ONEPLUS OPEN
OnePlus’s first foldable phone has some tricks even established competitors can’t beat. So will this new king of foldables reign supreme?
A foldable you may not unfold very often – because it’s so fantastic folded
Display 6.31-inch 2484x1116 2800nit 120Hz AMOLED cover; 7.82-inch 2440x2268 2800-nit 120Hz AMOLED main CPU Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 RAM 16GB Storage 512GB Camera 48MP main, 64MP telephoto, 48MP ultra-wide cover; 20MP main display; 32MP cover display Connectivity USB-C, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 Battery 4,805mAh Dimensions 153.4x73.3x11.9mm folded; 153.4x143.1x5.9mm Weight 245g
When it comes to the best folding phones, the OnePlus Open is a different story to its rivals. It’s a much more ‘normal phone size’ when folded, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, making it immediately more usable.
Indeed, it’s so commendable in its folded position that we’ve often not made full use of the main display hidden within. Which raises the question: has OnePlus made the best foldable phone but removed the need for its existence in the same breath? With a folded thickness of 11.7mm, it’s not a million miles away from the 8.6mm of the Galaxy S24 Ultra – we’ve never felt as though it’s too big, like some older foldables. The recent Honor Magic V2 is even skinnier though.
Not only that, at 6.31 inches, the main display looks and feels close to a flagship Android phone. It’s a little skinnier and taller than the typical, but that makes for super-easy one-handed use that’s comfortable.
The greatest thing about the OnePlus Open, however, is that it’s by far and away the best foldable when it comes to the folding of the internal display. Here the 7.82-inch panel is wonderfully massive, but opens with a more satisfying mechanism than any other foldable right now. And that hinge mechanism also negates much
of the screen ‘crease’ – the Open easily has the slightest visibility compared to the competition in that regard.
There’s just one big issue with the Open’s unfolded mega-screen: it’s kind of a weird aspect ratio. Its 153.4 x 143.1mm measurement isn’t far off being square. Short of the best Instagram experience you’ll ever have, it doesn’t benefit much else: mobile games, movies, Netflix streaming and so forth present massive black borders.
Don’t get us wrong though: some apps do certainly benefit, such as split-screen Gmail/Outlook offering a two-handed typing layout. You can also part-fold the screen to create a stand, which we’ve used for video calls. And the split-screen software does mean you can divide between two or three apps.
Back in the fold
Software is another aspect that each foldable maker puts its own stamp on. And while OnePlus’ OxygenOS isn’t miles away from stock Google Android, the Open’s guise is slightly different to what you’ll find in, say, the OnePlus 12. When an app is closed it doesn’t take you back to the homepage, rather pages deep instead. And the move between the exterior display to internal folding display can often break how apps look, meaning they need restarting.
We can’t speak badly of the overall performance, though. Technically its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor is a generation behind, but even so we’ve not found that to affect battery life too much. Indeed, the OnePlus Open will last through a day of use, from 7am to 10pm, with around 20% remaining.
One area where OnePlus has taken the chance to stick it to its main rivals is in the camera department. That does mean a whopper of a raised circular area to the rear of the phone, though. Encased within is a trio of lenses: a 48-megapixel main, backed up with a 64-megapixel 3x optical zoom, and a 48-megapixel wide-angle. Even a lot of the best flagship phones won’t match those stats these days. So kudos to OnePlus for no shortcuts.
Shooting, we seamlessly switched between wide-angle and zoom with a quick tap on screen, and the results all look convincing and well-matched between the differing optics and sensors. The image stabilisation is decent, too, enabling easy capture of hand-held shots and aiding in sharpness as a result too.
Having used most foldable phones in existence, it’s clear to us that the OnePlus Open is hands-down the best one you can buy right now. At the same time, however, because the front display of the OnePlus Fold is so similar to a flagship phone, it’s often meant that we simply don’t unfold the main display hidden within. When we do, that near-square aspect ratio isn’t practical for a huge number of things.
Despite this, however, OnePlus’ first foray into the foldables market (at this phone-meets-tablet scale anyway) is undeniably a major success.