This 12 months, I received to make use of my first foldable telephone, which occurred to be a flip telephone. Now I’m on my third flip telephone evaluation with the brand new OPPO Find N3 Flip, which is definitely OPPO’s second flip telephone to hit world markets this 12 months.
OPPO did not reinvent the wheel with the Find N3 Flip. The telephone takes after its predecessor with an identical design, the identical cowl display, and an equally massive battery. It could seem to be a boring, iterative improve, however the issues OPPO did change deliver the Find N3 Flip nearer to being the proper flip telephone. That’s as a result of OPPO manages to deal with among the shortcomings of different flip telephones from firms like Samsung and Motorola whereas managing to maintain the telephone glossy and crowd pleasing.
That’s to not say it’s the excellent flip telephone, as there are nonetheless some shortcomings and attention-grabbing design selections that maintain it again, however my expertise with the telephone has been fairly refreshing.
OPPO Find N3 Flip: Price & availability
OPPO initially launched the Find N3 Flip in August 2023, though the gadget was solely accessible in China. The firm is launching the telephone in India on October 12, adopted by a world launch on October 19. Exact pricing and availability haven’t but been disclosed on the time of writing, however I’ll replace this part once I study extra from OPPO.
The telephone is offered in two configurations with both 256GB or 512GB of storage. Both variants include 12GB of RAM.
The telephone may be bought in three totally different colours, together with Cream Gold, Misty Pink, and Sleek Black.
OPPO Find N3 Flip: Design and show
Not a lot has modified from the OPPO Find N2 Flip. The telephone is almost equivalent to its predecessor, save for just a few small-ish adjustments. The total design borrows closely from the Find N2 Flip, though OPPO says the again glass on the Find N3 Flip “has essentially the most curved glass again panel of any flip telephone.” The shiny end is good, though it is a main fingerprint magnet, and the telephone is offered in some fairly interesting colours. Even the Sleek Black colour I’ve offers the telephone a little bit of a chromatic look that I fairly like.
Then there’s essentially the most noticeable change, which is the brand new round digital camera housing, the place you may discover the brand new triple-camera system. OPPO calls this the Cosmos Ring with a Starlight Track, meant to emulate the look of a typical digital camera aperture lens system. It’s a pleasant look, though I am unable to assist however want that it spun or one thing, only for enjoyable.
The left aspect of the telephone now has a mute change, a preferred characteristic borrowed from OnePlus telephones that allows you to change from Ring to Silent and Vibrate with only a flip. It’s not an enormous characteristic, but it surely’s fairly useful in a pinch, and I want extra telephones had this characteristic.
Aside from these adjustments, the telephone has related dimensions to the Find N2 Flip, which is wider than different flip telephones I’ve used, and ideally so. You’ll additionally discover the vertical cowl exterior display on the quilt panel, however extra on that later.
Image 1 of 4
One factor that actually shocked me concerning the Find N3 Flip is the interior show. Foldable telephones all need to cope with the dreaded crease simply due to the character of the panels. The depth of those creases varies, however someway, OPPO managed to provide a folding show with nearly no crease. I really feel like firms usually make that declare, however on this case, it is true. You can see the crease at sure angles, however solely simply. Even when dragging my finger throughout the show, I can barely inform it is there.
OPPO says that is the product of its new Flexion Hinge, which is a elaborate advertising time period for a waterdrop hinge that many foldable telephones have adopted. Still, it is fairly spectacular, and the hinge additional allows the telephone to carry varied angles, which can be utilized for video calls, viewing content material, or taking selfies.
Image 1 of 2
The show is a 6.8-inch OLED panel with a Full HD+ decision, 120Hz refresh charge, and 1440Hz PWM dimming (so it ought to be nice for people with PWM sensitivity). I discover the show is sort of vibrant, and OPPO offers you many totally different display colour modes to select from, certainly one of which is a “Cinematic” mode that guarantees to supply a extra devoted colour replica. This additionally lends itself to the digital camera system, however I’ll contact on that later.
