Oppo Find N3 Flip Review: A Clamshell Contender with a Twist
Oppo’s Find N3 Flip is more than just a refreshed version of its predecessor. While it retains the signature tall, rectangular cover display and refines the hinge, it packs in a powerful new camera system and a unique alert slider, marking a significant shift for the brand. However, with competitors like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola’s Razr 40 Ultra pushing the boundaries of the clamshell foldable with larger, squarer cover displays, does the Find N3 Flip still stand a chance? Let’s delve into the details to find out.
Oppo Find N3 Flip Review: Price in India
The Oppo Find N3 Flip is priced at Rs. 94,999, offering 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It comes in two color options – Cream Gold and Sleek Black. This pricing positions it competitively against the Galaxy Z Flip 5 (Rs. 99,999 for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, going up to Rs. 1,09,999 for 512GB) and the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra (Rs. 79,999 for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage).
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 might seem expensive, but it’s the only one in the trio to feature the updated Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. It also boasts an IPX8 rating for water resistance and Qi wireless charging, factors missing in the Oppo Find N3 Flip.
Oppo Find N3 Flip Review: Design
The Find N3 Flip’s design closely mirrors its predecessor, the Find N2 Flip. It adopts a pleasing, rounded design, offering a more comfortable grip than the sharp edges and flat sides of the Galaxy Z Flip 5. However, the absence of the matte finish present on the Astral Black version of the Find N2 Flip is a letdown, as this glossy finish is quite slippery.
While the overall finish exudes luxury, I noticed sharp edges at the bottom of both halves when folded, where the curved outer panels meet the flat frame. Considering the price point, more attention to detail would have been appreciated. Thankfully, Oppo includes a basic, matte-finished case in the box, providing added grip and snapping seamlessly onto both halves.
The rectangular cover display remains unchanged, and its orientation is likely a design choice to accommodate the triple rear camera setup, a first for a clamshell foldable globally. The camera layout is unique and compact, resembling the size and thickness of a Rs. 10 coin, yet it doesn’t noticeably add to the overall thickness when the phone is open or folded.
The circular camera module featuring the Hasselblad branding doesn’t significantly impact the device’s thickness, and its width prevents the phone from wobbling when placed open on a flat surface. On the left side of the device, whether open or closed, sits the iconic OnePlus alert slider, a first for an Oppo device. This three-stage slider offers a quick and convenient way to switch device profiles, proving familiar and handy for OnePlus users considering a switch.
The inner folding display boasts thin bezels and a crease that is barely visible. The bezels, being thin and flat on all sides, make swipe gestures at the edges of the display a pleasing experience. Similar to its predecessor, the inner display effectively resists fingerprints, and any smudges are easily wiped away.
However, the cover display’s left-sided layout when held folded with the hinge up presents a usability challenge. To operate it, I often had to reach over the circular camera module, which felt fine for my larger hands but not ideal.
Oppo suggests using the phone with the hinge down, placing the cover display on the right side for easy reach, ideal for right-handed users. But this creates a usability problem for the fingerprint reader, located on the opposite side and requiring the use of your ring finger instead of your thumb, which seems counterintuitive.
Ultimately, the most comfortable way to use the cover display is with the hinge on top and the display on the left, the standard way one would flip open the main display. Users with smaller hands may find this challenging due to the phone’s width.
The barely visible display crease and thin, flat bezels are attributed to the Flexion hinge, Oppo’s proprietary technology. Made of aircraft-grade steel and featuring a water drop design, it allows both halves to close without any visible gap. Oppo claims a 10,00,000 fold lifespan for the hinge, although this could not be verified.
The hinge feels incredibly responsive and light. It strikes a balance between the loose hinge of the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra and the tight hinge of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, allowing for effortless opening and closing with a single hand.
Unlike Samsung’s hinge, the Flexion hinge boasts a sweet spot between 45-120 degrees, where one half can stand upright. Pushing beyond this range will cause the phone to slam shut or unfold completely. This unique feature also enables the phone to achieve an IPX4 rating for water resistance, offering basic protection against splashes and light rain.
Oppo Find N3 Flip Review: Specifications and Software
The Oppo Find N3 Flip utilizes a MediaTek Dimensity 9200 SoC (4nm), an upgrade from the Dimensity 9000+ SoC in its predecessor. Paired with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage, the phone offers ample power and storage. It supports several 5G bands, dual-5G standby, and accommodates two nano SIM cards or one SIM and one eSIM.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi AC, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, a USB Type-C port, and support for common global positioning systems. The fingerprint reader integrated into the power button performed reliably during the review period. Powering the device is a 4,300mAh battery with 44W wired charging, but wireless charging is not supported.
The phone runs ColourOS 13.2, based on Android 13. It offers the expected features of Oppo’s customized operating system, shared with OnePlus smartphones. Settings for the cover display are conveniently tucked away in a dedicated "Foldable features" section within the Settings app. It allows customization of the cover screen wallpaper and the addition or removal of mini-apps and third-party applications.
The cover display functionality surpasses the previous model, which only offered mini versions of native apps with limited functionality. While retaining some "Mini apps" (mini versions of native apps like weather, timer, etc.), the Find N3 Flip introduces a selection of full apps, including several third-party applications, mirroring the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s approach.
