We still consider the original OnePlus Open to be the best foldable phone you can buy right now, but some new leaks suggest a successor isn’t too far away – and could soon overshadow the imminent Honor Magic V3.
According to the prominent leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo (via Android Authority), the OnePlus Open 2 will have “record-breaking thinness” alongside a host of other upgrades. Like before, it’s expected to be a rebranded Oppo phone, this time the Oppo Find N5.
The main spec boost will apparently be a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset (up from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2), with the Open 2 also including a triple-camera setup with a 50MP primary camera. It isn’t yet clear how those cameras will differ from the current model, which already has a 64MP periscope telephoto.
Previous rumors from the same source have also hinted at a new 6,000mAh battery for the new foldable, which would be a huge upgrade on the 4,805 mAh cell in the current OnePlus Open.
While that battery rumor is more speculative, these new design rumors seem more plausible. Foldable phones are currently battling to shrink their footprints closer to the size of non-foldables, with Honor preparing to launch the Magic V3 at IFA 2024 – and that phone is confirmed to measure just 4.35mm when unfolded and 9.2mm when folded. The current OnePlus Open measures a comparatively beefy 11.9mm when folded.
The only issue for OnePlus Open 2 coveters is that previous rumors have pointed to a launch in early 2025 rather than a year after the current model (which landed in October 2023).
Shallow crave
The original OnePlus Open (above) has a big camera bump, but does also pack in the best cameras we’ve seen on a foldable. (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
While this new battle for thinness among traditional phones – like the rumored iPhone Air – feels like a slightly unnecessary blast from the early 2010s, it makes much more sense for foldables, which are naturally a bit chunkier than the handsets we’ve become accustomed to.
This OnePlus Open 2 leak suggests the phone will be well under 10mm thick when closed. That would make it significantly thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which is a comparatively thick 12.1mm when folded (and 5.6mm thick when unfolded). The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, meanwhile, is 10.5mm thick when folded, or 5.1mm when you unfold it.
Still, who will take the ‘thinnest foldable’ crown between the Honor Magic V3 and OnePlus Open 2 remains to be seen. The Magic V3 measures only 4.35mm when unfolded and 9.2mm when folded.
More important will be the overall experience of using the phones – and our OnePlus Open review described it as “the only big foldable phone that doesn’t feel like a compromise.” If the OnePlus Open 2 can fix its weaknesses (namely, battery life, features and its sizable camera bump), then it’ll remain the favorite and retain the overall top spot in our foldable phones guide.
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