OnePlus Open Foldable Partially Revealed As We Barrel Toward Launch
OnePlus recently announced via X, formally known as Twitter, the name for its upcoming foldable phone and its release date. The new OnePlus Open is officially landing on October 19. The post's teaser image showcases the phone opened halfway, and the only thing that's really notable in the picture is that the phone appears to have OnePlus' signature three-position alert slider. This slider lets users switch between ring, silent, and vibrate without turning on the phone's screen. Apart from that, there was no other information provided for the device.
Based on a previous leak, the OnePlus Open will have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC processor, a 6.3-inch OLED cover display panel, and a 7.8-inch inner folding panel. Both screens are expected to have a refresh rate of 120Hz. However, the inner screen uniquely supports a 2K resolution. The phone is believed to have 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, a camera block with three sensors, and faster charging speeds than its competitor, the Google Pixel Fold.
The price of the OnePlus Open was also supposedly leaked. Information revealed by WinFuture, translated by Techradar, claims that the phone will start at $1,699. The leak also correctly predicted the phone's release date, so it has some credibility.
The smartphone is said to fix a big problem with foldables
OnePlus president and COO Kinder Liu told The Verge that consumers aren't the reason the foldable phone market is expanding. This is something echoed by Nothing's Co-Founder Carl Pei, who told IndiaToday, "I don't think consumers walk around saying, hey, I wish my phone could fold," arguing that the push for foldable phones is coming from manufacturers. However, Oppo, Oneplus's parent company, sees the potential in these devices, as the company achieved strong numbers in the foldable market in China last year.
Contemplating why not everyone is on board with foldable phones, Liu argued that although consumers want big screens, the bulkiness of foldable phones creates friction that turns people away from the product. But Liu stated that after two years of development and some technical challenges in the early stages, the OnePlus Open has a solution with its slim and light design that aims to "make it more convenient for users and remove that friction." According to Liu, during development, the team ignored the competition and just wanted to "deliver an all-around flagship foldable that will not make any compromises." We won't know if they have succeeded until the Mumbai reveal on October 16 at 10 a.m. EDT.