The OPPO Find N5 gets me excited for what could come next

OPPO just launched the Find N5, an incredibly thin foldable phone that should have Samsung shaking in its boots. The phone is about as thin as a standard unfolding smartphone but with much more display. In fact, when closed, the Find N5 feels no different than a regular phone yet still manages to fit plenty of flagship specs and features. It feels too good to be true, and yet it still sets a new standard for phones that I hope to see other OEMs strive for.

I’ve been using the OPPO Find N5 for about a week now, and while I still prefer flip phones to large foldables, what OPPO has done here is something special. This phone is pretty much the full package; it has a Snapdragon 8 Elite with phenomenal performance, a pretty great set of Hasselblad cameras, impressive displays, and a battery that’s larger than the unit in the much thicker Galaxy Z Fold 6.

That last part is especially important because OPPO is following Honor’s example by launching a very thin foldable, then calling out Samsung for its embarrassingly thick phone. The company highlights that the thinness was partly a result of its battery technology that recently made its way to the OnePlus 13, sporting 10% silicon to produce a denser battery unit that doesn’t compromise on capacity or charging speed.

This is a big deal, one that spans not only candybar phones and the current batch of foldables flooding the market but could also have far-reaching effects on more niche form factors and other device categories.

Less is more and more is also more

OPPO and OnePlus have shown that with this new way of building batteries, there are essentially two ways they can go about implementing it. Clearly, the OPPO Find N5 took the "less is more" route by aiming for a very thin phone. This is important because we've seen that thin phones are set to make a comeback, and the more battery we can stuff into them, the better.

This has been a point of contention for some when it comes to upcoming devices like the Galaxy S25 Edge. Even among Android Central staff, there seems to be a divide between those who want a thin phone and those who are concerned about the sacrifices needed to get there. I'm somewhat in the middle, leaning toward now wanting to deal with a battery that will only get me through half a day of use (I'm past the days of using the Razr Plus 2023).

The rumors of the Edge also don't leave us with much confidence that Samsung has it figured out, although we still won't know much until the official launch, whenever that is.

Of course, Samsung isn't the only one shooting for thin. Apple is rumored to have a very slim iPhone set to launch this year, which gives credence to the return of the thin phone trend of years past. After all, Apple rarely does anything without a ton of market research and a solid plan, so either this is something that customers are yearning for, or it's something Apple wants them to want.

On the other hand, the OnePlus 13 went with the "more is more" route. Instead of aiming for thinness, the phone arrived with a battery that's 600mAh larger than its predecessor. That's no small feat, especially given that the phone is still thinner and lighter than the OnePlus 12.

What this tells me is that companies may no longer have to choose between providing a svelte design or good battery life; you can have your cake and eat it, too. Of course, it may take a generation or two before other companies actually catch up. Batter tech is slow to evolve and catch on, and Samsung learned the hard way that rocking the boat in that department can lead to some explosive outcomes.

Samsung should be paying attention

While this is a great way to mark the OPPO Find N5 as the thinnest foldable phone, the implications go beyond OPPO and the devices we currently have on the market.

Multi-fold devices have begun cropping up, mostly as concept phones, but with one commercially available device from Huawei hitting the global market. It's a magnificent feat of engineering, one that seems like overkill until you get one in your hands. You start to see the benefit of having a phone that could turn into a full-blown tablet... that is until you close the thing.

The Huawei Mate XT is nearly 13mm when folded, which admittedly feels pretty ridiculous, even compared to the 12.1mm Galaxy Z Fold 6. What's more is that Samsung is rumored to have a multi-fold phone in the works, with the company showing off various concept devices over the years. Unfortunately, given Samsung's track record with foldable design and the downward trend of its sales in the segment, I could see this being dead on arrival. No one wants a 14 or 15mm-thick phone protruding out of their pockets.

This is why the Find N5 gets me excited. I can see this as the precursor to an eventual multi-fold phone from the company, with OPPO shaving a few millimeters off the 12.8mm thickness of the Mate XT. That would help make this new type of foldable a more palatable option for consumers in the market for a versatile smartphone.

Other devices and form factors also stand to gain from this. We've already seen what OnePlus and OPPO can achieve with the new OnePlus Watch 3/OPPO Watch X2, which can last a full five days in smart mode and 16 days in power save mode. That's more than any other Wear OS watch, and it's the result of OnePlus and OPPO squeezing in a much larger battery without the watch becoming too unwieldy.

I'm particularly excited about how this can improve flip phones. Despite being my favorite smartphone form factor, I recently laid out my grievances with flip phones and the compromises that come with them, including the thick was of the devices when folded. After all, what's the point of having a compact phone when it's literally double the thickness of a normal smartphone when folded?

During a briefing at the Find N5 launch, OPPO hinted that the advancements we see in its battery tech could arrive in a future flip phone. And while we have no official word on a long-awaited successor to the Find N3 Flip, this all but tells me that we could be in for a thinner, more impressive flip phone sooner than I had hoped. Motorola had better watch out!

No more excuses

Samsung has been very vocal about making foldables mainstream and has invested a lot of money into making that happen. The Z Fold and Z Flip series had a few years of impressive growth thanks to refined design, enhanced durability, and improved durability. However, we've seen growth slow down lately, which seems to coincide with Samsung's perceived slowdown in innovation.

As a result, Samsung is reportedly lowering its shipping targets for its upcoming foldables. However, its recent quarterly earnings report hints that Samsung is confident that its foldable offerings this year could help drive more demand as the competition seemingly surpasses it in terms of design, innovation, and even shipments.

There's really no reason the largest Android OEM should be ceding its foldable crown to others. However, after the launch of the Find N5, there's a lot riding on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to bring something exciting.

With OnePlus skipping a 2025 launch of a OnePlus Open successor, Samsung now has the perfect opening to take back its foldable crown without too much competition getting in the way. And with any luck, Samsung will take a page from competitors like OPPO when it comes to design to give us thin, durable, and exciting foldable phones. Because if it won't, we can be sure Apple's eventual foldable will.