OnePlus Open

The 6.3-inch cover display on the OnePlus Open is perhaps one of the most practical displays on any foldable I've seen. The 10-bit AMOLED display provides 2K resolution (2,484 x 1,116 pixels) and a variable refresh rate (10Hz to 120Hz). There's also a "ceramic guard" screen protector.Most apps on the cover display work efficiently, which wasn't the case on the Galaxy Z Fold5. Even watching Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts wasn't an issue, which can be a problem on the main display as they won't be covered edge-to-edge.

Beyond the viewing experience, OnePlus is banking heavily on the cameras, tuned by Swedish camera maker Hasselblad. There are two 48MP cameras on the back (wide and ultra-wide) and a periscope-style telephoto camera (3X optical and 120x digital). The rear cameras come inside a chunky round camera module. The size and thickness of the round camera module may irk some customers, but didn't bother me. The cover screen has a central hole-punch camera and the main display carries the selfie camera on the top-right.The OnePlus Plus uses a new 1/1.43-inch Sony LYTIA-T808 "pixel stacked" sensor instead of the 1-inch Sony sensor. From a technical perspective, the new sensor is designed to capture more light and stack details within pixels without requiring additional physical space for the camera system. Standalone results are good, but in some cases, Samsung, Apple, and Google offer better performance with their respective flagship smartphones.For instance, photos taken in daylight with the 48MP Sony LYTIA sensor come with lots of details, though OnePlus continues to make the shots dramatic by manipulating the sky. Some of the photos I took were high in contrast and low in saturation. Somehow, colours appear natural, but face tone mapping needs improvement. You can expect consistent colours and contrast with the ultra-wide camera, but the noise level also increases. In low-light conditions, the OnePlus Open sometimes over-processes the scene with vibrant colours, but this results in a loss of details in certain areas. The software tuning also struggles with minimising the lens flare, which the Pixel 8 Pro does much better.The telephoto camera, on the other hand, performed surprisingly well. Shots with 3x zoom appear natural, sharp, and with a rich bokeh effect. Even with 6x zoom, which leverages the primary camera, details are surprisingly crisp. But if you're taking portraits with 6x, the phone can detect skin colour accurately.The two selfie cameras are also okay-ish as there's again inconsistency in results. To be fair, I like selfies better with the OnePlus Open than Galaxy Z Fold5. The advantage of using a foldable is that you can take selfies with the rear cameras and preview the shots simultaneously by enabling cover screen mode. If you like playing around with filters, there are some Hasselblad pre-sets. Otherwise, there are loads of options to play with the ProXDR mode that lets you take RAW images.Video performance is also decent. There's also an option to shoot videos with Dolby Vision support for richer details. The OnePlus Open also offers an ultra-stability option in Full-HD resolution, but I am equally happy with the stability in 4K resolution. The mics perform averagely well in capturing the speech but with some degree of ambient noise. In that case, I feel the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max and Google Pixel 8 Pro capture much better and clearer audio.

The OnePlus Open ships with Android 13-based OxygenOS 13.2, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, 16GB of LPPRD5 RAM, and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. It performed well in our benchmarks, though the Galaxy Z Fold5 with the same processor performed better.In real-life cases, the OnePlus Open will not disappoint with its multi-tasking abilities. Some apps still require optimisation for the main 6.82-inch display, but OnePlus promises updates in future. I like the app stack at the bottom that stores your frequently used apps (customisable). You can also run three apps simultaneously on the main display, which OnePlus calls "Triple splits". It works smoothly by dragging and dropping the app on the main display. Since the OnePlus Open has been co-developed with OPPO, it borrows features, like dual-split by swiping two fingers down the middle of the screen. Additionally, if you close the screen, the app running in the foreground will get optimised for the cover screen, provided there's support.Similar to Samsung, OnePlus is also promising four years of Android OS updates and five years of security updates. It's a step in the right direction, even for OnePlus. Overall, the clean Android OS experience will not disappoint, but it will take a few years for OnePlus to offer a comprehensive ecosystem like Samsung or Apple.Otherwise, you can always rely on Google apps for multiple-device syncing. OnePlus also has a surprise in the form of an IR sensor to let users control ACs, TVs, and other appliances directly via the phone. This can make your old home appliances "smart" to some degree. I'd still like to see a more comprehensive system from OnePlus.We also tested the Airtel 5G Plus network on the OnePlus Open in Gurugram, Haryana. It offered good internet speeds and a largely uninterrupted signal. Of course, the strength will vary depending on the location.

The OnePlus Open carries a 4,805Ah battery with 67W charging - pretty good by foldable standards. In the PC Mark battery test, it lasted over 13 hours, almost the same as the Galaxy Z Fold5. In real life, I got an all-day battery with 120Hz refresh and AOD enabled. I had to charge the device twice a day during my trip to Andaman as it involved heavy camera usage and media playback. You can increase the battery capacity by enabling moderate settings.With the bundled 80W charger, the OnePlus Open attained a 40 percent charge in roughly 20 minutes. Full charging took around 50 minutes. There's no wireless charging support to cap the weight of the device.

Reasons to buy OnePlus OpenRelatively more affordable than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5.Great displays. There's barely any crease to notice on the main display.OnePlus Open offers fast charging. Full charge in under one hour.Clean Android OS experience. Plus, four years of OS updates promise.Reasons not to buy OnePlus OpenCameras are average, especially in low light.The OnePlus Open also does not offer wireless charging to reduce weight.