Oppo Find N Hands-On Review

Foldable smartphones have seen immense growth in terms of innovation and sales. Samsung, which is currently the leading foldable smartphone maker, has witnessed tremendous success in 2021, courtesy of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3. To take on the South Korean tech giant, Oppo launched its first foldable smartphone called the Oppo Find N. The Find N is currently available only in China. The device has a similar folding mechanism as the Z Fold 3 but is more compact and gets many things right. Oppo sent us an Oppo Find N review unit, which we used for a few days to understand how the company got so many things right in its first attempt and is also better in many aspects than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Before we begin our Oppo Find N hands-on, here’s a look at the specifications of the foldable smartphone.

Oppo Find N specifications

• 7.1-inch foldable display with ultra-thin glass, a 120Hz refresh rate, and 1000 nits of peak brightness.
• 5.49-inch OLED display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 60Hz refresh rate.
• Snapdragon 888 SoC with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
• 4500 mAh battery with 33W fast charging, 15W wireless fast charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging support.
• A triple-camera setup with a 50MP Sony IMX766 primary camera, a 16MP ultrawide camera, and a 13MP telephoto camera with 3x zoom.
• Two 32MP front camera sensors, each on the cover screen and the foldable display.
• Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, etc.
• Android 11-based ColorOS 12.

We did mention that Oppo got many things right with its first foldable smartphone. Although late to the party, the company, directly or indirectly, addressed many concerns that one might have about foldable smartphones. For starters, the crease on the foldable phone

A foldable screen with an almost invisible crease

One of the noticeable “issues” with a foldable screen is that the crease is visible right in the centre. While the vertical line is somewhat visible on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 (Review), it is not exactly the case with the Oppo Find N.

Oppo has used a different hinge mechanism for the Find N. It creates a water-drop-shaped fold at the centre part of the screen, which lets the rest of the part fold flat. We have seen something similar in the Moto Razr as well, where the area of the screen around the hinge is rounded on the inside, further ensuring that there is no visible crease. The “Flexion" hinge mechanism further allows the device to close completely when folded, unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Not that the crease hinders the user experience as it is barely visible with a straight line of sight but when viewing something on the screen from the side, you will see that vertical line right in the centre. Oppo’s Find N is claimed to offer up to 80 percent crease compared to the other foldable smartphones available commercially. The 7.1-inch foldable screen also refreshes at 120Hz, offering a smooth scrolling experience. It is vibrant and bright for viewing on-screen content in both indoor and outdoor conditions as well.

A usable cover display

One of the complaints we had with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is that its cover display, although tall and edge-to-edge, was not as practically usable due to its 25:9 aspect ratio. Several apps (Instagram, for example) were not optimised for the cover screen, resulting in content getting cropped out on the sides. 

The Oppo Find N fixes this with its 18:9 aspect ratio. The phone has a relatively compact 5.49-inch cover display compared to the tall 6.2-inch cover screen on the Z Fold 3. The tiny form factor also helps in giving a “handy” feel without having to perform any finger gymnastics.

It is also worth noting that the screen on the right is marginally curved, further offering an immersive viewing experience. I found myself using the cover display a lot more for scrolling through social media and clicking sample shots on the Find N. The foldable display was only used to watch videos on YouTube and Netflix. Maybe that is how a foldable phone should ideally be used to get the best of both worlds.

A bigger battery in a compact body

The Oppo Find N, despite having a relatively compact body, manages to pack a bigger battery compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Although slightly larger, the Find N packs a 4,500 mAh battery compared to a 4400 mAh battery on the Z Fold 3.

While the device does offer a slightly bigger cell, the real-life battery life difference is not much. Both devices offer a full day worth of juice on a single charge. The Find N also charges faster at 33W and it took about an hour and 25 mins to charge the device during my week-long usage.

Quality camera setup

The Find N has a 50MP triple-camera setup and uses the same Sony IMX766 sensor found on the OnePlus 9 (Review) and the Oppo Find X3 Pro. The main sensor clicks well-exposed, detailed images with slightly saturated colours in most cases during daytime. There is also a 16MP ultrawide camera and a 13MP telephoto camera. The 13MP sensor supports 2x optical zoom and the results, like the ultrawide camera, are quite okay. While shooting outdoors, I noticed that the colours of the light blue sky were blown out in order to retain better details in the shadow. It was exactly the opposite for the ultrawide camera. While it managed to not overflow the highlights, the details in the shadows were quite okay.

Oppo’s software team has taken advantage of the foldable form factor, allowing users to use one side of the device at a certain angle between 45 degrees and 120 degrees as a tripod. For selfies, you get two 32MP front cameras which get the job done.

Flagship performance 

Oppo has opted for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 SoC, which might not be the latest but continues to offer raw power under the hood. You also get up to 12GB of RAM under the hood. Because of that usable cover screen, I found myself playing games on the 5.49-inch cover screen more often. My limited testing with Battlegrounds Mobile India on the Find N did not show any major signs of heating. The phone’s rear panel does not marginally warm but that is quite normal for phones with the SD888 chipset.

The phone also comes with stereo speakers which offer a crisp and clear audio experience. I did not miss the 3.5mm headphone while streaming content in a closed setting. That being said, having a 3.5mm headphone jack for a phone with 8mm of thickness would have been nice. 

Software tricks up its sleeve 

To make use of the foldable form factor, the device comes with custom gestures as well. For starters, a two-finger swipe on the Find N will unlock the split-screen mode.

Users can also save tasks in a split window on the home screen as an icon so when you tap on it the next time, it will load those apps automatically. There is also a Flexform Mode, which divides the screen into two parts, allowing users to use the bottom half of the screen as a keyboard for typing notes. 

Not everything is good though

I mentioned some of the best Oppo Find N features above. However, just like every other (foldable) smartphone, the Find N is not a perfect device and comes with its share of cons. For starters, the screen on the outside refreshes at 60Hz compared to 120Hz on the Galaxy Z Fold 3. For a phone launched in the last quarter of 2021, we would expect it to offer a 90Hz refresh rate at least, if not 120Hz. Oppo missed the mark there.

The device also does not come with an official IPX8 rating for water and dust resistance. Samsung gets an edge here to offer a complete smartphone experience without having to worry about water or dust entering the device while clicking photos or videos out in the rain. While this is not a deal-breaker, the Find N also misses out on smart stylus support. It might not be required daily but there have been times wherein I had to sign embargoes digitally and the S Pen on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 was a lot more convenient.

The Find N is also slightly heavier at 275 grams and marginally slimmer at 15.9mm (when folded). Also worth noting is that while the Find N does offer some software tricks, it lags behind Samsung’s One UI. 

All said and done, customers in India cannot buy the Oppo Find N as the product is currently exclusive to China. Hopefully, Oppo launches a new foldable smartphone, if not the Find N, in India later this year.