We know a OnePlus foldable is coming, whether or not it's named the OnePlus Open. And we can't wait for it to arrive and add another string the company's bow and a new competitor for the best foldable phones to go up against.
OnePlus hasn't made any foldable before, but it does have the luxury of its partner company Oppo's knowledge and the benefit to learn from more established competitors like Samsung, Motorola and Google. Plus we imagine the company will try some unique elements of its own, such as using design elements from the OnePlus 11.
If OnePlus keeps its promise, we won't have long to wait until the Open arrives, as the phone is supposed to show up at some point before the end of this year. We'll keep track of everything we hear in the meantime here for you to make sure you're caught up with everything.
OnePlus Open news (Updated October 2)
- OnePlus just confirmed some key OnePlus Open hardware features, and that it'll be the same as the next Oppo foldable
- Details surrounding the Oppo Find N3 display specs suggest that the OnePlus Open should offer the best pixel density of any foldable phone.
- Hopes of seeing the OnePlus Open by the end of August seem to have been dashed.
OnePlus Open pricing and availability
OnePlus confirmed during a panel discussion at February's MWC 2023 that its foldable phone would launch in the second half of 2023. One leaker on Weibo believes that a September release could be possible, but leaker Max Jambor now thinks that OnePlus is delaying the Open indefinitely in order to improve its display, after he had previously claimed an August 29th release was on the cards.
Should the OnePlus Open arrive by September, it wouldn't be shipping that far behind the Google Pixel Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 — two of its biggest competitors. Google started selling the Pixel Fold over the summer, just before Samsung introduced the latest version of its flagship foldable.
As for price, don’t expect the OnePlus foldable to be in the ballpark of the OnePlus 11’s $699 starting price. Many expect the Open to be a modified Oppo Find N2, which currently sells for $1,120 so the price tag could reflect that.
One of the problems with Oppo's foldable phones is they're not available in the U.S. Unlike Oppo, OnePlus has a presence in this country, so there's a greater possibility we could see the OnePlus Open reach more markets.
OnePlus Open models and design
OnePlus didn't give its foldable a name when confirming its existence at MWC 2023. While it was rumored for a time to be called the OnePlus V Fold, it now seems like the company's first foldable will be named the OnePlus Open.
As a sister company to Oppo, OnePlus may turn to that company's foldables — the Oppo Find N2 and Oppo Find N2 Flip — for inspiration, if not more. Indeed, the OnePlus Open is rumored to be a variation on the Oppo Find N3, but with a new name for different markets.
To that end, we've heard that OnePlus will be using the Find N3, giving the phone a spacious 8-inch inner display and a 120Hz refresh rate, in line with what the Google Pixel Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 5 use, but in a slightly larger format.
Considering its supposed foundation of the Oppo Find N3, we can hope to see some of that phone's best features make their way to OnePlus. The “waterdrop” hinge in particular is a great way of having a foldable display with a less pronounced crease down the middle of the interior screen
However OnePlus itself recently confirmed that the Open will be the same device as Oppo's next foldable — and released on the same day. Whether Oppo's version will be called the Find N3 or now is still unclear. But this does mean that the OnePlus Open will get all the benefits of Oppo's past foldable experience, especially with the hinge, which is claimed to be 37% smaller while simultaneously being lighter and stronger than the Find N2.
Our best look at what form the OnePlus Open might take comes from leaked renders posted by Steve Hemmerstoffer, who tends to have a pretty good track record when it comes to leaked images. Those renders show a phone with a cover screen that takes up the entire front of the device, and a triple camera array housed in a circular area on the back of the phone. The alert slider — a mainstay of many OnePlus flagships — is included in the design as well.
OnePlus Open cameras
OnePlus will supposedly be using cameras from Oppo Find N2/N3 and Find X6 handsets for its foldable. That supposedly works out to a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide camera and 32MP 2x telephoto camera on the back, and then a 20MP outer selfie camera and a 32MP inner selfie camera.
However a later leak says the cameras on the foldable OnePlus will be 48MP main and ultrawide cameras and a 64MP telephoto camera instead.
Hemmerstoffer's leaked renders show that the Hasselblad branding is visible on the rear cameras. That's good news if you're familiar with how OnePlus' partnership with the Swedish lens experts has helped improve the cameras on OnePlus flagships in recent years.
Comparing the rumored megapixels to rivals' cameras, the OnePlus foldable would have a significant resolution advantage. There's more to taking good photos than just having the most megapixels, but it could mean the OnePlus foldable s a surprisingly effective camera phone as well as a foldable.
OnePlus Open specs
Details remain scarce for the specs for OnePlus' first foldable, but the same Weibo rumor that tipped a September release also believes we could see a 2K display, a resolution upgrade on the Find N2. We've since heard the display could measure 7.8 inches on the inside and 6.3 inches on the outside, making it larger than most other foldables on the market.
When it ships, the OnePlus Open could feature the highest pixel density of any foldable, according to specs posted on Chinese site Weibo by a leaker. Specifically, that tipster expects the Open to feature an interior display with a resolution of 2268 × 2440, which would translate to 426 pixels per inch. The Galaxy Z Fold 5, for context, offers 373 ppi. Meanwhile, the resolution on the OnePlus Open's exterior display is tipped to be 2484 x 1116.
Oppo’s foldable features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, but it’s very likely that the OnePlus foldable will have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 since that's currently the top-of-the-line Qualcomm silicon for Android phones. That would be a welcome development as the chipset not only bolsters performance — see our OnePlus 11 benchmarks to see how much — but also manages power more efficiently.
Speaking of power, the battery in the OnePlus Open should be about 4,800 mAh in capacity, with 67W wired charing. That's pretty spacious and speedy for a foldable phone, so hopefully it'll manage to serve users for a full day, then refuel rapidly when needed.
OnePlus Open outlook
OnePlus has the opportunity to shake up the foldable market in the U.S., as well as Europe and the U.K. While Samsung dominates this category right now, we are seeing competitors spring up left and right.
With the arrival of the OnePlus foldable in the coming months, we expect Samsung and Google to face some much-needed competition. We hope that includes pricing, as both the Pixel Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 sport matching $1,799 starting prices.
Keep it locked here to stay up-to-date on all of the latest OnePlus Opennews.
