Is there place for devices other than Samsung’s foldables?
Foldable technology is no longer novel. They exist, and the world’s leading manufacturer of smartphones, Samsung, has long been their undisputed champion. But while we watch for the company’s fourth-generation foldables to go on sale later this month, we can’t help but wonder if other manufacturers will ever produce a viable folding smartphone.
Here comes OnePlus, whose parent firm Oppo may hold the key to the company’s entry into the foldable market. Oppo is now planning to launch two new foldable smartphones in China and some regions of Europe under the names Find N Fold and Find N Flip. Both of these devices share the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and a naming scheme with recent Samsung releases. OnePlus, the company with a strong following in this region, may be the next to introduce foldable devices here, while Oppo does not immediately conduct business there. especially if Pete Lau, the co-founder of OnePlus, is correct in his tweets.
Over the weekend, Pete Lau flaunted a picture showing a novel hinge system, with renowned leaker Max Jambor fanning the flames. “Both clamshell and Find N are in development by OPPO/OP,” Jambor tweeted in the early hours of today. Jambor previously teased that OnePlus would release foldables in 2023 via a similar tweet, which is why the Lau surprise has us interested.
Even while the large brand is helping to foot the bill, OnePlus isn’t generally the company to take the lead with novel form factors. But given that Samsung has had four generations to iron out the flaws and perfect the marketing of its range of foldable phones, it makes sense that OnePlus would be the next to give something that folds a shot. Why wouldn’t OnePlus, which is known for trying to provide value for money, attempt to compete with Samsung’s costly foldable with something a little more consumer-friendly?
Additionally, OnePlus would become more than simply a respectable third option in the U.S.-based Android wars with a foldable device. Even though Lau claimed in earlier interviews that foldables were not yet ready, Samsung’s most recent spectacle suggests at least some momentum is developing. Although managing foldables and varying screen sizes may be new to the Android operating system, Android 13, it was designed with this specific form factor in mind.
In relation to that, we’re still keeping our fingers crossed that Google’s foldable Pixel smartphone will enter the fray sometime in 2019. We’re looking for a teaser, with a launch scheduled for spring 2023—around the time the rumour mill anticipates seeing a folding OnePlus smartphone materialize—even though it has been postponed a few times.
