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OnePlus is the latest company to join the celebration at this year’s Mobile World Congress, which is shaping up to be a real fiesta for unconventional form factors. The company revealed its intention to introduce a foldable phone in the second half of 2023 during a panel discussion today. That is about all we know for the time being, but it seems safe to assume that the device will look a lot like one of the foldables currently available from Oppo, the parent company of OnePlus.
Oppo is currently on its second round of folding phones, though most of them have only been available in China, as Apple and Google have yet to enter the market. The 2021 Find N was a foldable tablet with a surprising refined design for a first-generation product. In late 2022, Oppo followed up with the Find N2 and Find N2 Flip. The latter is a device with a clamshell design similar to Samsung’s Z Flip series. When it goes on sale in a few days, it will be Oppo’s first foldable device in Europe.
OnePlus has established distribution channels in North America, so there is at least some hope that its upcoming foldable will be sold here. Naturally, none of the above has made it to the United States. While foldables from Motorola, Honor, and Oppo are available in China and Europe, Samsung dominates the market in the United States. The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 and Motorola’s Razr 5G, both from the year 2020, are two additional options. There aren’t many choices.
It’s difficult to predict which direction OnePlus will take with its upcoming device: folding or flipping Kinder Liu, president of the company, provided only a hazy description: that it would be a “flagship phone that doesn’t settle because of its folding form, in terms of industrial design, mechanical technology, and other aspects.” that this would be the case. If OnePlus’ device makes its way to the United States, however it folds, it might put Samsung under some much-needed pressure.
