Affordable foldable OPPO phone tipped right around the corner
Samsung clearly wants to make foldable devices mainstream, and, at the moment, it has a bit of a monopoly in that niche market. There are other options, of course, but Huawei's Mate X2 and Xiaomi's Mi Mix Fold aren't as widely available outside of China, and Royole's FlexPai 2 appearing in the wild is practically unheard of. Those won't be the only players in the foldable smartphone arena soon, however, and after years of teasing, OPPO might finally dive into the fray as early as next week.
The dream of foldable and flexible phones has been around for years, perhaps prompted by Samsung's vision almost a decade ago. Everyone definitely seemed interested in the prospect, but few actually followed through to make it a reality. Even fewer have actually succeeded, as the market seems to be quite slow to warm up to the idea of these unorthodox mobile devices.
OPPO dabbled in foldable phones just as long, with the appearance of a clunky prototype back in 2016. That device looked more like a gigantic Galaxy Z Flip or a Surface Duo that only had a single, foldable screen. In early 2019, it teased a working prototype of its foldable phone but decided at the last moment not to show it at Mobile World Congress that year, and probably for a good reason.
The prototype OPPO revealed was similar to the Huawei Mate X and the Royole FlexPai, sporting an "outie" design where the screen folded outward. While a bit more economical in terms of having just one screen, it seems that the durability risks were too high a cost to pay in the long run. Both Huawei and Royole ditched that design in favor of an "innie" fold like the Galaxy Z Fold.
According to MyFixGuide, OPPO's actual foldable phone will also be an "innie." It might be the "OPPO Find N" that was recently seen at a Chinese certification as the OPPO PEUM00. If the stars and planets align, this phone might actually debut before the year is over.
OPPO has scheduled its annual INNO DAY on December 14 and 15, with the second day reserved for a "New Flagship Product Launch Event." Some believe it might announce the OPPO Find X4 there, but hopes are running high it would be the company's foldable phone instead. Both OPPO and Vivo have been rumored to launch foldable devices this year, ushering what could be the next generation of more accessible and more mainstream foldable phones.