News, leaks, rumored price, and release window

The OnePlus Open is the company’s first foldable, and it impressed us in almost every key aspect. It’s among our favorite foldables. The large displays and design make using the phone a breeze. Excellent multitasking features in OxygenOS allow you to use the big inner folding screen to its potential and boost your productivity while on the go.

The OnePlus foldable proved Samsung has a lot of catching up to do in a segment it was once a leader. With the OnePlus Open highly praised, there’s a lot of excitement and buzz around its successor, the OnePlus Open 2. Here’s a roundup of everything we know about the successor of the OnePlus Open.

OnePlus Open 2: Design and specs

Leaked renders of the OnePlus Open 2 haven’t popped up online. It’s difficult to say if the phone will pack major changes. The OnePlus 12 uses the same design as the OnePlus 11, and the BBK-owned firm will likely follow the same strategy for the Open 2.

We could see some changes to the rear Hasselblad-branded camera island and a few tweaks here and there. But, the OnePlus Open 2 will likely retain the same design as the original model. That’s not a reason for disappointment. We loved the original Open’s design and found it comfortable to use. The foldable survived JRE’s durability test and emerged as OnePlus’s most durable phone.

A welcome change would be OnePlus improving the Open’s IPX4 rating with its successor and aiming for better dust resistance.

Rumors surrounding the OnePlus Open 2’s internals are yet to appear. But knowing OnePlus, its second foldable should pack the best components possible. This could mean an upgrade to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, 12GB or 16GB RAM, up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage, and more. The OnePlus Open ships with a bright cover and folding screen. With the OnePlus Open 2, the company might source a newer panel from its supplier with higher peak brightness and better efficiency.

Many OnePlus Open owners have faced reliability issues with the phone’s inner folding screen with dead pixels and green lines randomly popping up. Hopefully, OnePlus will use a more reliable panel with its next foldable phone without such issues.

The lack of wireless charging is a chink in the OnePlus Open’s specs sheet. The OnePlus 12 ships with wireless charging, so OnePlus may add this convenient way of charging to its second foldable.

OnePlus Open 2: Software

Besides the excellent hardware, the OnePlus Open was also a joy to use because of OxygenOS. The company could take things up a notch with the OnePlus Open 2. Given how AI is the hottest trend in the consumer tech industry, the BBK-owned firm could add AI features to its Android skin. There haven’t been any leaks about this, but this should change.

Longer software support would help Open 2 stand out from other foldables. Google raised the bar with the Google Pixel 8 in 2023 by promising seven years of OS and security updates. That’s three more years of OS updates over the OnePlus Open.

OnePlus doesn’t need to surpass Google’s promised update schedule with its second foldable. The company only needs to match it.

OnePlus Open 2: Cameras

Despite not packing the biggest camera sensors, the OnePlus Open featured the best cameras in a OnePlus phone when it launched. That meant you could take great pictures using the foldable. There were processing issues, but OnePlus quickly resolved them with software updates.

With the OnePlus Open 2, OnePlus could use better camera sensors or improve its Hasselblad processing to deliver better results. The addition of AI should further help, as the phone could fine-tune the colors, contrast, and processing based on the scene you’re trying to capture.

OnePlus Open 2: Price and release date

The OnePlus Open debuted in late October 2023 after months of apparent delay. It is fair to assume the Open 2 will launch at least a few weeks earlier than its predecessor. Since the Open 2 will build on OnePlus’ first foldable, it’s unlikely to pack major hardware breakthroughs or changes that could cause an unwanted delay.

We might see OnePlus launch the Open 2 as early as September this year. This will allow the company to market the foldable ahead of the key shopping season to gain more traction among consumers.

As for pricing, the OnePlus Open provides excellent value for money. Its $1,700 price tag undercuts the Google Pixel Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 by $100. The device packs more storage and RAM and comes with a free one-time screen replacement. In the months since its launch, retailers have further discounted the foldable by as much as $200, making it an even better buy.

The OnePlus Open 2 could face stiff competition from Samsung

The OnePlus Open 2 is more than six months away from launch. By the time it debuts, Samsung will have launched the Galaxy Z Fold 6, possibly with major design changes. This means OnePlus will face intense competition from its Korean rival this time around. Given how great the OnePlus Open was, the Open 2 should be an even better foldable.

If you can’t wait for the OnePlus Open 2 to launch, pick up the OnePlus Open. It is a great foldable from which Google and Samsung could take lessons. And it delivers this experience while costing less than its competition.