the competitor of the Galaxy Z Fold which aims to be uncompromising

The OnePlus Open has been announced: it is a foldable smartphone in book format, and perhaps a real competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5. Surprise: it is indeed coming out in France.

Foldable smartphones in book format are very rare on the French market: apart from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Honor Magic Vs, no references are available from us. Fortunately, a new one has been added: the OnePlus Open, and it could well steal the number 1 spot. A smartphone co-created with Oppo, combining the skills of the two manufacturers.

A light and thin foldable smartphone

What OnePlus has to offer is, first of all, a neat design, according to its claims. It starts with a weight of 239 grams (black color only): it’s more than a classic smartphone, but it’s less than its competitors from Samsung or Honor. Its rival on this point could be the Honor Magic V2, which could soon be released here. The thickness is also reduced: 5.8 mm in the unfolded position, 11.7 in the folded position. Always less than what is done elsewhere (among the models sold in France).

As for the teardrop hinge, OnePlus prides itself on having a component made from only 69 parts. This is also what explains the weight of the OnePlus Open: fewer parts, less weight. A hinge that withstands more than a million folds, enough to last more than 10 years at a rate of 100 folds per day (opening and closing). OnePlus smartphone obliges, we find the Alert Slider, which allows you to change the ringing mode (silent, vibrate). The foldable smartphone is IPX4 certified, which means it is resistant to splashing water in all directions.

The OnePlus Open is above all two screens

The external screen is a 6.31-inch panel with 2K definition and a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz. An LTPO panel, which allows the refresh rate to be lowered to 1 Hz in order to save a little battery. The brightness is undoubtedly what intrigues the most: up to 2800 cd/m². OnePlus adds that it can display up to 1.07 billion colors. A screen that offers a resolution of 431 ppi as well as a body/screen ratio of 91.8%. The advantage of this screen is that it offers a 20:9 ratio, like on a classic smartphone, without a foldable screen. An advantage since at Samsung, the external screen of the Galaxy Z Fold is narrow.

By unfolding the OnePlus Open, we see a 7.82-inch screen with a definition of 2440 by 2268 pixels and which offers a body/screen ratio of 89.6%. Obviously, a foldable slab is more complex and the thickness of the edges is systematically greater. Same colors, same maximum brightness, it’s also a 120 Hz Oled LTPO screen, with a resolution of 426 ppi. Both screens are naturally Dolby Vision compatible. To watch content or listen to music, Dolby Atmos is present thanks to three stereo speakers.

What makes the OnePlus Open a smartphone? without concessions »

Having a pretty foldable smartphone with screens with an attractive technical sheet is good, but we already know: Samsung has been doing it with its Galaxy Z Fold for years. This is perhaps where the real difference of the OnePlus Open lies. And it starts with the photo part, always in collaboration with Hasselblad:

• Main photo sensor: Sony LYT-T808 of 48 Mpx, size of 1/1.43 inch, 24 mm, f/2.7;
• Ultra-wide-angle sensor: 48 Mpx, 114° field of view, 14 mm, f/2.2, OIS;
• OV64B x3 optical telephoto lens, 1/2-inch size, 145mm, f/2.6;
• Outdoor selfie sensor: 32 Mpx, f/2.4;
• Interior selfie sensor: 20 Mpx, f/2.2.

OnePlus promises wonders with image quality comparable to that of the Sony IMX989 or that of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. The zoom also promises: up to x6 without loss (coupling optical and digital zoom) and up to x120 for the “ Ultra Res Zoom “.

A powerful chip and 100% charge in 42 minutes

Unlike Honor, OnePlus has chosen the best Qualcomm SoC currently on the market (but not for long): the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, renowned for its performance and energy efficiency. A chip that is also found on the Galaxy Z Fold, in a version dedicated to Samsung devices.

Engraved in 4 nm, it is coupled with 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512 GB of storage. On the connectivity side, we find Wi-Fi 7, as well as 5G naturally, with two SIM ports. Everything is powered by a 4805 mAh battery. OnePlus announces a charging time of 42 minutes to go from 1 to 100% battery thanks to a power of 67 W (and 37% in 10 minutes). The brand promises four years of optimal capacity, since the battery would require 1600 charge cycles before dropping below 80% of real capacity.

OnePlus’ real challenge: adapting its software overlay to the foldable format

What makes the great strength of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is also its software part. One UI 5.1.1 is optimized for the foldable format by offering specific features. The OnePlus Open obviously wants to respond to this with the OxygenOS 13.2 interface, based on Android 13. Too bad not to move directly to Android 14 which has just been released. For example, Open Canvas allows you to use several applications simultaneously: you can resize them as you want by dragging them. Up to three apps can be used in this mode and nine layouts using multiple apps can be saved.

The idea being to create work (or entertainment) spaces depending on the applications you plan to use. THE drag and drop works between apps and some gestures are in place to use Open Canvas. There is also a sort of taskbar that can be displayed to access applications that have been used recently. As for updates, OnePlus aligned itself with Samsung last year: the OnePlus Open will receive four years of major updates and five years of security patches.

OnePlus Open price and availability

The OnePlus Open will be available from October 26 on the OnePlus website: it will only be sold on the manufacturer’s website and with the charger provided. The smartphone will only be sold in one color: green, no black available, unlike other regions. As for the price, it will be 1849 euros, or 50 euros less than the Galaxy Z Fold 5. But for equivalent storage (512 GB), it is 190 euros less.

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