OnePlus Open final design: Samsung Galaxy and Pixel Fold wish they looked so sexy

Let’s first address the elephant in the room, which is that the (seemingly) final design of the OnePlus Open shows us a very different phone than what the first renders showed us.

Instead of the larger OnePlus foldable initially expected, we’re now looking at a relatively more compact folding phone that’s closer in size to the Google Pixel Fold rather than the new Honor Magic V2 or Xiaomi Mix Fold 3, and that’s a positive in my book.

The punch-hole selfie camera is still tucked away in the upper right corner of the inner display of the OnePlus Open, which is much better than the off-centre ones we see in phones like the Honor Magic V2. The alert slider is still in place, which is awesome to see (that’d make the OnePlus Open the first folding phone with an alert slider).

All in all, the revised OnePlus Open looks much cleaner compared to what we saw initially, but I really like the shorter, wider aspect ratio of the screens. The leaked OnePlus Open looks compact, but not small.

Both displays on the OnePlus Open to be larger and sharper than the ones in the Galaxy Z Fold 5

• The inner display of the OnePlus Open is reportedly a 7.8-inch panel, while the cover screen is a 6.3-inch unit with a wider 20:9 aspect ratio. That means the inner screen will have a density of 426ppi, while the outer one will reach 431ppi.

• In comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 has a 7.6-inch inner panel, and a 6.2-inch cover display with a super tall 23:9 aspect ratio, which gives Samsung’s tablet foldable the distinguished “remote control” look that most people who’ve used the phone seem to find too narrow.

• In theory, the OnePlus Open should sit somewhere between the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Google Pixel Fold in terms of overall dimensions and feel in the hand, which seems ideal, considering that I find the Galaxy Z Fold 5 to be too tall and narrow, and Pixel Fold to be a bit too short and wide. OnePlus is clearly trying to strike the right balance, and it seems like it might work!

The OnePlus Open looks much bolder, and intimidating than Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold but is this going to be everyone’s cup of tea?

The words to describe the aesthetic design of the revised OnePlus Open are “cleaner” and “bolder” than what we initially saw. Judging by the leaked renders, the new design OnePlus has decided on looks beautiful but also makes the phone look like a small tank. Perhaps what sticks out most about the revised design of the OnePlus Open are the camera island, and the thickness of the device.

As far as the camera island is concerned, we’re looking at what appears to be a much larger circular housing with a cleaner design aesthetic and only an “H” as opposed to the entire Hasselblad logo seen in the old renders.

It’s not exactly clear whether OnePlus has increased the size of the camera island to make the phone look more intimidating, or if it’s the apparent decrease in the phone’s size that simply makes the camera island look larger. Either way, I like the new camera island design that’s not shy to stick out.



To the second point (of thickness), the updated OnePlus Open renders make the phone look thicker than initially expected. Although this might be due to the angle of the new renders, where the side view of OnePlus’ foldable is more pronounced. We don’t know how thick the OnePlus Open is going to be as of now but it is expected to be thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which won’t be that shocking, considering Samsung’s tablet-style foldable is the thickest one on the market.

Apart from that, aesthetically, we’re looking at a faux leather back, which should make the phone lighter and help it deal with fingerprints, while also making it easier to grip. Looks aside, I’m a big fan of faux leather on the back of phones because it makes them less fragile compared to ones that use glass.

OnePlus Open: Making the best folding phone on the market starts with amazing design but is OnePlus’ first folding phone going to be at least as durable as the Galaxy Z Fold? And is it going to be cheaper?

Remember when I said the OnePlus Open looks like it was built like a small “tank”? While that’s true judging by the leaked renders, holding the OnePlus Open in hand and using it for 6-12-18-24 months will be the real durability test for the Chinese company’s first foldable.

And just like I started by saying that design is the most important element of a phone to people, there’s also no denying that durability is the other most important aspect - especially when it comes to folding phones.

Samsung itself has proven that you can’t make a good folding phone (Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Z Fold 2) if it isn’t able to withstand normal use like the company’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 can. And while ingress protection (dust/water resistance) would be awesome to see on the OnePlus Open, I think making the phone durable overall is even more important.