Oppo Find N3 review

Competition

The Find N3, being the OnePlus Open's alter ego, will likely not be sold in markets where the Open is available. In that sense, the likelihood for in-house competition, so to speak, is minimal, and the one major global rival for the Find is the same Galaxy Z Fold5 that every other large-size foldable needs to measure up to.

And while the Galaxy's price tends to drop in certain markets, as best as we can tell, the Z Fold5 and Find N3 are priced fairly closely in countries where Oppo is selling its phone-turns-tablet. The Galaxy's complete IPX8 water resistance and wireless charging capabilities give it a couple of advantages. But the Find is both thinner and lighter, and features a much more convenient cover display. The Find's ultrawide is more versatile thanks to its AF capability, and its telephoto is also superior. The Galaxy might be able to offer better warranty conditions, and we'd be inclined to expect longer software support from Samsung if you value that type of long-term security.

By the looks of it, the markets where Google is selling the Pixel Fold don't appear to overlap with where Oppo is offering the Find N3. But if for some reason you're comparing the two, Google's Fold scores points for its IPX8 rating and its straight-from-the-source software, as well as the Pixel camera experience, though the lack of autofocus on its ultrawide camera cripples it a bit. The Pixel Fold is quite the chonker though, at 283g, plus we're not quite so sure about the longevity of first-gen Google hardware.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 • Google Pixel Fold

There are various further options, some of them limited to the Chinese market. The Xiaomi Mix Fold 3, for example, can win you over with its slim waistline, slightly larger displays, and pair of telephoto cameras, though it's not necessarily the better cameraphone. Neither the vivo X Fold2, nor the Honor Magic V2 can challenge the Find N3 in camera prowess, and it's not like they're the whole foldable thing better than the Oppo. Finally, the Mate X3 might be able to build a case for itself around the lack of Google services (if that's your thing) and its removable media support (proprietary NM cards, but it's something).

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 • vivo X Fold2 • Xiaomi 13T Pro • Huawei Mate X3

Verdict

The Find N3 is a worthy entrant into the large foldable space, together with the OnePlus Open that shares most of its DNA. It competes well with the benchmark in the class, the Galaxy Z Fold5, by delivering as good or better results in key areas, while not really falling short in any major way.

For example, the Find N3's rear cameras are more versatile on both the ultrawide and telephoto end. The displays on the Oppo foldable are nicer in almost every way, and on top of what is mostly a tie battery life, the Find N3 adds quicker charging. The nice speakers help too.

The Oppo also offers a compelling alternative to what's been one of Samsung's key selling points - the software bits to make the most out of the form factor. Other makers have been unable to nail those until now, but ColorOS appears to have done it just right.

Where the Find N3 can't quite challenge the Galaxy is in water resistance and high refresh rate handling when it comes to gaming. Those two feel like rather niche cons though - you'd want to be a bit more careful with your foldable in adverse conditions to begin with, and perhaps more people will be after a large foldable for work rather than play. And it's not like splash-only resistance and 60fps gaming are the end of the world.

With that in mind, we'd be comfortable in recommending the Oppo Find N3 to anyone who's on the lookout for a large foldable with capable software and a particularly great camera.

Pros

• Outstanding design and build, IPX4 splash proof.
• Excellent foldable OLED display, 120Hz, bright, color-accurate, Dolby Vision.
• Superb cover OLED display, 120Hz, bright, color-accurate, Dolby Vision.
• Good battery life, fast to charge.
• The Dolby Atmos 3-speaker setup works quite well.
• Feature-rich software, great for multi-tasking.
• Flagship-grade performance, dependable stability.
• Impressive photo quality from the rear cameras, solid video performance.
• Superb portraits and selfies with the rear cameras.

Cons

• A lot of competitors offer better water resistance (IPX8 rating).
• No wireless charging.
• No HFR gaming.
• Mediocre selfie cameras.