OnePlus Open Review: The Foldable Flagship Killer

It’s roughly been around four years since we first laid eyes on an engineering marvel such as a foldable smartphone. While many companies have ventured into the territory, OnePlus took its sweet time for its foray. The OnePlus Open epitomises how patience can lead to good things. It ticks all the boxes — not just as a foldable — but as an everyday smartphone too. The Open leaves no gaps (quite literally) — the displays are stunning and the camera is jaw-dropping. So, is the OnePlus Open the perfect foldable that compels you to open up your wallet? Let’s find out in this review.

OnePlus Open Review: Design and build quality

• The Open comes in two colourways

• The foldable is easy to carry around due to its lightweight and form factor

The massive camera module at the rear is so big, it can be seen from Mars, and it’s a great conversation starter among friends. Because it protrudes so much, it wobbles massively on a table. Regardless, it adds a different essence to the back panel, with the camera sensors neatly arranged under the glass dome. Among the two hues, the Voyager Black comes with a faux leather finish, which feels premium and helps with gripping the phone. The Emerald Dusk colourway uses a matte-frosted glass finish similar to the OnePlus Pad.

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The Open is very easy to carry around and feels just like any other smartphone in your pocket. The Flexion hinge (we’ve seen that before in OPPO foldables) uses a single spine, which helps decrease the total number of parts required. This cuts down on weight. The rounded corners and blunt edges make sure your palms don’t scream in pain.

The volume rocker and power button provide good feedback. The latter also doubles up as a fingerprint sensor and works flawlessly. OnePlus’ iconic alert slider is also quite handy and a much-welcome addition. The USB Type-C port, speaker grille, and SIM slot can be found at the bottom.

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Foldables carry an elite status — opening it up in the wild guarantees at least five baffled stares. Just like the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (Review), the Open comes with a gapless hinge, meaning the main display won’t be susceptible to lint and dirt from your pockets.

The Open comes with an IPX4 rating for water resistance. But, it is best kept in your pockets or at home when visiting water bodies.

OnePlus Open Review: Display and audio

• • The crease is almost non-existent when looking at it from a straight angle

  • Both displays run at 120Hz

Both the displays are absolutely stunning, with no corners cut. The viewing angles, colour reproduction, and contrast are amazing. The crease when opened is almost non-existent, and I didn’t find myself fidgeting with the indent. While it seems good so far, we will keep you updated on how it fares a few months down the line.

Moreover, both displays get adequate protection from scratches – in fact, OnePlus claims the Ceramic Guard found in the rear panel is 20% more durable than the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.

The 120Hz panel on the outside and inside ensures smooth scrolling. The outer display isn’t as narrow as other foldables and resembles any normal smartphone screen — which increases the usability. Consuming content on the Open is fun, but the main display comes with the compromise of letterboxing. This basically means you’ll be greeted with two black bars while watching movies.

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I mostly stuck to the cover screen for watching movies, while the inner display was mainly used when reading articles. The same brightness levels on both screens help in breaking the disparity when switching between them.

OnePlus has managed to optimise all the apps well to fit the bigger screen. Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, WhatsApp, and many other apps run very smoothly.

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The continuity on the display has been executed well. Once you open the device, the content from the cover screen is carried onto the main display. And it works both ways — something the Z Fold 5 missed. The transition is smooth and fast. A tab in the settings allows you to disable it, but why will you?

The Open packs a loud and crisp triple-speaker setup. The output provides good depth. It works well when listening to music or watching movies. The speakers support Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio.

OnePlus Open Review: Performance and software

• The Open is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor

• Multitasking using certain software tricks is a joy

The 1.1 million score on the Open pretty much speaks for itself. While it may be falling behind the Z Fold 5 in terms of benchmark numbers, this does not reflect in daily usage. The phone flies through everyday tasks with absolute ease. It can handle all kinds of apps, be it intensive or moderate. It’s essentially a tablet, and that’s exactly how I used it.

The multitasking abilities of this foldable are just amazing. There’s not a single hint of stutter when using up to three apps on the display. While gaming on the main display was a bit weird for me, the cover display was perfect. BGMI can run on HDR and Extreme for 60fps gameplay.

