Long-term test Oppo Find N

Fold little heart

Oppo’s Find N is the latest flexible flyer and it’s a bit more cute and cuddly than most… Dan Grabham finds out if the foldable concept has finally come of age

£tba / stuff.tv/FindN

Half-folding thescreenand standingitupis greatforwatching stuff…atleastuntil itsnapsback.

DAY 01

Foldable phones remain a niche pursuit, but they’re the kind of niche pursuit everybody wants to get involved with. So we unpack Oppo’s Find N with glee; like other foldables we’ve seen (especially Samsung’s Z Fold3), it feels fresh and different to the multitude of glass rectangles out there. But there is one key difference with the Oppo: it’s more compact than its rivals, and is designed to be more pocketable. Certainly it sits in a jeans pocket comfortably.

Compared to the Z Fold3, which has 6.2in and 7.6in displays, the Find N keeps it tidy with 5.49in (external) and 7.1in (internal) screens, both super-bright AMOLED jobs with up to 1000 nits of brightness. The external display boasts the spec du jour of the smartphone world: a variable refresh rate (up to 120Hz). No surprise that our entire first day with this phone is spent with that big ol’ display folded out.

You don’t notice the crease once it’s unfolded – foldable phone tech has really moved on here, and the way this display works is designed to prevent any kind of line from showing. You’ve got to really prod the screen to tell that it’s anything other than pancake-flat, and we can’t see any evidence of issues arising from the folding display – it’s just not an issue.

It is a heavy phone, though, at 275g – and that weight can be a drag if you generally use a relatively light handset. Well, if you want to live your tech life at the cutting edge…

A side-mounted fingerprint reader on the power button takes care of the biometrics, while the only other physical control on the side is the volume rocker. Because the two sides with the buttons are together when folded, I’m finding it easy to hit the wrong button when trying to turn the display off. The button is recessed because it’s the fingerprint reader, but it still makes things more difficult. The idea is that you just need to rest your finger there to unlock… well, maybe I’ll get used to it.

You’ve got to really prod the screen to tell that it’s anything other than pancake-flat – it’s just not an issue

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Donut of Truth™

01 Feels great when you snap it back together 02 It’s super- quick and responsive in use 03 The inner display is just wonderful 04 It’s not available in the UK… yet 05 There’s no getting away from the weight 06 It’s a fingerprint magnet for sure

Tech specs

Displays 7.1in 1920x1792+5.49in 1972x988 OLED Processor Snapdragon 888 5G RAM 8/12GB Storage 256/512GB OS Android 11 with ColorOS 12 Cameras 50+13+16MP rear, 2x 32MP front Battery4500mAh Dimensions 133x73x16mm / 140x133x8mm, 275g

DAY 02

I’m appreciating the physical size of the Find N, which is a little wider than the Z Fold3 but significantly shorter. The external display is very usable because of that width, and as I get out and about with the phone I’m finding myself using it in closed mode more and more.

By the way, the Find N is going to be available in purple or white should you not like the black finish (which, as with all black phones, seems to get rather fingerprinty). The finish is excellent quality, though, with a hinge that clips shut with a satisfying slap.

The 16mm chubbiness of this phone in folded form really isn’t a problem, though it does feel like having two phones in your pocket. The exciting thing about this is that we feel like foldable handsets have got to the stage where thickness is the only issue.

DAY 04

What’s definitely not an issue is power. The Find N uses last year’s flagship Snapdragon 888 5G platform and it’s incredibly slick. It’s got Android 11, topped with Oppo’s simple ColorOS interface, and there’s 12GB of RAM and 512GB of speedy UFS 3.1 storage inside our test model.

DAY 07

Watching videos on the Oppo’s fold-out display isn’t the best because of its aspect ratio, which is nearly square at 8.4:9. That means you get massive black bars top and bottom. But you can use the display for some pretty clever stuff, including having two apps side by side. Apps also transfer between the displays when you open or close the handset.

DAY 09

I’ve now got the measure of the triple rear camera setup. The main 50MP sensor is a standard f1.8 Sony part, with optical image stabilisation, and takes some impressive images. There’s also a 16MP ultrawide and 13MP telephoto, plus high-quality 32MP selfie-cams on each display.

DAY 14

Topping up the battery in this thing has been super-speedy. There’s 15W wireless charging if you use a compatible charger, but the wired charging is 33W, meaning you can juice up the 4500mAh cell to around 70% in half an hour. Such rapid refuelling is a joy – and another sign that folding phones really don’t have to be impractical.