OPINION: One of my favourite foldable smartphones in 2024 was, rather ironically, a smartphone that didn’t launch in 2024. Instead, the book-style OnePlus Open made its debut in late 2023, and it quickly cemented itself as my daily driver.
It’s not hard to see why; compared to most other book-style foldables at release in late 2023, the OnePlus Open was miles ahead both in terms of hardware and software.
It was thinner and lighter than Samsung’s equivalent Galaxy Z Fold 5 with higher-resolution, more capable cameras designed specifically for foldables, a larger battery and faster charging, but it was OnePlus’ Open Canvas multitasking feature that really stole my heart.
It was the first multitasking system truly designed for foldable hardware and worked flawlessly, allowing quick access to up to three apps simultaneously, all utilising the full size of the inner 7.82-inch display. To switch between apps all you had to do was simply tap one of the edges of the screen, and the layout was completely customisable too. It was the one feature I missed when reviewing subsequent foldables like the Honor Magic V3 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Sure, the Magic V3 was a thinner and lighter foldable with a faster processor and equally impressive battery life, making it an easy recommendation for most people, but the software experience wasn’t – and still isn’t – as polished as what OnePlus offers with OxygenOS.
That’s not to say that it is the perfect foldable however; as I’ve just mentioned, Honor’s Magic V3 is both thinner and lighter than the OnePlus Open – and by some margin, measuring in at 9.2mm and 226g compared to the Open’s 11.7mm and 239g.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 used in the OnePlus foldable is beginning to show its age too, making its debut in flagship smartphones back in early 2023. We’re now at the point where Snapdragon 8 Elite devices are in circulation, representing quite the gap in performance capabilities between it and newer phones – though admittedly not foldables (for the time being anyway).
It’s also one of few book-style foldables not to offer full IPX8 water resistance which protects big-screen foldables from complete submersion for up to 30 minutes, instead capping out at a splash-friendly IPX4.
However, that’s exactly what makes the recent rumours about the OnePlus Open 2 so exciting, because it looks like one of my favourite foldables is about to get a massive upgrade that should fix most complaints and maybe even propel it to the top of the foldable pile in 2025.
Big changes are on the way with the OnePlus Open 2
The rumours come via Smartprix in collaboration with smartphone leakers Yogesh Brar and Chunvn, with the site sharing renders of what it describes as a “final-stage prototype” of the OnePlus Open 2 – and even at a glance, the changes in design are apparent.
For one, while the OnePlus Open offered a flat-edged design not dissimilar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, the OnePlus Open 2 is said to adopt slightly more rounded edges and corners, bringing it closer to the design of the impossibly thin Honor Magic V3.
That’s not the only similarity between the two either; the OnePlus Open 2 has apparently slimmed down to less than 10mm when folded, bringing it closer to the Magic V3’s 9.2mm, and it’s safe to imagine the weight has also been reduced as a result – though this isn’t mentioned explicitly by Smartprix and co.
Despite the slimmer dimensions, the OnePlus Open 2 should offer a larger foldable 8-inch OLED panel within, outdoing the 7.82-inch panel of its predecessor, and the AMOLED cover screen is said to jump to 6.4 inches as a result.
The inner screen is said to be well specced too, offering a 2K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, though not much has been said about the prominence of the display crease. Given how shallow the crease was on the original OnePlus Open was, I’m expecting good things here, but that’s unconfirmed for now.
Power is also set for a massive boost if the rumours are correct, pointing towards the use of the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset alongside up to 16GB of RAM and a rather generous 1TB of storage. That should allow the foldable to compete with some of the best-performing smartphones around right now.
Elsewhere, we may see the return of the circular Hasselblad-branded camera housing on the rear, allegedly sporting a trio of 50MP cameras this time around along with 32MP and 20MP sensors for video calling on the cover screen and inner display respectively.
There’s also allegedly a massive boost to battery life, with the upgraded OnePlus foldable offering a 5900mAh cell in place of the 4805mAh battery of its predecessor, along with faster 80W charging. 50W wireless charging is also set to finally make an appearance, having been MIA from the original foldable.
With rumours that the OnePlus Open 2 could debut in China early this year with a global release towards the end of Q1 2025, we might not be waiting too long to see it in the flesh either – and I for one cannot wait.
