Weekly poll: is the Oppo Find N the best foldable yet?

Did Oppo design the best foldable yet or is the company’s first go at the form factor too little, too late? The Oppo Find N has some exciting design elements, but also some flaws. In case you missed it, check out our hands-on review for more details (and you can watch our key features video below).

The biggest flaw is that right now Oppo seems to have no intention of selling the Find N outside of China. The model proved very popular in the country as it quickly sold out and people are asking for more than MSRP on the resale market.

Clearly, Oppo is on to something. The Flexion hinge is a big win – it makes the crease much less pronounced and closes the phone without leaving a gap. Check this out:

Gap check: Oppo Find N, none • Galaxy Z Fold3 (left) and Z Fold2 (right)

The other potential win is the size and aspect ratio of the displays – 5.49” 18:9 cover display (60 Hz) and a squarish 7.1” inner display (120Hz). We say “potential” as this may be too small for some while the phone is also fairly thick and heavy, making it too big for others.

Still, there are no foldables from other makers that come in this size, so if it’s right for you, it’s Oppo or nothing. We’ll mention one downside of the foldable form factor here – the phone isn’t water resistant (it’s a problem that only Samsung seems to have cracked).

There are other issues too. For example, the Snapdragon 888 is already a generation old. Using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 instead would probably have prevented Oppo from selling the Find N this year, however. Also, the camera setup is nothing special with a 50 MP main (1/1.56” sensor), 13 MP telephoto (only 2x magnification) and 16 MP ultra wide. This is a typical issue for foldables, though. Of course, specs on paper rarely tell the whole story, we will examine the camera in more detail in the future.

Oppo Find N is easy to use one-handed when closed • ColorOS on the large screen

On the plus side, Oppo managed to fit a 4,500mAh battery inside the phone (foldables don’t have much room for a battery). That’s actually 100mAh more than the battery capacity of the larger Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Oppo charges faster to boot, 33W with a cable, 15W without.

Let’s run through the competition. The Galaxy Z Fold3 has a larger internal screen (11% more surface area), but the cover display is a stretched out 6.2” panel with 25:9 aspect ratio (with 120 Hz refresh rate). The triple 12 MP camera doesn’t sound too exciting, but performs quite well in practice. And yes, this is rated IPX8 for water resistance.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold has an even larger inner display (23% more surface area) and an even more stretched out 6.52” 27:9 cover display. The main camera boasts a 108 MP sensor (1/1.52”), it is joined by a 13MP ultrawide and a unique telephoto camera with an 8MP sensor and a liquid lens, giving it 3x magnification (80mm) and the ability to act as a macro cam. The battery is larger and faster (5,020mAh, 67W), though without wireless charging.

The Huawei Mate X2 has the largest inner display of the bunch (27% more surface area) and a relatively sane 6.45” 21:9 cover display (with 90Hz refresh rate). Also, this one has a 50MP main camera with a large sensor (1/1.28”), a 12MP 3x telephoto camera, plus an 8MP 10x periscope tele unit, and a 16MP ultrawide one.

The battery is the same size as on the Find N (4,500 mAh), but with faster charging (55W, wired only, though). This one is powered by the Kirin 9000 5G, unlike the other three (which all use a Snapdragon 888).

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G • Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold • Huawei Mate X2

A problem shared by the Oppo, Xiaomi and Huawei phones is that they are not available outside of China. Samsung is the only global option on the list, so the Z Fold3 is unchallenged in most of the world.

Even so, what do you think of the Oppo Find N? After all this is only Oppo’s first foldable and the company is bound launch more, hopefully with a wider availability.

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