In the West, Samsung has largely been unchallenged in the foldable device market after the first couple of Motorola Razr foldable devices failed to make an impact. But that could change in 2022, not just from Motorola with its improved Motorola Razr 2022, but from Chinese giant Oppo, which looks set to launch a couple of foldable devices outside of China later this year.
Trusted leaker Yogesh Barr said PriceSpaba (Opens in a new tab) Oppo will bring two new foldable phones to the market this fall: the Oppo Find N Fold and the Oppo Find N Flip. Both will pack Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset and, as the names suggest, go toe-to-toe with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4.
The Find N Fold likely looks a lot like the original Oppo Find N in China: a natural-looking smartphone that opens up to reveal a larger tablet. Meanwhile, the Find N Flip will behave like a Moto Razr series or Galaxy Z Flip, allowing you to fold your regular-sized phone in half when not in use, making it more compact.
If this was a China-only version, like the original Find N, this probably wouldn’t bother Samsung too much. But early indications are that Oppo has a bigger goal in mind PriceSpaba (Opens in a new tab) Discover listings for both devices on the website of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) earlier this month.
As it stands, Samsung should be concerned. Although there is no US release, we continued the process of introducing the foldable Oppo for the first time in our Oppo Find N review earlier this year. Our Phone Editor Jordan Palmer was very impressed, praising the advantages it has over the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: No gap when folded, no obvious crease and a sturdier feel hinge. “While it shares similar lackluster battery life with other foldables and seriously disappointing cameras, I would prefer to use Find N instead of the Galaxy Z Fold 3,” he wrote.
While that may make Samsung executives uncomfortable, the global release of Oppo’s next foldable devices should be welcomed by all. Not only because it gives consumers more choices in general, but because competition leads to innovation.
Samsung’s latest foldable products are impressive products, but they’re definitely more of an evolution than a revolution, and we can only hope that a little healthy competition will push Samsung to get even bolder with its Fold and Flip phones next year.
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