In true company fashion, OnePlus has announced at MWC that it will be launching a foldable smartphone in the second half of 2023. That’s it. No name, no product, no render, but it does come from the President and COO of OnePlus, Kinder Liu. He said, “Our first foldable phone will have the signature OnePlus fast and smooth experience. It must be a flagship phone that doesn’t settle because of its folding form, in terms of industrial design, mechanical technology, and other aspects. We want to launch a device that aims to be at the pinnacle experience of today’s foldable market.”
Given the absence of any real facts, we might consider looking elsewhere with the BBK group. OnePlus already has strategic relationship with OPPO, who in turn have a neat foldable already on the market, the Find N2 Flip. Personally, I don’t think it will be this form factor because it’s just not “flagship phone”. Fantastic for fun loving folk but not flagship, at least not to me.
I’d like to think it will be something more like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold4. That’s more like it.
Having said that, I’m still in two minds about foldables. I’ve seen a first generation Galaxy Z Flip and the crease hadn’t lasted a year, so I’d still be a bit wary. Microsoft’s Surface Duo series seemed to be the way to go but I never actually bought one. It’s difficult to get away from the smartphone plus tablet pairing and so much of the choice is about the camera.
No doubt we’ll continue to hear more about the upcoming OnePlus foldable until it’s finally launched. This is the way.