OnePlus Open review

Fresh from a return to form with the OnePlus 11, this Chinese manufacturer is going for the flagship foldable segment with the OnePlus Open. 

Offering a no-compromise experience with a refined design and a genuinely good camera system, is this the one to topple efforts from Samsung and Motorola to claim the crown? Read our review to find out more.

Design and specifications

The OnePlus Open has the now-popular book-style foldable design, boasting a 7.82-inch primary internal screen when unfurled as well as a 6.31-inch cover display.

The inner display is a 2K AMOLED effort with a peak brightness of 2800 nits (a feat matched by the cover), whilst both boast support for Dolby Vision and the richness of colours that suggests.

The phone exudes luxury with an amalgam of metal and frosted glass, with a matte (or leather) finish on the rear coupled with a glossy finish on the device’s front. 

The phone is relatively thin and light, measuring 11.7 / 11.9mm and weighing 239g (or 245g) when folded, but it feels sturdy and durable. 

The Open has a slender fingerprint scanner on its side, a USB-C port and a speaker on the bottom, and a SIM tray subtly housed beside it. 

Sans headphone jack, wireless charging, or fully-fledged water resistance, there have been some compromises in the OnePlus Open’s form factor in its journey to market, all of which we’ll touch on in more detail. 

The phone comes in two hues, a dusky Voyager Black with a textured vegan leather rear and an arresting Emerald Dusk - with the latter light green model being the one in for review.

These variances in measurements are solely down to the two versions, the black OnePlus Open being ever so slightly thicker - yet lighter - due to its unique finish.

OnePlus fans will also be happy to know that the iconic Alert Slider is also present and correct, on the left side of the phone when open and the right when closed, and still has the reassuring click, visual and haptic response when shifting seamlessly between silent and ringing modes.

In terms of water resistance, we’re glad to say it does have a formal ‘IP’ rating, but given that it’s IPX4 - essentially resistance from splashes but stopping short of being waterproof - perhaps not one for those underwater shots of family in the pool, but an improvement over earlier OnePlus phones.

Equally, the X means that it isn’t there when it comes to resistance to dust - the bane of many a foldable. That being said, the manufacturer has its own efforts to minimise impact of the elements on the hinge and innards, but we’d suggest exercising caution, to be on the safe side…

All in all, the OnePlus Open is a marvel of engineering and exudes the sleek, luxurious feel of high-end timepieces and quality technology they’ve been striving for - the cost is wholly matched by the pristine fit and finish of the foldable device.

Screen display and audio

The OnePlus Open has a stunning primary display that offers a smooth and immersive viewing experience. The 7.82-inch foldable OLED screen has a resolution of 2440 x 2268 pixels, which translates to a pixel density of 426 ppi. 

The screen supports a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, which makes everything look fluid and responsive. The screen also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which enhances the contrast and colours of content viewed. 

The screen has a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera, and has pronounced curved outer edges. The screen is bright, sharp, and colourful, with a peak brightness of 2800 nits. 

The screen also has a low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology, which allows the screen to dynamically adjust the refresh rate based on content displayed, saving on all-important battery life.

With responsiveness up to 240Hz, as well as an ultra-thin protective material for the interior glass, the Open feels assured in its ‘phablet’ form, with personalised settings for everything from brightness to colour tones to ensure an optimal viewing experience in all environments.

The 6.31-inch OLED cover screen has a resolution of 2484 x 1116 pixels (also 2K), which translates to a pixel density of 431 ppi. The screen is also bright, sharp, and colourful, with HDR10+ support and also sports a peak brightness of 2800 nits. 

The most important feature of the OnePlus Open’s cover screen is simply its aspect ratio of 20:9 - it’s not as narrow as the effort on the Samsung Galaxy Fold 5, which is a revelation in terms of ease of use. There’s zero learning curve to accommodate the screen’s real estate, as it just feels like a regular smartphone when closed. 

