OnePlus Open review: an excellent foldable, with a catch

Like other OnePlus products, the OnePlus Open has a very elegant and industrial design, which is one of the ways the brand stands out from the crowd. There are two colors for the OnePlus Open: Emerald Dusk and Voyager Black. For this review, we were sent the Emerald Dusk version.

For the OnePlus Open, OnePlus designed the Flexion Hinge. It’s built around a single-spine architecture, which OnePlus says allows for better integration between components and makes it more sturdy compared to the three-part spine that other foldables use. The Flexion Hinge reduces the overall number of parts to 69 compared to the 100-plus in competing foldables, making the hinge and overall device more lightweight.

While all that sounds great on paper, I found the OnePlus Open’s hinge to feel a bit looser than other foldables, such as the Google Pixel Fold. In fact, once you get past what would be an obtuse angle (maybe 135 degrees) when opening the device, it kind of just springs into the fully open 180-degree position with little to no force needed. There isn’t a lot of stiffness in the hinge to allow it to stay open at any angle you want, and that’s a problem.

I’m not sure if this is because the Flexion Hinge design has fewer parts involved in the build, or maybe it’s because of the huge camera bump making that half a bit top-heavy. But if you’re trying to use the OnePlus Open in clamshell mode past 90 degrees for viewing (say, if you’re sitting down with a table or surface that is lower than eye level, etc.), then you might have to deal with constantly adjusting the viewing angle because it’ll just spring open flat without much force.

But on the other hand, the Flexion Hinge allows the OnePlus Open to open up completely flat without much effort. This is the opposite of the Pixel Fold, where you have to apply some force to make it open fully flat, which is always a bit nerve-racking.

Speaking of being fully open, thanks to the antireflective inner display, the crease is barely noticeable when you’re looking at it head-on. You can still feel it when you run your fingers across the middle of the inner display, but if a visible crease would be the bane of your existence, then I’m happy to report that it’s very minimal on the OnePlus Open. You can see it when you’re viewing it from the side, but that’s not how you would typically use it anyway.

If only the hinge could be firm enough to keep it open at an obtuse viewing angle, it’d be a virtually perfect hinge design.

Now, let’s get to the displays. After all, aside from the hinge, the displays can make or break a foldable.

Inside the OnePlus Open, you have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, along with an Adreno 740 GPU, 16GB RAM, and 512GB storage. It also ships with OxygenOS 13.2, which is OnePlus’ custom OS based on Android 13.

One of the key features of OxygenOS 13.2 is Open Canvas. This is a new way to multitask with the OnePlus Open, and it was designed from scratch with the objective of increasing everyday productivity with multi-window efficiency on a larger screen.

Thanks to Open Canvas, when you do multi-window operations or use split-screen mode, it isn’t restricted to just the physical size of the display you’re on. You can choose to stretch and resize active windows as needed, with the secondary window sliding in and out of the canvas on demand.

The OnePlus Open also supports up to three app windows being displayed on the screen at once (in either split screen or floating), in both vertical or horizontal orientation. These can also be freely moved around and resized to your preferences. And if you have apps paired together, you can save up to nine of them, saving you from the hassle of having to do it each time.

OxygenOS 13.2’s Open Canvas also adds a desktop-like taskbar at the bottom of the screen. This is a persistent taskbar, so it won’t disappear after a few moments, even with gesture-based system navigation. In the taskbar, you can easily get to recent and preset applications.

I found the Open Canvas multitasking interface pretty intuitive and straightforward to use. There are visual indicators to help you see where you can grab and resize windows, and the persistent taskbar provides quick access to your most used apps, as well as all apps and recents.

With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 16GB RAM, the OnePlus Open has a ton of power. In my testing period, I did not experience any issues with the performance — I had a bunch of apps open at the same time and all of them were operating fine, with no stuttering when switching apps or using split screen and floating windows.

I have mostly used the OnePlus Open for my typical tasks, which include checking social media, work messages, and personal and work emails, managing my schedule, streaming Disney+ and music, taking photos, and playing some Diablo Immortal. I even used the OnePlus Open to create a digital invitation for my daughter’s upcoming birthday party without breaking a sweat. The phone can get a little warm when running more resource-intensive apps and games, but it never got to the point where it was uncomfortable to hold.

There is also a feature on the OnePlus Open that lets you expand the available RAM on the device. With the RAM Expansion option, as long as you have enough storage space available, you can use a part of that storage space to expand the RAM. By default, the setting is on, and it expands the RAM by 4GB. But you can change that to 8GB or 12GB or turn it off if you don’t want it.

With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and at least 16GB RAM, the OnePlus Open should definitely have no problem handling whatever you want to throw at it. And with the Open Canvas feature, multitasking and productivity are easier than ever.

On the software side, the OnePlus Open will receive four major Android version upgrades, as well as five years of security updates. Combined with the build quality, this foldable should last you a good long while.

The OnePlus Open comes with an impressive triple-lens Hasselblad camera array on the rear of the phone. The main camera is a 48MP Sony LYTIA-T808 “Pixel Stacked” sensor, the ultrawide is 48MP, and the 64MP telephoto camera is capable of 3x optical, 6x in-sensor zoom, and up to 120x Ultra Res zoom.

