We're expecting the Galaxy S25 any day now, and while I'm excited about what the S25 Ultra could bring, there's another phone that I'm even more excited about. Seeing as OnePlus and OPPO decided against releasing a new foldable phone in 2024, I've been wondering what a potential OnePlus Open successor would bring, and now we might have an idea.
Until the Pixel 9 Pro Fold arrived, the Open was my daily driver, and I still find myself wanting to go back to it. However, after seeing the latest teaser from a post on Weibo, I'm really hoping that OPPO didn't "lose the plot."
What I mean is that there seems to be quite a bit of focus on how thin a foldable phone can get. It remains one of the main selling points of the 9 Pro Fold but is something that I don't even care about.
There were a few things that made the Open great, and the design was definitely one of them. But it's not the main reason why I fell in love with it, and I'm worried that we're in store for some unnecessary sacrifices just for the sake of being thinner than a #2 pencil.
While I'm disappointed OnePlus skipped a major foldable launch in 2024, I understand why the OnePlus Open 2 hasn't already arrived. There were minimal performance gains with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and outside of some foldable phones outside of the U.S., the Open offered the best cameras in this form factor.
I've even been impressed with OxygenOS despite it not being as feature-rich as what you'll find on the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Then again, I don't think any foldable phone matches up with what Samsung phones can do, at least for now. But the Open gets pretty darn close, and I hope that even more functionality comes with the next major release.
What I don't want is for OPPO and OnePlus to fall into the trap of picking a primary selling point only to make sacrifices elsewhere, particularly where the camera is concerned.
The Open sports a massive module right smack dab in the middle of the back. Sure, this helps the Open stand out from the crowd, but it actually houses a performant trio of sensors, headlined by the 48MP "Pixel Stacked" main camera. This is paired with a 64MP telephoto lens, with 3x optical zoom and 6x "in-sensor" zoom. Then, there's a 48MP ultra-wide lens that also doubles as your macro camera in a pinch and does a pretty good job.
All of that sounds pretty great, and the Open's camera system still holds up today. Google is partly to blame, as we don't have the same camera system as the 9 Pro XL in the 9 Pro Fold because it likely would've made for a thicker phone. To me, it's a dumb reason, but maybe that's why I'm here writing about phones and not making those kinds of "upper-level" decisions.
What I'm trying to say is that I hope that the OnePlus Open 2 is even better than its predecessor in every way possible. If the phone is announced and the camera is the same (or a downgrade), I'm going to be extremely disappointed.
I've been wanting flagship cameras in foldable phones for years, but the only way that's been possible is to import something from abroad. The Open 2 has the unique opportunity to put both Google and Samsung to shame, and I just hope that it can hit the nail on the head.
