OnePlus is scheduled to announce its first foldable, theOnePlus Open, on October 19. Ahead of that, the company has been trying tocreate hype around the device with planted leaksand inpartnership with popular YouTubers. This time around, OnePlus has teamed up with YouTuber Michael Fisher, a.k.a MrMobile, to showcase the internals of the Open, its folding display, and how reliable the foldable is going to be by putting it through a bevy of torture tests.
Now, if you were hoping the OnePlus Open’s folding display wouldn’t have any visible crease, prepare for disappointment. As evident in the video, the crease is visible on the inner screen, though it does not appear as prominent or annoying as on theSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 5orGoogle Pixel Fold.
The hinge’s mechanism is similar to the one Oppo uses on its foldable to produce a more subtle crease. But while the hinge’s design might be the same, OnePlus has made other improvements to make it lighter and more durable. It apparently uses 30% fewer components to reduce complexity and is about 37% smaller as well. Additionally, OnePlus has used more lightweight alloys and titanium to reduce the overall weight. This even includes using a carbon fiber support layer for display, which seemingly helped reduce the device weight by 13 grams.
Durability is a major concern with foldables. And to instill confidence in the OnePlus Open’s build quality, the company subjected the foldable through various torture tests, including repeatedly dropping them from 1 meter height on steel. The phone is also subjected to blasts of water from various angles to test its water-resistance in a machine that can simulate conditions between IPX2 and IPX4.
All the torture tests shown in the video are impressive, but they don’t talk about the folding display’s reliability, which is usually the main point of concern. So, while the durability tests shown are impressive, the Open’s inner screen is likely going to be as delicate as other foldables on the market.
While OnePlus has been openly showcasing the Open’s design ahead of its release, it has kept the rear camera module hidden from the media eyes. The company could differentiate its first foldable from the competition with the Hasselblad-branded cameras asrevealed in leaked renders.
Rumors suggest the phone could feature a 48MP primary shooter, a 48MP ultrawide, and a 64MP 3x telephoto sensor. While the hardware is apparently not cutting edge, the Hasselblad tuning could help the phone to deliver solid imaging performance.
Thankfully, you won’t have to wait long to know more about OnePlus' first foldable. Thedevice will go official on October 19th, with the event taking place in Mumbai at 7:30 PM IST or 10:00 AM EDT. The Oppo Find N3, which is the same device as the OnePlus Open, is also slated to release on the same day in Singapore.
