When foldable smartphones arrived on the scene couple of years ago with Samsung taking the lead, they were treated as luxury devices meant for a chosen few. Little did the world of technology realise that the appetite for premium experiences were growing steadily worldwide and Indians were not far behind. When smartphones worth Rs 1.5 lakh and above started to fly off the shelves in countries like India where price has mostly been a decisive factor while purchasing a device, foldables unfolded an all-together new experience for the consumers in a unique form factor.
They evolved over the years and now, OnePlus has brought its flagship foldable to India that clearly ups the game and challenges the rivals with a device that combines light, compact-slim design with revolutionary imaging to deliver one of the best foldable experiences. OnePlus Open addresses one of the most-talked about thing among the foldable lovers -- durability and longevity of the hinge architecture.
OnePlus Open has been certified for reliable folding by international certification institute in TUV Rheinland where it was put through extreme environmental tests and 1,000,000 test-folds that amounts to way more than 100 folds per day, lasting for over 10 years! It means it can be opened 1 million times at ease sans any issue. The key to this exceptional longevity is the single-spine hinge architecture.
According to Kinder Liu, COO of OnePlus, unlike conventional folding designs with more complex three-part spines, the single-spine hinge minimises stress on the folding mechanism. “This results in reduced wear and tear on the components, allowing the OnePlus Open to withstand the rigours of frequent folding and unfolding for years,” Liu told IANS last week.
Furthermore, aerospace-grade materials, such as titanium alloy, carbon fibre, and proprietary cobalt molybdenum alloy used in its construction, not only reduce the weight of the folding device but also contribute tremendously to its overall durability.
Available in two finishes, Emerald Dusk and Voyager Black, the device offers depth-vacuum separating camera sensors and the exterior glass dome, much like the sophistication found on luxury watches. OnePlus’s iconic alert slider is being introduced to phablet-foldables for the first time.
Weighing in at just 239 grams (which is a first among the foldables), and measuring at 5.8mm when unfolded, the Open combines the handy experience of a single display smartphone and a Pro tablet without the additional bulk. Sporting a Hasselblad camera, the device has a 48MP SONY LYTIA-T808 “Pixel Stacked” primary camera with OIS, complemented by a 64MP periscope telephoto with 6x in-sensor lossless zoom and OIS, and a 48MP ultra-wide angle camera with AutoFocus.
The “Pixel Stacked” technology features a redesigned pixel architecture that boost light in-take and storage within a smaller physical footprint. This allows for major expansion of light capacity, doubling the maximum light in-take and storage, allowing for clearer images. The Open also comes with two selfie cameras – a 20MP sensor on the main display and a 32MP camera on cover screen.
The images came stunning in both outdoor and indoor light conditions.
Main camera aside, the Open brings a 64MP telephoto camera with OIS that will allows for 3X optical and 6X lossless in-sensor zoom with up to 120X Ultra Res Zoom. This is touted as the largest telephoto sensor ever utilised on a foldable at 1/2-inch, ensuring quality telephoto imaging even in low-light.
OnePlus leverages the Hasselblad partnership to bring an improved Hasselblad Portrait Mode on the device. With this, the device works in tandem to deliver DSLR-level depth-tracking, bokeh and flare effects. The device is equipped with dual 2K 120Hz fluid AMOLED ProXDR displays.
The cover screen sizes in at 6.31-inch, with an aspect ratio of 20:09. With a peak brightness of 2800nits, the 120Hz cover screen also boasts a high brightness mode (HBM) of up to 1400nits for ultra-bright, smooth, and responsive visuals during any time of the day. The cover screen is shielded by Ceramic Guard that’s up 20 per cent more impact resistant than Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. When opened, the device has a 7.82-inch main display that offers an 89.6 per cent screen-to-body ratio. The main display is also fortified by three layers of protection.
The OnePlus Open is equipped with a triple spatial speaker set-up. These speakers work in tandem with a proprietary spatial audio algorithm to take Dolby Atmos content to a new level — 3D sound that come to you from all directions.
This same quality is also offered through the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, a true wireless flagship, so users can enjoy a full cinematic audio-visual experience whenever, wherever. In the all-new OxygenOS 13.2 operating system, multi-window operations or “split screen” are no longer restricted to physical size of the display with Open Canvas.
Active windows can be stretched and resized as desired, with secondary windows sliding in and out of the physical display on demand (rests on virtual screen real estate), allowing you to hop between or focus in on a particular app. When it comes to the hardware, there is latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, over-the-top 16GB of RAM accelerated by OnePlus’s proprietary RAM-Vita software, and 512GB of UFS 4.0 read-only memory (ROM).
This is accompanied by a 4,805mAh battery and 67W SUPERVOOC charging that charge up the battery on the OnePlus Open in about 50 minutes or so (in our tests). The device is now available for purchase in India for Rs 1,39,999, with benefits up to Rs 10,000.
Conclusion: A new and powerful foldable is born with OnePlus Open, unfolding new experiences for the Indian consumers who can spend more to enjoy some super-cool features for the first time in a foldable smartphone this festive season.