OnePlus Open

GSMTechTok analysis

Who it's for

The OnePlus Open is for a buyer who wants the best foldable hardware money can currently buy and is genuinely willing to put up with rougher software polish to get it — Android Central's own review title calls it directly "the best foldable you won't buy," specifically because the hardware wins decisively while price and software fumbles hold back mainstream appeal. It suits camera-focused buyers in particular, since Digital Trends' six-month follow-up found the Hasselblad-tuned system still genuinely excellent well after launch, with little to no shutter lag even on the now-dated Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. It's a strong fit for anyone directly comparing it against a Galaxy Fold, since Android Central found the Open's design, hinge smoothness, crease control, battery capacity, and charging speed all genuinely ahead of the contemporary Z Fold5. It's a weaker fit for OxygenOS skeptics or Samsung/Google loyalists deep in either ecosystem, and per 9to5Google's year-later comparison against the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, a weaker fit for anyone who specifically wants wireless charging, since the Open notably lacks it — a real, still-unaddressed gap versus rivals.

Standout features

The hinge is the genuine engineering standout, and it's held up in independent long-term testing, not just at launch: 9to5Google's year-later review found the crease hadn't worsened at all over more than a year of regular use, still describing it as barely visible with a satisfying mechanical "snap" on both opening and closing. Android Authority's testing found the resulting crease "easily tops Samsung's comparative canyon" of the same era, and the Flexion Hinge's 69-component design is rated by OnePlus for over a million fold cycles, independently verified as feeling tough and robust by TechAdvisor's hands-on. The 7.82-inch inner display's anti-reflective coating is a genuine, still-relevant advantage — 9to5Google's long-term comparison against both the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Pixel 9 Pro Fold found no compromise in visual quality even a year on, specifically crediting the anti-glare layer with staying ahead of both newer rivals in everyday outdoor and bright-room usability. The Hasselblad camera system remains genuinely excellent too, and Digital Trends' six-month revisit found performance essentially unchanged from launch-day praise, with real photographic quality that still holds up against considerably newer foldables.

Trade-offs

The Flexion Hinge is honestly a double-edged sword rather than a pure win, and Digital Trends is specific about why: past roughly 135 degrees of opening, the hinge springs open on its own without much resistance, which Android Authority separately notes can genuinely pinch a finger if you're not expecting it — a real, physical quirk unique to this hinge design rather than a universal foldable trait. Chip age is a real, honest limitation at this point: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 was already a year old at launch and Qualcomm's successor arrived just days after the Open's announcement, meaning this foldable has been running increasingly dated silicon for its entire life relative to newer purchases. OxygenOS itself is the most consistently cited weakness across reviews — Android Central's own review title flags software fumbles directly as one of the two things holding the Open back from wider appeal, alongside its high price. Wireless charging is also a genuine, still-unaddressed omission per 9to5Google's direct comparison against the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, a real practical gap for anyone used to that convenience on a modern flagship-tier device.