The keyboard is the same size as you’d find elsewhere as opposed to being condensed or cramped, and websites and content served up on it are just as good as you’d find on dedicated single-form smartphones. 

It can’t be overstated just how comfortable it’s been to switch from a device which felt just slightly 'off', to one which is assured in both setups - kudos to OnePlus’ foldable for being a fantastic daily driver whether open or closed.

This does make the device’s display that much wider when open, and thankfully OnePlus has the requisite quality-of-life features such as a split keyboard and easy-access side trays to apps to ensure everything is at your fingertips.

The screen has a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera, and it has a pronounced curve around the edges. The cover screen is the biggest and most capable external display on any foldable phone, and it can perform a variety of functions, such as checking notifications, taking selfies, playing games, watching videos, and using some apps.

The OnePlus Open has a quad-array of speakers which deliver stereo as well as 'multi-spatial' audio, which leverages Dolby Atmos to envelope the user in sound. In reality this is effective - albeit slightly lacking in bass - but delivers where it counts for content consumption and music alike.

You can also find Bluetooth 5.2 support for wireless audio, entirely welcome given the lack of a dedicated headphone jack in this device.

Interface and operating system

The OnePlus Open runs with Android 13 with OxygenOS 13, which is OnePlus’s custom skin. OxygenOS 13 is a clean and fluid interface, with some features tailored for the foldable phone.

For example, the phone has a Smart Rotate feature, which automatically adjusts the screen orientation based on how you hold the phone - it has a bit of a mind of its own at first, but choosing the correct orientation comes as second nature with a bit of practice. 

The phone also has a Flex Mode feature, which splits the screen into two halves when you fold the phone at an angle, allowing you to use different apps on each half. 

The phone also has a Multi-Window feature, which lets you run up to three apps simultaneously on the internal screen, and a ‘Floating Window’ feature, which lets you open a small window of one app on top of another.. 

The phone also supports gesture navigation, dark mode, and a Game Mode, which optimises the performance and blocks notifications while gaming.

All of these features are to say that your daily experience with the device does become markedly different from a traditional smartphone, with multitasking and productivity swiftly becoming a function of remembering just how much you can do with that expansive inner screen. 

Camera

The OnePlus Open has a well-rounded triple camera system on the back, which is co-engineered with Hasselblad, a lauded camera brand best known for capturing the images on the moon during NASA’s iconic Apollo 11 mission. 

It is difficult to avoid the conversation here when it comes to just how imposing the Open’s camera setup is, taking pride of place with its LED flash across pretty much the entire upper rear of the phone, as well as creating a decent half-inch bump. 

The main camera is a Sony CMOS 48MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture, optical image stabilisation (OIS), and phase detection autofocus (PDAF). A first for OnePlus, this ‘Pixel Stacked” effort claims to be a massive improvement over their previous flagship, and to deliver such impressive results in a foldable sees the Open setting new benchmarks in raising our expectations from this new category of device.

The main camera takes detailed and natural-looking photos, with accurate colours and good dynamic range. The main camera also supports 4K video recording at up to 60fps, and 1080p video recording at 240/480 fps for slo-mo moments of glory. 

The ultra-wide camera is another 48MP Sony sensor - this time with an f/2.2 aperture and a 114-degree field of view. The ultra-wide camera takes wide and stunning photos, with good colours and details. The ultra-wide camera also supports 4K video recording at 30fps, and 1080p video recording at 60fps. 

The telephoto camera is a 64MP OmniVision sensor with an f/2.6 aperture, OIS, and PDAF. The telephoto camera offers 3x optical zoom and a frankly ridiculous (but eminently usable) 120x digital zoom, and it takes sharp and clear photos, with minimal noise and distortion. 

The telephoto camera also supports 4K video recording at 30fps, and 1080p video recording at 120fps.

The OnePlus Open has a duo of selfie cameras due to multiple form factors - one on the cover screen and one on the internal display. 

