Oppo Find N2 review: a crease-less wonder
With the adorable Find N2 munchkin, Oppo doubles down on a category of compact and elegant phones with foldable OLED displays that is a niche of its own making. The first Find N was the thinnest, lightest, most compact vertical foldable phone around, but Oppo managed to somehow refine the Find N2 design even further with no visible hinge gap to boot.
The new foldable is even more compact, faster, and with way less visible display crease than its predecessor, if such a feat is at all possible, plus it tries to address the current main concern about foldable phones, their camera hardware. Did Oppo succeed in making foldable phones great as an everyday driver? Let's dive in...
Oppo Find N2 design and display
The most elegant foldable also carries the best screen
The second edition of Oppo's Flexion Hinge has 38 moving parts less than the original, and is much more aesthetically pleasing at the main screen to an extent that it allows the foldable display crease above it to be the whopping 67% smaller than on the Find N that already has a rather unobtrusive crease compared to what Samsung can muster with the Z Fold 4's thigh gap and deep crease.
The hinge allows for infinite positions in the 45-125 degree range, so that you can use it in any mode that fits your purpose, from a tent shape, to a flat display, or anything in between thanks to the Find N2's FreeForm Mode, all the while the Flexion Hinge has been TUV-certified for durability during 400,000 opening and closing sessions.
The Find N2 feels very compact for a phone with foldable display and our green unit came with its own protective case that consists of two parts, for each half of the phone, and adds some extra thickness to the whole ensemble. There is also a white model, and an exclusive Black Leather version that means business.
Screen quality
The 7.1" main display comes with all the modern high screen quality accoutrements, such as a high 1920 x 1792 resolution, 1Hz-120Hz dynamic refresh rate depending on the content shown, wide color gamut coverage, HDR10 certification, and high 1550 nits of peak brightness, the works.
The 5.54" external display also sports those feats save for the fixed high refresh rate, and Oppo is quick to point out that, while it may sound smaller compared to the 6.2-inch panel of the Z Fold 4, it sports a much wider aspect ratio and is much more comfortable to type on than on the tall Samsung screen. On top of that, the 120Hz screen sports extremely high 1350 nits of peak brightness as Oppo knows that you might be using it for quick glimpses outside and on the go more often than the large internal display.
As you can see from our PhoneArena display benchmarks, the main screen displays an exceptional image quality. Its one of the brightest out there, and not only among foldable phones, so we used it at the beach under bright sunshine quite comfortably.
The per-unit calibration straight from the factory, typical for Oppo, is present on the Find 2, making it one of the most color-credible phone displays out there with near perfect white balance compared to the reference point which has been a challenge to achieve even for an OLED panel juggernaut like Samsung. In short, great job, Oppo, with the Find N2 you've managed to create the best foldable smartphone display to date!
Oppo Find N2 camera and video quality
The Find N2 camera
Oppo has also fixed the main complaint about foldable phones, their ho-hum camera kits. Bendy handsets with periscope zoom are few and far between, as those components are very expensive even when buying in bulk, but also because the foldables are usually thinner than your average phone when unfurled and there is simply not much place there.
Oppo has addressed the issue by equipping the Find N2 with high-quality camera sensors all around, including a proprietary 32MP 1/2.74" Sony IMX709 sensor for the 2x telephoto camera with ƒ/2.0 aperture. "The IMX709 is an OPPO-developed solution that’s implemented by Sony hardware. A new generation of RGBW sensor, this enhanced telephoto camera benefits from improved light-gathering capabilities and 4-in-1 pixel aggregation for a 60% improvement in light sensitivity and a 35% reduction in noise compared with traditional pixel arrangements," says Oppo.
The 50MP 1/1.56" Sony IMX890 main sensor is no less impressive with omnidirectional focusing available on each pixel and an OIS system. Last but not least, the 48MP ultrawide camera carries a 1/2" Sony IMX581 sensor and can be used for macro shots as well.
Well, we put the Find N2 camera to the test, and are happy to report that it is a big leap in image quality over its predecessor, no matter which mode you choose to use. The dynamic range is way better, there are more details present, the colors come out very true to the scene and the only ho-hum shots and videos came when there is little light around as with most phone cameras.
We have rigorously tested the camera on the Oppo Find N2 and above you can see the results of those tests. We carefully measure the performance of all cameras in various test scenes, ranking the performance across important metrics like exposure, subject exposure, color accuracy, detail, artifacts and more. We do these tests for both photos and videos.
You can learn more about our PhoneArena Camera Score testing protocol here.
Oppo Find N2 performance and software
Powered by the overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ processor that is rather typical for gaming phones, the Find N2 is on par with the fastest foldables around, while the 12GB / 256GB or 16GB / 512GB memory configurations ensure you won't feel underpowered no matter how many apps you open at once to enjoy on the big main display.
Oppo offers several interface features for split-screen multitasking that take advantage of the big main panel, and typing on the external screen's keyboard is a relative joy compared to some other foldable phone representatives with tall and narrow cover displays.
Oppo Find N2 battery life and charging
The 4520 mAh battery can be charged in 42 minutes flat and brought to 37% in only 10 minutes, as the phone comes with the company's powerful 67W SuperVOOC charger. Not the fastest charging out there, but way better than Samsung's and then again we are spoiled by Oppo and OnePlus when it comes to ultrafast charging.
PhoneArena Battery Test Results:
Unfortunately, just as with Samsung's foldable, the Find N2's battery life took a significant hit when we played some of the preinstalled racing or shooter games on it, as 3D rendering on the big main display is a rather taxing endeavor, so don't expect gaming sessions much longer than 5 hours on the cutesy foldable.
It's still not the 100W charging speeds that the OnePlus 11 offers, or Oppo's own record 240W charging, but given that the Find N2 charges faster than Samsung's Z Fold 4, which is its main competitor, and lasts a comparable amount on a charge, we can't complain from what Oppo has managed to achieve with such a thin, light, and compact foldable.
PhoneArena Charging Test Results:
Summary
Despite its svelte physique and superior design, the Oppo Find N was very affordable for a foldable phone when it launched, and the Find N2 is no exception with $1150 for the 256GB, and $1290 equivalent for the 512GB model.
Oppo doesn't charge extra for the new Flexion Hinge that brings on an even thinner and lighter body, as well as for the near-invisible crease, or for the faster processor and improved camera, not to mention the amazing screen quality.
In fact, the Find N2 is now the best phone with vertically folding display money can buy, and not just because of the price level. The more expensive Galaxy Z Fold 4 - its main competitor, is at once chubbier and less ergonomic to use, as well as less aesthetically pleasing with a hinge gap and main panel crease that look two generations behind Oppo's handywork.
*Disclaimer: You may notice review scores have changed on PhoneArena! Since September 20th, we have started using a new scoring system. Learn more about the new PhoneArena Smartphone Review Rating system here.
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