If the rumors are correct, OnePlus will launch its first foldable smartphone, the Open, this month itself. Today, the company is officially kicking off the teaser/hype-building campaign for its upcoming device, after a soft start a few days ago when an Indian actress was spotted rocking it out in the open.
So, today we have a video from Unbox Therapy, featuring OnePlus boss Pete Lau in an interview of sorts. He talked about the device’s hinge design, on which OnePlus (or perhaps, parent company Oppo) apparently holds 35 patents.
Surprisingly, the OnePlus Open will close without any hinge gap, as demonstrated in a test where a sheet of paper was ‘trapped’ inside and then the phone was lifted by that sheet of paper without sliding. This moment also gives us a look at the hardware, although there’s a huge cardboard-looking section above the huge camera bump, so we can’t see it.
The Open has 31 fewer components in its hinge than the Oppo Find N2, which helps reduce its size (it’s 37% smaller) and weight. Lau says his company is “bringing the best phone in the race” despite not being first in the foldable race. He promises a fast and smooth experience as we are used to from other OnePlus devices. Oh, and there’s the alert slider.
Lau said the device was jointly developed by the OnePlus and Oppo teams, each bringing their unique expertise to the table. He also mentioned that there will be multiple ‘go to market’ strategies, which makes us think this is a sneaky confirmation of the fact that the same device will be marketed internationally as the OnePlus Open in China and the Oppo Find N3, which was rumoured. Now is the month.
Finally, if you’ve been rooting for a OnePlus flip phone, it’s not coming, at least not yet, because, in Lau’s view, the kind of users who go for flip phones don’t buy OnePlus.
