available right now, and is definitely one of the highlights of 2023 for me, at least as far as phone launches come and go.
The camera is yet another area in which the OnePlus Open seriously pulls ahead. The sensible and no-nonsense approach has allowed the OnePlus phone to deliver some seriously impressive camera versatility and general image quality. You get coherent camera experience with almost no extraneous software features, a rather impressive telephoto camera that delivers superb lossless image quality even at 6X zoom and can peek over to 100X optical zoom, matching Samsung’s Galaxy S flagships.
Hardware itself is impressive as well. The OnePlus Open is the first phone to have both an internal and external LTPO screens that deliver smooth scrolling experience (1-120Hz for the internal screen, 10-120Hz for the cover display). Both can also achieve exceptionally high peak brightness, which is surely shaping up to be the next arms race on the smartphone scene.
And how could we forget the ultra-fast charging and the wall adapter included in the box of the OnePlus Open? Samsung seemingly has no interest in outfitting its phones with faster charging than the current soft cap of 45W, and I will make you a bet that we’ll never see a Samsung flagship phone with a wall adapter in the box ever again.
I’ve never used a foldable phone for longer than a regular review would normally require me to, as I simply failed to see the appeal of the form factor and simply couldn’t live with the obvious design shortcomings that existing foldable phones introduced, like the unsightly display crease on the Galaxy Fold or excessive weight of the Pixel Fold. That said, the OnePlus Open is the first foldable phone I could see myself using as a daily driver without making any compromises.
Yes, it’s technically true that the OnePlus Open is pretty much a rebranded Oppo Find N3, so it’s essentially a third-gen product that has been perfected thanks to Oppo’s know-how in the area. Still, even with this criticism taken into account, this latest device is subjectively superior and could be viewed as the tipping point that will force Samsung to rethink its strategy on the foldable market.
What could Samsung change in the future?
We all know that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is coming next summer. It’s too early to know any specifics about the device, but once it leaks out, we will know pretty much everything. That’s why we can’t really say if Samsung will continue with yet another minor refresh or rethink its philosophy behind the Galaxy Z Fold lineup.
Has Samsung lost the will to innovate?
There’s no under-display camera on the OnePlus Open… but do we need such an over-complication on deck?
If I had to come up with a wishlist, I’d surely put design at the top, with eliminating the display crease being a top priority. Next, improving the cameras will be next in importance, as there’s simply too much catching up to do. A periscope is likely out of the question, but clever trickery could allow Samsung to bring its 100X Space Zoom to foldables.
Finally, and this is where wishful thinking comes into play, I can only hope that Samsung finds a way to bring the price down. I know, I know, prices usually go up, but one way to bolster sales is by price cuts; if any company out there can soak up the potential damage that a slight price decrease would incur, that’d be Samsung.
