Oppo invited us to the launch of the Oppo Find N2 Flip in London back in February. Since then, I’ve been testing and using the Find N2 Flip. I have been so impressed and content with the Oppo Find N2 Flip, that I’ve decided to abandon my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and replace it with the Find N2 Flip. Read on to find out why.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and its predecessors have been my primary phone for the past few years. So needless to say, I’m a big fan of the foldable flip form factor. Consequently, I’ve been disappointed by the lack of competition in the U.S. market when it comes to flips.
Sure, Motorola came out with the Razr and Razr 2 a few years back, but those flips were riddled with usability issues – from a poor camera to mediocre performance and a middling hinge mechanism, they were letdowns.
On the other hand, I’ve been really happy with every generational update of the Samsung Z Flip series. Samsung has done a good job of refining the Flip series year after year, but my biggest gripe with the device continues to be that its cameras are good but not great. Although it’s far from perfect, the Oppo Find N2 Flip addresses my biggest gripes with the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Oppo Find N2 design and displays
Made of an aluminum frame and Gorilla glass 5, the build quality of the Find N2 Flip feels sturdier than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4. Moreover, I love the Find N2 Flip’s two color options – in particular, the light purple model very much pops. The downside to that purple color option is that its glossy glass finish makes it slippery to grip, so I’ve found it necessary to use the device with a case.
If that slippery finish concerns you, there’s another color option – Astral black. Black might seem boring and ordinary but this color option sports a nano-textured matte glass finish that looks great and makes the device even easier to grip. This seems to be the same nano-textured matte glass finish used on the recently launched OnePlus 11. This makes sense since OnePlus is a sub-brand of Oppo.
Another advantage of the Oppo Find N2 Flip’s design is that when the phone is closed, there is almost no discernible gap between the two sides of the screen. This lack of gap means that there is no space for dust or debris to accumulate, unlike Samsung’s offerings. By eliminating this gap, this design solves another issue that users would have to contend with.
I’ve been carrying around the Find N2 Flip for the past few weeks, and people have been flipping out over it. Sometimes it’s its huge cover display, sometimes it’s its purple color, and sometime’s it’s just its flip form-factor that gets people’s attention, but all in all, it’s a true head-turner.
On top of the FInd N2 Flip’s great color options, like Samsung, Oppo has come out with some great accessory cases for the Find N2 Flip, so covering the phone up doesn’t feel too criminal.
Our biggest gripe with the Oppo Find N2 Flip’s design is that its hinge isn’t able to go as far back as the hinge on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 when resting in a “laptop” position. This isn’t a deal breaker, but it’s disappointing.
Cover display
The cover display on the Oppo Find N2 Flip is unusual because it’s large and vertical. It’s a 3.26-inch AMOLED cover display with a vertical 382 x 720 resolution that offers an impressive 900 nits peak- brightness along with a 120Hz refresh rate. This vertical display is essentially a mini, water-downed smartphone display that has plenty of useful tricks up its sleeve.
Because I don’t use the cover display on my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 that much, I assumed that the vertical cover display on the Oppo Find N2 Flip’s would be somewhat of a gimmick.
Well, I assumed wrong. Instead, I’m regularly using the Find N2 Flip’s vertical cover display to check notifications and use its widgets. Notifications are displayed in a neat list on the cover display and you can tap on messages to read an entire message right there. You can even reply using one of the preset quick replies.
There’s also a detailed weather widget, calendar events, a voice recorder, timers, and an interface for controlling connected wireless headphones.
The cover screen can also be used as a preview screen for taking selfies with the main cameras, making it more useful than Samsung’s cover screen which is small and thus less practical to use for taking selfies.
Oppo has also thrown in some cute interactive pets that can optionally live on the cover display. These interactive pets will eat, listen to music, play, sleep, or read depending on the time of day and what you’re doing. Are these interactive pets necessary? Not at all, but they add a bit of levity to the phone.
Oppo says that a Spotify widget will arrive on the N2 Flip in April, and we’re very much looking forward to that and other future widgets.
Invisible creaseless display
The Oppo Find N2 Flip clamshell boasts a 6.8-inch AMOLED with a 21:9 ratio and a peak brightness of 1600 nits, it can refresh up to 120Hz, and supports HDR10+ content. The display is incredibly vibrant, with saturated colors and crisp details, making it a joy to look at. Its cinematic aspect ratio makes it great for watching movies and unlike Samsung’s, it never feels like the screen is cramped.
To that effect, the Oppo Find N2 Flip manages to on up Samsung’s display in several ways. For starters, the “invisible crease” on the Oppo’s Find N2 Flip’s display is indeed nearly invisible and much less distracting than the crease on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4. Furthermore, the physical sensation under your finger is much less noticeable on the FInd N2 Flip than it is on Samsung’s.
