Daily Mail’s tech reporter reviews the OnePlus Open folding phone that unfurls into a massive 8-inch tablet: ‘It makes you feel like a future time-traveler)

OnePlus has a strong track record of targeting phone giants and winning. And from my week with the OnePlus Open, it happened again.

The trick here is that it’s a fully functional flagship phone that then opens up to reveal a massive 7.8-inch tablet on the inside.

It’s a competitor to Google’s devices and the Samsung Fold (the convention in the mobile world is that devices that open vertically are “flip” phones, while those that open sideways are “foldable” phones).

More importantly, it’s cheaper than either (although anything foldable still comes at a higher price since the technology is relatively new, and retails for $1,699).

This is the first gadget that feels like a “proper” phone when folded, and it also looks a lot cooler than its competitors.

The phone switches to a 7.8-inch screen (Image by Rob Waugh)

Is the Open the best foldable phone? (Photo by Rob Waugh)

Few things can match 2023’s foldable phones for the “cool” factor. In fact, opening one of these locations makes you feel like a time traveler who has gone to the future.

Expect funny looks as people try to figure out what you’re playing with on the floor.

My son’s reaction was simply: “Wow,” followed, predictably, by “Can I have one?”

The industrial design is gorgeous, with a glass dome over the massive Hasselblad camera array, and it’s just 5.8mm thick.

The cover display is really good enough that you don’t miss out on having a large, flagship device.

It’s slightly larger than the Pixel Fold’s cover screen, at 6.3 inches (and 120Hz), and I found myself not automatically opening it every time I wanted to use it.

It weighs just 245g – but it feels absolutely massive when unfolded, with a clear, colorful 7.8-inch display with a screen-to-body ratio of 89%.

It sure impresses (Photo: Rob Waugh)

The industrial design is absolutely gorgeous (OnePlus image)

It’s a joy to use, thanks to OnePlus’ simple OxygenOS operating system, which has been tweaked to remain simple in both phone and tablet mode, and the cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.

It may seem strange to obsess over a hinge, but hinges are a big issue in the world of foldable and flipped devices, and the hinge here allows the Open to fold completely flat, making it feel sturdier, higher quality, and more pocket-friendly.

OnePlus tapped into the expertise of parent company Oppo — which makes the excellent Find phones, which are not currently available in the US — to create the Flexion hinge that folds flat.

It’s durable, too: the hinge is certified for 1,000,000 folds and unfolds, which OnePlus smugly informed me translates to opening it more than 100 times a day for a decade.

The hinge also relieves pressure on the screen, avoiding the characteristic creases that have plagued previous generations of foldable devices, along with micro-cut openings woven onto the carbon fiber screen support structure.

Right, that’s enough about the hinge.

Not only does the Hsselblad camera look great, it’s also equipped with a new high-tech “pixel-stacked” Sony sensor, with three sensors (48MP primary, 48MP telephoto and 64MP ultra-wide).

Images are bright and clear thanks to the new sensor (which uses a fancy layering system to cram more light sensors into the phone’s slim body), though it lacks some of the AI ​​magic found in the Pixel Fold.

There’s plenty of cool tricks to play with here, with a host of fancy Hasselblad Portrait Mode extras that mimic the bokeh and flare effects that real DSLRs capture.

The hinge means the phone can fold completely flat (Image Rob Waugh)

The industrial design is absolutely gorgeous (OnePlus image)

There are some business-focused additions, like the ability to make windows “pop out of the side” of the screen (something you can usually only do on a PC).

The PC-style taskbar at the bottom also makes finding apps much easier: you wouldn’t swap a laptop for this, but it’s perfectly fine for working on the go.

The only thing I worry about – enough to keep me from buying, perhaps – is giving it away.

OnePlus has protected it with Ceramic Guard, using high-tech pure ceramic crystals, which it promises are 20% more resistant than the cutting-edge Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.

But I have to say, I’m still worried. Obviously I didn’t throw my review unit into a brick wall, but I would be concerned about fatal injury if it dropped on concrete.

The first thing I generally do with a new phone is to order a case: here, you have to be able to open it, so the gadget has to be “bare”.

The simple solution is of course to opt for insurance, and there’s no denying that this is a beautiful device that will really turn heads, and could help put foldable phones on the map.