The Oppo Find N2 Flip: A Worthy Challenger to Samsung’s Foldable Throne?
Oppo, a brand known for its stylish and innovative smartphones, has finally entered the premium foldable market in India with the Oppo Find N2 Flip. This device goes head-to-head with the established Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, challenging its dominance in the vertical folding smartphone segment. While the Find N2 Flip follows a similar formula to its rival, it boasts several compelling features, including a significantly larger outer display, higher-resolution cameras, a larger battery, and faster charging capabilities. But are these advancements enough to dethrone Samsung? Let’s delve into the details to find out.
Oppo Find N2 Flip Price in India
The Oppo Find N2 Flip is available in India in a single variant, featuring 8GB of (LPDDR5) RAM and 256GB of (UFS 3.1) storage. Notably, the storage isn’t expandable as the SIM tray only accommodates two nano-SIM cards. Oppo has set the price for the Find N2 Flip at Rs. 89,999 (before discounts and offers), coincidentally matching the base variant price of the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Oppo Find N2 Flip Design: A Familiar Feel, Yet Refined
If you’ve had the pleasure of using a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip before, the Oppo Find N2 Flip will feel remarkably familiar. Weighing in at 191g, the phone is exceptionally compact when folded, easily slipping into most pockets. While slightly thicker than most smartphones in its folded state, there’s no visible gap between the two halves. During my time with the device, I rarely encountered any dust or lint entering the folding display.
The Astral Black unit I tested exuded elegance with its matte finish that resists fingerprints and feels gratifyingly textured. The Moonlit Purple colour option also caught my eye, offering a more glossy sheen.
The phone’s aluminium frame boasts a flat, polished finish, although it does attract smudges easily. The dual-SIM tray, USB Type-C port, and speaker are housed on the bottom half of the frame, while the top features cutouts for the secondary microphone. A convenient fingerprint sensor is integrated into the power button, proving particularly useful as face recognition struggles in dimly lit environments.
Oppo makes a big deal about its new Flexion hinge, which aims to reduce the noticeable crease on the folding display. While we haven’t conducted a side-by-side comparison with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 to gauge the difference, the crease remains visible on the Find N2 Flip, particularly when the inner display is viewed at an angle. However, the hinge has received a durability certificate from TÜV Rheinland, boasting a lifespan of over 400,000 folding and unfolding cycles. It’s also engineered to hold its position at angles ranging from 45 to 110 degrees, offering flexibility for various use cases.
Oppo Find N2 Flip Outer Display: A Game Changer
The standout feature of the Oppo Find N2 Flip is its 3.26-inch outer display – the largest we’ve seen on a vertically folding smartphone. This AMOLED display, featuring a 720×382 pixel resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate, and up to 800 nits of peak brightness under sunlight, makes a significant difference in usability. The presence of a pre-applied screen protector adds an extra layer of protection.
With such a spacious outer display, you can accomplish a wide array of tasks without unfolding the phone. Preview most notifications, access essential quick toggles for Wi-Fi, Airplane mode, etc., and even utilize special widgets for the camera, voice recorder, weather app, and more. The quick reply feature for certain apps like Slack, Telegram, and WhatsApp is also a welcome addition, although it’s limited to pre-selected responses and doesn’t allow for custom replies directly from the cover screen. Responding in other apps, such as Gmail, still necessitates unfolding the device. Expanding support for more apps in the future, perhaps even enabling voice-based composition or a full-blown keyboard, would be a significant step forward.
Oppo Find N2 Flip Inner Display: A Feast for the Eyes
The Oppo Find N2 Flip’s inner display stretches 6.8 inches when unfolded, offering a stunning full-HD+ (2520×1080 pixels) resolution, a 120Hz peak refresh rate (1Hz to 120Hz variable), up to 1600 nits of peak brightness, and a layer of ultra-thin glass (UTG) for enhanced durability. The phone supports use in a semi-folded state or any angle within the prescribed range. Various apps have been optimized to adapt seamlessly to these positions, offering a unique user experience.
Oppo Find N2 Flip Specifications and Software
Powering the Oppo Find N2 Flip is the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ SoC. This 4nm chipset, akin to the Dimensity 9000 found in the Vivo X80, boasts a higher maximum CPU clock speed of 3.2GHz. The phone supports a comprehensive 17 5G bands in India and comes equipped with typical connectivity features such as Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and support for numerous satellite navigation systems.
The phone houses a 4,300mAh battery and supports 44W SuperVOOC charging. Sadly, wireless charging is not supported. Furthermore, the Find N2 Flip lacks an official IP rating, although Oppo claims the phone possesses basic moisture protection.
The Oppo Find N2 Flip runs ColorOS 13, based on Android 13. It’s slated to receive four years of major updates and five years of security updates. The UI adheres to the familiar standard of recent Oppo smartphones, with a few refinements tailored for the Flip’s foldable nature. The Settings app includes a "Foldable feature" menu, allowing for customization of the cover screen. You can choose from preloaded wallpapers, your own image, or one of five "interactive pets," each with 15 animations or actions triggered by a tap. This menu also enables customizing the order and selection of widgets on the cover screen and adding personalized quick reply templates.
Oppo Find N2 Flip Performance and Battery Life
I used the Oppo Find N2 Flip as my primary smartphone for about a week, and the experience was undeniably pleasant, primarily due to the convenience of the large cover screen. Sending simple replies to messages, viewing notifications, and accessing basic phone functions like toggles and the camera were effortless and didn’t require unfolding the phone.
