OPPO Find N: OPPO's first folding mobile is now official and promises that the fold crease is not so noticeable

It's been a while, but it's finally official: OPPO has its first foldable mobile on the market. We are talking about OPPO Find N, a device that has been presented during OPPO Inno Day and that, although it is true that it is the first that the company officially launches, it is not the first that it designs: the mobile has been in development for four years (we already saw a preview in 2019) and six generations of prototypes.

OPPO has taken a similar approach to Samsung with its Galaxy Fold, although the concept is slightly different. We are going to get to know it better right away, but not before noting that the device will be launched first in China from December 23, 2021. Nothing is yet known about its possible arrival in Spain.

OPPO Find N technical data sheet

A compact mobile that gets bigger

We start with the most striking aspect, which is its design. Like almost all foldables, the OPPO Find N consists of two modules joined by a hinge that we will talk about later. The right module is home to the camera, which has a module similar to that of the OPPO Find X3 Pro. The left module, for its part, has a second external screen, which is what we will use with the folded phone.

We are used to folding book-format phones having a longer screen on the back and a huge screen that unfolds when you open the phone. OPPO has chosen a different path. The rear screen has a size of 5.49 inches and an 18:9 format. It will surely look familiar, since it is a similar size and format to older mobiles. It is perforated to accommodate the external camera.

The internal screen, for its part, is a 7.1-inch LTPO screen in 8.4:9 format, larger, almost square, which unfolds in landscape mode (so that apps are placed in landscape mode automatically). Its refresh rate is 1-120 Hz and it has a touch sampling rate of up to 1,000 Hz.

80% less wrinkle

Every single fold has one thing in common: the crease of the fold. Although with the passing of the generations it is less and less noticeable, the wrinkle continues to make an appearance. OPPO, however, ensures that the crease of its fold is up to 80% less noticeable compared to other devices.

How do you claim to have achieved it? With Flexion hinge. It is a hinge of 136 components and precision of 0.1 millimeters. It's a waterdrop hinge that widens the crease of the screen and offers cushioning when the screen is closed. It is a solution that is reminiscent of the Motorola Razr, since it also eliminates the space between the screens when we fold the mobile.

The hinge has strength and allows the device to stay unfolded at any angle between 50º and 120º. This is something we know from terminals such as Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip and allows, thanks to software optimizations, to take advantage of the folding screen to, for example, turn the mobile into a tripod for the camera or use it as a small laptop for take notes.

To this hinge we have to add the Serene screen, a 12-layer screen that includes a 0.03-millimeter layer of UTG (ultra-thin glass). According to the company, the Serene screen can be folded more than 200,000 times, so we would be talking about 150 folds a day for almost four years. Of course, it does not have IP resistance of any kind.

A monster inside

And what's inside the device? The OPPO Find N mounts a Snapdragon 888 processor (and not the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1), up to 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512 GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. Despite not having the latest in mobile platforms, on paper performance should not be a problem.

The battery amounts to 4,5000 mAh and comes with 33W SuperVOOC fast charging, 15W AirVOOC wireless fast charging and 10W reverse wireless charging. According to OPPO, with wired charging, the mobile can be charged to 55% in 30 minutes and 100% in just over an hour.

In terms of software, the OPPO Find N arrives with Android 11 with ColorOS and a series of its own improvements to take advantage of the folding screen. For example, you can slide two fingers from the top center of the screen to launch the split screen, pinch to open the app in a window and, of course, if we use an app on the external screen and open the mobile, the app it will be automatically launched in the new format and vice versa.

Finally, and when it comes to the camera, the rear (and main) assembly consists of a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor, a 16-megapixel wide-angle and a 13-megapixel telephoto sensor, as well as selfie cameras on the screen inside and outside. In total, five cameras.

Interestingly, the OPPO Find N does not mount OPPO's new self-developed chip, MariSilicon X, which incorporates a more powerful NPU and ISP. This is reserved for a high-end model of 2022. Some of the interesting new features of the camera app is that you can use the external screen as a kind of live preview of the photo.

OPPO Find N versions and price

The OPPO Find N will be available in black, white and purple with up to 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage. It will be launched in China from December 23 of this year and, for the moment, there is no news about its arrival in Spain beyond the fact that the company intends to launch it in more markets. The prices in China are as follows: