OnePlus Open 2 vs Pixel 9 Pro Fold: How will the two foldable phones compare?
Intro
OnePlus' next foldable phone is called the OnePlus Open 2, and if the rumor mill is to be believed, it will launch early in 2025 with a host of improvements that will make it a worthy successor to the OnePlus Open.
A fresh foldable phone that hit the market just a couple of months ago and will inevitably be compared with the OnePlus Open 2 once it arrives is none other than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Google's second-gen foldable was significantly overhauled and improved, with a fresh new design, better performance, and improved cameras.
How will the two measure up? Time for a preliminary comparison!
OnePlus Open vs Pixel 9 Pro Fold differences:
| OnePlus Open 2 | Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold |
|---|---|
| A significantly thinner body, around 9mm thin | A less squarish and thinner foldable phone |
| Likely 7.8-inch and 6.3-inch displays on deck, likely with no display crease | 8-inch main and 6.3-inch cover screens |
| A triple camera system with 3X telephoto camera and 6X in-sensor crop | Triple camera system with 5X telephoto |
| Likely Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset (3nm) | Google Tensor G4 chipset |
| Likely 16GB of RAM, as well as a few storage versions | 16GB of RAM, 256GB and 512GB storage versions |
| Likely a larger silicon-based battery, probably 5,500mAh | 4,650mAh battery |
| Possibly 67W or faster wired charging | 21W wired and 7.5W wireless |
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Design and Size
Although the rumor mill is slim on details about the OnePlus Open 2 design language, we have heard that the OnePlus Open 2 will be an extremely thin foldable phone. Apparently, it will be around 9mm thick when folded, which would be an extraordinary feat for a phone of such type.
As a direct comparison, the first OnePlus Open was nearly 11.9mm thick, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 12.1mm thick. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold? It's 10.5mm thick, which is better than both aforementioned foldables, but the OnePlus Open 2 will be significantly thinner.
We expect that the sleekness will transcribe to the overall weight of the OnePlus Open, too. The first one was a pretty lightweight device, so it would make sense to expect the successor to be even easier to handle.
The rumor mill also agrees that the three-way ring switch is set to remain. OnePlus could also amp up the water and dust resistance of the phone: the first OnePlus Open had an IPX4 water-resistance, which meant it was only protected against accidental splashes, but the OnePlus Open 2 could get a "tighter" IP rating and be more durable.
In the other corner, we have the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which is a pretty large and heavy aluminum foldable, tipping the scales at 257gr. It's slightly more rectangular in shape and aspect ratio when compared with its predecessor, which makes for a more usable experience on the outer screen.
At the back, we have a redesigned camera island, which is more in line with the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup. The OnePlus Open 2 might have the same camera island and design appearance as it predecessor as OnePlus could be forced to use the same camera setup as before, but more on that later.
Display Differences
Display wise, we expect that the OnePlus Open 2 will employ displays just as large as the ones on the OnePlus Open, or slightly larger. This means at least a 7.8-inch internal OLED screen with dynamic 1-120Hz refresh rate, as well as a 6.3-inch OLED panel which would probably now go all the way down to 1Hz (the OnePlus Open's cover screen was a 10-120Hz one).
We don't know if OnePlus will bring local refresh rate to the OnePlus Open 2. The new display tech is coming to the OnePlus 13 and will allow different areas of the display to render at different refresh rates, which would possibly allow for great power savings and a more fluent and smooth user experience.
In terms of brightness, we might not get significantly higher peak brightness. We got 1400 nits of typical and 2800 nits of high peak brightness with the OnePlus Open, so a slight improvement could be in the cards for the second foldable phone, but we wouldn't count on it.
Finally, we expect no display crease on the OnePlus Open 2. The first phone didn't have one, so it's safe to assume the lack of the annoying foldable phone quirk on the second generation phone.
We can't really say the same about the Pixel 9 Pro Fold: its 8-inch internal OLED screen has a display crease. This one also dynamically switches between 1 and 120Hz and has a very high brightness.
The external screen on the Pixel is a 6.3-inch one and is pretty usable with a single hand, meaning you won't need to unfold it so often.
Performance and Software
Dominance is in the cards for the OnePlus phone
The OnePlus Open 2 will likely use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the first 3nm chipset available for Android phones. The implication is a pretty simple one: the OnePlus Open 2 could become the most powerful foldable phone once it launches, and will likely hold that title for a long time.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold, on the other hand, is equipped with the 4nm Tensor G4 chip, which is Google's fastest one so far, but it's still a chip crafted with local AI and ML computations in mind, so it's definitely not a synthetic benchmark powerhouse.
