The foldable phone wars are heating up, as new and old players alike throw their hats into the ring in 2023. OnePlus is expected to join shortly with what is currently rumored to be called the OnePlus Open, the first OnePlus foldable.
It is expected to launch in the second half of the year and be priced competitively against other foldables – which means it’ll be rather expensive. It’s also said to come with impressive flagship smartphone hardware, including the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a trio of high-resolution cameras on its back, and a new version of the company’s own OxygenOS built specifically for foldables.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The first OnePlus foldable phone
- When is it out? Expected in August 2023
- How much will it cost? Expected to cost at or around the same price as other top -tier foldables
OnePlus foldable: Price & availability
The OnePlus foldable, referred to subsequently as the OnePlus Open for simplicity and clarity, has officially been announced by OnePlus to be arriving this year. As Motorola, Samsung, and Google have fresh-face entrants for the best foldable phone in 2023, the OnePlus Open is expected to break cover towards the end of the year. According to rumors, it is expected to be released in August. There are no reports on pricing yet but we can expect it to be in the general ballpark of other foldables, such as the Google Pixel Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. As such, expect it to arrive costing over $1,000 / £1,000 / AU$1,900.
Though OnePlus has yet to announce any availability for the OnePlus Open, the company can see it is expected to target the same markets as the OnePlus 11, even if it turns out that not all OnePlus 11 markets get the foldable.
OnePlus foldable: Design & display
The OnePlus Open is expected to sport a similar vertically-hinged design to some of the most established players in the space, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Renders from the ever-reliable OnLeaks, reportedly based on a prototype unit in the testing stage, show a foldable featuring that familiar book-style form factor but with OnePlus’s own spin. The company seems to be aiming for a middle ground between the tall, narrow aspect ratio of the Z Fold 4 and the broader, more squat Oppo Find N2. The Open will undoubtedly borrow DNA from Oppo’s foldables, though, due to the direct relationship these companies share.
Other details from the renders include a faux leather back, a circular camera module in the style of the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Pad, and a fingerprint sensor in the lock button.
As for the screens, the internal display of the OnePlus Open is expected to be a 7.7-inch AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the external screen is said to be a 6.3-inch AMOLED display, also with a 120Hz refresh rate, and both sound rather impressive, on paper
OnePlus foldable: Camera & battery
The OnePlus Open is expected to come with a powerful camera set up, comprised of a 48MP wide camera, a 48MP ultra-wide, and a 64MP telephoto camera. A 32MP front camera is said to sit on the cover screen while a 20MP front camera is rumored for the internal display.
Seldom is camera performance the priority with foldables, with the focus – unsurprisingly – falling more on the form factor itself. Even so, there are plenty of entries out there with above-average photographic abilities, and they’re improving all the time; narrowing the gap against conventional flagship phones. The Pixel Fold’s camera doesn’t disappoint, as you’ll see in our Pixel Fold review, as one example. Hopes are high for the OnePlus Open’s picture quality too, with an ongoing partnership between OnePlus and imaging experts Hasselblad, there’s a high probability of similar image tuning to that enjoyed by the OnePlus 11.
As for the battery, the OnePlus Open is rumored to come with a 4,800mAh cell and 67W fast charging. Sure, that’s not quite the 100W speeds (and beyond) you’ll find on a number of more conventional candybar phones, but it would make the Open one of the fastest-charging on foldables out there, if this report is accurate.
OnePlus foldable specs and features
OnePlus foldable: Specs & features
The OnePlus Open is expected to come with a specialized version of Android and the company’s own OxygenOS, that’s adapted for the form factor. This software version is said to be called ‘OxygenOS Fold’ by Twitter tipster SnoopyTech, in deference to the new form factor. The OnePlus Fold was one of the rumored names of the OnePlus foldable, and while ‘OnePlus Open’ is currently the favorite among historically reliable tipsters, it’s interesting that OnePlus still manages to find a place to latch the overused ‘Fold’ suffix; assuming related rumors hold true, of course.
The OnePlus Open is rumored to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, with up to 16GB of RAM. It’s also said to come with up to 512GB of storage – a sizeable amount for a phone that’s expected to do double duty as a tablet and potentially replace your laptop as well.