Oppo just announced the Find N as its first foray into the folding smartphone market, and it looks like an absolutely killer device (that you probably won't be able to buy). Foldable smartphones are quickly becoming a rising niche in the consumer tech space. The idea of a single device to act as a phone and table once seemed like an impossible pipe dream. In late 2021, however, it's very much the reality we're all living in.
So far, the foldable market has been dominated by a handful of companies. Leading the charge is Samsung. Samsung kickstarted the foldable craze in 2019 with the first Galaxy Fold. Today, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 deliver refined designs, powerful specs, and relatively affordable prices. There have also been foldable options from Motorola and Huawei, taking the form of the Motorola RAZR and Huawei Mate X series.
Now, Oppo's decided to throw its hat in the ring with the Oppo Find N. Following announcements of its new imaging NPU and Air Glass AR headset, Oppo just unveiled the Find N as its first-ever folding phone. As pitched by Oppo's Chief Product Officer and OnePlus co-founder, Pete Lau, "With the Oppo Find N, we aim to change people’s perceptions about what a smartphone can offer and begin making foldable devices more accessible to an even larger audience."
The Oppo Find N Has A Sleek, Original Design
Anyone who's seen a Galaxy Fold will find the Oppo Find N immediately familiar. It has an outer 'smartphone' display and opens up to reveal a larger 'tablet' one. However, Oppo has a few interesting tricks to make the Find N stand out from its competitors. For starters, the outer screen is smaller than usual at just 5.49 inches and has an 18:9 aspect ratio. Oppo says it went with this size to offer a "full smartphone experience with no compromises on size or usability." The Find N is also marketed as the first foldable smartphone where the inner display opens up in a landscape ratio — making it easier to watch movies and play games without having to first rotate the device. That inner screen is a 7.1-inch canvas with an 8.4:9 form factor. It also touts an AMOLED panel, 1792 x 1920 resolution, and a variable 120Hz refresh rate.
Oppo's also making a big deal about the Find N's hinge technology, called the 'Flexion Hinge.' The claims for the hinge are pretty impressive. Oppo says it allows the Find N to move "as smoothly as the joints in the human body," and allows it to prop up anywhere between a 50 and 120° angle. Furthermore, a wider fold angle supposedly makes the Find N's display crease up to 80 percent less noticeable "compared with other devices." Combined with the claim that there's virtually no gap when the Find N is closed, it sounds like Oppo went all-out with its design. Even better is that the futuristic hardware is also backed by flagship specs. Highlights include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, up to 12GB of RAM, three rear cameras (including a 50MP primary sensor), and a 4,500 mAh battery with wired charging up to 33W.
The Oppo Find N officially launches on December 23 in three colors — including white, black, and purple. The catch to all this? Oppo's only releasing the Find N in Mainland China with no current plans to expand it beyond the country. That's a real shame, because if the Find N is as good as Oppo's making it out to be, it could very well be one of the best foldables released this year.
Source: Oppo