If you ever wondered what Apple’s first foldable device could look like, look no further than OPPO‘s Find N series to give you some clues. The first release looks like an iPad mini that folds into a regular iPhone, and the second — the new OPPO Find N2 — boasts similar looks and features as the model that came before, but it’s also lighter, slimmer, and even more powerful.

We loved the first Find N, so there’s no reason not to feel excited about the sequel, right? Well, it’s not that simple. The Find N2, like its predecessor, remains exclusive to the Chinese market where it was priced starting at ¥7,999 (about $1,164 or P63,438 converted) at launch — and elusive everywhere else.

And the phone doesn’t ship with the Google Play Store preinstalled. Thankfully, getting Google’s app store to work flawlessly on the device is as easy as sideloading it from a third-party website like APK Mirror.

We’ve used a few foldables in the past few years, but the OPPO Find N series has always stood out as a phone-tablet hybrid that’s the right size for us — both in its unfolded and folded form. The new OPPO Find N2 is no different. When folded, it is just about as tall as a classic feature phone or an old iPhone like the iPhone XS, which felt like a device that was made for Asian hands.

Reaching the top of the 5.54-inch external screen with a thumb to view notifications doesn’t require finger gymnastics, and it always feels like every icon, every toggle, and every control setting on the display can be reached without the need for a shimmy of your hand up the body of the Find N2. This extends to the side-mounted buttons, of course, and we found the power key that doubles as a fingerprint scanner on the side to be easily accessible and accurate.

When closed, the thickness is a different story, though. But then again, there’s no way around it. The OPPO Find N2, like all other foldables on the market, is designed like two handsets stacked on top of one another, so expect it to create a way larger bump in your pocket than most modern phones ever will. The extra hump can be overlooked, especially considering users are basically getting a smartphone and a tablet in one convenient form factor. It also adds some nice grip to the sides, giving us a proper and strong hold on the unit even without a bumper case.

For a horizontally folding device, the weight is pretty manageable, too, although the Find N2 does feel heavier compared to many other options in the flagship segment. The numbers say it’s up to seven grams lighter than the 240g Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max, 42 grams lighter than the previous generation, and roughly 30 grams lighter than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4. It should be noted, though, that both the green and white variants of the Find N2 weigh an extra 4 grams due to their glass back.

Nevertheless, OPPO proudly advertises that the Find N2 is the lightest folding phone of its kind. That distinction is important because you’ll probably use it in its folded state as much as you would use the device with its display spread out for browsing the web; viewing documents, presentations, and spreadsheets; and watching videos.

The hinge is one of the most important parts of any foldable phone, and the first Find N was praised for its design and structural integrity. You might recall that famous YouTuber JerryRigEverything did his famous torture test of the original model and praised its durability. The company says the OPPO Find N2 can withstand over 400,000 folds, doubling the record set by the first-gen model and the number Samsung’s advertising for its recent foldables.

Obviously, we don’t have the time or energy to manually fold and unfold our unit several thousand times. We supposed the next best thing we can do is to say that the Find N2 feels well-built in the hand, and folding it gives the same reassuring soft-close feeling as closing a high-end laptop. The smartphone folds shut without leaving a gap between the two halves of the main display or making any noise.

The hinge also stays in place the moment you stop pushing, holding position when the device is open between 45 and 125 degrees, which we found highly useful. This allowed us to stream episodes of our favorite Netflix shows over dinner with the phone propped on a kitchen counter in FlexForm mode. You can also use it to shoot shake-free videos or record timelapse footage without the need for a tripod or monopod.

Most apps that we tested ran fine when opened in tablet mode, even if they don’t all offer any advantage on the OPPO Find N2’s 7.1-inch flexible LTPO AMOLED screen, which offers a 1,920 x 1,792 resolution and a better-than-average 120Hz refresh rate. Actually, both displays operate at up to 120Hz when navigating the brand’s colorful Android 13-based overlay. But don’t expect games to run higher than 60 fps, even if the internals here are on par with some high-end gaming phones, since OPPO has expectedly locked both screens to 60Hz when gaming.

Some apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Genshin Impact actually look good if you expand them to fit the entire display from corner to corner. And those that aren’t optimized for it (yet) give you the option to position the app closer to the top or bottom bezel for ease of use, in case you don’t like the default setup of having the app take up the middle of the screen.

