Foldable phones are great, but one crucial aspect where they leave buyers second-guessing whether they should spend so much on a new device is their weak resilience against the elements. Take the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which is stuck at IP48, good enough for basic immersion in water only. Moreover, it is not dust-tight, either.
Oppo’s imminent foldable phone — and OnePlus’ too, by that extension — will be sturdy enough to take it in the bath, the shower, or the occasional underwater video capture session, as well. The next from Oppo, dubbed the Find N5, has officially been confirmed to offer IPX6, IPX8, and IPX9 full-grade waterproofing.
As per the ingress protection system established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Level 9 protection for liquid ingress means the device is “protected against high-pressure temperature and water jets.” That’s the best we’ve seen on a foldable phone, or even a regular slab phone, so far.
In a series of posts shared on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, an Oppo executive confirmed that the upcoming foldable phone will not only be the world’s thinnest foldable phone but also one that can handle exposure to fast-moving water with ease.
In addition to upgrading the ingress protection of its upcoming foldable phone, Oppo is finally fixing another sore mistake — support for wireless charging, and in quite an emphatic fashion too.
The Oppo Find N5 will offer support for 50W wireless charging, matching the OnePlus 13, and far surpassing what Apple or Samsung have to offer on their flagship phones. The phone’s chassis is made out of titanium, matching the approach Apple introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro for the metal’s superior strength and heat dissipation virtues.
Oppo will launch the Find N5 next month, and based on the brand’s historically close ties with its sister brand, the upcoming OnePlus Open 2 will most likely be a rebadged version of the former. As far as the design language goes, Oppo is once again chasing a square-ish format for the inner foldable panel, while the outer cover display retains its pocketable format, as well.
Notably, it was not just the fantastic hardware that made the Oppo and OnePlus devices some of the best foldables out there. The two companies also did a fantastic job with optimizing the software for a large-screen Android experience.
The Open Canvas system, in particular, is still one of the best split-screen app multi-tasking implementations out there, even better than what Apple has to offer with iPadOS on its pricey tablets. With the kind of improvements we have already seen on OxygenOS 15, the Oppo Find N5 is shaping up to be one of the best foldable phones of the year.
