Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese
The advent of Find N2 Flip has made Oppo the third manufacturer in the market that has both vertical and horizontal folding phones. In this vertical folding debut, Oppo also borrowed from the experience of its predecessors Samsung and Huawei, that is, it is positioned in a more friendly position than the horizontal folding machine to attract consumers to try new things. Not only that, among the vertical folding products of the same generation, Find N2 Flip can be regarded as a model with a high CP value on paper. So what is the actual experience of it? The author will share with you now.
Appearance and feel
Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese
In addition to the first two new generations of RAZR that retain the retro look of the year, the differences in the appearance of today’s vertically folded screen phones are mainly focused on how to place the camera and design the shape of the secondary screen. Among the several manufacturers that have launched vertical folding machines, Samsung and Moto are firm horizontal display camps. Among them, Samsung’s recent two generations of Galaxy Z Flip strive to integrate the camera and screen in terms of appearance, which is relatively more in line with the mainstream aesthetics and has a variety of colors and styles. The later Huawei Pocket created the strongest sense of fashion among similar products with its exaggerated double-ring design. How is Oppo going to differentiate? The answer given by Find N2 Flip is a straight-out screen that no one has done before.
The AMOLED panel that Oppo chose is a full 3.6 inches, and it almost touches the top and centerline of the phone, occupying more than half of the top half of the device’s back cover. On the gold and purple versions, the first thing you notice is the screen (whether it’s on or off), and the black version in my hand is relatively less obvious. The rear dual camera is placed in two separate concentric circles in the upper left corner, with a flash opening next to it. When I saw Find N2 Flip for the first time, I felt that the visual elements on the back were a bit complicated and disorderly. Several different shapes appear in front of the eyes in an irregular manner, and the degree of recognition is naturally not lacking, but whether they look good or not is different.
In fact, if Oppo can provide some patterns that echo the hardware design in the AoD function of the external screen, then the back of the phone in standby state is expected to be more visually balanced. However, in the current system version, the factory only prepared a simple clock, text and Omoji virtual avatar. I personally think that they can’t add points to the N2 Flip in terms of aesthetics, and I hope that Oppo can further enrich the options in the future.
To the author’s surprise, the Find N2 Flip did not use the plain leather model this time, and Oppo did not carry out any joint cooperation. Considering the huge female customer base of the vertical folding machine at this stage, this is somewhat regrettable, and of course it does not rule out the possibility that the factory will reserve a trick. However, the texture of the AG glass currently used in mobile phones is quite good. The back of the black machine I experienced is very delicate to the touch, and the metal middle frame and the water-rippled shaft are also very smooth to the touch (but fingerprints are easier to leave). The gap inside the device is almost invisible after the device is closed. The body weighs 190g, and the thickness is 7.2mm and 15.2mm respectively when unfolded and folded. The size is not much different from the main competitors.
screen and sound quality
Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese
In terms of display performance, the 6.8-inch Samsung E6 AMOLED on the inside of this phone doesn’t have much to complain about. Its 2,520×1,080 resolution is sufficient for general use, and the 21:9 ratio of the long bar will be more conducive to displaying movies and other content. The colors on the screen are vivid and the color accuracy is acceptable. The crease in the middle will be slightly more obvious than the horizontal folding machine of the same door, but the overall level is still easy to ignore if you don’t look at it deliberately.
The only criticism is that the update rate of Find N2 Flip is a bit “stingy”. Even after turning on the high refresh rate mode, the system will not actively maintain 120Hz. The probability that the device will drop back to 60Hz in different apps is quite high. The reason for this setting may be because Oppo feels that its target customer group is not very sensitive on this point, right? The secondary screen on the outside is the same as the main screen, so it won’t take too much effort to see it outdoors under sunlight. However, the resolution of this AMOLED is only 720×382. It is not a big problem to look at the tool card, but it is not detailed enough to display photos and videos. The performance of the dual speakers of this mobile phone has completely exceeded the author’s expectations. They are loud enough and have a good sense of hierarchy. The audio-visual entertainment needs of ordinary people should be met.
camera
Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese
The Find N2 Flip is equipped with the 50MP IMX890 photoreceptor (which can basically be regarded as a direct replacement for the previous IMX766), which has a high rate of appearance on Oppo’s recent models, as the rear main camera, supplemented by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle and 32MP RGBW internal selfie camera. Optical anti-shake components. Although it has the blessing of MariSilicon X self-developed imaging chip, its shooting ability is not enough to become a selling point. The saturation and sharpness of the overall imaging are high, and the noise control and detail preservation in night shooting are relatively average. The beauty and blur effects of the portrait mode are acceptable, but the recognition accuracy of hair edges is not stable enough.
