One of the best foldable phones I’ve tested is not made by Samsung or Google (and it’s on sale)

What is the deal?

The OnePlus Open is marked down on Amazon for simply $1,299 (an enormous $400 off), making the foldable telephone with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage way more accessible. If you’d like further house, there’s additionally a 1TB mannequin obtainable on OnePlus’ web site. 

Why this deal is ZDNET-recommended

Final yr, OnePlus invited me and dozens of different journalists to a non-public demo session for its first-ever foldable telephone. In contrast to Samsung and Google, who had taken the extra technical route with naming their shape-shifting “Fold” telephones, OnePlus went sensible; calling it the OnePlus “Open.” Get it?

Additionally: I held the world’s thinnest foldable telephone, and it made my iPhone 16 Professional Max really feel outdated

That about sums up the expertise you get with OnePlus’ first and solely foldable entrant within the U.S., which I’ve had the fortune of every day driving for a few yr now. The place others zig, OnePlus zags. With the Open, every part from the unboxing expertise to the shape issue and onto multitasking capabilities, charging, and value differs from its competitors — oftentimes for the higher.

I have been lucky sufficient to check nearly each mainstream foldable telephone over the previous 4 years, from Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold to Google’s newest Pixel Fold. Not one type issue has given me as a lot satisfaction because the OnePlus Open, which fields a extra conventional telephone facet ratio on the outer show; it is the right middle-ground between Google’s quick but uncomfortably heavy Pixel and Samsung’s tall, baton-like Galaxy.

If there’s one factor that actually issues with foldable telephones, it is weight. The perfect machine is performant, versatile sufficient for telephone and pill use instances, and is not a burden to wield, whether or not you are on the outer display screen or the inside one. The OnePlus Open clocks in at 245 grams versus the Pixel Fold’s 283g and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5’s 253g, making it the lightest big-screen foldable on the US market. 

Additionally: The very best foldable telephones of 2024: Knowledgeable examined and reviewed

The distinction in weight was instantly noticeable once I first unboxed the machine and tried to report the expertise with my Pixel Fold within the different hand. As quickly as I picked up the Open, the Pixel felt historical, like an Amazon Fireplace Youngsters pill to an iPad Air. My expertise was, to place it extra precisely, just like the Toy Story meme.

However there’s one main flaw with the OnePlus design: that digital camera bump. It is large, it is daring, and it is mainly a built-in pop-socket that takes up about 40% of the again panel, which is nice if you wish to let the world know that you simply’re very severe about cell images, however horrible for almost every part else, together with ergonomics. Slapping on a case, which is included within the field together with a 67W charger, cannot even cowl up the bulge.

Additionally: I changed my Pixel 9 Professional with Google’s $1,800 foldable for every week – and may’t return

A extra minor caveat with the Open’s design is button placement. In OnePlus trend, you continue to get an alert slider that makes toggling from sound to vibrate to silent a breeze, however I discover the amount rocker too excessive for consolation. You actually must raise your finger near the higher nook of the telephone to boost the amount, making the machine extra susceptible to slipping out of your hand.

In reality, that was the precise purpose why my evaluation unit took a tumble a couple of days in the past, as I used to be testing its speaker high quality. Happily, the Open confirmed minimal put on, and its Flexion Hinge, which OnePlus says has been examined to maintain 1,000,000 folds, remained useful.

Additionally: One of many least expensive foldable telephones I’ve examined will not be a Samsung or OnePlus

On the software program facet of issues, the large call-out right here is Open Canvas, a split-screen characteristic that jogs my memory of multi-desktops on Home windows and Macs. With it, you’ll be able to speak in confidence to three apps directly, and tapping on one enlarges it whereas the others are mechanically tucked away. It is this seamless transition between apps that places the OnePlus forward of Samsung and Google’s software program for me. 

I discover Open Canvas notably useful when snapping occasion images, like in the course of the Made by Google occasion final yr, and sharing them in ZDNET’s Slack channel, all whereas staying within the know of the most recent product bulletins.

I have never skilled many hiccups with OnePlus’ software program over Android 13, however some acquainted OxygenOS issues stay, together with the aggressive app energy administration, which causes some providers like Gmail and WeChat to have delayed notifications, and the frequent “This app is draining battery within the background.” alert. For a tool that comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage (double that of Samsung and Google’s choices), rather less hand-holding would go a great distance for the Open’s day-to-day expertise.

Additionally: Probably the greatest foldable telephones I’ve examined will not be made by Google or Motorola

As for the cameras, I might argue that the OnePlus takes higher images than each the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, however not the Google Pixel 9 Professional Fold. Positive, it actually helps that its closest opponents opted for generation-old digital camera techniques this yr whereas OnePlus was extra beneficiant with the Open’s {hardware}, packing a 48-megapixel foremost lens, a 64MP telephoto, and a 48MP ultra-wide. However I might credit score most of its success to the colour science and picture processing — notably with the 3X telephoto lens. 

One thing about these Hasselblad-tuned cameras simply makes topics pop somewhat greater than standard, leaning extra in direction of hotter and blue/orangish hues than the rest. And the brand new “Pixel Stacked” sensor by Sony makes it simpler for the OnePlus to seize and steadiness numerous mild sources whereas making a natural-looking separation between foreground and background.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Amazon is promoting the OnePlus Open for $1,699 undercutting Samsung and Google’s phone-to-tablet foldables by $100. And from now till every time the corporate decides to cease promoting the machine, it’s going to deduct not less than $200 from the entire whenever you commerce in any telephone in any situation, basically making the Open much more reasonably priced.

That is a really aggressive provide, particularly for those who’re within the preliminary part of foldable telephone buying and value is a priority. However there’s one other factor that you need to think about: the OnePlus Open is not going to be offered at service shops, that means the identical installment plans you might be accustomed to should not obtainable right here. 

Wi-fi charging is one other key omission with the OnePlus Open, which can be a dealbreaker for some. (OnePlus causes that the addition of the characteristic would make the telephone thicker and heavier, however I might be extra satisfied if the corporate simply mentioned that the digital camera module was too large.)  

But when multitasking expertise, digital camera efficiency, type issue, and charging pace are on the high of your precedence checklist, the OnePlus Open may be the best choice proper now.