Latest OnePlus V Fold Leak Gives Us Our Best Look At The Foldable Yet
2023 is turning out to be an interesting year for OnePlus. The company already has several launches under its belt — including the OnePlus 11, the OnePlus Buds 2 Pro, and the OnePlus Pad. In India, the company also launched the OnePlus 11R smartphone and a 65-inch TV called the OnePlus TV 65 Q2 Pro. Towards the end of the OnePlus 11 launch event in January 2023, the company, for the first time, teased what appeared to be its first-ever foldable smartphone. While OnePlus didn't officially confirm anything back then, at MWC 2023, which took place a month later, OnePlus COO Kinder Liu confirmed the company's intentions to enter the world of foldable smartphones.
Today, almost four months later, we have our first good look at the OnePlus V Fold, thanks to noted smartphone leaker Onleaks and Indian tech publication — Smartprix. From the leaked renders, it is evident that the OnePlus V Fold is the company's Samsung Galaxy Z Fold-series rival. OnePlus appears to be in no mood to reinvent the wheel with the OnePlusV Fold, and it is clear the device borrows a lot of inspiration from the Galaxy Z Fold series, and its now familiar form factor. This means it has an inward folding display, along with a large cover screen that provides full functionality with the main display folded.
While the OnePlus V Fold borrows the Galaxy Z Fold's form factor, it still has its own visual identity and does look different. In fact, the design is also distinct from the OPPO Find N2, which many thought the OnePlus V Fold would be based on.
OnePlus V Fold: Notable design traits
From the renders, it is evident that the OnePlus V Fold — despite its foldable form factor — has design elements that give it a distinct OnePlus look. The device has a flat profile and gets slightly rounded edges as well. The phone also appears to have very thin bezels and even integrates the trademark OnePlus alert slider on the device. Depending on what side of the design divide you are on, you may love the faux leather treatment on the rear panel or completely hate it. Now that we're discussing the rear panel, the unmissable design element here is the massive camera array which integrates triple cameras. There is a prominent Hasselblad branding here, and it is also evident that one of the rear-facing cameras uses a periscope lens.
OnePlus has decided against an in-display fingerprint scanner on the V Fold. Instead, the device integrates the fingerprint scanner with the power button on one of its edges. The phone has two selfie cameras — one integrated with the external cover display and the second that appears when you open the foldable inner display. The device also appears to integrate a triple speaker system. While we do not have details about the hinge mechanism of the phone, it looks sturdy from the renders.
OnePlus V Fold: Specifications, expected features
While OnePlus is yet to confirm this, expectations are that the OnePlus V Fold may use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC from Qualcomm. The main folding display will be an LTPO AMOLED panel with support for 2K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The camera setup on the device is said to include a 50MP (IMX 890) primary camera, a secondary ultrawide camera, and the aforementioned periscope camera. The front-facing camera on the device is likely to use a 32 MP sensor — possibly for both the internal and external selfie cameras.
The report also discusses the possibility of the OnePlus V Fold using a 4800 mAh battery with support for 100W SuperVOOC fast charging. We do not yet have a possible launch date for the OnePlus V Fold, but given that the first renders of the device are out, the official announcement could be around the corner. Some sources have indicated a possible August launch for the device. Besides the U.S., the OnePlus V Fold will likely be released across Europe, India, and China. The company is also likely to release a flip-style phone called the OnePlus V Flip at the same launch event.