Since this is a folding phone, there are also two selfie cameras on the cover display and the inner display. The cover display selfie camera is a more impressive 32MP, while the inner display is a 20MP camera. The OnePlus Open is capable of taking selfies with the rear cameras as well, if you so choose.

So far in my testing, the OnePlus Open gets pretty impressive photos, which isn’t surprising given the specs. Colors appear bright and vibrant, but never oversaturated (like what I’ve experienced with Samsung phones). Images have a good amount of detail, skin tones seem accurate, and there’s little shutter lag, so it’s pretty good for capturing action shots. I was able to capture some photos of my daughter in a swing without it being just a blur, so that alone was impressive.

Portrait mode photos can be in 1x, 2x, or 3x zoom, and in my tests, I had no real issues with the edge detection. The portraits come out looking good with natural-looking bokeh in the background that isn’t overdone. Selfies also come out pretty nice, though I did notice a bit of a beautifying airbrush effect at first. This can be turned off if you prefer. Lowlight images also come out well enough, given the large sensors in the Hasselblad camera.

Inside the OnePlus Open is a 4,805mAh battery, which is a bit more than what Samsung offers in the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (4,400mAh), but on par with the Google Pixel Fold (4,821mAh). OnePlus claims that the battery should last more than one day of typical use on a single charge, and in my testing, that proves to be true.

I spent a lot of time on my OnePlus Open watching Disney+ shows, and that didn’t even make much of a dent with an hour of continuous watching — the battery dropped less than 10% in that time. I was also on Diablo Immortal for about 30 minutes, and the battery only dropped a few percentage points, though I did not have the graphical settings amped up, as they remained on the default. If you adjust the performance of some games, it will affect the battery life more.

Even if you don’t get the advertised more than one day of use, the OnePlus Open supports up to 67-watt charging speeds with its SuoerVOOC fast-charging technology. That means you can go from 1% to 100% battery in less than an hour — 42 minutes, to be precise.

While the OnePlus Open has a large, all-day battery that supports some pretty fast charging speeds, don’t expect to pop this on a wireless charger. It does not support wireless charging or reverse wired/wireless charging, unfortunately, which is a shame considering the price tag.

If you want full wireless and reverse wireless, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 offers that. While the Google Pixel Fold may not have Battery Share, it does support wireless charging, though only at 7.5W.

The OnePlus Open is available to preorder starting on October 19, with public availability on October 26. You can order it directly from OnePlus’ website or from retailers like Amazon. It will cost $1,700 for either the Emerald Dusk or Voyager Black colorways, and it only comes with 16GB RAM/512GB storage.

The price is an interesting one, as it is $100 cheaper than the competition. Both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Google Pixel Fold start at $1,800 retail, and both of those have base models that have less storage and RAM. But that’s not all.

OnePlus is running a trade-in offer that will let you trade in any phone in any condition to get a minimum discount of $200 — knocking the OnePlus Open down to at least $1,500. Depending on the phone you trade-in, you could get up to a $1,000 discount. This promotion will run throughout the OnePlus Open’s entire product life cycle and isn’t just a limited-time preorder promotion.

For OnePlus’ first attempt at a foldable, the OnePlus Open is a solid device. It’s a great size when folded and unfolded, and it’s definitely one of the most lightweight foldables on the market thanks to the materials used, which include titanium. If you’ve been bothered by the heavy weight of foldables in general, the OnePlus Open may change your mind.

The displays on the OnePlus Open are excellent, and both look great in use. The 6.31-inch cover display is similar to a standard smartphone size, making it very usable without any compromises. And with the antireflective layer on the inner display, it’s much more usable than other foldables, such as the Google Pixel Fold with its super-reflective inner display. This antireflective layer also helps reduce the visibility of the crease as well.

And the overall design of the OnePlus Open is definitely eye-catching. Emerald Dusk is a beautiful green color that shimmers nicely, and the Hasselblad camera array makes the phone stand out from the crowd. Plus, the Hasselblad camera takes some great photos, and there is little to no shutter lag with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and 16GB RAM, so the OnePlus Open is a very nice option if you want a foldable with good cameras.

The Flexion Hinge is, however, a double-edged sword. The best part about it is that it allows the OnePlus Open to easily open flat without having to use a lot of force, like on the Pixel Fold. But on the other hand, it is a bit annoying to use the Open in clamshell mode at any angle above 130 degrees or so. That’s because a slight bump or push on that top half will make it fully spring open, at least from my experience. It’s hard to use if you want to watch videos by propping it up in clamshell mode, though the alternative is to use it in tent mode with the cover display.

While the OnePlus Open has a few quirks, it’s a very solid choice for a foldable phone overall. Plus, the battery life should last you a little over a full day, and the 67W charging speeds make up for the lack of wireless charging. It’s also $100 cheaper than other competitors, which is something to think about if you’re in the market for a foldable.

The market for folding phones is heating up more than ever, and the OnePlus Open is an extremely welcome addition to it.

Editors’ Recommendations