Of course, a product that was never officially announced in the first place can’t really be “delayed”, but following the successful fall 2023 launch of the original OnePlus Open, it felt reasonable to expect an improved sequel of some sort to start selling… right about now.
Normalize non-regular product upgrade cycles!
The gorgeous OnePlus Open is still without a sequel, and that’s fine. | Image Credit — PhoneArena
Granted, a book-style foldable is a much higher-profile device than some Galaxy Buds, AirPods, an iPad mini, or a Pixel Tablet, which is precisely why it makes sense to release a new edition… when it makes sense. If that’s the case 10, 11, or 12 months after the launch of a previous version, then great. But if not, 15, 18, or even 24 months works too.
Will the OnePlus Open 2 be able to keep the Galaxy Z Fold 7 at bay?
That, my friends and dear readers, is the million billion-dollar question no one can really answer at the moment. But I feel like I can venture a guess based on Samsung’s far too predictable smartphone launch schedule and upgrade cycles in recent years.
The OG OnePlus Open is objectively just as good if not better than the Z Fold 6. | Image Credit — PhoneArena
A lot of folks seem convinced that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be strongly inspired by the currently Korea-exclusive Z Fold SE, which would likely make it inferior to the OnePlus Open 2 in a number of key ways, as well as incredibly late to the Snapdragon 8 Elite party in the summer of 2025.
Of course, it’s not too late for Samsung to take a page from the often-brilliant OnePlus playbook and reverse the tables with a spring 2025 launch of a Galaxy Z Fold 7 inspired by the Z Fold Special Edition but further upgraded with a bigger battery, even better cameras, and a thinner profile. Then again, that’s something not even my dreamer side can entertain for more than a few seconds without rejecting as a totally outlandish theory.
