The OnePlus Open was well received at the October 2023 release (we described it as “the only coincidental phone that does not compromise” in our OnePlus Open Review), so it was more than a little disappointing to hear that a very angry OnePlus Open 2 doesn’t hit the shelves soon.
In a statement sent to the OnePlus Community Forum in February, OnePlus announced that it had “made the decision not to release a foldable” in 2025, noting that Oppo – OnePlus’ sister company – now “is taking the lead in the coincidental segment” with Oppo Find N5 (which is still not available outside of China at the time.
“This isn’t a step back, it’s a calibration,” OnePlus explained at the time – but what exactly does that mean? We asked the company to elaborate on its reasoning during a recently sponsored visit to OnePlus HQ in Guangdong, China. Rudolf XU, Senior Product Marketing Manager for OnePlus, had this to say:
“In the collapsible industry is the common challenge for any smartphone manufacturer [working out] Here’s how to make the phone slimmer, lighter and curl less visible, while not sacrificing other key specifications when trying to solve these challenges, ”XU told Techradar.
“At OnePlus we want to bring the best possible experience [to the user]. If you look back at the OnePlus Open, even until today, it still has very competitive specifications, honestly. It’s more about a timing situation. We are thinking about how we will solve them [aforementioned] Challenges in a better way. Therefore, we decided not to launch a foldable this year. “
OnePlus opens, even until today, still has very competitive specifications.
Rudolf XU, OnePlus
It is therefore clear that a desire to bring meaningful (ie not iterative) innovation to the folding market lies in the heart of OnePlus’ decision to delay its folding plans – but there are also financial factors playing here.
Xu explained: “There is also a figure I can share [that will help justify our decision]. If you are checking the latest counterpoint research, foldable shipments increased by 2.9% year-over-year in 2024, which was actually lower than expected. The collapsible market is rising with certainty but it will still take time for foldable [of people]. “
In other words, the foldable market is simply not yet large enough to make regular product launches financially viable – at least for OnePlus.
Samsung continues to release book and flip-style foldable on an annual basis (Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 are next on the agenda), but it is true that the South Korean giant has more resources available, not to mention a much larger user base.
The good news is that the OnePlus Open 2 is not just a pipe dream. OnePlus confirmed in its aforementioned statement that it is not withdrawing from the folding market completely – “our decision to pause folding for this generation does not mean a deviation from the category,” the brand explained. And given that we are not expecting a new model in 2025, it is safe to assume that OnePlus opens 2 when it eventually arrives, not just will be a recovered Oppo Find N5 (though we are huge fans of the particular device).
What do you think of OnePlus’s decision and the state of collapsible phones in 2025 more generally? Tell us that in the comments.
