Foldable phones turn heads but using them on a day-to-day basis can be a struggle. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold is a nice concept, but it’s chunky and cumbersome to wield if you’re used to a handset like the Pixel or iPhone. The same brand’s Flip series is smaller, but the front screen is too snug to be useful and the phone doesn’t close flat when closed. Both are expensive, and both have a crease that’s far too visible for our liking.
The Oppo Find N2 Flip is here to shake things up. In our opinion, it’s the first bendy phone that doesn’t feel like a novelty. At £849, it’s more affordable than its Android-powered rivals, and the crease that runs across the middle of the smartphone is subtle. It’s roughly the same size and weight as a Google Pixel 7 Pro and has a functional front display, too. But here’s the biggest compliment that we can give the Find N2 Flip: we would gladly use it as our main handset even if it didn’t fold.
Oppo Find N2 Flip key specs
Screen size: 6.8-inch main, 3.26-inch front
Resolution: 1080 x 2520 pixels (main), 382 x 720 pixels front
Operating system: Android 13, ColorOS 13
Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 9000+
Cameras: 50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 32MP selfie
Battery: 4,300mAh
Storage: 256GB, 512GB
RAM: 8GB, 16GB
Weight: 191 g
Water resistance: No
MicroSD slot: No
Oppo Find N2 Flip design
Like other foldables, the Oppo Find N2 Flip has the “wow” factor that you feel when bending the front panel into its closed position. While it won’t attract attention in its open position as it looks like any other Android phone at a glance, the clamshell design means the top half of the handset folds down over the bottom half in one motion – instantly making it more pocketable. The process is consistently smooth. It closes with a satisfying pop, and the case sits fully flush when closed. That’s right: there’s no gap to be seen. This is how it’s done, Samsung.
When open, it’s roughly the same size and thickness as our Pixel 7 Pro, meaning it’s possible to use and carry this as a “normal” phone, too. And, unlike on Google’s flagship, the plastic back casing adds some extra grippiness to the handset. We felt comfortable holding it in public without a case, although a transparent one comes in the box, so you get protection without having to invest more money in a cover.
We tested the black model (it also comes in purple), and we like the combination of the matte material with an aluminium frame. It’s sturdy and the hinge never felt fragile – a big concern for a device that’s constantly being snapped open and shut. Oppo says that the hinge has been durability-tested with more than 400,000 folds, and we’ve no complaints about the strength or smoothness after our hands-on time.
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Oppo Find N2 Flip display
Let’s talk about that crease. Yes, even as foldables are praised for innovation one of our gripes has been the ridge that runs along the middle of these models. No handset has cracked it – until now. The Find N2 Flip hides it impressively. Sure, you’ll feel the crease if you run your fingers down the front, but you’ll only see it under harsher lighting conditions, such as outdoors when it’s sunny. It’s barely visible when the handset’s off, and almost totally disappears with the display on.
There’s a front screen, too. This 3.26-inch display (as big as those on the back of most digital cameras) mainly shows you the time, date and battery life, but swipe right to left and you’ll find some customised apps. We used it to show the weather and a menu that quickly launches the camera, but you can add more shortcut widgets here, including a calendar and timer. We like that you can use the front screen to quickly reply to texts, and while there’s not too much in the way of extra customisation, we like how you can set a wallpaper that’s different from the main display.
Honestly, we didn’t use the front screen too much during day-to-day use, but we like that launching the camera when in the closed position lets you take pictures with the main 50MP lens, and it’s nice for getting access to notifications rather than having to always open the handset. Both screens have excellent resolution, and the 120Hz refresh rate on the main display delivers an extremely smooth experience. It’s the best example of a useful foldable layout that we’ve encountered so far.
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Oppo Find N2 Flip camera
Fire up the camera on the Find N2 Flip and you’ll have the choice of using two lenses: a 50 megapixel (MP) wide, and an 8 MP ultrawide. Unsurprisingly, it’s the primary lens that shoots the best pictures out of the two. While testing on the wet streets of London, we found it accurately captures the rain-soaked pavements, and there was more than enough detail in the shot when viewed on the phone’s display. The ultrawide was significantly less impressive during our tests, with the results being a little more washed out and pixelated when zoomed in.
Unlike Google or Apple phones, there’s not as much fancy AI tech working behind the scenes, either. You can’t delete unwanted subjects from the pictures, access crisp close-ups with a macro lens or steady shaky recordings with an action mode. This is very much a point-and-shoot system. While it’s not a remarkable setup, your pictures are crisp and clear, and we like the “dual preview” mode that takes advantage of the front screen to show your subject how they look before you hit the shutter.
While the main lenses are passable, the N2 Flip is a selfie fan’s dream come true when closed. As the main lens is pointed head-on, you can shoot using the 50MP lens instead of the lower-resolution front-facing lens. This gives you much more detail than traditional selfie cameras – ideal if you’re a social media power user.