However, the outer screen’s potential remains untapped. The ability to compose replies, either through voice or typing, in more apps, particularly Gmail, would have been incredibly valuable. Similarly, seeing turn-by-turn navigation in Google Maps or the results of a Google Assistant query on the cover screen would unlock a whole new level of utility. I’m hopeful that Oppo will enhance functionality with future updates.
While the Oppo Find N2 Flip’s MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ SoC is considered flagship-grade for MediaTek, it falls short of Qualcomm’s current flagship processor in benchmark performance, at least in terms of numbers. The Find N2 Flip achieved 710,743 points in AnTuTu and 1,153 and 3,339 points in Geekbench 6’s single and multi-core tests, respectively. This represents a significant difference compared to the AnTuTu scores of phones powered by even the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, still used in new 2023 smartphones.
Despite these benchmark differences, you’re unlikely to notice this performance discrepancy in everyday use. Android 13 runs exceptionally smoothly on the Find N2 Flip. Games like Asphalt 9: Legends and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City delivered impressive visuals and smooth framerates.
Videos also look excellent on the Find N2 Flip’s display, supporting HDR10 playback in apps like Netflix. Most videos exhibit black bars on the left and right sides due to the wide aspect ratio of the folding display. The stereo speakers deliver satisfying sound, with Dolby Atmos permanently enabled when using the speaker. The fingerprint sensor is lightning-fast, as is face recognition, provided it’s well-lit. The ultra-thin glass layer over the folding display seems quite durable. I didn’t observe any flex when applying finger pressure, though it will dent if you apply pressure with a sharp object or even a fingernail.
Battery life on the Oppo Find N2 Flip proved more than adequate. On average, it lasted beyond one full day with about five and a half hours of screen-on time, primarily using apps like Netflix, Slack, and WhatsApp. In our HD video loop test, the Find N2 Flip ran for 17 hours, 39 minutes before the battery completely drained, a respectable runtime. The phone supports 44W SuperVOOC fast charging, although it comes with an 80W proprietary adapter. I managed to achieve a 54% charge after half an hour and a 96% charge after an hour.
Oppo Find N2 Flip Cameras: A Hasselblad Touch
The Oppo Find N2 Flip’s camera prowess is bolstered by Oppo’s dedicated imaging chip, known as MariSilicon X. Additionally, there’s a collaboration with Hasselblad for color tuning in Pro mode. Similar to the OnePlus 11 5G, the phone offers special Master filters co-created with Hasselblad ambassadors, XPan mode, and an orange shutter button. As a flip phone, the Find N2 Flip captures exceptional selfies when folded, utilizing the main rear camera pointed towards you, framing shots on the cover screen. Curiously, videos recorded through the cover screen widget are limited to 1080p with no option to toggle between resolutions.
The main rear camera boasts a primary 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 sensor, identical to the OnePlus 11 5G. The ultra-wide camera features an 8-megapixel Sony IMX355 sensor, lacking autofocus, thus eliminating macro capability. While a telephoto camera is absent, digital zoom extends up to 20X. The selfie camera embedded in the folding display utilizes a 32-megapixel Sony IMX709 sensor, previously seen in the Oppo Reno 7 Pro. It lacks autofocus but offers 2X magnification.
In daylight, the Oppo Find N2 Flip’s main camera captures impressive photos. Detail is remarkably good, dynamic range is respectable, and close-up shots are sharp and well-defined. Overall, colors are highly accurate. The ultra-wide camera, on the other hand, struggles with detail and produces slightly bleak colors.
Low-light images captured with the main camera appear vibrant, with vivid colors and well-balanced exposure, as the app automatically captures long-exposure shots. Detail remains good even when magnified. The ultra-wide camera falls short in matching the colors and exposure of the main camera, delivering merely passable pictures, even with sufficient ambient lighting. In truly dim conditions, even Night mode fails to produce redeemable results.
The selfie camera delivers excellent results in daylight. Portrait mode performs admirably and the outcomes are pleasing. Selfies captured in low light appear decent, but skin tones can vary.
Regarding video recording, the Oppo Find N2 Flip can shoot up to 4K 30fps. In well-lit scenarios, video quality and stabilization are both commendable. Low-light videos, however, tend to look heavily processed, lacking detail and exhibiting some grain. The ultra-wide camera only captures video at up to 1080p, like the selfie camera, but the quality falls significantly behind that of the main camera, both in daylight and in low light.
Verdict: A Compelling Contender, But Not Without Room for Improvement
The Oppo Find N2 Flip is a commendable first foray into the vertically folding phone market, offering strong competition to Samsung. Its more practical outer display, faster charging, and higher-resolution primary camera are compelling reasons to consider it over the Galaxy Z Flip 4. You also receive more storage, as the 256GB variant of Samsung’s Flip is priced higher.
However, I cannot ignore the two significant omissions from Oppo’s offering: an official IP rating and wireless charging. The ultra-wide camera also falls short, and I don’t believe the outer display is fully maximized yet. Nevertheless, the launch of the Oppo Find N2 Flip in India provides buyers with a much-needed choice, which is always a positive development. It’s a promising start, and with continued software updates and refinements, the Oppo Find N2 Flip could become a serious contender in the ever-evolving foldable smartphone market.