It’s additionally decently vivid with 1600 nits of beak brightness, though I discover that the built-in display protector can usually obscure the show a bit on foldables, particularly outdoor. Still, it is also a polarizer-free show, so OPPO says it ought to be simpler to view with sun shades, and it reduces energy consumption by 20%.
OPPO Find N3 Flip: Cover display
The most important show is nice, however what concerning the cowl display? It’s the identical 3.26-inch because the one discovered on the Find N2 Flip, and its specs are largely unchanged apart from the Gorilla Glass Victus defending it. It’s an attention-grabbing tackle the quilt display since others want a extra sq. or horizontal strategy. The logic is that it ought to higher emulate the principle show, which is sound, in concept. However, whereas utilizing it, I can see why this type is not extra extensively adopted, and I’ll clarify that in a second.
I truly fairly like the quilt show, though it isn’t essentially the most purposeful. OPPO has a “residence web page” that may be edited with varied wallpapers like cute interactive pets and three shortcuts. Swiping from the underside opens notifications, and a swipe from the highest opens Quick Settings. But not like different foldables, you will not discover the quilt display full of a collection of panels for glanceable data; as an alternative, OPPO opted for an app drawer that sits subsequent to the house display. With a swipe, you may entry choose “mini apps” to open on the quilt display.
Like with the Galaxy Z Flip 5, the OPPO Find N3 Flip has a number of apps accessible through “Labs” that you could entry on the quilt display. Not each app is offered this manner, however there have been occasions once I would obtain an app like MyFitnessPal to seek out that it is supported on the quilt display by way of Labs, in order that’s good. Once you select which apps you need on the quilt display, you may organize them the way you need.
Using apps on the quilt display is fairly simple, which is sensible since it is a vertical show. This is each an important factor and a not-so-great factor. The motive is that the slim, vertical display shows the complete app how it might usually present up on the common display, however it’s a lot smaller. Therefore, photos, textual content, and UI components are shrunken down and might usually be laborious to see or work together with, particularly when there’s a number of textual content. This is noticeable with apps like X (previously Twitter), MyFitnessPal, and Gmail, and the display’s quite low decision would not make it any higher.
Image 1 of 3
This is in distinction to different flip telephones just like the Motorola Razr Plus and Z Flip 5, which have extra sq. shows. Sure, the apps are squished down, however they’re additionally displayed in a wider view, which means textual content is extra legible. And whereas I want OPPO would permit any app from the quilt display (it says it is working so as to add extra), I can perceive why this is not precisely a precedence.
Still, the quilt display expertise is nice sufficient, making it straightforward to reply to messages, navigate with Google Maps, and play music by way of the YouTube Music app.
OPPO Find N3 Flip: Performance and specs
The OPPO Find N3 Flip is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9200, a really succesful flagship chipset that is ready to deal with nearly the whole lot you may throw at it. Coupled with 12GB of RAM, my unit gave me zero issues in day-to-day use. It additionally handles gaming fairly effectively, managing the very best settings at 60fps when taking part in Honkai Star Rail, though it will get a bit heat, which is to be anticipated.
If you need, OPPO offers you the choice so as to add as much as 12GB of extra digital RAM, however I by no means appeared to want this.
| Category | OPPO Find N3 Flip |
|---|---|
| OS | ColorOS 13.2 (Android 13) |
| Outer Display | 3.26-inch 60Hz AMOLED, 720 x 382, 900 nits (peak), Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Inner Display | 6.8-inch 120Hz AMOLED, 2520 x 1080, 1600 nits (peak), HDR10+ |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 9200 |
| RAM | 12GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB, UFS 4.0 |
| Rear digital camera 1 | 50MP broad, f/1.8, PDAF, 4K30fps |
| Rear digital camera 2 | 48MP ultrawide, f/2.2, 112-degree FoV |
| Rear digital camera 3 | 32MP telephoto, f/2.0, 2x zoom |
| Front digital camera | 32MP f/2.4, autofocus |
| Water resistance | None |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, Sub-6 5G |
| Security | Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face unlock |
| Audio | Stereo sound, Dolby Atmos |
| Battery | 4300mAh, 44W quick charging |
| Dimensions (unfolded) | 166.2mm × 75.78mm × 7.79mm |
| Dimensions (folded) | 85.54mm x 75.78mm × 16.45mm |
| Weight | 198g |
| Colors | Cream Gold, Misty Pink, Sleek Black |
There are solely two storage choices and no 1TB variant, however USF 4.0 means you may count on sooner speeds if that is one thing you care about. The telephone additionally helps Wi-Fi 7, which is nice for future-proofing as the usual ramps up adoption.