Apps can transition from the cover display to the main display, but not back. This limited functionality can be attributed to the cover display’s primary purpose, serving as a quick way to respond to messages via voice.
Oppo Find N3 Flip Review: Performance
The Oppo Find N3 Flip demonstrates impressive software performance with no lag or stuttering during daily app usage in default battery mode. Benchmark tests confirmed the phone’s capabilities. While it scored lower than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 powered by the custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, it still achieved commendable results. It achieved an AnTuTu score of 10,27,655 and Geekbench scores of 1,116 and 3,325 points in its single and multi-core tests, respectively.
The dual-speaker setup with a speaker at the top acting as the receiver delivers loud and clear audio, providing balanced sound even at high volumes.
Gaming performance is a strong point. Call of Duty: Mobile ran smoothly at all settings, including the recently released Medium graphics and Ultra frame rate combination, effortlessly hitting 120fps. The phone did warm up during gaming sessions, but it did not become uncomfortably hot, and performance remained unaffected.
The touch sampling rate while gaming proved impressive, accurately registering swipes when utilizing the Pro Gamer mode in the slide-out gaming console. This area has presented challenges for Samsung, making the Find N3 Flip’s smooth gaming experience in such a compact package particularly noteworthy.
Despite the enjoyable gaming experience, the phone’s display still feels as delicate as the previous model. I did notice a few dents on the main Schott UTG display during the review period, highlighting the fragility of Oppo’s display solution compared to Samsung’s offerings.
Battery life is another strength, delivering a full day of usage and beyond. Even on days packed with gaming and camera usage, the phone consistently had at least 20 percent of battery remaining. Oppo has effectively optimized the software and hardware, especially with the limited use of the cover display during the review period.
The Find N3 Flip surpasses its predecessor, the Find N2 Flip, in terms of battery life, which while lasting for a full day, did not match the Galaxy Z Flip 4’s performance. The Find N3 Flip achieved a solid 23 hours and 54 minutes in our HD video loop test, outperforming both the Galaxy Z Flip 5 (16 hours and 45 minutes) and the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra (18 hours and 27 minutes) in their respective tests.
The 44W wired charging allows for a rapid recharge, reaching 58 percent in 30 minutes and completing a full charge in 1 hour and 5 minutes. This fast charging capability outpaces the competition.
Oppo Find N3 Flip Review: Cameras
The Oppo Find N3 Flip is the first clamshell foldable to boast a genuinely premium camera setup. It features a 50-megapixel primary camera (OIS), a 32-megapixel telephoto camera with 2X optical zoom, and a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera with a 114-degree field of view and a 4cm minimum focus distance (in macro mode). A 32-megapixel front-facing camera handles selfies.
Similar to OnePlus’s partnership with Hasselblad, which created vibrant photos, Oppo’s rear camera benefits from the same collaboration, resulting in visually pleasing images.
The primary camera captures photos with sharp detail and clarity in all lighting conditions. While images tend to be slightly saturated, they exhibit good dynamic range. Utilizing the cover display as a viewfinder, I was able to capture portraits of myself with the primary camera, producing sharp images with excellent edge detection. This proved especially valuable in low light, where selfies appeared crisp and detailed compared to those taken with the actual selfie camera embedded in the folding display. Close-ups of objects were also sharp and exhibited natural bokeh.
The telephoto camera, a first for clamshell foldables, delivers excellent close-up shots with a pleasing natural bokeh in daylight. It loses some detail in low light, but the photos remain usable. Images captured at 5X magnification using the in-sensor lossless zoom are also usable in daylight, with some noticeable purple fringing, but not so much in low light.
The ultra-wide-angle camera produces color tones that appear slightly cooler than images captured by the primary camera. They offer good detail and surprisingly sharp images but lack the level of detail to withstand pixel peeping. The dynamic range is impressive, revealing significant detail in shadows, but there is noticeable barrel distortion towards the edges. Macro photos came out surprisingly well, allowing for close-up shots with sharp detail, although colours were slightly cooler.
The phone can record 4K video at 30fps on all cameras, thanks to their high-resolution sensors. However, the recorded videos were somewhat underwhelming in terms of detail and clarity. While stabilization was decent, the camera struggled to maintain a steady framerate during shooting. Low-light videos, though displaying good stabilization, exhibited noticeable noise.
Oppo Find N3 Flip Review: Verdict
Oppo and OnePlus (BBK Electronics), with their recent foldable releases, have undeniably raised the bar for Samsung’s upcoming foldables, tentatively named the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6.
The OnePlus Open is clearly a winner compared to Samsung’s current offerings in 2023. My feelings about the Oppo Find N3 Flip are more mixed. I am not a big fan of its vertical cover display layout and am curious whether Oppo will ditch it for a better alternative in future models.
While the Find N3 Flip delivers impressive performance (including gaming), overall camera quality, and battery life, including charging, it remains hindered by the oddly laid out cover display experience, which varies greatly depending on the apps you use. If you rarely use the cover display on your current foldable or plan to forgo it on your first, then consider this phone. However, if you prioritize a superior cover display experience, then other options like the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra might be a better choice.
