Oppo today announced that its new foldable smartphone, the Find N2 Flip, will be coming to Australia with an RRP of AUD $1499 – and pre-orders kick off on March 2 for a March 16 release. The N2 Flip represents the first time one of the company’s foldable designs – such as the Find N and Find N2 – will be available outside the Chinese market and, as the name suggests, the Flip utilises a clamshell design, reminiscent of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip4. How is it different? I was able to go hands-on with it during an Australian media event at the annual Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona, so let’s run through the details.
The first thing that jumps out about the Find N2 Flip is its external AMOLED Cover Screen, which – at 3.26 inches and a 720x382 resolution – is larger than on any other flip style phone on the market, as well as sitting in a vertical orientation. The Cover Screen means you don’t need to actually open the phone to see incoming notifications, take a call, check the calendar, record a voice memo or “quick reply” to messages (via a range of emoji). The Cover Screen functionality is customisable, and at launch will consist of a limited range of widgets, with more to follow.
The Cover Screen also brings additional functionality when using the Find N2 Flip’s cameras, which are a 50MP main camera, co-developed with well-known camera manufacturer Hasselblad and boasting a large Sony IMX890 sensor and f/1.8 lens, alongside an 8MP ultra-wide with a Sony IMX355 sensor and f/2.2 lens. On the inside is a 32MP selfie camera with a Sony IMX709 sensor and f/2.4 lens.
Now, calling the internal camera a “selfie camera” really isn’t accurate, as the Cover Screen’s ability to preview a shot means you can actually use the main 50MP lens for selfies. Similarly, the subject of a shot can now see how it’s framed using the Cover Screen, which is a really useful touch. You can even have the phone half folded on a table and use gesture controls to take group photos. I also find it quite charming that the Find N2 Flip has a “Camcorder mode” which lets you fold the phone halfway and hold it sideways like an old video camera with half the screen used as a viewfinder.
Moving on to the main screen, it’s a 6.8 inch AMOLED with a 2520x1080 resolution and a max refresh of 120Hz (it scales accordingly with use). The folding functionality comes into play here too – you have it open at a 90 degree angle on a surface and use the top half of the screen for a video call, or to watch a YouTube clip. And those who have used other flip style phones will immediately notice that the crease is barely detectable once the N2 Flip is fully open – either visually or by touch, which is obviously a huge step forward for this kind of form factor.
Oppo has also stated that the N2 Flip has been independently certified to withstand over 400,000 folds and unfolds at standard room temperature. This should essentially be enough for even the heaviest users to go the distance before the screen becomes an issue. Oh, I should also mention that when the phone is closed, the two halves sit flush against one another with no gap.
Internally, the Find N2 Flip utilises the Dimensity 9000+ chipset, which should be enough grunt to run Oppo’s ColorOS 13 operating system (based on Android 13), and has been optimised for the multi-screen environment. Support won’t be an issue either, with Oppo offering four years of major ColorOS updates and five years of security updates. And powering it all is a large 4300mAh battery which, according to Oppo, can be fully charged in less than an hour.
The Australian release will see the Find N2 Flip available in two colours: Astral Black and Moonlit Purple, and both will be available to pre-order through JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman from March 2 ahead of the March 16 release.
Cam Shea attended Mobile World Congress as a guest of Oppo.
