We’ve been anticipating a foldable from OnePlus for a long time, so when OnePlus announced their first foldable, the OnePlus Open, it didn’t quite come as a surprise. But more importantly, it hasn’t disappointed us. I’ve spent two months with the OnePlus Open and I’m ready to share my thoughts for as to why this is the best fold you can get in the U.S.
What I like about the OnePlus Open
Display and form-factor
The OnePlus Open sports a 6.3-inch FHD+ on the outside and a 7.8-inch display with a 2.2k x 2.4k resolution on the inside. The inner ProXDR display offers stunning true-to-life colors. With a peak brightness of 2,800 nits, the display is exceptionally bright.
The hinge is super impressive on the OnePlus Open, it still opens completely flat, and the crease is practically invisible.
When it comes to display size and aspect ratio, it really feels like OnePlus has hit the sweet spot for a larger size foldable. This is a fold that is as practical for using it as a phone in candy bar mode as it is in tablet tablet or in clamshell mode. The aspect ratio of the Open is suitable for most apps.
In comparison to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, the OnePlus Open is wider and shorter, effectively making its cover screen more usable, so that it feels more like you’re using a typical phone.
I appreciate how thin and light the OnePlus Open is for a fold. It’s not much bigger than an iPhone 15 Pro. It’s slimmer than an iPhone 15 Pro when open and weighs about the same.
Made of aerospace-grade materials, the OnePlus Open feels incredibly durable and well-made. Its materials are up to four times more robust than stainless steel. The cover screen is made with a ceramic guard, which offers 20% better impact resistance than Victus Glass.
Furthermore, the design of the OnePlus Open is beautiful and sophisticated. I especially like the vegan leather green option which adds a sophisticated look to the phone and helps with its grip. On top of that, OnePlus includes a sleek case for the Open in the box.
Camera
OnePlus doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to cameras, which is why I have been pleasantly surprised to discover just how good the Hassleblad camera on the OnePlus Open is. It’s superior to what you’ll find on the likes of most folds as it performs like a flagship camera.
The camera module contains three cameras. The primary sensor is a 48 MP Sony Lytia “stacked” camera.
There is a very good 48 MP ultrawide camera on the OnePlus One, and a very good 64 MP camera with a 3x optical zoom lens and a zoom range of 3x to 6x.
The camera supports night portraits and performs well in low light.
Software
Software on a fold is an oversight we’ve often seen on other folds. Fortunately, OnePlus open has invested a lot of time into making OxygenOS work well in a fold form-factor.
OnePlus has implemented a lot of changes to their Oxygen OS Android Skin to make their first Fold more usable, but the software is still buggy and we’re hoping that updates will improve it over time.
That said, they have developed a great multitasking system called “Open Canvas” which is the best and most usable multitasking software we’ve used on a foldable screen to date.
What I don’t like about the OnePlus One
Lacks wireless charging
If you’re a fan of OnePlus, it won’t come as much of a surprise that the OnePlus Open doesn’t come with wireless charging; the company often omits that feature. In any case, the OnePlus Open makes up for its lack of wireless charging with 67W fast charging. The 67W fast charging charges the Open from 1-100% in 43 minutes.
Battery life on the OnePlus One is solid with a 4,805 mAh battery. You’ll get about 9-10 hours of active screen time on a charge.
Lack of water resistance
The OnePlus Open is IPX4 water-resistant. This isn’t as durable as its competitors – Samsung and Google both offer IPX8 water resistance for their folds.
Should you buy the OnePlus Open?
Yes. The OnePlus Open is the best fold on the U.S. market right now.
That said, there are certainly a few key areas where the OnePlus Open can improve. For starters, for its $1699 price tag, I’m disappointed to see a lack of wireless charging.
Speaking of its price, I would’ve liked to see OnePlus come out with a more competitively priced fold, which is something the U.S. market sorely needs.
But putting these relatively minor gripes aside, the OnePlus Open manages to knock it out of the park, and I consider it to be more fun and practical to use than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold. That’s especially impressive considering this is OnePlus’ first foldable. I also consider the OnePlus One to be OnePlus’ best phone to date.
That said, it’s no secret that OnePlus had Oppo’s “help” when making the OnePlus Open – it’s essentially just a global version of the OnePlus Find N3. Regardless, Oppo has been killing it with their foldables, so we’re glad to see that OnePlus has straight-out adopted Oppo’s innovations into its portfolio. After all, every time we have reviewed an Oppo device, we complain that it’s not available in the U.S.!
OnePlus – if you’re listening, for your next trick, we’d like to see you bring over our favorite flip clamshell foldable to the U.S. – the Oppo Find N3 Flip.
The OnePlus Open retails for $1699 directly from OnePlus.