If OPPO and OnePlus exit the foldable market, we're right back where we started
A company is reportedly considering ending its folding phone line, and OPPO could be that company.
It wasn't that long ago that fans of the best folding phones rejoiced that the market finally got competitive. It wasn't just Samsung resting on its laurels, making minor changes to the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip lines each year. There were new companies literally entering the fold, like Google and OnePlus. And that's all just North America. Huawei, Vivo, Xiaomi, and TECNO are all doing great things in Europe and Asia.
Recently, a report from Ma Guangyu at 163.com in China claimed that a major company won't be releasing a large foldable in 2025. While the exact company wasn't named, narrowing down the possibilities isn't difficult. Samsung and Google are obviously going to continue making foldables, and Huawei and Xiaomi are likely to as well. The attention then turns to Vivo, OPPO, and OnePlus by extension.
OnePlus' first foldable phone, the OnePlus Open, is a big reason why the North American market for foldables quickly became competitive. The word first is a bit of a stretch, though — it's important to remember that the Open is essentially a rebadged version of OPPO's Find N3 foldable.
OnePlus and OPPO have a complicated corporate structure, but the two companies combined hardware and research teams in 2021 and share a common software codebase. Effectively, the two companies act as one. That's why it's somewhat alarming that neither OPPO nor OnePlus have released a new foldable phone since 2023. (OnePlus' 2024 iteration of the Open, the Apex Edition, is hardly a new device.)
While Vivo didn't release a small clamshell foldable in 2024, it did release two new large ones. The Vivo X Fold3 and X Fold3 Pro debuted this year and were extremely well-received by reviewers, including Android Central's own Harish Jonnalagadda. Meanwhile, OPPO hasn't launched a foldable of any kind since 2023, making it the most likely company to be considering taking the axe to its folding phone business. After all, it already nixed plans to make a OnePlus Open 2 this year, instead choosing to discount the current OnePlus Open while selling the Apex Edition model at a premium.
And while reviewers raved about the OnePlus Open (and the OPPO Find N3), that doesn't necessarily mean it sold well. A report from Counterpoint Research analyzing foldable sales in Q1 2024, shortly after the Open's release in October 2023, revealed that neither OPPO nor OnePlus cracked the top four companies in global foldable shipments. Huawei, Samsung, Honor, and Motorola were all ahead of OPPO and OnePlus.
Android Central has reached out to OPPO and OnePlus for comment and details on their foldable plans and will update the article when they respond.
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That said, the impact of OnePlus' entrance into the North American foldable market can't be understated. If nothing else, it pushed Google and Samsung to improve their offerings. Samsung made the aspect ratio of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 a bit wider to match consumer trends and the positive reception to the Open's wide cover screen.
Google arguably took even more inspiration from the OnePlus Open when designing the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which feels like a multi-generational leap over the original. The book-style form factor of the Pixel Fold was ditched completely for a taller aspect ratio that looks eerily similar to the OnePlus Open. Don't believe me? Have a look for yourself:
Often, tech enthusiasts and fans of a particular brand will mistakenly think of copying as a bad thing. That couldn't be further from the truth. As consumers, we want companies to copy each other. If Samsung steals what was great about the OnePlus Open and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the next Galaxy Z Fold device becomes better overall. OnePlus and Google are free to do the same, and so on. Eventually, we're left with a handful of great phones that have all improved due to the strides that each company made individually.
Time and time again, tech conglomerates have proved that they won't innovate unless their hand is forced. Foldable phones are a great example of this, and more specifically, the Galaxy Z Fold line. Samsung didn't begin making major changes to the Galaxy Z Fold until the OnePlus Open and Pixel Fold shook up the North American market. In Asia, the company released its best foldable ever, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim (or the Galaxy W25 in China).
Why aren't the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim or the Galaxy W25 available outside of Korea and China, respectively? It's hard to know for sure, but I'd wager that it's because the competition is tougher in those markets. Huawei, Vivo, Xiaomi, and TECNO are all making cutting-edge foldables there, and Samsung needed a better option to compete. In the US, Samsung would be happy to sell you the regular Galaxy Z Fold 6 for $1,900.
There's still more worth copying. The OnePlus Open introduced an Open Canvas multitasking feature that should quickly become the industry standard, and it's now coming to the OnePlus Pad. But if OnePlus never made a foldable, perhaps we'd never see it. In just a few generations, OPPO and OnePlus seriously shook up the folding phone market, even if they didn't sell well.
We still don't know exactly which major brand could be considering an exit, and the report claims Transsion, the conglomerate that makes budget foldables under the TECNO brand, also ceased foldable development. That would also be a strange move, following the recent release of two well-received "affordable" foldables and the reveal of its tri-fold concept.
Android Central reached out to TECNO for comment on its foldable plans, and a spokesperson returned the following statement: "TECNO has no plans to discontinue its foldable devices."
But if the rest of the report is accurate, and OnePlus and OPPO end up being the companies that cancel plans for a new foldable, we'll be right back where we started — desperately craving more competition and innovation in this emerging market.
Update (Nov. 15, 2 p.m. ET): Added comment from TECNO regarding its foldable plans.
Brady is a tech journalist covering news at Android Central. He has spent the last two years reporting and commenting on all things related to consumer technology for various publications. Brady graduated from St. John's University in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. When he isn't experimenting with the latest tech, you can find Brady running or watching sports.
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raydogsboarder Dramatic much. The Open came out 1 year ago, if they wait a extra quarter or so and dial in the details to get it better who cares... It was 2023, not 2003 and not even the start of 2023, I think it'll be OK if we don't panic. Maybe we'd actually get better software and hardware if they didn't just pump out carbon copies of phones each year with new fasades.Reply -
ouchy The cost is too high and the bundle options are okay but there is a new offer every other week. I'd buy it for less than 1k but it's too much, more so since the honor is only a 100 or so more for a newer revision.Reply -
ad47uk I have seen a few foldables over the last 2-3 years, and they all seem to have problems of some sort. My nephew paid a fair bit of money for a Samsung one and after just over a year, it would not unfold fully.Reply
I have seen others that have problems with the hinges or the screen.
Nice idea, but the technology is not there for them to be reliable and for the price people pay, I would want them to last a bit longer than 1 to 2 years.
i know people seem to change their phones so often these days, but some of us, like to keep them for as long as we can.
I will stay with normal phones, i think -
Mr. Lucky
Agreed! No problems at all with my 1+ Open, and it still "wows" people who see it for the first time. I will gladly wait for a meaningful upgrade vs just coming out with a new model/revision based on a calendar date.raydogsboarder said:Dramatic much. The Open came out 1 year ago, if they wait a extra quarter or so and dial in the details to get it better who cares... It was 2023, not 2003 and not even the start of 2023, I think it'll be OK if we don't panic.