Haptics on the telephone are fairly spectacular. Even when typing, the out-of-the-box expertise is refined but efficient, not like the quite aggressive haptics I’ve skilled on another gadgets like Pixels. OPPO even has a neat little demo of its haptics system, which just about makes me consider the PS5’s DualSense controller. I’m additionally fairly impressed with the audio on the telephone, notably the stereo audio system, which help Dolby Atmos.
Unfortunately, regardless of extra foldable telephones launching with added safety, the OPPO Find N3 Flip would not have an IP ranking for water and mud resistance.
OPPO Find N3 Flip: Battery life
Battery life is among the main shortcomings of flip telephones on account of their restricted house. But that is not the case right here.
The Find N2 Flip had a quite massive 4300mAh battery, and OPPO noticed no want to extend that, which I wholeheartedly agree with. With a battery this huge (and probably due to the extra environment friendly show), the Find N3 Flip will get me by way of a whole day with no drawback. You in all probability will not get far more past that, relying on how you utilize it, however I’ve been fairly relieved not having to cope with battery anxiousness once I exit.
The telephone additionally helps 44W charging, which isn’t blazing quick however positively quick sufficient. Fortunately, charging would not take too lengthy while you use the included charging adapter, with the telephone juicing as much as 50% in lower than half an hour.
What you will not discover is wi-fi charging, which is sort of unlucky since I’ve wi-fi chargers in every single place in my residence.
OPPO Find N3 Flip: Cameras
The OPPO Find N3 Flip is among the first flip telephones to sport a triple digital camera setup and the one one with a telephoto lens. But that is not what makes the digital camera system on this telephone so spectacular. Something about OPPO’s computational pictures simply actually makes photographs pop, particularly coupled with the telephone’s ProXDR show that’s able to correctly displaying photos how they’re supposed to be considered.
The 50MP main digital camera takes excellent photos with loads of distinction, particularly in well-lit circumstances. That stated, I’m a bit torn concerning the output. I discover photos can seem a bit softer than I would love, as if the main points and sharpness are being dialed down. However, one thing about it makes the photographs seem fairly engaging in a manner that I am unable to fairly put my finger on. More usually than not, I’m fairly happy with the photographs I seize from the telephone.
Image 1 of 9
There’s additionally a singular XPan mode that emulates the normal manner photographs have been developed by turning it right into a adverse first earlier than it is absolutely rendered. This produces photos in a really broad 65:24 facet ratio, and up to now, I actually love the photographs that it reproduces. I can see this being an important mode for cellular or newbie photographers.
That extends to low-light photos, though they could be a little noisy relying on the lighting circumstances. Zooming additionally produces nice outcomes, due to the 32MP 2x telephoto digital camera, which offers sufficient decision to output spectacular photos at even 5x zoom. Portrait pictures are additionally spectacular, including loads of natural-looking background blur to actually spotlight the topic.
One profit of getting a canopy display is that you should utilize it as a preview window so your topics can place themselves, or you should utilize it to take selfies with the first digital camera when the telephone is closed. There are some limitations when utilizing solely the quilt display with the digital camera: you may’t use flash, and movies are restricted to 1080p. Considering that 4K recording is an possibility on different flip telephones when utilizing the quilt display, it is a bizarre omission. But then once more, 4K video recording when the telephone is open is restricted to simply 30fps, which can be unlucky.
OPPO Find N3 Flip: Software
The OPPO Find N3 Flip runs ColorOS 13.2 out of the field, and it ought to be pretty acquainted in case you’ve used a OnePlus gadget. However, if you have not used ColorOS or OxygenOS earlier than, then you could discover it to be slightly overwhelming, and it is positively not everybody’s cup of tea.
