little annoying, there's no reason for the Open's bulky camera, as it's equipped with a Sony LYTIA T808 1/1.43-inch, 64-megapixel primary sensor and a new Pixel architecture designed around it, increasing the amount of light. can take even better photos at night. OnePlus claims to offer the best photo quality of any smartphone available today. While I won't go that far, the shots are pretty close to what you can do with the Pixel Fold. Photos are sharp and detailed, the only downside is that OnePlus' low-light handling isn't as good as Google's Night Vision. But compared to the Z Fold 5, Open shots often have better dynamic range and lower sharpness.
Gallery: OnePlus Open Camera Examples | 8 photos
Gallery: OnePlus Open Camera Examples |
8-megapixel
48-megapixel wide-angle camera that can also shoot macro and a 64-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, 6x lossless. Again, while this 3x zoom matches the Z Fold 5's 3x telephoto lens, it has 6x lossless zoom, but it's not as sharp as the Pixel Fold's 5x optical lens. But this is not surprising, because there is still no real substitute for high-quality glass.
Battery Life: Great battery life but no wireless charging?!
OnePlus has always had little support for wireless charging. The first phone was the OnePlus 8 Pro in 2020, years after its competitor launched. This support continues for the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, and OnePlus 10 Pro. But then OnePlus ditched wireless charging on the 10T and 11, and unfortunately we don't get it on the Open either.
Not having wireless charging on a $1,000 phone is disappointing, let alone a new flagship. I suspect OnePlus ignored it because the charging coil would add a millimeter or two to the thickness, which would compromise the phone's design. And if that's true, then it's a lame excuse.
On the bright side, 67W wired charging is much faster than the competition. In Europe it is even faster because of the standard 240 volt electricity supply with 80 watts of power. However, due to OnePlus' proprietary charging system, you can only get those speeds with the included brick. So if you switch to a third-party adapter, the speed will be halved to around 30W. Luckily, battery life is excellent
. With the external display on, the Open lasted 25.5 hours in our video recording test, an hour and a half better than the Z Fold 5. And with the main display, it lasted a bit longer until 7pm, which is also pretty decent.
Price: Almost incredible discount
In terms of price, large foldable devices like this are always quite expensive, although at $1,700, the Open is $100 cheaper than the Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold. But to sweeten things up even more, OnePlus is offering a sweet deal that will save you an extra $200 off the price when you trade in the phone. Promotions like this have some limitations, so I'll have to contact OnePlus for details. The company really means all devices, regardless of age or condition. This means you can finally throw away that Nokia device you've had in storage for 10 or 15 years and get some benefit from it. And when you do, you're looking at an effective price of $1,500, still not cheap, but well below the competition. The caveat is that this discount is only available directly through OnePlus.
Summary
When I heard OnePlus was making a foldable phone, I wasn't sure what their goal was. The company hasn't made any flagship killers yet. But with the Open, OnePlus has packed some pretty impressive hardware into a device that offers a new approach to multitasking. The Open's camera is just as good, if not slightly better, than the Z Fold 5, and the screen is bigger. Honestly, there's a lot I'd like Samsung to do with an open design, compared to the three years of minor improvements we've seen since the Z Fold 3 was released.
It's also important to note that the Open has an alter ego, as depending on where you live, the device is also known as the Oppo Find N3. These two phones are basically the same device, but have different brands. However, Open still receives four years of Android updates and five years of security patches, as well as support from all major US wireless carriers. But unlike Google and Samsung's offerings, Open will only be available through online stores, and since OnePlus doesn't have a local retail partner in the US, the only way to get Open's service is via shipping. What's a little worrying is that almost all foldable phones experience the problem of bubbles forming in the screen protector after about a year. Even though OnePlus offers free shipping for warranty repairs, no one wants to lose their phone in the store for a week or more. However, I am impressed with what OnePlus is proposing.
