Here’s when the OnePlus Open foldable phone will launch
OnePlus has confirmed the launch date of its foldable upcoming phone
OnePlus has confirmed the launch date of its foldable upcoming phone – and has also 100% confirmed that it will be called OnePlus Open.
We’ve known since earlier in the year that the OnePlus Open would emerge during late 2023. This was due to a teaser for an upcoming mystery device back in February during the OnePlus 11 launch event. That teaser pegged the launch as “Q3”. And OnePlus has now confirmed a launch event for 19 October in Mumbai, taking place at 10am EDT, 4pm CEST and 7.30pm IST.
Expect the event to be livestreamed on the OnePlus YouTube channel.
We don’t yet know where the device will launch. But given the pattern of launches for OnePlus devices in the past, we’re expecting it to come to the US as well as the UK and Europe.
Sister company Oppo already has foldable, the Find N2, which is staying China-only unlike the more widely available N2 Flip. It seems the OnePlus entry will be along the same lines as the Find N2 and indeed there will also be a Find N3 launching soon, too (again probably for China only). The similarity might not be such a bad thing. We did really like it when we checked it out late last year. Check out our Oppo Find N2 hands-on review.
OnePlus president Kinder Liu was predictably gushing about the new device in the announcement, saying that “OnePlus Open is the dream smartphone, set to break the compromise between display technology, imaging performance, and weight that has become the status quo for existing foldable devices.”
He continued: “Inheriting OnePlus’s signature fast and smooth experience, plus its elegant, lightweight, and slim design, alongside an imperceptible screen crease, unprecedented imaging performance, efficient software, and premium quality, the OnePlus Open will redefine the concept of foldable smartphones by delivering all-round flagship-level experiences that push the limits of current foldable smartphones and take the standard of foldables to the next level.”
As usual OnePlus can’t resist putting loads of the features of the phone out in the while before launch. It has also teased the phone’s alert slider, signalling the return of a classic OnePlus design feature.
A flagship foldable
At a OnePlus panel discussion back at Mobile World Congress, Kinder Liu said: “We want to launch a device that aims to be at the pinnacle experience of today’s foldable market.”:
Liu also spoke to TechCrunch about the news. “It will also be a flagship phone, as with the other top-positioned products in our portfolio. That is the reason why we haven’t released any foldable phones in the past several years. Because we really wanted to release the best one.”
At the time he also confirmed through a motion with his hands that the device would have a book-type form factor – hence the OnePlus open name. It will therefore be a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold competitor. And again, that’s the same form factor as the Oppo Find N2 and probably the Find N3.
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
