Oppo Find N2 Flip: We Go Hands-on with the New Foldable’s Huge Cover Screen – CNET [CNET]

The Oppo Find N2 Flip is latest foldable phone and one of its defining features is a tall vertical cover screen.

The Oppo Find N2 Flip has arrived. The Chinese company showed off its first flip phone at a global launch event on Wednesday. Oppo’s clamshell-style phone appears to be heavily inspired by the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4’s squarish design, but with a notably different cover screen. 

Unlike the Z Flip 4, the Find N2 Flip’s cover display has a vertical orientation and is much bigger, measuring 3.26 inches with a resolution of 720×382 pixels. By comparison, the Z Flip 4 has a 1.9-inch external display with 260×512-pixel resolution and last year’s Motorola Razr came with a 2.7-inch cover screen with a 573×800-pixel resolution. In fact, the Find N2 Flip has the largest vertical cover screen on any flip phone. 

Apart from the display, the Find N2 Flip has all the features you’d expect from a flip phone in 2023. There are two rear cameras, including one with a 50-megapixel sensor, a 32-megapixel front-facing camera, a capable processor (MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus) and a 4,300-mAh battery, which can be fast-charged at up to 44 watts. There’s no IP rating for water or dust resistance. For comparison, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 has an IPX8 rating, which means It can withstand water immersion but has no rated protection against dust. At this time there isn’t a foldable phone that is rated for dust resistance.

The Find N2 Flip will be available to preorder from today in the UK starting at £849 which converts roughly to $1,020 and AU$1,480. There are no plans currently for a US release, but the phone is set to hit stores in parts of Europe and Asia.

Find N2 Flip’s cover screen is big

It’s commendable that Oppo dared to shake up the design of the cover screen on flip phones. Although this might not look as aesthetically elegant as the Galaxy Z Flip 4’s horizontal screen, I believe the Find N2 Flip’s cover screen has the potential for greater functionality. After all, it does boast the largest vertical cover screen on any flip phone. 

In the few hours I spent with the phone, I found the Find N2 Flip’s cover screen convenient for quickly scanning the weather without needing to open up the phone. All I had to do was swipe left, and the cover screen would display my chosen widgets, including the camera, a timer, the weather and the recorder. I could receive notifications on it, but I couldn’t view my plans. I hope Oppo adds a Google Calendar widget to the cover screen. 

Navigation is simple. You can swipe down the cover screen to bring up the control panel, swipe up to see a list of notifications and swipe left to bring up different widgets.

The camera widget lets you use the cover screen as a viewfinder, meaning you can take selfies and portrait photos and even shoot video without opening up the phone. Thanks to the larger screen size, you get a good idea of how the photo will turn out as you’re taking the photo. 

Quick replies — also available on the Z Flip 4 — are another convenient feature on this device. When I received a WhatsApp message, I could simply reply from the cover screen by choosing from a set of prewritten templates. I also had the option to create my own message template. In addition to WhatsApp, the quick replies feature is available on Slack, Messenger, Telegram and Line. Like the Galaxy Z Flip 4, this phone doesn’t allow you to type or dictate a reply without opening up the phone. You’re limited to the templates.

In its current form, however, the Find N2 Flip’s cover screen has limited functionality compared to the one on Motorola Razr. In 2020, the second-generation Razr got a full keyboard for typing and the ability to curate apps suited for the cover screen (such as Gmail and YouTube), and it even lets you play games like PUBG mobile. I wish the cover display on the Find N2 Flip offered such freedom and utility, but there certainly is potential if Oppo manages to nail the software component.  

The Find N2 Flip has a 50-megapixel camera

There are two rear cameras on this phone: a 50-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel ultrawide. The Find N2 Flip lacks a telephoto camera so don’t expect it to take crisp shots of faraway subjects. At this point, there isn’t a foldable flip phone that includes a dedicated telephoto camera. I took a few pictures. Images tend to look soft when you zoom in digitally to a 5x magnification. To be fair, you’re not likely to be buying this phone for its zoom skills. I found the photos I took with the Oppo respectable. Take a look below at some examples.

The Find N2 Flip’s inner display has a slight crease

The inner display of the Find N2 flip takes the form of a 6.8-inch AMOLED panel. At first glance, you might not notice the crease that runs across the screen. Sometimes it appears when you’re holding it at certain angles or under bright lighting. I can also feel it on occasion when I’m scrolling or interacting with the screen. For the most part, however, the crease didn’t sour my experience and it’s by no means a deal-breaker. Otherwise, the display looked crisp, was responsive and reasonably bright in sunny conditions. 

The main display has a 120Hz refresh rate, which made navigating between apps and scrolling through news feeds look smooth. This year, Oppo has updated its hinge, which the company says is smaller and thinner, yet stronger than the one on its predecessor. According to the company, Find N2 Flip has been tested for 400,000 folds. Oppo says the display also has an ultrathin glass coating that should help with durability. 

For more details on the Oppo Find N2 Flip, take a look at the specs chart below.

Oppo Find N2 Flip vs. Galaxy Z Flip 4

	Oppo Find N2 Flip	Galaxy Z Flip 4
Display size, resolution	Main screen: 6.8-inch AMOLED (2,520×1,080 pixels); Cover screen: 3.26-inch AMOLED (720×382 pixels)	Main screen: 6.7-inch FHD Plus (2,640×1,080 pixels; 22:9); Cover screen: 1.9-inch (260×512 pixels)
Pixel density	TBC	TBC
Dimensions (inches)	Unfolded: 6.54×2.96×0.29 inches Folded: 3.36×2.96×0.63 inches	Unfolded: 2.83×6.5×0.27 inches; Folded: 2.83×3.3×0.67 inches (Hinge) – 15.9mm (Sagging)
Dimensions (millimeters)	Unfolded: 166.2×75.2×7.45 mm Folded: 85.5×75.2×16.02 mm	Unfolded: 71.9×165.2×6.9 mm; Folded: 71.9×84.9×17.1 mm (Hinge) – 15.9 mm (Sagging)
Weight (ounces, grams)	191 g	187 g; 6.59 oz
Mobile software	Color OS 13 (Android 13)	Android 12/13
Camera	50-megapixel (main), 8-megapixel (ultrawide)	12-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)
Front-facing camera	32-megapixel	10-megapixel
Video capture	4K	4K
Processor	Mediatek Dimensity 9000+	Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
RAM/Storage	8GB/12GB +128GB/256GB	8GB+ 128GB/256GB/512GB
Expandable storage	None	None
Battery/Charger	4,300 mAh (44W)	3,700 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Side	Side
Connector	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	No	No
Special features	Largest cover screen on any flip phone, 5G, dual SIM, bundled charger, 44W charger	IPX67, 5G enabled, foldable display, wireless charging, 25W fast charging