There are a number of choices right here, providing you with greater than sufficient methods to customise your expertise all the way down to the icons you need within the standing bar or the form of the icons within the Quick Settings panel. Let’s simply say it took a minute to get absolutely arrange on the telephone, and even then, I really feel like I have never explored sufficient.
There are some odd apps I’ve by no means heard of and a reasonably redundant “app market” that’s much less of an app retailer and extra of a brief record of apps you would possibly wanna obtain. I largely ignore these. On the opposite hand, there are different additional software program options and gestures that I acknowledge from different telephones, which helps make the expertise a bit extra acquainted.
It’s slightly annoying how the telephone at all times desires to default to Spotify when utilizing the music participant within the Quick Settings menu or cowl display, particularly since I do not use Spotify. This will happen even when I’m already listening to music on one other app, which makes the expertise a bit complicated once I faucet the tile that is at present exhibiting the music I’m taking part in on YouTube Music, just for it to attempt to open Spotify.
Still, the general expertise, whereas overwhelming, is definitely fairly good when you get used to OPPO’s distinctive type. Animations are fluid, haptics are nice, there are devoted music and gallery apps, and I actually just like the Recent Apps view.
OPPO Find N3 Flip: Competition
The Find N3 Flip is not the one flip telephone to launch this 12 months, and OPPO has some stiff competitors if it expects to sort out the worldwide market. Perhaps its greatest competitor is the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which is Samsung’s newest clamshell foldable. This is little doubt Samsung’s finest flip telephone, due to the spectacular flagship chipset, the massive cowl display spanning the entrance, and Samsung’s aggressive advertising technique in the case of foldable telephones. It’s a tricky telephone to beat, however the Find N3 Flip has it outmatched with higher battery life, a 3rd digital camera lens, and a extra ergonomically comfy design.
The Motorola Razr Plus can be a significant contender and my private favourite flip telephone this 12 months. The cowl display is the biggest we have seen on a flip telephone, and it helps you to open almost any app with out opening the telephone, which is one thing we have but to actually see on different clamshell foldables. That stated, battery life leaves so much to be desired, and it, too, solely has two rear digital camera lenses.
In China, the Find N3 Flip has to cope with the Vivo X Flip, which takes a extra horizontal strategy to the core display. Design-wise, it is one thing of a mix of the Find N3 Flip and the Razr Plus however with a Zeiss digital camera. However, regardless of some spectacular specs, it is solely accessible in China, limiting its attain.
OPPO Find N3 Flip: Should you purchase it?
You should purchase this if…
- You desire a trendy flip telephone with a big cowl display.
- You desire a battery that may final you all day.
- You undergo from PWM sensitivity.
You should not purchase this if…
- You reside within the United States, as help could also be a bit shoddy.
- You need wi-fi charging.
- You’re not a fan of OnePlus software program.
- You’re aren’t a fan of the thought of foldable telephones.
I can say certainly that the OPPO Find N3 Flip is certainly one of my favourite telephones this 12 months. I’m a fan of flip telephones, though they have a tendency to compromise on specs on account of their restricted house. The Find N3 Flip makes an attempt to flip that script by shoving in a big battery, sooner charging, a 3rd zoom lens, and one of the spectacular foldable shows I’ve seen.
OPPO’s software program is not precisely my favourite, and whereas the quilt display is good, the character of its vertical orientation makes it slightly counterintuitive because it shrinks textual content and different UI components, making it laborious to navigate generally. Still, it might be good to have extra choices for apps on the quilt display for individuals who would need it, however firms apart from Motorola appear to have hassle making this occur for no matter motive.
That stated, OPPO has factor going with the Find N3 Flip, and whereas I do not count on it to be accessible stateside, I hope OnePlus can comply with in its footsteps with a flip telephone of its personal.
The new OPPO Find N3 Flip is among the finest examples of a contemporary flip telephone, due to its triple digital camera system and huge cowl display the place you may open apps, reply to messages, take selfies, and extra. Not to say, it has all-day battery life, which is a large deal.