Plus, not only is its inner display practically creaseless, but the Find N2 Flip’s display is also larger than Samsung’s. It’s a 6.8-inch display compared to Samsung’s 6.7-inch display. That tenth of an inch might not seem like much on paper, but it makes a big difference for day-to-use. And fortunately, when folded the Find N2 Flip’s body is not much bigger than Samsung’s.
Oppo Find N2 camera
The 50MP main camera on the Oppo Find N2 Flip is the best we’ve used on a flip. It’s a really good camera that can go toe to toe with some flagships. Portrait shots taken with the primary camera are very good. This main camera delivers excellent photos overall with realistic colors.
The selfie camera on other hand is a bit too over-processed for my liking. Fortunately, you can easily use the cover display to take selfies using the main camera.
I’m also not crazy about the Flip’s mediocre ultra-wide camera which isn’t nearly as good as the main sensor.
There’s also no dedicated optical zoom, but thanks to the high-resolution main sensor, the digital zoom through sensor cropping isn’t too bad.
Despite some gripes, I am able to take many beautiful photos with the Oppo Find N2 Flip and I consider it to be superior to the camera on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4. You can see why from my sample photos below.
Oppo Find N2 Flip sample photos
Oppo Find N2 performance
The Oppo Find N2 Flip is powered by the lesser-known MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chipset with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
While MediaTek may not have as big a reputation as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets, this chipset is no slouch. I found day-to-day use on the Find N2 Flip to be plenty peppy. Notably, it’s able to play games with ease, and without getting too hot.
We’re also fans of Color OS. In general, we prefer stock Android, but Color OS does a very good job of enhancing the usability of Android OS in a non-obtrusive way, and without slowing the device down.
Oppo Find N2 battery life and charging
The Oppo Find N2 Flip packs in the largest battery size of any clamshell on the market – 4300mAh.
Battery life is better than Samsung’s – it will get you through the day with some charge left over.
Unfortunately, the Oppo Find N2 Flip lacks wireless charging which is a big bummer. But it supports SuperVOOC flash charging which enables it to charge to full in about an hour.
Oppo Find N2 Flip vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: Which one should you get?
As with previous Oppo devices that we’ve reviewed, our biggest gripe for the Find N2 Flip is that it’s not readily available for sale in the U.S. Fortunately, unlike the fantastic Oppo Find N2 clamshell foldable that we recently reviewed, there is a global version of the Oppo Find N2 Flip that U.S. users can purchase and use unlocked.
It’s worth noting that I’ve been using the global model of the Oppo Find N2 Flip in both the U.S., and Europe on Google Fi and have had no connectivity issues. That includes using 5G.
Beyond the fact that the device is not easy to find in the U.S., I do sorely miss wireless charging on the Oppo Find N2 Flip. When folded, its form factor really lends itself to resting on a wireless charger. This is something I’ve very much appreciated with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4. On the flip side (pun intended) the Oppo Find N2 Flip does offer fast wired charging, so this helps make the lack of wireless charging more forgivable.
However, after using the Oppo Find N2 Flip for nearly a month, I’ve come to the conclusion that Oppo Find N2 Flip is the winner here over the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 due to its larger displays and superior camera system.
Oppo Find N2 Flip review verdict
All in all, the Oppo Find N2 Flip is a spectacularly fun phone to use, yet it’s also very practical thanks to its pocketablity and top-of-the-line features. Ultimately, the Oppo Find N2 Flip isn’t perfect, but it’s a superior alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Should you buy the Oppo Find N2 Flip?
The Oppo Find N2 Flip is the best flip phone on the market right now. If you have the money to burn and can get your hands on the global version, you won’t regret it.
Oppo Find N2 Flip pricing and availability in the U.S.
Unfortunately, getting a hold of an Oppo Find N2 Flip in the U.S. isn’t cheap, and it’s much pricier than the Galaxy Z Flip 4. The Oppo Find N2 Flip is currently available unlocked from Giztop for $999. You’re better off picking up one from ebay where you can find one for a few hundred dollars less.
Update April 17th, 2023:
Since the publishing of this review, OPPO has added a new Spotify Widget And Speech-to-Text Quick Reply feature through a software update. All apps that enable quick reply will support Speech-to-Text, including: WhatsApp, Messenger, Messages by Google, Telegram and LINE. Users wanting to add the new Spotify widget can manually add the Spotify widget through the screen widgets settings under “Pocket Player”.
Updated October 19th, 2023:
A successor to the Oppo Find N2 Flip, the Oppo Find N3 Flip has been released. Check out our review of the Oppo Find N3 Flip.