Oppo Find N2 Flip review

Competition

The Oppo Find N2 Flip joins a market of clamshell foldables that's anything but saturated - we don't seem to be spotting a whole lot of them in the wild. That's not to say there aren't established alternatives of the very same kind, of course.

The most obvious competitor to Oppo's Flip is Samsung's Flip - we gather Oppo named it that way precisely to evoke comparisons to what must surely be the most widely adopted foldable. We're not entirely certain the Find benefits from such comparisons, however.

Yes, it has a larger and more useful outer display, and looks nicer when folded next to the wedge-shaped Z Flip4. It can snatch a few victories in the camera department too (main camera stills, selfies), but the Galaxy isn't without its imaging prowess (4K video on all 3 cameras, superior ultrawide). The Samsung is also water resistant, the only one around here that can claim that, plus it has wireless charging.

And in the end, there's the matter of price - just over 6 months old, the Galaxy Z Flip4 is already cheaper than what the Find launches at.

Galaxy Flip (left) vs. Find Flip

Next on our list is the Motorola Razr 2022. It counters Oppo's largest cover display by offering arguably the most useful cover display - the Moto software lets you do a whole lot more without unrazring? the Razr. The Find is again better at some camera things and not as good as the Razr at others, and the things are more or less the same as in the Galaxy comparison. But the Razr isn't quite as IPX8-rated (what even is splash resistance) as the Galaxy, nor does it last as long on a charge, nor it is as cheap - it retails for Find N2 Flip money, possibly even more. This one we're willing to give to the Oppo.

There's a more adventurous alternative too, in the form of a Huawei P50 Pocket. Its major downside is the lack of Google services and that's a dealbreaker to a large chunk of the population. If, however, you can live without Google Maps and the lot, the Pocket has a few things going for it. We'd call it the prettiest of the bunch, even if cover screen size has suffered for it, and the built in UV light makes for some unique photos. Plus, the sunscreen test functionality almost justifies the dedicated camera that's only used for that one thing - okay, maybe not for everyone, but we established from the get-go that the Pocket is not for everyone. You do need to appreciate its quirks to pay what is, again, Find N2 Flip money, even more than a year after launch.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 • Motorola Razr 2022 • Huawei P50 Pocket

Verdict

The Oppo Find N2 Flip was a long-awaited arrival at our office - after we were teased by two generations of Oppo foldables meant only for the Chinese market. The Flip, on the other hand, is the company's first phone with a bendy display and a global release.

It has some big shoes to fill, but it's quick to impress with the smoothest crease we've fondled on a display that's otherwise as great as the best in the field. The ability to stay open at arbitrary angles enables use cases that only the Galaxy clamshell can match. And the large cover screen is superior to all competitors' offerings when it comes to camera applications.

The battery life is one of Find N2 Flip's strongest suits, particularly in screen-on tasks, which is how we tend to use our phones.

It also comes with a thoroughly capable primary camera and internal selfie unit, but that's offset by a few quirks. First, the ultrawide camera's quality is more fitting for a lower-midrange phone. Then there are some illogical image quality differences depending on which screen you use for UI. And the real kicker has to be the lack of 4K recording with the outer screen on. We like the camera experience overall, but the opportunity for overall camera superiority was missed.

You could say that last bit about the cover screen too, which does save you a lot of unfoldings, but still feels underutilized. Other point deductions in the Find's scorecard include the lack of wireless charging and an IP rating - sure, they can only be found on one competitor, but that's still one competitor that has them, and the Oppo doesn't.

In the end, the Find N2 Flip is a solid package overall. It has a superior main camera and longer battery life than the Galaxy Z Flip4, but it's not universally the better phone of the two, even if only a few missteps stop it short of true greatness.

The target audience for the Flip/Razr phone form factor (if we can call it that) includes people who probably are not heavy users. They are not so much in it for the specs but for the novel form factor as long as there are no glaring shortcomings. And the Galaxy Flip4 is already good enough to meet those baseline expectations. That makes it the more reasonable purchase at the moment. The Oppo's price markup at launch makes it hard to recommend it outright over the Galaxy Z Flip 4. But if you can find the two equally priced in your market, well, that would be a tough dilemma, which only you can solve.

Pros

• Largest cover screen on a clamshell foldable is great for camera framing, has some useful other functionality too.
• Superb internal display, as intangible as creases go.
• Great battery life, fast charging for a foldable.
• Excellent primary camera and inner selfie unit.

Cons

• No official IP rating (though it's admittedly only the Galaxies that have that).
• No wireless charging.
• The large cover screen is not very feature-rich, and using it for the camera live view affects image processing and video options.
• Ultra-wide cam is not very good and lacks 4K video recording.