A surprisingly good first attempt by the OnePlus open review

The OnePlus Open: A Portrait-First Approximation, Landscape-First, and Landscape-Preserving Galaxy-Z Flip/Pixel Fold

There are many things to enjoy about the hardware of the Open. There’s the handy alert slider, of course, and also the fact that the phone isn’t shaped like a remote control. It’s a happy medium between the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s portrait-first orientation and the Pixel Fold’s landscape-first format.

The inner folding screen of the OnePlus Open measures 7.82 inches, with a resolution of 2440 x 2268, a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, and a peak brightness of 2,800 nits. It still has a visible crease, but OnePlus says it’s using a teardrop-shaped folding mechanism to minimize its appearance. The screen uses a layer of ultra-thin glass in its construction for durability, and the whole device has an IPX4 rating for resistance against water splashes. The IPX 8 rating is indicated by the protection against full submersion found in theGalaxy Z Fold 5. The Open cover display has the same maximum 120Hz refresh rate, peak brightness of 2,800 nits and a resolution of 2484 x 1116.

As well as emphasizing durability, OnePlus is also touting the size of the Open at just 5.8mm thin when unfolded and weighing as little as 239 grams when choosing the black vegan leather-backed version. (There’s also a glass-backed green version that weighs slightly more at 245 grams.) That’s not quite as svelte as the thinnest and lightest version of the Honor Magic V2, which is 4.7mm thick and weighs 231 grams, nor is it as slim as Huawei’s 5.3mm-thick Mate X3. But the OnePlus Open has beaten Honor’s device to international markets and comes with support for 5G as well as Google’s apps and services, unlike Huawei’s phone.

For software, the device runs OxygenOS 13.2, which is based on Android 13 and which OnePlus has equipped with some tweaks to make it work better on the Open’s larger screen. There’s a taskbar at the bottom of the screen to offer quick access to files as well as favorite and recent apps and the ability to multitask by running multiple apps side by side.

There are issues with running some apps in the weird aspect ratios of foldables that can be solved by Open Canvas. This enables you to tile your apps on the screen in a way that tries to keep them at a usable aspect ratio and not cause issues by stretching them or resizing them.

OnePlus Open: Multitasking at a Google Pixel 8 Launch Event with Multiple Apps at the Same Time on a 7.82-inch Screen

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor with 512 gigabyte of onboard storage and 16 gigabytes of RAM. The battery on the Open can be fast- charged by up to 67W.

Finally, for cameras, the Open has a Hasselblad-branded triple lens setup on its rear consisting of a main 48-megapixel camera, a 64-megapixel telephoto with a 3x optical zoom, and a 48-megapixel ultrawide. You can record at up to 30 frames per second and up to 60 frames per second in the HDR version of the film, if you want. The rear cameras are joined by two selfie cameras that sit within a couple of hole-punch notch.

There I was in the second row at the Google Pixel 8 launch event. The keynote was about to start, and while other journalists pulled out their laptops and started typing away, I whipped out the OnePlus Open, the new folding phone from the Chinese company that makes good mid-priced Android devices.

I have my laptop in front of me when I’m at a busy live event and I use it to take notes and to use it to chat with my team members. But with the OnePlus Open and its snazzy multitasking features, I was able to see three apps at the same time on the large 7.82-inch screen—Slack and Chrome sat next to each other, and I placed X along the bottom. I was able to respond to my colleauge in chat and grab the URLs from chrome, while posting a stream of pictures on Xs and moving back to other apps.

The OnePlus Open: A Surprisingly Good First Attempt (OnePlus Open Review: An Extensive Look at a Booklike Fold Phone)

The fifth generation of the smarphone Fold has largely stayed the same in size and shape, despite improvements to the experience over the years. I think that this year’s entrants to the fold phone market are offering a better experience because they are newer and have fresher designs.