The cover selfie camera is a 32MP sensor with an f/2.4 aperture, and it takes decent and smooth selfies, with good colours and exposure. 

The cover selfie camera also supports 1080p video recording at 30fps. The internal selfie camera is a 20MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture, and it takes better and sharper selfies, with more details and natural skin tones. 

The internal selfie camera also supports 1080p video recording at 30fps.

This array of cameras all work in concert with a host of software-side solutions - Hasselblad’s input exists heavily here with dedicated ‘for Mobile’ setup that lends its hand when it comes to colour reproduction and filters, as well as Nightscape and Pro Mode for those preferring to fiddle with their own settings.

The cool stuff comes when you leverage the Open’s form factor - splitting the interior display to view live images on the left whilst still snapping on the right, or enabling the subject to view themselves on the outer display when taking a photo inside. 

The convenience of what might have otherwise been considered a novelty pops up once again - whether resting the phone on the table for a long exposure shot or raising your hand to snap a selfie. 

Whilst some of the sensors might have been inherited from the OnePlus 11, the OnePlus Open is truly setting a new standard for the quality of images to glean from a foldable. Night shots wow but still contain slight noise we see on smartphones of this calibre, but it currently blows away the competition in its class - an incredible effort!

Storage, processors and performance

The OnePlus Open comes with a generous 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage as its only variant, more than enough for most users. 

The phone does not have a microSD card slot, however, so that’s your lot in terms of onboard storage - although digital RAM expansions of between 4 and 12GB give some headroom in terms of processing swiftness. 

The phone runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, Qualcomm’s flagship 2023 mobile processor which also found a home in the OnePlus 11.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset has an octa-core CPU, with one 2.84GHz core, three 2.42GHz cores, and four 1.8GHz cores. The chipset also has an Adreno 740 GPU, which handles graphics-intensive tasks with aplomb. 

The OnePlus Open delivers a fast and smooth performance, with no lag or stutter. The phone can handle multitasking, gaming, and browsing with ease, and it does not overheat or throttle. The phone also supports 5G and WiFi 6 connectivity - as well both dual and eSIM - which offers faster and more reliable internet speeds.

Battery life

The OnePlus Open has a 4,805mAh battery, which can last for a full day of moderate use, or up to 10 hours of screen-on time - jostling for position with equivalent devices, but a bit more than both the Fold 5’s 4,400mAh effort and the 4,355mAh battery of the Pixel Fold. 

The battery also supports 67W SUPERVOOC fast charging, which can charge the phone from 0% to 100% in about 40 minutes and from flat to 50% in just 15 minutes, massive plus points for those putting this phone through its paces.

The phone does not support wireless charging or reverse wireless charging, but given the rapid rate of recharge coming from wired and the bigger core battery, it’s a worthwhile compromise. 

UK pricing and availability

The Open is available to buy in the UK from the official OnePlus website at a single prince point of £1,599 for the 16GB RAM and 512GB storage model - cheaper than major rivals like the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Google’s Pixel Fold, both of which cost £1,749 for variants offering just half the storage at 256GB and 12GB of RAM.

So whilst still a price smartphone segment, the OnePlus Open beats the foldable competition when it comes to storage, real world specs and price - a killer combination.

Verdict

The OnePlus Open is a foldable phone that packs a punch. It offers a genuinely no-compromise experience, boasting a refined design (a first effort, but one which certainly leverages the know-how of stablemate Oppo), and a genuinely good camera system. 

The Open has two stunning displays that both offer a smooth and immersive viewing experience, as well as one which most importantly feels entirely native to use. 

The Open has a fast and smooth performance, with a generous amount of RAM and storage above the competition, as well as battery life and fast charging support that gives it the edge. 

The absence of wireless charging and a lower bar for water resistance are legitimate compromises, but for this price and for such a high quality of phone in so many areas, the OnePlus Open is without a doubt the foldable you've been waiting for, as well as one we’re thoroughly impressed by.