The crease is the least visible on any foldable phone made so far.
In the unfolding story of mobile technology, OPPO has done what few first attempts manage: produced something that feels inevitable rather than experimental. The Find N, born from six discarded prototypes and years of hinge engineering, arrives as the most considered foldable smartphone yet made — a device that asks not whether folding screens are ready, but whether the world around them is. Its limitations are not of imagination or craft, but of geography and price, the oldest barriers between a good idea and the people it was made for.
- OPPO abandoned six prototype designs before committing to the Find N, and the discipline shows — this is the first foldable that feels like a finished product rather than a public experiment.
- The crease that has haunted every foldable display is still present, but so minimized by OPPO's precision hinge engineering that it no longer dominates the experience.
- Software optimization — split-screen apps, flexible viewing angles, and a hinge that holds at any position between 50 and 120 degrees — pushes the Find N toward genuine utility rather than novelty.
- Real friction points remain: a 60Hz outer screen, bottom-only speakers, inconsistent app support, and a folded thickness that pocket-carriers will feel every day.
- At €1,073 and available only via Chinese import, the Find N's greatest obstacle in Ireland is not what it is, but simply where it isn't.
OPPO has been in Ireland just over a year, and its track record — from the well-regarded Find X3 Pro to a range of accessible mid-range models — suggests a company that knows how to read a market. Its first foldable phone, the Find N, is something bolder still: a device that makes a genuine case for the form factor rather than merely demonstrating it.
The proportions are the first thing to notice. Where other foldables have felt awkward — too tall when closed, too square when open — the Find N lands somewhere considered. A 5.48-inch outer screen with an 18:9 ratio closes into a compact, premium-feeling device, while the 7.1-inch inner display opens into a near-landscape canvas running at 120Hz. The hinge, the result of six abandoned prototypes, folds completely gap-free and holds at any angle between 50 and 120 degrees. The crease is still there, but it is the least intrusive of any foldable yet made.
The software has been genuinely rethought for the format. OPPO's own apps split intelligently across the larger screen, and multitasking tools like Dual Window and Floating Window extend what the hardware makes possible. ColorOS 12 adds customisation depth, including screen-off gestures for music and torch control. The Snapdragon 888 chip is a generation old but remains fast and capable, and the camera system — anchored by a 50MP sensor shared with the Find X3 Pro — performs well, with a clever feature that mirrors the rear camera preview on the outer display for the subject being photographed.
Limitations exist: the outer screen's 60Hz refresh rate feels mismatched, speaker placement is uninspired, and not every app handles the inner display's aspect ratio gracefully. The phone is also, when folded, undeniably thick. These are the expected growing pains of a category still finding its footing.
What is less expected is the barrier that matters most. At the equivalent of €1,073, available only through import from China, the Find N is effectively out of reach for most Irish consumers — not because of what it is, but because of where it can be bought. The engineering is there. The distribution is not.
OPPO arrived in Ireland just over a year ago and wasted no time making an impression. The company's flagship Find X3 Pro earned respect from established tech critics, while its more affordable models—the Lite, Neo, A54, and A53—moved in respectable numbers through retailers and into consumers' hands. Now, before the company even unveils its next flagship in February, it has done something bolder: released its first foldable phone, and after a month of testing, it's clear the company got something fundamentally right that others have struggled with.
The Find N is, without question, the best-proportioned foldable smartphone currently available anywhere. That didn't happen by accident. OPPO's chief product officer Pete Lau revealed that the company had abandoned six different prototype designs before committing to this one. The result is a device that feels less like an experimental proof-of-concept and more like a considered product.