In the first few days of using the phone, I often forgot I could crack it open and make use of the much larger internal display. In reality, the booklike folding screen will allow you to use it most of the time, switch to a larger display when you want to watch a video or play games, and reuse the screen most of the time. An exterior screen that feels like the screen of a normal phone is exactly what we want.

The only hardware gripe I have is with the massive camera module on the back. My hands are big, and my index finger frequently sits over the bump. That doesn’t feel great, and I’m constantly smudging the camera glass. This might not be much of a problem if you have smaller paws. At least the whole thing looks gorgeous, especially in the Emerald Dusk color.

Source: OnePlus Open Review: A Surprisingly Good First Attempt

OnePlus Open Review: Right Size, Right Price: Oneplus-Open-review-foldable-battery-screen-camera-price

The company spared no expense in building the Open, as you first start turning it over. It feels luxe, and OnePlus even brought back the multi-position Alert Slider on the side of the phone, which lets you to switch between silent, vibrate, and ring with a satisfying flick.

Both the Z Fold and the Pixel Fold are rated for full-immersion water resistance and have a pricetag of just $100 more. Wireless charging, which is an optional feature on high-end phones, is also included.

The camera “bump” on the Open is more of a mountain. It’s a raised circle that occupies over a third of the back panel, with three camera lenses and a subtle Hasselblad H for style. OnePlus is making a lot of noise about its design, which is meant to catch the light like a CD, and there’s a gap between the lenses and cover glass that’s supposed to remind you of the face on a luxury watch. I liked the way it commanded attention, but found the best use was to use a pop socket to prop the phone on my finger when using one-handed.

The display measures 7.82 inches by 2440 x 2 260 resolution. It’s an LTPO panel, too, with variable refresh rates from 120Hz all the way down to 1Hz, and OnePlus claims the screen can hit a peak brightness of 2,800 nits in high brightness mode. Flagship phones top out around 2,000 nits, so that is incredibly bright.

I saw it ramp up in direct sunlight, and I couldn’t tell you if it went all the way up to the top of that range, but it did keep the screen readable even on a bright day. It maintained that brightness longer than the Pixel 8 or iPhone 15 Pro, both of which tend to darken after a few minutes to prevent overheating.

Source: OnePlus Open review: right size, wrong price

The OnePlus Open: Nearly creaseless foldable battery-screen camera camera-price (OnePlus Open review: right size, wrong price)

I have never found the crease on those devices to be a problem since they mostly disappear when you look at them. The OnePlus Open is proof that a nearly creaseless foldable is possible, even though it does bother some people.

The Open’s hinge is a little less stiff than the alternatives, too. To keep it open, you need to open it at least 45 degrees, and it will shut down again. The same thing happens on the other extreme — after about 135 degrees, it flops all the way open.

For what it’s worth, I haven’t encountered any serious problems in the last week that I’ve been using the phone, and I haven’t been overly cautious with it. The phone stands up to a little rain just fine, and I haven’t seen any sign of dust intrusion causing problems with the display or hinge.

The drainage holes in the hinge have been put in to reduce the chance of disaster. A water-resistant treatment is included in some internal components. There’s a case included in the box, which is nice, but it’s a flimsy sort of frame for the front panel and cover for the back panel, so I wouldn’t trust it to provide any additional protection.

Source: OnePlus Open review: right size, wrong price

The OnePlus Open is Always-On: Wireless Charging with the Brick and Cable Included in the Spec Sheet $3000 / $1000$

I was able to use the Open for a full day without any issues, and only drained the battery at the end of the day, after about four hours of screen time and 45 minutes of Pocket City 2. I spent my time with the Open’s always-on display enabled full time, which didn’t come with any serious battery life penalties.

Fast wired charging is still very much OnePlus’ deal, and the Open supports 67W charging with the included cable and charging brick — you’ll still get fast charging if you swap out the proprietary cable or brick, but you need both to reach the full 67W. You’ll get a full charge in well under an hour, which means you can skip the charging overnight and power up while you go about your morning routine, if you want.

