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NOV 14, 2023
NimishAndAkriti
OnePlus took the foldable plunge with its first foldable device, the OnePlus Open, which it launched a short while ago. As expected, the phone comes with a truckload of hype and early reviews have been positive. We got our hands on the device, and well, it definitely is rather interesting and very different from the other fold in the market, the one from Sammy. But is it worth that Rs 1,39,999 price tag? Our initial thoughts and some snaps for you all.
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Two things struck us right away about the OnePlus Open - the size of the external (cover) display and the size of the camera unit. Both are larger than what we have seen on the Galaxy Fold. Unlike the Fold, the OnePlus Open actually has a very usable "normal sized" 6.31 inch external Fluid AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate. The huge camera unit protrudes and is bigger than the one on the OnePlus 11, kinda sorta eyesore!
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The phone comes with OnePlus' signature clean design (that camera unit apart). The back is glass, the frame is metal and the hinge that opens the display has a very solid feel. At
245 grams, it is not light but does not seem too heavy for its size. We got the Emerald Dusk variant and it looked very elegant, and from the front, exactly like a normal phone, which the Galaxy Fold does not, thanks to that elongated cover display. It is thick, but compact!
The OnePlus Open opens out into a large-ish 7.82 inch 'flexi-fluid' display with 2440 x 22687 resolution with 120 Hz, making it appear almost square. It is a very tablet-ish feel and as of now, the crease in the middle is not very noticeable (how well it 'ages' is going to be crucial, given the issues other foldable have had.) Right now, we can safely say that the OnePlus Open gets both inner and outer displays right, which is a rarity!
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The Open comes with some very powerful hardware, The OnePlus Open is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, has 16 GB RAM, 512 GB storage and packs in a 4805 mAh battery with 67W charging (and a charger) and stereo speakers. The main camera is a 48 MP one with OIS, with a 64 MP telephoto with OIS and a 48 MP ulttrawide. The internal display has a 20 MP selfie camera and the cover display a 32 MP one. This is one well-stacked phone, in hardware terms!
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There are a few odd design decisions, though - the volume rocker on the lower panel is placed at a rather high point, making it very difficult to reach. It is also slightly odd that OnePlu's iconic alert slider is on the top panel, while the fingerprint scanner is on the lower one (again making it a little hard to reach when the phone is not open). But these are very minor preliminary quibbles.
The OnePlus Open comes with a very stiff price tag - Rs 1,39,999. This is well below the Galaxy Fold 5 (about Rs 1,60,000), but it is still in the "I can get an iPhone and iPad for this price" zone. How well it works could well determine this foldablee's fate - OnePlus has tweaked OxygenOS on Android 13 for the Open. It looks smart, feels solid and has the specs. It is a potential Galaxy Fold headache. Will it be one? Let's see (all queries are welcome!)
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