When closed, the Find N is genuinely compact—a 5.48-inch outer screen with an 18:9 aspect ratio, thin bezels, subtly curved edges, and a hinge that doesn't announce itself. The metal frame wraps around both the display and camera housing, while the rear is finished in a soft, fingerprint-resistant material that feels expensive. Open it up and you get a 7.1-inch display with a 1792x1920 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, stretched into an almost landscape proportion. The screen is treated with ultra-thin glass that OPPO claims can withstand 200,000 folds. The hinge itself is the real achievement: it's engineered so precisely that when the phone is folded shut, there's no gap between the two halves of the display. And unlike most foldables, this one can rest at any angle between 50 and 120 degrees, turning the device into something that functions like a small laptop when propped open.
The crease—that unavoidable line that runs down the center of every foldable—is the least visible on any foldable phone made so far. It's still there, but OPPO's hinge design has minimized it in a way that matters.
Software is where OPPO has done the real thinking. The company customized its own apps to take advantage of the folding screen: the music player displays lyrics on the top half with controls below, while apps like Telegram and Gmail automatically split their interface across the larger canvas when unfolded. There are multitasking features like Dual Window and Floating Window, though it would be useful if a future update allowed both to run simultaneously. The phone runs ColorOS 12 over Android 11, with an upgrade to Android 12 promised early in 2022. ColorOS is highly customizable and includes clever touches like screen-off gestures that let you skip music tracks or activate the flashlight without waking the display.
The review unit came with 512GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, powered by a Snapdragon 888 processor. Yes, that's last year's flagship chip, but it's still high-end and handles everything thrown at it without hesitation. In daily use, the phone is genuinely fast. The camera setup includes five lenses total: two 32MP selfie cameras (one on each screen) and a rear system anchored by the same excellent 50MP f/1.8 sensor found in the Find X3 Pro. The 16MP ultrawide and 13MP telephoto are less impressive, though there's a neat feature that displays the rear camera preview on the front screen, letting subjects see themselves in the frame before you take the shot. Battery life is strong, with a 4500mAh pack that supports 33W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. The fingerprint sensor on the side is fast and reliable.
There are real limitations. The outer screen only refreshes at 60Hz, which feels dated next to the 120Hz inner display. There are just two speakers, both positioned at the bottom. Not every app works properly in split-screen mode, and some struggle with the inner display's landscape-leaning aspect ratio—though these are problems that should improve as developers optimize for the form factor. And despite being the best-designed foldable available, when folded the Find N is still a fairly thick brick to carry in a pocket.
But for a first attempt, this is genuinely impressive work. It makes you curious about what comes next. The catch is price and availability: the Find N costs the equivalent of €1,073 and is only available through import from China, which severely limits its reach in the Irish market. That's the real barrier—not the design, not the engineering, but simply getting it into people's hands.
Notable Quotes
OPPO chief product officer Pete Lau revealed the company had abandoned six different prototype designs before committing to this one.— Pete Lau, OPPO chief product officer
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the hinge matter so much? It's just the part that holds it together.
The hinge is everything on a foldable. It determines whether the crease is visible, whether there's a gap when you close it, how durable the whole thing is. OPPO spent enough time on it that they abandoned six entire designs before this one. That's not normal.
So what makes this hinge different?
It closes with no gap between the two halves. On other foldables, you can see light between the screens when it's shut. And it can hold any angle between 50 and 120 degrees, so you can actually use it like a small laptop. Those details sound small until you're actually using the phone.
The outer screen is only 60Hz though. That seems like a compromise.
It is. But the inner screen is 120Hz, and that's where you spend most of your time when you're really using the device. It's a choice—they could have made both 120Hz, but that would have drained the battery faster and cost more. For a first phone, it's a reasonable trade-off.
What about the software? Can you actually use it as a real multitasking device?
OPPO customized their own apps to split across the fold, and Gmail and Telegram do it automatically. But not everything works yet. That's the thing about being first—the ecosystem isn't ready. That'll change as developers catch up.
So who should actually buy this?
Right now, almost nobody in Ireland, because you can't get it here. If you could, it would be for someone who wants the best-designed foldable and doesn't mind paying €1,073 for it. But the real story is what OPPO learned building it. That knowledge goes into the next phone.