Of course, at the current stage of development of folding machines, most products will still put the camera at the bottom of the list, and more shooting methods based on unconventional types are the value that non-folding machines do not have. Such as low-angle upward shooting, waist-level viewing, etc. are difficult to achieve easily with ordinary mobile phones, and the existence of the external screen can also make the composition more in line with the subject’s intentions. It is more obvious on the N2 Flip that shoots people in the same direction.
system
Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese
As Oppo’s new machine late last year, the Find N2 Flip is not surprisingly also pre-loaded with the Android 13-based ColorOS 13 system. The new version of the software uses the “Shuisheng” design language, and improves tools such as cross-platform interaction and online meeting assistants. As for the functions exclusive to the folding machine, Oppo has also prepared for the N2 Flip the common things on the vertical folding machine such as notification display, quick reply, and system app cards. At the same time, the factory has also developed a pet tablecloth, and provides a way to place a certain page (such as payment QR code, boarding pass) or a certain process (step-by-step navigation instructions, meal delivery location, etc.) options displayed on the screen.
That is to say, in terms of external screen functions, the N2 Flip is not far behind other existing products, and it does not yet have any killer features. After the experience, the author also feels that there are still areas that can be improved. For example, when the inner app is displayed, according to Oppo’s current settings, you cannot turn off the inner screen if you want to keep the outer screen always on. This can be a headache in some cases (for example, if you want to put away your phone while moving, but you need to scan the code or show the receipt multiple times), the manufacturer can make an extra switch for the user to choose. In addition, the number of external screen cards also needs to continue to increase, such as computers, tools that users may pick up and use at will, can be added.
Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese
Finally, in the part of integrating third-party apps, Xiaohongshu is the only one that can have a better experience on the external screen of N2 Flip. You can swipe through photos and videos without opening your phone, and you can also follow and like. In terms of the interface characteristics of the app, I personally think that short video applications can actually appear on the external screen of the Flip based on this form, which will undoubtedly make full use of the size advantage.
Performance and Endurance
Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese
Find N2 Flip is the first foldable phone equipped with a MediaTek processor. Oppo chose the Dimensity 9000+ chip for it, which is more sensible from a practical point of view. Its theoretical performance is not weak, and the power consumption is well controlled. As long as it is adjusted properly, it is quite suitable for the type of vertical folding machine. As far as experience is concerned, it can only be said that Oppo is a bit too conservative. Under the premise that folding machines cannot be piled up for heat dissipation, the system has very strict restrictions on the frame rate when running mainstream games such as “Yuanshin”. In this case, the temperature of the device is indeed not very high, but the fluency is obviously compromised.
That is to say, I personally do not completely oppose this scheduling strategy that is suitable for the (vertical folding) mechanism, but I also hope that the manufacturer can provide an option similar to the game mode, so that users who need it can decide whether to release the potential of the device. As for battery life, the performance of Dimensity 9000+ with 4,300mAh battery is quite satisfactory. During the experience of Find N2 Flip, the author can basically use it for a day without worry, which is not easy for a vertical folding machine. In addition, it also supports 44W wired charging, which is the highest rated power among similar products. According to the actual measurement, it can be charged to 26% in 10 minutes, 60% in half an hour, and it takes 58 minutes to fully charge.
competitors
Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese
Although Find N2 Flip has plans to sell it in the international market, the price currently set is only RMB 5,999 in mainland China. At the same price, there are also two vertical folding machines, Huawei P50 Pocket S and Moto Razr 2022. But the base models of these two machines have only 128GB of storage, half less than the N2 Flip. Among them, although Huawei’s products are more eye-catching in shape, they only have the 4G version of the Snapdragon 778 chip. Although Razr’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is a bit more powerful than N2 Flip’s Dimensity 9000+, its shape is really not pleasing, and this is often a disadvantage for vertical folding devices.
In addition, the comprehensive power experience of N2 Flip will be better, and its battery and fast charging specifications are the best among similar products. If the price goes any higher, it will come to the territory of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Huawei P50 Pocket. However, based on factors such as brand and positioning, most of the people who will consider these two phones are not the target users that Oppo is targeting.
epilogue
Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese
So far, the three folding machines released by Oppo are all slanted. Both Find N and N2 are small horizontal folding machines with rare aspect ratios, and the only vertical folding machine N2 Flip has the largest outer screen on the market, and it is the only vertical display. In terms of overall performance, Flip is relatively balanced, and combined with the selling price, it is more competitive. Especially its battery life and charging speed really give people a feeling of seeing the big from the small.
In fact, the N2 Flip’s external screen should have been part of this “seeing big”, but the software provided by Oppo at this stage has not yet fully realized its potential. However, this phone has only been on the market for a short time after all, and I hope that after hearing more and more user feedback, Oppo can continue to make it better.