The foldable phone market has seen significant advancements, with Oppo and OnePlus consistently pushing boundaries. The OnePlus Open, based on the Oppo Find N3, garnered widespread acclaim as a top-tier foldable. Its successor, the Oppo Find N5, elevates the experience further, boasting impressive features. There’s just one catch: its limited availability. This article explores why the Find N5 could have been the perfect OnePlus Open 2.
Alt text: A close-up of the Oppo Find N5 showcasing its slim profile.
Oppo has refined the Find N5’s hardware design to an impressive degree. At a mere 4.21mm unfolded, it claims the title of the world’s thinnest foldable phone. Remarkably, it achieves this while packing the fastest charging, largest battery, and smallest crease among its foldable counterparts. The triple-camera system features flagship-level main and telephoto sensors, although the ultrawide lens falls short. The 50MP main sensor rivals the Oppo Find X8 Pro, as does the 50MP telephoto lens, offering 3x optical zoom and impressive 30x zoom capabilities. The 8MP ultrawide lens, a technical downgrade from the OnePlus Open, represents one of the few drawbacks.
A Larger Display and Powerful Performance
Alt text: The Oppo Find N5 with its inner display fully unfolded, showcasing its expansive screen real estate.
The Find N5’s expansive 8.12-inch main display surpasses all other foldable phones, even exceeding the iPad Mini’s 8-inch screen. Like the OnePlus Open, it incorporates Open Canvas, a virtual multitasking feature enabling multiple large app windows side-by-side. Both displays also support stylus input, a unique advantage over competitors. Powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor (7-core version), 16GB of RAM, and 256GB or 512GB of storage, the Find N5 delivers robust performance. Its 5,600 mAh battery is the largest in the book-style foldable category, complemented by 80W wired and 50W wireless charging. The wealth of features makes the Find N5’s limited market release a missed opportunity.
Comparing the Find N5 to the Competition
Alt text: A side-by-side comparison of the front displays of the Oppo Find N5 and Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
The Find N5 sets a new standard for foldable phones, pushing beyond the current competition in terms of thickness, battery life, and charging, while also bringing its camera capabilities closer to non-folding flagships. At 4.21mm unfolded and 8.78mm folded, it undercuts the Galaxy Z Fold 6 (5.6mm unfolded, significantly thicker folded) and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (5.1mm unfolded, 10.5mm folded).
Alt text: A close-up view highlighting the thickness difference between the Oppo Find N5 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Alt text: The Oppo Find N5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 laid flat on a table, showcasing the noticeable difference in their folded thickness.
Alt text: A comparison of the thickness between the Oppo Find N5 and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
Alt text: Another angle comparing the thickness of the Oppo Find N5 and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
The Find N5 challenges the notion of bulky foldable phones. Its slim profile, just 0.6mm thicker than the iPhone 16 Pro, sets a new benchmark. While its camera may not outperform the absolute best, it’s competitive with other book-style foldables.
Camera Comparison
| Feature | Oppo Find N5 | Galaxy Z Fold 6 | Pixel 9 Pro Fold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Camera | 50MP, f/1.9, 21mm | 50MP, f/1.8, 23mm | 48MP, f/1.7, 25mm |
| Ultrawide | 8MP, f/2.2, 116° | 12MP, f/2.2, 123° | 10.5MP, f/2.2, 127° |
| Telephoto | 50MP, f/2.7, 75mm | 10MP, f/2.7, 66mm | 10.8MP, f/3.1, 112mm |
| Selfie (Cover) | 8MP, f/2.4, 21mm | 10MP, f/2.2, 24mm | 10MP, f/2.2, 23mm |
| Selfie (Main) | 8MP, f/2.4, 21mm | 4MP, f/1.8 | 10MP, f/2.2, 23mm |
All three devices offer comparable main cameras with 3x or 5x optical zoom. However, their ultrawide cameras lag behind their non-folding counterparts.
The Price Hurdle
Alt text: The Oppo Find N5's Open Canvas feature, displaying two split windows and a larger expanded window underneath, showcasing its multitasking capabilities.
Despite its impressive features, the Find N5’s limited availability and high price pose significant challenges. Its current price in Singapore translates to approximately $1,870 USD. Factoring in additional costs for other markets, the price would likely be even higher. This contradicts OnePlus’s value-driven approach, which prioritizes competitive pricing and feature-rich devices.
The Future of Foldables
Alt text: The Oppo Find N5 with the screen slightly open, highlighting its nearly invisible crease.
The Oppo Find N5 excels in design, battery life, and productivity, showcasing the potential of foldable phones. However, like its competitors, it faces the price barrier. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 6 start at $1,799 and $1,899, respectively, in the US. While trade-in deals and promotions exist, these prices remain prohibitive for many. Until foldable phone technology becomes more affordable, its widespread adoption will remain limited, hindering innovation and accessibility.
