OnePlus V Fold renders leak ahead of Pixel Fold shipments
I’m not going to lie: I’m getting pretty excited about what OnePlus is set to officially unveil in the V Fold, supposedly coming in August. While I love the idea of the Pixel Fold and Google’s software on a folding phone, my guess is OnePlus’ take on the folding form factor will likely be a bit more well-equipped and substantially less expensive. While not a 100% sure thing, I’m betting that will be the case.
I want to get to the new leaks that showed up today, but first think on this: the current flagship from OnePlus – the OnePlus 11 – comes equipped with absolutely top-notch hardware inside and out and is available right now on the OnePlus website for an absurd $699 MSRP with no strings attached and no sales price. These same specs cost well over $1000 with something like a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, so it stands to reason the same saving should apply for OnePlus in the folding phone race as well.
And then there’s the OnePlus Pad that comes equipped with a stellar build quality, a 144Hz screen, and an included (for now, anyway) keyboard case for a frankly-ridiculous $479. If we can tell anything by OnePlus’ current approach to selling hardware, it is the fact that they are clearly back in the price-cutting game. And if recent review are to be believed, those price cuts aren’t coming at the expense of their hardware experiences.
Enter the OnePlus V Fold
And that brings us to the OnePlus V Fold. With the hype around Google’s soon-to-ship Pixel Fold, the timing couldn’t be better for OnePlus to launch a foldable here in the US. Just as it is the case with the Pixel Fold, the OnePlus V Fold will hit a market full of potential buyers that are likely interested in this sort of tech but aren’t fully certain that it is for them as there haven’t been many options up until now to give it a try.
Soon enough, it looks like we’ll have 3 new options in this market segment with the Pixel Fold, OnePlus V Fold, and Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 5. And if what we’re seeing from OnePlus of late holds true, I’d imagine they are looking to hit the ground running with a great device that undercuts the competition in price.
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And if these leaked renders are anything to go by, I’d say we’re in for a real treat with the latest foldable hardware on the way from OnePlus. Looking at these images, it is clear that OnePlus isn’t simply aping Oppo’s Find N2 and that the design language from their current flagship – the OnePlus 11 – is coming through loud and clear.
The device appears thin, sleek, and quite large. The outer and inner screens both look to trim the bezels down to nothing and leather texture on the back looks like a really nice touch as well. The fan-favorite alert slider is here and the Hasselblad camera partnership is continuing around back as well. We’re also seeing the fingerprint scanner in the power button and hole-punch selfie cameras on both the internal and external displays.
Interestingly, it also appears that the camera array will include a periscope lens, giving users a real optical zoom option that should rival phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. How the camera truly performs will obviously be based on the software side of things, too, so we won’t really know what sort of photos will come from this device until it is out in the world.
While there are no elements on these renders that can give us a true sense of scale, it at least appears that the outer display will present itself as a standard smartphone size versus the aggravatingly-narrow setup Samsung uses. This means the V Fold should open up into a landscape layout similar to the Pixel Fold, and that is definitely the preference of many users when it comes to foldable phones.
With these renders and the leaked specs of the V Fold, I think OnePlus has a compelling device coming very soon. If the August launch rumors are true and OnePlus gets this device out on the heels of the Pixel Fold and right in the mix with the expected August reveal of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, the foldable market here in the US is set to heat up quickly. Competition usually increases innovation and drives down prices, so I’m very excited to see OnePlus getting involved. And looking at these latest renders only makes the anticipation that much more intense. It’s going to be a fun summer, for sure!
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Source: Chrome Unboxed