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The software is what makes this experience a whole. The taskbar integration is immaculate. It incorporates an app library, a recent folder, and a bunch of other apps — which sadly cannot be customised. A two-finger drag from the top portion gets you to the multitasking tab. You can run up to three apps in tandem — this is where cool meets convenience. Rest, the software experience is similar to any OnePlus flagship.

The OnePlus Open will get four years of Android updates and five years of security patches — brilliant!

OnePlus Open Review: Cameras

• The 3x telephoto camera is absolutely stunning and clicks DSLR-like photos

• This is one of the best and most reliable rear camera setups on a foldable smartphone

The Open is a camera heaven — there are five of them, and there’s no chance you will miss spotting anyone. OnePlus continues its partnership with Hasselblad for its foldable as well, and boy am I glad.

Daylight output from all three cameras on the rear is crisp, clear, colourful, and well-detailed. The processing does not overdo bright colours and instead sticks to a more natural appeal. The dynamic range is also kept under control. There’s visible colour science disparity when switching to the ultra-wide angle camera, but distortion at the edges is almost non-existent.

OnePlus Open Daylight Camera Samples

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The Open nails nighttime photography with excellent output in well-lit and extremely dark situations. OIS helps in taking stable shots, especially in dark situations. But, it struggles against light sources, inviting overexposed street lights.

The 3x telephoto camera is perfect for portrait shots. Images look as if they are hot out of a DSLR, with amazing subject separation and bokeh. The details on these captures are also good, it once revealed Mumbai’s humidity on a subject’s forehead.

OnePlus Open Low-Light Camera Samples

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The low-light captures are just as stunning — just get under a street light, and you have your next WhatsApp profile picture. The 6x in-sensor zoom can also capture decent photos, but it requires you to be still and stable.

Selfies captured using the cover display camera are good with adequate details and a balanced dynamic range. The post-processing adds a hint of red hue, but the capture is still serviceable. The primary selfie camera also clicks decent photos but is not as detailed and consistent.

OnePlus Open Selfie Camera Samples

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The best way to take a selfie on a foldable is by using the dual-preview feature and clicking with the rear camera. Bam! Another profile picture, this one’s for the ‘gram.

OnePlus Open Review: Battery and charging

• The 4,805mAh battery gave me a screen time of about seven hours

• You get an 80W charger in the box, but the phone supports 67W

The reliability factor carries on to the battery. When juggling between both the displays, the Open managed a screen on time of about seven hours — this included extensive camera usage, among other things. The 4,805mAh battery is quite dependable, lasting an entire day with ease.

Unlike other foldables, that cost a bit more — the Open comes with an 80W charger in the box. However, it supports speeds up to 67W. The phone took about 47 minutes to fully charge from the dead.

OnePlus Open Review: Verdict

OnePlus had an open canvas, and they coloured it well. For now, it seems like the OnePlus Open can give the Galaxy Z Fold 5 a run for its money, in terms of reliability be it in performance, cameras, displays or even battery life.

Both the displays on the Open are amazing. More importantly, there’s no major disparity between the panels. This plays a big part, especially when you keep switching between them. Moreover, achieving the near creaseless display is commendable.

While the Z Fold 5 remains the champion in the benchmark tests, the Open is no slacker. Multitasking and every other task thrown at it is handled with elegance and power.

While the 3x camera has me more than impressed with stunning shots, the rest of the lenses are equally capable and reliable. The battery and charging situation easily trumps any competition.

It’s a near-perfect first-gen product, though OnePlus still has a few things to work on for the next time. Support for a pen or stylus should be foremost for a device with such a huge display. They should also make sure apps are perfectly optimised for the foldable display. Finally, if they get the price a bit more reasonable, there’s no doubt that this will be the next foldable killer… which is in line with the brand’s philosophy.

It almost seems like OnePlus has gathered their Galacticos one by one this year — it started with the OnePlus 11 series, then they got the Nord 3 (Review), and now, they have their Beckham in the form of Open.