The OPPO Find N2 gets Widevine L1 certification out of the box for HD playback support, as well as HDR streaming on the YouTube app. Meanwhile, the dual speakers at the bottom sound great for what they are, delivering clean audio along with some thumpy mid-bass.

Another benefit of using the flexible display is that it allows you to open two apps simultaneously in a split-screen view. This would let you, for example, browse social media or shop and chat with your friends at the same time. We don’t usually do this on our smartphones even if the option is there, but split-screen multitasking on the Find N2’s huge display feels much more comfortable and natural.

We didn’t get to use the OPPO Pen, which the company released alongside the Find N2 and supports 4,096 levels of pressure, so we can’t say how well the stylus will work with the foldable. If you need the Pen to pair with the Find N2, though, it is a separate purchase.

Inside, OPPO’s latest foldable is powered by last year’s top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, plus 12GB or 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The absence of a microSD card tray means there is no way to expand the existing onboard storage, although the 256GB baked into the base variant should be enough for most users.

A faster processor would be nice, but the daily performance already feels great, as the flagship 5G processor handles everything with ease. Not to mention, the display won’t run games above 60 fps, so opting for a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset would only drive up the cost while offering little upside speed-wise. Qualcomm’s newest flagship chip might help in the battery-life department, though we found the 4,520mAh dual-cell battery to be enough for a day of normal usage, especially if you switch to phone mode for doing basic tasks, such as sending texts and emails, scrolling through websites, and taking pictures.

In terms of charging speed, the OPPO Find N2 improves significantly over its predecessor, doubling the rating from 33 watts to 67 watts. It takes about 35 minutes to go from zero to 100% battery capacity based on our test, making the Find N2 one of the fastest-charging horizontally folding phones we’ve tested so far. Unfortunately, it seems this model’s slimmer dimensions have contributed to it losing the wireless-charging capability of the previous generation.

At the back, the OPPO Find N2 features a triple-camera setup, similar to last year’s release, and you can still use it to take selfies with the help of the external display. You likewise get a pair of identical dedicated selfie shooters, which are 32 megapixels in resolution. Each front-facing camera cuts a hole in one of the screens.

Sample shots

The primary shooter on the rear is equipped with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 sensor that sits behind an optically stabilized f/1.8 lens. The ultrawide option has been upgraded to 48 megapixels, while the 2x zoom camera is now 32 megapixels and uses an RGBW pixel array for brighter and clearer shots in low light.

OPPO’s ongoing partnership with Swedish camera company Hasselblad extends to the Find N series this year, with the Find N2 launching with the Hasselblad stamp and image tuning. It also gets a custom MariSilicon X NPU for improved 4K HDR and low-light video.

Daylight shots are mostly excellent, especially when shooting with the main camera. Expect accurate colors and white balance, consistently good exposure, wide dynamic range, as well as sharp details. The night shots are good, too, and the software does a good job in balancing noise levels.

Final thoughts

The OPPO Find N2 is a worthy sequel to the fantastic first-gen model we tested last year. It’s the lightest and most compact horizontally folding phone we’ve used, resulting in a usage experience that’s hard to come by. The main and external screens are just the right fit for us — and probably for most people, too! In fact, our only major gripe has nothing to do with the hardware itself and everything to do with the device’s limited regional availability.

For those living outside China — including us — the OPPO Find N2 will simply remain out of reach. Here’s hoping things will change for the Find N3.

If you’re based in the Philippines, you can buy the OPPO Find N2 Flip instead.

OPPO Find N2 specs

• 7.1-inch LTPO AMOLED foldable display, 1,920 x 1,792 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling, UTG glass protection
• 5.54-inch AMOLED cover display, 2,120 x 1,080 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus glass protection
• 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor
• Adreno GPU
• 12GB/16GB LPDDR5 RAM
• 256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 storage
• Triple 50-megapixel main (Sony IMX890 with OIS), 48-megapixel ultrawide, 32-megapixel telephoto rear cameras with Hasselblad image tuning, MariSilicon X NPU
• 32-megapixel front camera
• Side fingerprint reader
• 4,520mAh battery with 67-watt SuperVOOC charging
• ColorOS 13 based on Android 13
• Color options: Black, Cloud White, Pine Green

Learn About This Author

Ramon Lopez

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Reviews editor: Ramon "Monch" Lopez has 16 years of professional experience creating and editing content for print and digital publications such as Yahoo. He headed the gadgets-merchandising division of one of the Philippines’ largest retail operators somewhere in between.