Oppo already has a foldable device on the market, with its Find N launching recently but only in the Chinese market. Now, rumours suggest that the company could be working on a clamshell design that would not only bring a flip-style device to the catalogue, but also at a more affordable price than its expensive stablemate.
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Here’s all we know so far about the Oppo clamshell smartphone.
When will the Oppo clamshell foldable be released?
There is no official word on when the new clamshell device from Oppo will be released. We have seen reports from Chinese tech reporter Digital Chat Station that says the new phone will use the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, which means the earliest we could see the Oppo Flip would be in Q3 of 2022 (July-September).
How much will the Oppo clamshell cost?
As with the release date, Oppo has yet to confirm any details about pricing (or even the existence) of its upcoming flip-style phone.
Turning to the rumours once more, we’ve seen several reports (possibly all generated by the initial post from Digital Chat Station) that the new device could be around the $1,000/£800 mark. This would make it a competitive prospect when up against other current flip phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, Motorola Razr 5G, and Huawei P50 Pocket, which are priced as follows:
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3:
128GB: £949/$999/€1,049/₹84,999
256GB: £999/$1,049/€1,099/₹88,999
Motorola Razr 5G:
Huawei P50 Pocket:
8GB RAM + 256GB: €1,299 (£1,100/$1,389)
12GB RAM + 512GB: €1,599 (£1,355/$1,700)
What are the Oppo clamshell foldable specs?
At the moment we remain very much in the realms of speculation in terms of how the Oppo Flip will be equipped. Rumours have been doing the rounds that, as we mentioned before, the processor will be the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which will be the flagship silicon from Qualcomm in 2022. Aside from this, all we know is that the fold in the screen will be horizontal rather than vertical, as is the norm with the flip format.
Hardware-wise, the Oppo flip will have to be pretty high-end if it wants to best the Huawei P50 Pocket which impressed us recently. That device comes equipped with headline components such as these:
6.9in Full HD+ (2790×1188) foldable 120Hz OLED display
1.04in (340×340) 60Hz OLED cover display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G octa-core processor
8/12GB RAM
256/512GB internal storage
40Mp, f/1.8 main camera + 13Mp, f/2.2 ultra-wide camera + 32Mp, f/1.8 ultra spectrum camera
10.7Mp, f/2.2 selfie camera
Where the Huawei falls down is the lack of 5G and Google apps, all due to the ongoing sanctions imposed on the company by the US government. With this in mind, Oppo would steal a march by not suffering from these restrictions.
Samsung are the current top dog in the flip-phone smartphone stakes, with the Galaxy Z Flip 4 thought to be arriving in August 2022 and rumoured to feature a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, 8GB memory, 128/512GB storage and the usual selection of excellent cameras. So, the Oppo Flip (if that’s what it’s called) will certainly have its work cut out if it wants to take the top spot. Hopefully, we’ll find out soon what both have to offer.
Until then, be sure to read our rumour roundups of the new Motorola Razr (2022), Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and best phones coming in 2022.