Wireless charging is not included in the Open version of the spec sheet. Every other phone that costs more than $700 is made with wireless charging. Some people are very happy with fast wired charging, but their phone should have more convenience features like wireless charging.

It is a better idea than the split screen or nothing that the Pixel Fold offers. There’s a taskbar that you can display and hide easily, and it includes recent apps as well as a folder of recent documents. You can also position floating windows anywhere on the screen, have them shrink to a tab at the side of the screen if you want, and even have them fetch them again if you want.

You can dictate how the individual app should look on a main screen, in either full screen or full 16:9 ratio. It’s possible to have another app on the unoccupied portion of the screen without cutting off the first one. It’s a little inelegant, and I prefer the way the Galaxy Z Fold 5 resizes apps as you go to fit everything in one view.

Source: OnePlus Open review: right size, wrong price

A Color-Foldable OnePlus Open Camera System: One Plus Open Review: Right Size, Wrong Price, and Other Ways to Take a Picture

Maybe it’s because I just switched from a Pixel phone, but the thing I’m appreciating the most about the OnePlus Open’s camera system is its color rendering. The hardware is respectable, with a Stabilized 48-mm main camera, 64-mm 3x telephoto and 48-mm ultrawide.

It all comes with Hasselblad branding and, according to the two companies, Hasselblad’s influence on the camera’s color science. It is nice that it embraces warm tones and handles light well compared to most phone cameras.

It’s a great camera system for static scenes, but I wish it handled moving subjects better. If you use too-slow shutter speeds, you end up with a lot of photos where your subject looks soft. Forget trying to get a low-light shot of a moving subject.

The portrait cutout is usually convincing. The crop zoom mode is just fine if your subject is not moving, but is having difficulty with motion. I took some pictures from the stands at an NHL game, and it couldn’t manage a sharp shot of any of the players as they took the ice, even though they were illuminated with a bright white spotlight. One shot has artifacts that seem to show the system was trying to piece together a moving subject from many different frames, but couldn’t quite get it right.

Source: OnePlus Open review: right size, wrong price

OnePlus Open Review: Hidden Camera, Cover Screen and Back-Focusing Camera, or What Happens When You Unfold the Phone

There is a main display with two cameras, one on the front screen and one on the inner display which is mainly used for video calls. I like that the camera is hidden in the corner of the display, rather than under the display on the Z Fold 5. It will illuminate by a ring for a second when you turn the camera on to know where to look, but you can lose track of where it is.

Video recording with the main camera tops out at 4K 30 / 60p, but you’ll need to drop down to 1080p to use the more robust stabilization mode, which does a good job of smoothing out jerky motion from walking. The front-facing camera on the cover screen records up to 4K video, but there’s a bit of a wobble whenever you move the camera slightly, like the electronic image stabilization is fighting back against the movement. That’s not something I noticed with the main camera, and if you’re going to record selfie video, your best bet is to unfold the phone and use the rear camera with the image preview on the cover screen — one of the best tricks a folding phone can do.

Source: OnePlus Open review: right size, wrong price

Is the Z Fold 5 really a regular phone? Why you can get a $200 discount on it when you trade in a new phone or a cracked one

You don’t have to be a card-carrying Red Cable Club member to appreciate the device’s shape, either. The narrow Z Fold 5 and the long and skinny Z Fold 5 differ in how they come up with a better alternative. It feels more natural to use it as a regular phone when it is closed. It’s all supported by solid performance, high-quality screens, and a nice camera system. But at $1,700? When the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is right there for $1,800? That’s tough.

The cost of $1,700 is not a problem if you trade in any old phone. — for a quick $200 discount. That’s not an introductory deal, either; the company says it will offer this discount throughout the life of the phone. That’s nice and all, but then why not just make the phone’s MSRP $1,500? It is not out of the ordinary that competitors are willing to offer promotional pricing. At this moment, you can get a $300 discount if you trade in an old phone that is cracked for a brand new one, or even a cracked phone of your own.

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.