Here are examples of pictures from the camera system:
Oppo Find N2 Flip software
Even with the foldable design, the phone wouldn’t be very fun to use if the performance wasn’t up to scratch. Thankfully, that’s not the case. The processor that powers the device is speedy, and we didn’t encounter problems when watching videos, scrolling Instagram or downloading updates from the Google Play Store.
The version of Android that’s on the Find N2 Flip (known as ColorOS) won’t shock anyone, but we appreciate that it includes a section for foldable features, letting you change the wallpaper on the front, alter the widget order and set quick replies. You can choose from light or dark mode, set adaptive brightness, and set up multitasking features. Swiping up with three fingers lets you use two apps at once, and you can add apps to a “smart sidebar” that’s accessible by swiping left on the home screen.
Despite the default layout being minimalist, with apps shown as neat squares, it’s a shame to find a few unwanted apps when you first boot up. Pre-installed software – Facebook, ORelax, Zen Mode, Joom, Dice Dreams – isn’t ideal, but it took us under a minute to remove them and clean up the home screen so it’s far from a dealbreaker. And in fact, it turns out the meditation app ORelax is surprisingly good.
Oppo Find N2 Flip battery
The battery on the Find N2 Flip, a 4,300mAh capacity cell, easily survived a workday, so that’s checking emails, watching videos on Disney+ and reading websites during our two-hour commute to and from the office, listening to podcasts via Spotify and glancing over social media at lunch. It’s mostly similar to the other 2023 flagships.
If you’re not using it too much, you’ll get closer to two days, but you’ll need to turn on the power-saving mode to stretch it that far. On test, with the phone at 80%, the handset estimated we would get one day and 12 hours by turning on the saver.
Powering up via the charger (yes, there’s one in the box) is an acceptable speed, going from depleted to 33% in 20 minutes, and reaching 95% in under an hour. If you leave it throughout the day without use, it holds charge fairly well. On test, it dropped from 100% to 89% from noon on Monday to 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Unlike Samsung’s Flip, it’s a bit of a shame that there’s no wireless charging on the Find N2 Flip, which we’ve become used to having as a luxury on high-end phones. You’ll only be able to fuel it up via USB-C. That same port is used for connecting wired earbuds (just make sure you have the right adapter as this doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack) and you can pair any headphones wirelessly via Bluetooth, too.
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Oppo Find N2 Flip performance
This is a snappy phone, in more ways than one. Performance is just as good as other recent premium handsets. Scrolling down your TikTok feed is lag-free, videos on YouTube open instantly, downloading and opening apps is speedy and there’s a general feeling of smoothness when using the Find N2 Flip. This is due to the display’s high refresh rate of up to 120Hz. You can limit this to 60Hz to save battery, but as we had no complaints about how long the battery lasts, we kept it on the highest setting. The security biometrics are also quick and reliable. The fingerprint scanner inside the power button works without issue, and the face recognition performs well even in darker conditions. You can also choose to set an unlock pattern, or use a more traditional number password, too.
There’s no water protection rating, so this isn’t a phone to use in heavy rain, and don’t even think about bringing it to the pool party this summer. We brought it to the gym and didn’t feel that it was overly fragile (something that can’t be said for the Samsung Fold 4) but this is more at risk of water damage than other flagships.
The built-in speakers are good, but slightly unremarkable compared to recent iPhones. Still, we found ourselves pairing this to wireless earbuds (mainly the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds) or a Bluetooth speaker like the Marshall Middleton for daily use, and those connections were strong, with no signal drops or interference.
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Oppo Find N2 Flip drawbacks
We were genuinely surprised with how few complaints we had when using the Find N2 Flip, but there are a few drawbacks to note. The first is button layout. Due to the volume and power buttons being on the top end of the casing, they are quite high when the phone is open – meaning it’s a stretch to reach them single-handedly, and that makes changing the volume on-the-fly quite awkward. We like how easy it is to pop it closed, but expect fumbling if you try to open it up again without two hands.
The second is that the front screen isn’t that practical during day-to-day use. We like it, but did find ourselves using the handset open most of the time, with the smaller display mostly relegated to being used for glances at the clock, although it’s undeniable that the form factor is great for popping into a pocket. There’s no water protection, and you don’t get the camera performance we’ve come to expect from a flagship.
Oppo Find N2 Flip verdict
Foldable phones are no longer new, but they do still attract attention. The Oppo Find N2 Flip is the most refined model that you can buy right now. The gap-free design when it’s shut makes it more appealing than the Samsung rivals and it’s seriously impressive how well the hinge crease is hidden. Performance is snappy, we had no software issues (once the bloatware is cleaned up) and the screen is bright and responsive. Do you need that second screen? Probably not – but it’s helpful as a clock and for checking notifications without always having to open the case. If you want a new flip phone, this is the one we recommend. It goes well beyond a novelty item that you buy to show off to friends and family. With the Find N2 Flip, Oppo has made a really good flagship smartphone that just happens to also fold in two.
