This post is brought to you by OPPO.
If you love the concept of a foldable smartphone, then you’ll be happy to hear that OPPO has announced its first foray into the world of clamshell-style foldable smartphones with the OPPO Find N2 Flip. Rather than unfolding to reveal a larger display like the OPPO Find N2, the Find N2 Flip folds into a more compact package, making it more pocketable.
Normally, folding a display in on itself will typically cause a crease along the bent section which can be distracting when using the phone, especially when watching videos. Moreover, some people might not find the crease aesthetically pleasing, giving the impression that the screen is warped at the centre.
With the Find N2 Flip, OPPO aims to provide a foldable smartphone with a crease so subtle, it will feel like using a regular candy bar phone. All this advance technology is then packaged into a relatively lightweight and sleek body.
Let’s take a closer look at these elements.
OPPO’s most advanced hinge to date
Giving the Find N2 Flip the smallest crease of any clamshell-style foldable smartphone is OPPO’s New Generation Flexion Hinge. When folding the Find N2 Flip shut, the Flexion Hinge guides the screen into a specific waterdrop fold which has a larger bending radius than the tighter U-shaped hinge resulting in a lighter crease.
Besides reducing the crease, OPPO’s New Generation Flexion Hinge also allows the Find N2 Flip to fold flat on itself, without a gap near the hinge. This prevents dust and pocket lint from collecting along the crease line.
The Find N2 Flip also features a unique Reticular Matrix Plate supporting the screen, making for a shallow crease. This means, when you run your fingers over the crease section, you will not feel it as much.
Being a compact smartphone, the space inside the Find N2 Flip must be shared with various components. Therefore, OPPO’s engineers miniaturised the Flexion Hinge to ensure it doesn’t compromise in other areas. Despite being a smaller mechanism, the latest generation of Flexion Hinge results in a 63% narrower crease versus its predecessor.
In terms of functionality, the OPPO Find N2 Flip can hold a folded angle between 45° and 110° which allows for some practical use cases and tied together with software features.
Fold and Unfold for years
To create the new generation Flexion Hinge, OPPO has incorporated aeronautical high-strength steel at the key bearing position to ensure the hinge deliverers higher reliability Meanwhile, the use of aircraft-grade carbon-fibre reinforced polymer makes sure the hinge is strong but light.
As a result, the OPPO Find N2 Flip is TÜV Rheinland-certified to perform well after 400,000 cycles of folding and unfolding the device. To put that into perspective, OPPO says you can open and close the phone around 100 times a day for more than ten years and the hinge will still feel tight and smooth. It’s even been tested to withstand 100,000 folds in temperatures as low as -20ºC and as high as 50ºC[1].
As for the display, TÜV Rhineland’s lab tests found that after 216,000 folds and unfolds, the crease remains almost imperceptible from nearly all angles.
Exquisite design
Weighing in at just 191g, the OPPO Find N2 Flip is light and easy to hold up during that long text session with your friend. When it’s time to go, folding the Find N2 Flip makes it around half the length of a candy bar-style smartphone. In this form, the phone can fit in the palm of an average-sized hand, but more than that, it can completely sink into a pocket or a small bag.
At launch, the OPPO Find N2 Flip will come in two dramatic colourways – Astral Black and Moonlit Purple. Both options have their own special finish. Astral Black features a silky texture that subtly glimmers under the light while Moonlit Purple showcases a soft shimmer courtesy of OPPO’s exclusive diffuse texture.
The Find N2 Flip is OPPO’s take on creating the best clamshell-style smartphone for users, starting with a near crease-free experience. In the coming years, OPPO is committed to providing users with the best that smartphone innovation has to offer.
Find out what else the OPPO Find N2 Flip can do or check out a 3D mock-up of the phone with feature highlights. Also, stay tuned for the official launch happening on the 2nd of March 2023.
[1] Durability tests were conducted by both OPPO and independently by TÜV Rhineland. These were under controlled conditions and are not a guarantee for product wear owing to misuse.
