Oppo announced its first foldable smartphone, the Oppo Find N, in a blog post from its product manager (and OnePlus CEO) Pete Lau. The device will hit the market next week on December 15, the second day of Oppo’s annual Inno Day.
While the post doesn’t reveal too many details about the device, a trailer posted on Twitter shows it has a form factor similar to Samsung’s Z-Fold devices, combining a large reversible display with a larger external display like a traditional smartphone. Interestingly, this small outdoor display appears to have a ratio of functionality to a traditional smartphone ratio, rather than the large slim display of the Fold 3.
In his article, Lau admits that other companies have met Oppo to bring foldable smartphones to market. But he says these competing devices lacked the “convenience, durability, and user experience” of most people. “Oppo prefers to bring a product to market later, when it’s ready to deliver a great user experience, rather than just following trends.”
The Find N is said to be the result of four years of research and development and six generations of prototypes, with Lau noting that the first generation of the Find N arrives from April 2018. In February 2019, the company unveiled one of its prototypes. gift. although this version only has a large screen wrapped around the outside of the device instead of a Find N flip-flop screen on the inside.
According to Lau, the goal was to develop a device with a beautiful design that feels good in the hand and is also useful and easy to use. “For a foldable smartphone, the closed-screen and open-screen experience should be just as easy to use,” Lau writes. “Furthermore, we should create an effective revolutionary experience that a normal smartphone cannot offer.”
Oppo plans to launch Find N on the second day of its annual Inno Day event, which typically features technology and conceptual products. In recent years, Oppo has used these events to announce conceptual technologies such as a launched phone, the Oppo X 2021, as well as AR glasses, none of which have been released. In addition to the Find N, Oppo scrubbed a device with an extended rear camera and augmented reality glasses for this year’s Inno Day.