Oppo as a brand, became popular for its mid-range devices ever since it set its foot in India. Off late, the company has been known for its popular Reno series of devices that span the mid-range segment, while its subsidiary, OnePlus has been focussed on the premium segment with smartphones priced over Rs. 60,000. Up until now, Oppo has launched a few premium handsets that included the Oppo Find X, and more recently, the Oppo Find X2, which was the last premium device to come to India. While the Oppo Find X2 also arrived after a long break, the launch of the Find N2 Flip, the company’s first clamshell foldable, surely turned out to be a move that no one expected. Surprise or not, Oppo seems to be back in the premium game as it takes Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 head on.
On this week’s episode of the Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital, guest host and Senior Reviewer Sheldon Pinto (that’s me) talks to Reviews Editor, Roydon Cerejo, who spent several weeks with the Oppo Find N2 Flip. We discussed everything from its new hinge design, to its larger than usual cover display, to its new and interesting software bits. And how some of it compares to the only other vertical foldable available in the Indian market, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Oppo recently launched its foldables, the Find N2 and the Find N2 Flip, which were officially announced in China, and out of the two, the company decided on bringing its vertical folding smartphone to global markets and India. We start off with a bit of history, as the Find N2 models aren’t Oppo’s first foldable devices. Oppo announced its Find N in 2021, which was of the horizontal folding variety, but it too was restricted to the company’s home market.
Surprisingly, the Oppo Find N2 Flip seems like a direct competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 and there’s no better indicator of this than its price, which is a premium Rs. 89,999. Oppo’s Find N2 Flip sure seems like a bold move indeed as Samsung has been the only company in India to offer foldable devices so far.
What stands out about the Oppo Find N2 is its larger than usual 3.26-inch cover display, something that has been on our wishlist for vertically folding devices for long. Oppo has done a good job with optimising that display as well with plenty of gestures, controls, and full-sized notifications being visible on the vertically positioned outer display.
Also new is Oppo’s Flexion hinge, which holds the flexible inner display in a U-shaped curve, that apart from reducing long-term damage, also helps in reducing the crease when unfolded. However, this new hinge has its drawbacks as it remains open only at certain angles. Oppo’s first foldable in India also lacks an IP rating, which has been available on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip models for a while. Oppo also takes advantage of the phone’s folding inner display by using its FlexForm software abilities, which lets users divide the tall display when using select applications.
Oppo has also partnered with camera maker Hasselblad, and this adds a visually different Pro mode and added functionality to its primary camera. Apart from its missing IP rating, the phone also lacks wireless charging, another feature that Samsung managed to squeeze into its foldable. However, wired charging at 44W sure seems faster than the competition.
So is Oppo’s first vertical folding smartphone better than Samsung’s Galaxy Flip 4? Listen to all of that in detail and more in our episode by hitting the play button on the Spotify player embedded above.
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