Having been recently confirmed as China's biggest phone company, the Oppo Find N Foldable is its first foray into the foldable sector. An area that has been overlooked by many companies, foldable phones are most famously developed by Samsung and their Z Fold range.
While Oppo may not be the first to enter into this marketplace, as the majority shareholder in OnePlus, Oppo is a company that has a track record of delivering popular phones with great specs, at a competitive price point. So how does the Find N Foldable shape up? Let's find out.
Oppo Find N Foldable: Predicted Release Date
The Find N Foldable isn't a secret. It was first unveiled at the Oppo INNO DAY event on December 15th 2021. At that point, it was announced that the handset would be available in China from December 23rd, 2021. Nothing was stated about a worldwide release. So have things changed in the last few months?
Well...maybe. A report on Pricebaba claims that OnePlus is working on a foldable smartphone. This is allegedly a "copy" of the Find N Foldable. Given that Oppo and OnePlus are owned by the same parent company, BBK Electronics, it wouldn't be a surprise if there were some synergies between the brands.
Add to that the fact that Pete Lau, a co-founder of OnePlus, is credited with involvement in the design of the Find N, and the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle begin to fall into place.
We add a note of caution though. At this point, all we have are rumours. Whether OnePlus releases a version of the Find N Foldable, or Oppo decides to make this handset available to the worldwide market, remains to be confirmed.
In other words, there is no predicted release date for the Find N Foldable outside of China at this point. But we remain hopeful that things might change.
Read More: Oppo Find X5 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: What Are The Differences?
Oppo Find N Foldable: Price
Foldable devices are notoriously expensive. Mainly because the technology is relatively new, and it remains a fairly niche category that early adopters and trendsetters are willing to pay for. So when Oppo launched the Find N Foldable, they really put the cat among the pigeons.
When the phone launched in China it had a starting price of RMB 7699 for the 8GB RAM/256GB version. The 12GB RAM/512GB version was RMB 8999. To offer a crude conversion, that equates to roughly $1200/£930 for the cheaper model, and $1400/£1085.
To place that in context, the Motorola Razr 5G costs about $1399, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is around the $1799 mark, and even the slightly cheaper Galaxy Flip 3 is $949.
If this phone does make its way beyond China, of course, we can't be confident that the price will remain this low. But it's certainly an aggressive move by Oppo, and from a consumer standpoint, may start to force other manufacturers to start lowering their prices.
Oppo Find N Foldable: Specs and Performance
In terms of specs, Oppo has definitely tried to offer a compelling device. With a 7.1 inch inner display, and a 5.49 outer display, they have tried to make these screens as practical as possible. The outer display has an 18:9 aspect ratio, which is closer to a standard smartphone than many foldable devices. When open, the inner screen aspect ratio is 8.4:9. In theory, this is better suited to gaming and watching videos or reading. You don't need to rotate it either.
Other key specs are as follows:
- Oppo has included a 4500mAh battery, 33W fast-charging, and 10W wireless charging
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset
- Up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM
- Up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage
- Three rear cameras: a 50MP Sony main sensor, a 16MP Ultrawide sensor, and a 13MP Telephoto lens
- 32MP front-facing camera
- The outer display is 1972x988, 60Hz, 402 ppi
- Inner display is 1792x1920 AMOLED with dynamic LTPO 1Hz to 120Hz, 370ppi
Read More: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Everything We Know So Far
Oppo Find N Foldable: Design
In terms of design, Oppo has called its fold the 'Flexion Hinge'. They reckon this will last for around 200000 folds and unfolds. But this hinge uses 136 different components up to 0.01mm small. This has resulted in a crease that Oppo claims is up to 80% less noticeable than on other foldable devices.
They have also added a 'FlexForm Mode' which allows the device to be freestanding when opened at any angle between 50-120 degrees. The idea is that this will actually serve a utilitarian purpose. Oppo suggests a few practical advantages, such as converting the Find N into a mini-laptop when using the Notes app. They also suggest it can serve as its own tripod, useful for 4K HD time-lapse imaging, video calls and online meetings.
The outer edges are curved, and the camera module borrows from the Find X3, in an effort to make the camera module feel less obtrusive.
In colour terms, the Find N Foldable is available in White, Black or Purple. The black apparently "combines glittery matte glass and new film lamination techniques to achieve a subtle and premium shimmering effect on the base layer". The white "is inspired by a white ceramic glaze, with glossy glass and a refined texture". And the purple, "is reminiscent of a bottle of luxury perfume".
The device won the "Disruptive Device Innovation" category at the Global Mobile Awards in March this year, for its hinge and display integration. They were also praised for delivering, "the most affordable large foldable phone on the market".
Oppo Find N Foldable: Conclusion
There are plenty of interesting touches to the Oppo Find N Foldable phone. Whether or not it will be available outside China remains to be seen. But it certainly suggests some exciting developments at Oppo. And therefore, potentially at OnePlus as well. And according to Oppo, the Find N has already received more than one million orders.
As ever, we'll keep you up to speed with all the key developments!
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