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OnePlus has been releasing phones for almost a decade, but the company still hasn’t launched one that can fold. But that looks set to change soon.
The Chinese firm has confirmed that a OnePlus foldable is on the way this year, and it doesn’t look like we’ll have long to wait.
Here’s everything you need to know about the device, which will be officially known as the OnePlus Open.
When will the OnePlus Open be released?
Back in February, OnePlus confirmed that it would be releasing a foldable phone in the second half of 2023.
Just a few weeks earlier, the global launch event of the OnePlus 11, Buds Pro 2 and Pad ended a small tease that “something phenomenal” is coming. The graphic (shown below) certainly seemed to hint at a launch in Q3 of 2023 – i.e. July to September.
OnePlus
However, that window has now passed. On 20 September, OnePlus confirmed that the OnePlus Open would be launching “soon”.
According to leaker Max Jambor, that’ll be 19 October:
OnePlus today announced that #OnePlusOpen is launching “soon”
Now let me tell you what soon means: The very first foldable smartphone from @OnePlus is launching October 19th! 🗓️
I’m truly excited about this device!
— Max Jambor (@MaxJmb) September 20, 2023
Jambor’s solid track record for phone leaks, combined with a reply from the official OnePlus USA account, makes it highly likely that this will be the actual launch date.
While it didn’t confirm a date, an official OnePlus email to media says the phone will be sold in “select overseas markets soon”. That suggests this will be a global launch event, though it’s not clear how long we’ll be waiting for the device to go on sale.
Interestingly, the email also reveals that parent company Oppo will release an identical phone at the same time. GSMArena suggests that it’ll be the Oppo Find N3 in China, but the OnePlus Open elsewhere.
How much will the OnePlus Open cost?
We don’t have any solid details about how much you’ll need to spend to buy a foldable phone from OnePlus.
What we do know is that rumours so far suggest this will be a high-end, expensive device, positioned as a true flagship in the foldable space. As a result, expect it to rival the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and likely be around $1,500/£1,500 or more.
Leaker Yogesh Brar suggests it’ll be under ₹120,000. But even if true, the converted figures of $1,442/£1,194 are unlikely to be accurate.
While the OnePlus Open is likely to be a rebadged version of the Oppo Find N3, the Find N2‘s ¥7,999 starting price in China (roughly $1,150/£930) is also a very rough guide.
What specs and features will the OnePlus Open have?
It looks like the first OnePlus foldable will be book-style, and thanks to leaker OnLeaks we think we know a lot about it. The leaker has already shared his renders of the phone to site SmartPrix, revealing a large phone with a premium design and vegan leather finish:
The phone features a triple camera with a periscope zoom (more on that later) and a flash sitting just outside that. The trademark OnePlus alert slider is also featured along one edge, something OnePlus has since confirmed in an official email to media.
In contrast to previous rumours, this clearly isn’t a carbon copy of the Oppo Find N2 – it’s taller and thinner than that phone, with a totally different camera design. However, with OnePlus confirming Oppo will launch the same phone at the same time, it is likely to be the Find N3.
OnLeaks has also shared a full spec list for the phone to MySmartPrice, giving us more details.
For starters, the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, unsurprisingly, and will apparently pack 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
The main display is apparently a 7.8in AMOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate and 2K resolution (the latter detail corroborating an earlier Digital Chat Station Weibo post). The outer display will be 6.3in, and also a 120Hz AMOLED.
OnLeaks also predicts a 4800mAh battery, backed up by fast 67W wired charging.
As for cameras, we can reportedly expect a 48Mp main camera, 48Mp ultrawide, and 64Mp telephoto, though the exact details of those lenses and sensors are yet to be confirmed. There should also be a 32Mp selfie camera on the phone’s front, and a 20Mp one built into the internal display’s top-left corner.
According to Max Jambor, the phone will be available in two colours:
#OnePlusOpen might be the first real globally available competitor to Samsungs newly launched #GalaxyZFold5 – the new performance beast will be available in two colors: Voyage Black and Emerald Eclipse
— Max Jambor (@MaxJmb) August 22, 2023
In terms of software, Jambor responded to a now-deleted SnoopyTech tweet to say that the name ‘OxygenOS Fold’ was accurate.
It’s likely to be very similar to ColorOS Fold, the version of Android 13 used on Oppo folding phones. But it shouldn’t be too long before it gets updated to Android 14.
To see what it’ll be up against, see our round-up of the best foldable phones.
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