Is that a weak point of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold? No, it's still a very fast phone and a pretty big jump in performance and efficiency in comparison with the Pixel Fold, which came with the Tensor G2.
We expect that the OnePlus Open 2 will come with at least 16GB of RAM, which is just as much as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold was available with 256GB or 512GB of storage, while we expect that the OnePlus Open 2 will come with 512GB and possibly a 1TB variant as well.
Google's foldable will also be supported until 2031, including major Android updates, security patches, and feature drops; the OnePlus Open 2 will possibly score at least four years of software support––until 2029, depending on when it launches.
Camera
Rumors have it that OnePlus wanted to put a quad-camera system inside the OnePlus Open 2, but due to size and thickness concerns that decision might have been overturned.
This means we could get the same camera setup as the OnePlus Open: a 48MP main camera with a LYTIA-T808, aided by a 48MP ultrawide, and a 64MP telephoto with 3X optical/6X in-sensor zoom, all tuned by Hasselblad. Not a bad camera setup for a foldable phone.
Sure, we expect some software enhancements and improvements on board, as the
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a 48MP main camera, a 10.5MP telephoto with a 5X optical zoom, and a 10.5MP ultrawide. It also has dual 10MP selfie cameras on the inside and outside. It's not a particularly exciting camera system (overshadowed by the Pixel 9 Pro XL), but it's decent when compared with the very first Pixel Fold could give the upcoming OnePlus Open 2 a run for its money.
Battery Life and Charging
New tech might make the OnePlus Open 2 much better
Rumors put a pretty large battery inside the OnePlus Open 2, which strangely don't clash with the purported thinness of the phone.
We could see a 5,500mAh-6,000mAh battery inside the ~9mm foldable thanks to the fairly new lithium-silicon battery technology, which enables much greater energy density in comparison with standard lithium-ion batteries.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a large 4,650mAh battery, which delivers mostly okay battery life, but by no means impresses. We guess the OnePlus Open 2 could deliver significantly better battery life and beat the Pixel foldable.
There is no competition when it comes to charging, as the OnePlus Open 2 will certainly come with at least 67W of wired charging, which would easily beat the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, especially when you consider that it supports 21W wired and 7.5W wireless charging.
What's more, we hope that OnePlus will once again put a charger in the box of the OnePlus Open 2, immensely improving its potential value.
Specs Comparison
Although unofficial, here's how the OnePlus Open 2 vs Pixel 9 Pro Fold specs will compare against one another:
| OnePlus Open 2 | Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold | |
|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | ~9mm thickness | Unfolded: 155.2 x 150.2 x 5.1mm Folded: 155.2 x 77.1 x 10.5mm Weight: 257gr |
| Screen | Main screen: ~7.8-inch 1-120Hz AMOLED Cover screen: ~6.3-inch 10-120Hz AMOLED | 8" main screen Super Actua, 120 Hz 6.3" cover screen Actua, 120 Hz |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite | Google Tensor G4 (4nm) |
| RAM, Storage | 16GB/24GB LPDDR5X RAM 256GB/512GB UFS 4.0 | 16/256GB 16/512GB 16/1TB LPDDR5 |
| Cameras | 48MP main, f/1.7, Sony LYT-T808 1/1.43" sensor 48MP ultrawide, f/2.2, 1/2" sensor, 114-degree FOV, EIS, AF, Macro 64MP telephoto, f/2.6, OmniVision OV64B 1/.2" sensor, 3X optical zoom 20MP front inside, f/2.2, 1/4" sensor, fixed focus 32MP front outside, f/2.4, 1/3.14" sensor, fixed focus | 48MP main, f/1.7, 1/2" sensor 1.5MP ultrawide, f/2.2, 127-degree FOV, 1/3.4" sensor 10.5MP telephoto, f/3.1. 5X optical zoom, 20X Super-Res Zoom, 1/3.2" sensor 10MP front outside, f/2.2 10MP front inside, f/2.2 |
| Battery | >5,000mah | 4,650mAh |
| Charging | USB-C >67W wired charging | USB-C 21W wired (no charger in the box) 7.5W wireless |
Summary
It appears that OnePlus could easily come up on top once again if it tries hard with the OnePlus Open 2.
The potential improvements to the design, performance, display, and battery life are nothing to scoff at and could make the OnePlus Open 2 the best foldable to get in 2025.
Meanwhile, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold definitely is an excellent step in the right direction for Google, addressing almost all the issues we had with the first Pixel Fold. There are still a lot of things that can be improved, which could make things too spicy when the third foldable phone comes out.
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