Foldable smartphones (like the OPPO Find N3, which we loved) are filtering into the high-end smartphone marketplace, tying together the best parts of mobile computing. When you buy a foldable phone in lieu of a regular smartphone, you’re essentially getting two devices in one: a smartphone that can instantly double its screen space, and a tablet that can instantly halve its size to fit in your pocket.
OnePlus is the latest smartphone maker to release its own foldable smartphone, called the OnePlus Open. Reviewers seem to agree that it comes with a good collection of attention-grabbing features… tied to a less exciting $1699.99 price point and several unfortunate shortcomings. But it’s still accurate to say the OnePlus Open represents another step forward, further solidifying an industry-wide push toward foldable phones – a step which even Apple hasn’t taken yet, given that its rumored iPhone Flip still doesn’t have a concrete release window.
Designer: OnePlus
The most striking feature of the new OnePlus Open folding smartphone is its dual 2k 120 Hz fluid AMOLED ProXDR displays. The cover display alone measures up to 6.31 inches and uses a 20:9 aspect ratio, but opening up the cover display and deploying OnePlus Open’s tablet mode reveals a much larger 7.82 inch form factor when the two displays sit side-by-side.
What’s impressive here, however, is the phone’s max brightness of 2800 nits, paired with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos integration. That makes the OnePlus Open a portable home theatre that rivals many modern high-end televisions in every way but size.
The entire thing seems sturdily built, with ceramic guard shielding surrounding the cover display. When the device is fully deployed in tablet mode, it’s protected by “Ultra-Thin Glass that sits above the flexi OLED, a layer TPU for shielding against physical impact, and an anti-reflection screen protector to reduce everyday wear and tear.”
The Hasselblad triple-camera system is packed full of sensors, including a primary 48 megapixel SONY LYTIA-T808, a 64 megapixel telephoto camera with 6x lossless optical zoom, and a 48 megapixel ultra-wide sensor. There are also two front cameras: a 20 MP selfie cam in tablet mode and a 32 MP selfie cam on the cover display. Hasselblad Portrait Mode seems like a major draw for photographers working in low light conditions, and according to OnePlus, “the revolutionary cameras work in tandem to deliver DSLR-level depth-tracking, bokeh and flare effects captured by Hasselblad cameras fitted with XCD 3,5/30, 2,8/65 and 2,5/90V lenses.”
That’s a lot of gear to keep protected from the elements, which is why it’s disappointing that the device’s water resistance rating of IPX4 means it is unprotected from full immersion in water, and is less dust resistant than other devices with a higher rating. That makes it slightly less competitive with other foldable smartphones like the Google Pixel Fold.
The OnePlus Open is now available for pre-order in the United States and Canada via the official OnePlus website, Amazon, and Best Buy, with phones officially shipping out on October 26. It starts in two colors: Voyager Black and Emerald Dusk, and you can now pre-order it for $1699.99 USD or $2299.99 CAD, though OnePlus offers an additional $200 trade-in discount.
