OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: Which foldable is worth your money?

Foldable fans were having a heyday in 2023. We saw incredible releases from companies like Samsung, Google, Honor, Xiaomi, Oppo, and now OnePlus with the OnePlus Open.

By all accounts, the OnePlus Open seems to be the most critically acclaimed foldable phone of all time. So, if you're in the market for the best foldable phone, does it still make sense to consider a Google Pixel Fold?

We break down the difference between the Google Pixel Fold and the OnePlus Open and let you know which one is the best value for your money. After all, both phones retail for well over $1,500, so it's important to consider everything before spending your hard-earned dollars.

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: Design and displays

OnePlus and Google have different ideas of what a large foldable should look like and how it should work, and that all starts with the displays. The OnePlus Open and Google Pixel Fold feature wonderfully large, usable outer displays that look more like a regular smartphone.

Both phones also feature large inner screens that work similarly to tablets. However, all of these displays have very different aspect ratios. Google's displays are shorter and wider, while OnePlus's display style is similar to Samsung's taller.

I prefer the shorter, wider displays of the Google Pixel Fold. They allow for more horizontal content, which makes the phone's larger inner display feel more like a tablet and less like two phones placed side-by-side. Plus, being this wide means apps automatically switch to landscape tablet UIs when available.

However, OnePlus's taller, narrower aesthetic is the perfect version of the concept that Samsung has used on phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 5. By that, I mean it's narrower than the Pixel Fold but much wider than the Galaxy Z Fold 5, sitting in a sweet spot that didn't exist.

Aside from that, OnePlus features superior displays with much brighter panels, newer LTPO technology for extra power savings, and smaller bezels all around. Plus, OnePlus's hinge is rated to last up to one million folds — five times the number Google rates the Pixel Fold at.

That brings me to the rest of the design. While I think Google's rounded edges make it easier to open the Pixel Fold, OnePlus's build quality is second to none. Plus, the leather back on the Voyager Black OnePlus Open colorway is a relic of the past that I never wanted to let go of. Glass-backed phones are completely overrated if you ask me.

There's no way to compare these phones without talking about the display crease on the larger inner display. While both phones still have a crease—engineers haven't figured out how to remove it altogether yet—the OnePlus Open has the best crease of any foldable phone available right now. Even if you have the screen, you still have to look for the crease. It also has one of those hinges that stays in the position you leave it in.

This hinge and crease design is almost certainly borrowed from Oppo, a company that has been making creaseless foldable phones for a few years now.

However, while the OnePlus Open's crease is invisible unless you hold it at an extreme angle, the hinge on the Open isn't as water-resistant as the Pixel Fold. Google's phone sports an IPX8 water-resistance rating, while the OnePlus Open is just IPX4, meaning you can get it a little wet while it's raining, but you won't want to drop it in a body of water accidentally.

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: Performance, battery life, and cameras

If you've been in the smartphone space for the past three years, you've undoubtedly heard about the performance and heat issues that Google Tensor processors often have.

Sure, Google's AI performance is far better than any other company's, and its phones can do some crazy tricks with photography, audio recording, translation, and similar things. However, gaming performance and battery life took a hit because AI performance was prioritized instead.

Meanwhile, the OnePlus Open uses the best processor for most tasks from 2023: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. This processor is several times faster in gaming performance than the Pixel Fold's Tensor G2 and handles everyday tasks much more efficiently.

For example, the battery life of the OnePlus Open is far better than that of the Pixel Fold despite both phones having roughly the same size battery. We've also seen countless reports of folks having overheating issues with their Pixel Fold, even when recording videos or performing other "simple" tasks.

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the OnePlus Open runs at a far cooler temperature and sips battery compared to the Tensor G2. OnePlus also outfitted the Open with faster charging than the Pixel Fold, making it one of the fastest-charging foldables on the market.

Then there's the discussion of cameras. OnePlus uses the latest camera hardware on the OnePlus Open, but the company's software isn't as mature or advanced as Google's.

That doesn't mean the OnePlus Open's cameras are any slouch—far from it. The OnePlus Open has the single best camera hardware on any foldable and can produce some of the best photos and videos because of it.

Google's real win comes in zoom detail and capturing moving subjects. Pixels are typically the best phones for parents and pet owners because of their innate ability to capture moving subjects better than any other phone on the market. But the Pixel Fold isn't quite as good at this particular niche issue as a regular Pixel is, even if it is slightly better than the OnePlus Open at this singular task.

Google's Pixel Fold is also capable of producing better zoom detail thanks to the 5x optical periscope lens on the back of the phone. In contrast, the OnePlus Open only provides a 3x telephoto lens. That puts it in the same league as Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series, which is to say it's not bad. Just not as good as Google's efforts.

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: Software

Here's where things get interesting. OnePlus clearly spent a lot of time ensuring the foldable experience was unique, and so did Google. The launch of the Pixel Fold celebrated an exceptional occurrence that I can't ever recall seeing before. In time for the Pixel Fold launch, Google's many software divisions were aligned to deliver meaningful UI updates to its core apps.

Never before in Android's history have we seen this sort of cooperation within Google's many teams, and the experience on the Pixel Fold felt so much better because of it. Plus, the company worked to finally fix Pixel's garbage multitasking UI and offered up a slew of multitasking features that made side-by-side app usage feel more natural than ever.

But OnePlus took things a step further with floating windows, three-way app splits, and more with this custom version of OxygenOS for foldable. Sure, the company's software feels a bit buggy now, but that's not uncommon for a fresh release from OnePlus. Typically, these things get ironed out in no time, and we're left with tons of great features and blazing-fast speed. Let's hope the apps not optimized for the screen will be soon.

If I had to pick any one UI right now, it would be the Pixel UI. But, aesthetics aside, OnePlus's OxygenOS is far more feature-rich and delivers a superior foldable experience in most regards.

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: Which should you buy?

For most people, the OnePlus Open delivers a superior overall experience that shouldn't be ignored. Everything from power users to casual folks will find the OnePlus Open's hardware superior, and even with its current crop of bugs, the software experience is vastly superior to the Pixel Fold.

That doesn't mean there's no reason to choose a Pixel Fold this year. It's got one additional year of software support, complete with the typical Pixel Feature Drops every few months. Google is great about supporting its phones and adding new features all the time, but OnePlus also delivers new features every year when it updates its Oxygen OS.

There's really no getting around how much better OnePlus' hardware is. The hinge is rated to last longer, and the display crease is basically invisible compared to Google's. Plus, the leather-backed Open is a thing of beauty and makes the phone feel great in the hand—so long as missing wireless charging isn't a deal-breaker, of course.

Overall, OnePlus wins this round and proves that its foldable is just as good—if not better—than all the other large foldables available today.