Oppo Find N initial review: Striking the right balance?

(Pocket-lint) - We're inactive comparatively aboriginal successful the communicative of foldable, flexible smartphones and that's a bully thing. It means antithetic companies are inactive trying antithetic shapes, sizes and forms to spot what works champion and enactment their stamp connected this babe market. 

Oppo has conscionable announced its archetypal user foldable, and portion the Find N mightiness look a small akin to different devices that exist, determination are differences that marque the idiosyncratic acquisition drastically different. 

Design 

• 132.6 x 140.2 x 8.0mm (unfolded)
• 132.6 x 73 x 15.9mm (folded) 
• 275 grams 
• Purple, achromatic and achromatic colours 

Look astatine the Find N connected its own, and you mightiness deliberation Oppo copied a leafage from Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold playbook, but erstwhile you spot them adjacent to each different you'll cognize that's not precisely the case. Oppo's Find N has that acquainted book-style folding telephone appearance, but its facet ratio makes it a antithetic proposition to Samsung's. 

It's noticeably shorter and wider than the Samsung, and that gives existent benefits erstwhile it comes to utilizing the beforehand surface for - good - anything. You get much abstraction for video, and a little cramped typing experience, positive a amended viewfinder for taking selfies oregon vlogging with the main cameras. Plus, you don't request to agelong arsenic acold to get into the apical corners. It's easier to usage one-handed, that's for sure. 

This shorter size besides means it's rather compact, having a aboveground country that's smaller than an iPhone 13 mini, though its thickness erstwhile unopen means it's fundamentally similar having 2 iPhone mini's stacked connected apical of each other. 

The rear of the telephone bears a resemblance to Oppo's Find X3 Pro, though a much squat version. The triple camera lodging sits connected apical of a curved/ramped up protrusion connected the back, and this peculiar exemplary features a purple-ish decorativeness that shimmers, shines and reflects aureate airy astatine assorted angles depending connected the airy successful the area.

The lone existent downside of the decorativeness connected this 1 that we've seen truthful far, is that fingerprints amusement up truly easily. 

As for the metallic edges, those are a axenic silver-coloured polished aluminium that consciousness truly beardown and sturdy. They besides diagnostic a carnal fingerprint sensor successful the broadside that means you tin unlock your telephone whether it's unfastened oregon shut. 

The hinge feels truly sturdy too. So acold we've not experienced immoderate wobble, oregon looseness, whether the telephone is unfastened oregon shut. This hinge's spine is the lone portion of the metallic that isn't wholly shiny, with a matte-finished groove moving down the centre. 

And the hinge tin clasp the surface astatine assorted angles, truthful if you privation to remainder it down during video calls you can. 

When you bash unfastened it, you'll announcement the surface doesn't diagnostic that azygous chiseled crease we've seen successful Samsung's phones truthful far. That's due to the fact that of the mode it curves wrong the assemblage erstwhile it's shut, akin to the Moto RAZR. 

There are immoderate subtle ripples successful the flexible surface if you look successful the close light, which you tin consciousness if you hitch your digit oregon thumb on them, but it's obscurity adjacent arsenic noticeable arsenic immoderate others we've seen truthful acold from immoderate manufacturer. It's practically invisible and undetectable astir of the time. 

Displays and software 

• 7.1-inch AMOLED flexible interior panel
• 1792 x 1920 solution - 120Hz refresh complaint - 1000 nits peak
• 5.49-inch AMOLED screen display
• 1972 x 988 solution - 60hz refresh complaint - 1000 nits peak 

Moving connected to the existent displays briefly, and there's tons to similar here. Both screens are AMOLED panels boasting up to 1000 nits highest brightness. Where they disagree is successful refresh rates and - of people - size. 

The main show connected the wrong features adaptable refresh that tin spell from arsenic debased arsenic 1Hz each the mode up to 120Hz, and adapts based connected the contented you're viewing connected it. 

The interior show is 7.1-inches, and has an astir quadrate ratio which means it's not cleanable for watching videos on. You get beauteous hefty achromatic bars connected it. However, determination are immoderate bundle tweaks that marque it truly useful. 

With an app unfastened successful afloat screen, a swipe with 2 fingers down the mediate turns it into divided surface mode, fundamentally giving you 2 regular telephone screens successful the aforesaid panel. Or, you tin pinch with 4 fingers to motorboat the app successful a floating window, that you tin resize and determination astir arsenic you need. 

And erstwhile you unfastened oregon adjacent the phone, you tin proceed successful the aforesaid app you've had unfastened whether you're moving to the beforehand surface oregon the main interior display. That beforehand show is simply a 60Hz panel. That switching from 1 to the different erstwhile you're scrolling done the interface tin beryllium a tiny spot jarring, but for media depletion and browsing that doesn't enactment 120Hz, it's hard to spot the quality successful smoothness. 

Hardware and performance

• Snapdragon 888 processor
• 8GB oregon 12GB LPDDR5 RAM
• 256GB oregon 512GB UFS 3.1 storage
• 4500mAh artillery - 33W SuperVOOC wired charging 
• 15W AirVooc wireless charging - 10W reverse wireless 

Looking astatine the interior components used, it's wide Oppo meant to marque the Find N a due flagship-powered phone. It's got the Snapdragon 888 platform moving the amusement and that's alongside either 8GB oregon 12GB RAM. 

The magnitude of RAM you get depends connected the retention model, with the little exemplary featuring 256GB retention and the higher boasting a retention capableness of 512GB. It's UFS 3.1 too, truthful bully and speedy. 

As for artillery capacity, that's mostly the modular affair. With 4500mAh, it's what you get connected a batch of Oppo's phones and should beryllium plentifulness to get you done a afloat day. 

Oppo fans mightiness beryllium a small disappointed to spot there's nary ace accelerated 65W SuperVOOC charging, but with the 33W flash charging variant, it should complaint rapidly enough, giving you astir 70% complaint successful fractional an hour. It besides has the versatility of Qi wireless charging and - if you usage an Oppo AirVOOC charger - you'll get up to 15W speeds wirelessly.  

Cameras

• 50MP f/1.8 superior camera w/OIS and PDAF
• 16MP f/2.2 ultrawite camera
• 13MP f/2.4 telephoto 2x zoom camera
• 2x 32MP selfie cameras 

Camera-wise, there's a acquainted sensor successful here. Oppo's utilized the 50MP Sony sensor that's successful the superior camera galore times before, astir notably successful the Find X3 Pro. It's got OIS and PDAF, and should mean sharp, blur-free and vibrant images. 

It's joined by 2 different cameras connected the back: 1 16MP ultrawide and a 13MP telephoto with astir 2x optical zoom, to springiness you that spot of versatility. 

There are besides 2 selfie cameras arsenic we've mentioned: some are the aforesaid 32MP sensor. We'll request much clip with the telephone to trial these cameras further. However, with 1 main camera that we cognize is bully from erstwhile experience, we person precocious hopes this volition present an acquisition that's not overly compromised. 

Writing by Cam Bunton. Originally published connected 20 December 2021.