The foldable segment has seen an uptick in launches over the last year or so. While Samsung dominates the foldable lineup with its Fold and Flip lineup, its offerings have faced stiff competition from the likes of Huawei, Oppo, and others. OnePlus, known for its flagship killers and some great budget phones, is also foraying into the foldable segment this year. The company's long-rumored OnePlus foldable phone will debut later this year, and if priced right, it could give the Galaxy Z Flip and Fold a run for their money.
Since OnePlus is owned by BBK, the company could rely on the expertise of Oppo and Vivo to ensure its first foldable delivers a stellar user experience. This is something that will become clear once the phone launches. For now, below is a roundup of everything we know about the phone once rumored as the OnePlus V Fold, but some new reports suggest the phone is called the OnePlus Open. As we're unclear on the name, we'll refer to it as both names throughout this article.
OnePlus foldable phone: Design and specs
Thanks to leaked renders, the OnePlus Fold's design has already been revealed. Like the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Pixel Fold, the OnePlus Fold will have a book-style form factor, where you open the device to reveal the bigger inner display. In the images, the massive circular camera housing dominates the phone's back, with a prominent Hasselblad branding in its center.
Leaked renders of the OnePlus V Fold
While difficult to ascertain, the dim renders show the cover screen on the V Fold stretching from one corner to another. It does not appear as cramped as the Galaxy Z Fold's exterior display, which should aid one-hand usage. Apparently, this is a 6.3-inch OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. As for the inner folding screen, it is purportedly a 7.8-inch flexible OLED with a 2K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.
Premium OnePlus phones are known for packing powerful internals, and the OnePlus Fold should follow the same trend. A recent leak indicates the phone will use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, 16GB RAM, and 256GB storage. A 4,800mAh battery will provide juice to the internals and support 67W fast charging. That will be slower than the OnePlus 11's 100W fast charging, but it should still be good enough to top up the battery to full in around 30–40 minutes.
Other specs revealed by rumors include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Alert Slider, and dual-SIM 5G connectivity.
OnePlus foldable phone: Cameras
If the leaked specs are accurate, the V Fold won't use the same camera setup as the OnePlus 11. The company might use slightly older 48MP sensors to keep the price of its foldable in check.
Reportedly, the foldable will house a triple camera setup, including a 48MP primary, 48MP ultra-wide, and 64MP telephoto shooter. A 32MP camera on the external display and a 20MP shooter on the inner folding display will do selfie duties. The Hasselblad branding will remain, so expect the OnePlus Open's photos to have a similar color tuning as the OnePlus 11.
From what it appears right now, if you want a foldable with the best camera performance, you might have to look elsewhere, as the OnePlus V Fold could fall short in this department.
OnePlus foldable phone: Software
Besides the hardware, a foldable phone must have optimized software that takes advantage of its unique form factor. This is where Samsung is way ahead of its rivals, with One UI packing several foldable-specific enhancements. While OnePlus' OxygenOS was once the community favorite's Android skin, its quality, and stability fell off a cliff after the company merged its codebase with Oppo's ColorOS.
More than a year since the two companies started sharing a unified codebase, things have improved. However, OxygenOS has lost the community's trust, with OnePlus now being slow in rolling out updates for its devices. For the OnePlus V Fold to be successful, OnePlus will have to add new foldable-specific features to OxygenOS that will take better advantage of the inner folding screen. There should also be tweaks to the taskbar to aid in multitasking.
All these enhancements will also benefit the OnePlus Pad, so the company certainly has the incentive to do so. Whether the company puts the effort into this or not is something that time will tell.
OnePlus foldable phone: Price and release date
OnePlus confirmed that its first folding phone will arrive this year at MWC 2023. So, it is only a matter of time before the product goes official. The exact name hasn't been confirmed, and while OnePlus V Fold has been the long-rumored name, newer reports are suggesting the phone will be called the OnePlus Open instead.
A leak suggests the OnePlus Open could launch at an event in New York City in the first half of August. The company typically holds an event in NY for its major device launches, so the rumor has some credibility. A big launch event will allow OnePlus to get all eyeballs on its first foldable, which is what it wants. Like the OnePlus 11, the V Fold should see a global debut at launch in all major smartphone markets worldwide.
As for pricing, rumors have been light in this regard. OnePlus is known for undercutting the competition by providing excellent value for money with its product. The company could do something similar with the OnePlus Open by fixing its price at around $1,500. This will make the device a few hundred dollars cheaper than the Google Pixel Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, allowing it to lure customers interested in foldables with its attractive pricing.
OnePlus will face stiff competition from Samsung
The OnePlus V Fold could launch right around the time Samsung's 2023 foldable lineup goes on sale. All the leaks so far suggest the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will include minor improvements over its predecessor. But with the right set of changes, including better battery life and foldable-specific optimizations, Samsung could continue its dominance over the foldable market.
The Google Pixel Fold is also impressive, considering it's the company's first foldable. While the OnePlus Open may eclipse it from a hardware viewpoint, it is hard to beat the Pixel Fold's software experience, which should further improve once Android 14 lands.