An ode to the OnePlus Open, or why Samsung needs a reality check and rethink Galaxy Z Fold 6
This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
After using the OnePlus Open for a couple of weeks now, I can wholeheartedly go on record by saying that Samsung should go back to the drawing board, scrap pretty much everything, put on a thinking cap, and focus really hard and really long on its next foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 6!
Despite being among the pioneers of the foldable 'genre', Samsung has been stuck in a rut for the past few years, resting on its pioneering laurels and developing a sense of entitlement. At the same time, however, the competition has been hard at work, not only gaining ground but also arguably surpassing Samsung's foldables in many areas.
The OnePlus Open is one such phone, and it's surprisingly good, lacking the usual roster of issues usually associated with a first-gen product.
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What does the OnePlus Open do right?
Spoiler alert: it's arguably the best foldable phone available right now, and is definitely one of the highlights of 2023 for me, at least as far as phone launches come and go.
OnePlus Open is here... to steal the Galaxy Z Fold 5's thunder!
Starting with the chief and most important aspect of any self-respecting foldable phone, the OnePlus Open is one sleek, light, and super-premium phone that is lacking the usual 'teething problems' normally associated with such devices. There's no crease; you can see where the display would fold, but you'll feel no gap when running your fingertips across the middle of the screen. The super-manageable weight also means that the OnePlus Open is not much different than a regular large candybar phone, like the iPhone 14 Pro Max or the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The camera is yet another area in which the OnePlus Open seriously pulls ahead. The sensible and no-nonsense approach has allowed the OnePlus phone to deliver some seriously impressive camera versatility and general image quality. You get coherent camera experience with almost no extraneous software features, a rather impressive telephoto camera that delivers superb lossless image quality even at 6X zoom and can peek over to 100X optical zoom, matching Samsung's Galaxy S flagships.
The OnePlus Open is a phone with no major issues
Hardware itself is impressive as well. The OnePlus Open is the first phone to have both an internal and external LTPO screens that deliver smooth scrolling experience (1-120Hz for the internal screen, 10-120Hz for the cover display). Both can also achieve exceptionally high peak brightness, which is surely shaping up to be the next arms race on the smartphone scene.
And how could we forget the ultra-fast charging and the wall adapter included in the box of the OnePlus Open? Samsung seemingly has no interest in outfitting its phones with faster charging than the current soft cap of 45W, and I will make you a bet that we'll never see a Samsung flagship phone with a wall adapter in the box ever again.
I mean... that's a lot of value bundled with the phone
Finally, the financial aspect comes into play. The OnePlus Open starts at $1,700 but you can get it for around $1,500 with a qualifying trade in. Both the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold are normally more expensive, but are now often subjects of various deals. Still, this aggressive pricing entry into the US foldables' market makes an impression.
I’ve never used a foldable phone for longer than a regular review would normally require me to, as I simply failed to see the appeal of the form factor and simply couldn't live with the obvious design shortcomings that existing foldable phones introduced, like the unsightly display crease on the Galaxy Fold or excessive weight of the Pixel Fold. That said, the OnePlus Open is the first foldable phone I could see myself using as a daily driver without making any compromises.
Yes, it's technically true that the OnePlus Open is pretty much a rebranded Oppo Find N3, so it's essentially a third-gen product that has been perfected thanks to Oppo's know-how in the area. Still, even with this criticism taken into account, this latest device is subjectively superior and could be viewed as the tipping point that will force Samsung to rethink its strategy on the foldable market.
What could Samsung change in the future?
We all know that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is coming next summer. It's too early to know any specifics about the device, but once it leaks out, we will know pretty much everything. That's why we can't really say if Samsung will continue with yet another minor refresh or rethink its philosophy behind the Galaxy Z Fold lineup.
While chances are on the minor refresh, I'd love for the largest Android manufacturer out there to shake things up and finally come with a proper foldable flagship. Because let's not kid ourselves: the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a proper flagship in name only, with nothing truly exciting barring the high price tag. Outfitted with no killer feature and slightly rehashing the formula behind the previous few Galaxy Folds, this one made us question if Samsung is even capable of innovation anymore.
Has Samsung lost the will to innovate?
It seems that an over-complication and over-engineering have gotten into the way of the sensible features and improvements we might have had. Chief among these is the under-display camera on Samsung's foldables, which is a questionable addition at best. Not only is it not invisible, it also delivers questionable image quality at best.
There's no under-display camera on the OnePlus Open... but do we need such an over-complication on deck?
If I had to come up with a wishlist, I'd surely put design at the top, with eliminating the display crease being a top priority. Next, improving the cameras will be next in importance, as there's simply too much catching up to do. A periscope is likely out of the question, but clever trickery could allow Samsung to bring its 100X Space Zoom to foldables.
Finally, and this is where wishful thinking comes into play, I can only hope that Samsung finds a way to bring the price down. I know, I know, prices usually go up, but one way to bolster sales is by price cuts; if any company out there can soak up the potential damage that a slight price decrease would incur, that'd be Samsung.
That'll be one way to get its foldables inside more pockets, which could potentially lock up more customers to the ecosystem, which should pay out in the future, both literally and figuratively.
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