A New Benchmark For Foldables

While Samsung still has an essential monopoly on the foldable market in the west, the scene is heating up in mainland China and parts of Asia for whom importing Chinese gadgets is common, like Hong Kong and Singapore.

In December alone we saw two new foldables for the mainland market, and there will be another coming by February. The two that are already out includes a small clamshell foldable from Huawei and a more traditional book-like foldable from Oppo. I have been testing the latter, and it’s excellent. On a hardware level fundamentally and technically, it may be the best foldable made yet.

Design and hardware

Named the Find N, Oppo’s new foldable follows in the template set by the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series: it’s a mini tablet that folds vertically, closing like a book. On the outside cover is a secondary screen so the device can be used like a phone when folded.

Samsung’s approach turns a boxy, upright rectangle tablet screen into a tall and narrow phone screen with an overall shape resembling a TV remote.

Oppo’s Find N is less lanky by comparison. Unfolded, it is a horizontal rectangle— meaning landscape screen that measures 7.2-inches diagonally—and when folded, the Find N’s outside screen has a more conventional 18:9 aspect ratio, so it’s not as elongated as Samsung’s device.

I like Oppo’s approach better, as I have always found Samsung’s outside screen a bit too cramped for typing. The Find N has no such problems: its 5.5-inch, 18:9 outside screen feels much like a typical smartphone screen, just smaller. Oppo’s also given the Find N subtle curvature on the left and right side in folded form, so it feels much less boxy and pointy than Samsung’s Fold 3.

The hinge on which the folding action is anchored is built very well. Oppo says there are over 300 moving parts in the hinge, but you don’t feel it—it feels very sturdy and premium. And just like Samsung’s foldables, the Find N’s hinge can stay open mid-fold at any angle, which allows the Find N to be used as a laptop like L-shaped device. There are plenty of useful benefits to this form, as the Find N, like Samsung’s Fold 3, can effectively work as its own stand, able to take video calls or record videos hands-free.

Xiaomi’s and Huawei’s foldables, by comparison, can’t do this. Those devices can either be folded or opened all the way, with no in between.

The Find N’s hinge design also one ups Samsung’s, in that it folds entirely flat (Samsung’s hinge leaves a slight gap), and the large display is also mostly crease-free compared to the Fold 3. However, the Fold 3 has official IP rated water resistance, while the Find N does not. Oppo says the Find N has been tested to be able to survive splashes from water, but without that IP rating, it’s not “officially proven” to be water resistant the way Samsung’s foldables are.

As for that folding main screen, the Find N’s looks absolutely superb. It’s a flexible OLED panel sourced from Samsung, and it has a variable refresh rate that can get as fast as 120Hz—meaning animations look smoother than 60Hz screen. And because there is no crease, it offers better viewing angles than Samsung’s own Fold 3. However, maximum screen brightness is not as high as modern slab smartphones, so using it under the most intense sunlight could hinder visibility slightly.

The Find N runs on a Snapdragon 888, which at the time of the device’s launch can still be considered a “flagship chip,” but in another few weeks it will officially be last gen. Still, it’s plenty powerful, and the 12GB of on board RAM keeps things running smoothly. There’s also a 4,500 mAh battery which is impressively large considering the Find N can be considered a compact foldable. Samsung’s Fold 3, for example, is larger but has a smaller 4,400 mAh battery.

This, coupled with Oppo’s battery optimization means the Find N is a phone that can easily go a full day on a single charge. In fact, I finish most 12-, 13-hour days with over 30% to spare. The Find N also supports wireless and wired fast charging, and yes, there is a charging brick in the box.

Software and features

With foldables—even more than normal phones—software is as important as hardware, because the UI has to adapt to two screen sizes. The Find N does an admirable job for the most part, but because most Android apps are designed to run in portrait orientation, they can run into slight issues on the Find N’s main screen, which is in landscape orientation.

Instagram, for example, will only open in portrait orientation, so it will squeeze itself into the Find N’s widescreen, with major pillar-boxing (bars on the left and right side). Other apps, such as Uber, for example, will open sideways on the Find N (so you must rotate the phone 90 degrees to use it). This can be annoying, but it’s also worth remembering the problem is not all on Oppo. Any device with an unconventional screen shape running Android run into these problems to a certain degree. Sure, Oppo can fine-tune its software to adapt, but ultimately it’s up to Google to enforce system-wide rules for devices with unconventional screen sizes. App developers can also take charge and code their apps to adapt—and some do. Spotify, Telegram and WeChat, for example, open in a desktop format on the wider screen. All of Google’s apps, including YouTube or Maps, take advantage of the larger screen as well.

Oppo has also built some intuitive gestures to take advantage of the larger screen. For example, you can jump into split-screen mode (running two apps side-by-side) with a two finger swipe down. Or you can pinch an app with four fingers to “shrink it” to a floating window.

Overall, I would say the Find N’s software experience is good. It’s not as polished as Samsung’s Fold 3 (the app display issues are less frequent on Samsung’s foldable), but it’s not buggy and unreliable like Microsoft’s UI for its dual-screen phone.

Overall performance and conclusion

I have been using the Find N everyday for nearly two weeks and the device has continued to impress. The hardware is top notch—the phone feels excellent in the hand, and the cameras are quite good, too. The main camera, in particular, is a 50MP sensor with a relatively large sensor, so it can pull in an ample amount of light, as well as produce a natural depth-of-field bokeh in shots. The 16MP ultra-wide is above average quality by late 2021 standards, but does exhibit some softness in details and color temperature inconsistency compared to the main camera. The only disappointment is the telephoto zoom lens, it’s just a 2x telephoto zoom, which is weak by 2021 standards. There are a pair of 32MP selfie cameras, too (one on each screen), and they more than deliver.

The Find N is a great size for consuming media or playing games while seated at home or on the road, it’s not too big and heavy like an iPad, I find its 7.2-inch screen to be just about the right size for an on-the-go Netflix or gaming machine. However, there are only two speakers, and they both come out of the same side, so you are not getting a balanced sound output like you do from other foldables.

Finally, perhaps the most impressive thing Oppo has done with the Find N is the price. The Find N retails in China starting for 7,699 yuan, which is around $1,208. This is significantly lower than the $1,800 asking price of Samsung’s Fold 3 or Huawei’s $2,700 for the Mate X2. Even Xiaomi’s Mix Fold, which was considered a great deal at time of launch, was priced at $1,500. That Oppo managed to make a foldable that at least matches (and in many cases, surpasses) what other foldables have done at a lower price point is great news for smartphone fans and those who believe in foldables. Because for a few years, the biggest gripe about foldables was their $2,000-ish price. Oppo has made it nearly impossible for rival brands to hit that $2,000 mark again, as competition will surely lead to Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi to at least attempt to match the Find N’s $1,200 mark.

This is important, because the biggest complaint many have had about foldable phones was that prices were too high. If foldables are to be no more expensive than a normal flagship slab Android now, then it effectively opens the door for foldables to become mainstream. And by hitting the $1,200 mark, the Oppo Find N has just set the new benchmark. Unless Samsung’s next foldable bring noticeable breakthroughs, it’d be difficult for Samsung to keep prices at the $1,800-$2,000 range.