OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: don’t buy the wrong folding phone

The foldable smartphone market is still very niche, but it has been gaining steam in recent years. OnePlus has just joined the fray with the new OnePlus Open, but it faces a lot of competition from Samsung, as well as from the new Google Pixel Fold.

For OnePlus and Google, this is their first foray into foldables, while Samsung has had five years of experience. So, how do the OnePlus Open and Google Pixel Fold fare against each other, as they are both newcomers to the foldable scene? Let’s find out.

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: specs

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: design

When it comes to foldables, design is a vitally important factor to consider, not just in terms of how a phone looks, but also how the hinge is made, how heavy it is, and how it will hold up.

OnePlus always has a unique design philosophy for its phones, and the OnePlus Open is no exception. OnePlus has used a proprietary cobalt molybdenum alloy and titanium alloy for the body and frame of the Open, making it look and feel like a premium device while still being compact and lightweight. In fact, the OnePlus Open weighs around 239 grams, which is almost the same as an iPhone 14 Pro Max (240g). While the iPhone 14 Pro Max is considered heavy, the OnePlus Open is one of the lightest foldables out there. When folded, the OnePlus Open’s 6.3-inch cover display is similar in size to a standard smartphone.

The OnePlus Open comes in two colors: Emerald Dusk and Voyager Black. The Emerald Green is the iconic OnePlus color that is always reserved for its flagship series, and it has a matte-frosted glass back that shimmers in certain lighting and at specific angles. Voyager Black is more understated by having a rear cover in vegan leather.

OnePlus has also brought back the iconic Alert Slider, which has been redesigned from the ground up to fit on the 5.8mm-thick compact folding body of the Open. Its size has been increased, and the position in the middle frame has been adjusted to make it easier to access one-handed.

On the back of the OnePlus Open, you’ll also find a rather large circular camera bump toward the top of the matte glass. It’s a Hasselblad triple camera module with a 48MP main camera, plus 64MP telephoto and 48MP ultrawide lenses.

The Google Pixel Fold, on the other hand, looks very much like a Pixel device, except in a foldable form factor. The chassis of the Pixel Fold is a blend of glass, plastic, and aluminum, but it is quite heavy at 283g due to the stainless steel in the hinge. It’s also shorter and wider than most other foldables, with a 5.8-inch cover display.

On the back, you’ll find the camera bar module that has become a classic Pixel feature for the past several years, although the Pixel Fold’s camera bar is isolated to the back glass and doesn’t extend into the frame. And unlike the OnePlus Open, the Pixel Fold only comes in two rather boring colors: Obsidian (black) and Porcelain (white).

Google’s design for the Pixel Fold isn’t bad, but the OnePlus Open takes this round.

Winner: OnePlus Open

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: hinge

When it comes to folding phones, you need a proper hinge for it to work. The foldable has to open up like a book, open flat, and even stay open in a clamshell mode so that it can be propped up for hands-free use. But the hinge also has to be durable to withstand a lot of folds.

OnePlus has developed the Flexion Hinge, which uses a single-spine architecture. The reasoning for employing this method rather than using a three-part spine that most other foldables use is that OnePlus claims that it has more efficient integration between components and offers a sturdier structure. It reduces the number of overall parts needed for the hinge to 69 rather than over 100, which helps reduce the weight of the hinge and the device overall.

However, there are some drawbacks to the Flexion Hinge after spending some time with it. First, on the positive side, it definitely feels easier to open the OnePlus Open to be completely flat compared to the Pixel Fold. There’s a bit of spring to the hinge when you get past an obtuse angle (maybe around 135 degrees) that just makes it pop open flat without effort.

But the drawback of this is that you cannot prop the OnePlus Open up on a flat surface (or even cushioned on some blankets in bed) past a 90-degree right angle without it just being fully open because there is no firmness to the hinge. Even if you have it open slightly at an acute angle, it doesn’t take a lot of effort for it to open up flat if you hold it between your fingers and just swing it back and forth a bit.

The Google Pixel Fold, on the other hand, has a very sturdy and stable hinge. Google designed a custom-built 180-degree fluid friction hinge that gets out of the way of the display, allowing the Pixel Fold to be as thin as it is. According to Google, other brands have hinge components under the display that add thickness, but Google moved those components to the ends instead.

However, the problem with the Pixel Fold hinge is that you kind of have to use a bit of force to get it to open fully flat, and the top and bottom bezels are a little thicker than you may like. The upside, though, is that you can have it propped open in a clamshell mode without having to worry about it opening up flat, which is a big reason why anyone would want a foldable in the first place.

OnePlus deserves credit for a smooth-feeling hinge that easily opens completely flat, but thanks to its better clamshell/tabletop mode, the Google Pixel Fold wins this round.

Winner: Google Pixel Fold

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: displays

The OnePlus Open has a 6.31-inch Super Fluid AMOLED cover display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1,400 nits typical HDR brightness, and 2,800 nits peak brightness, plus 431 pixels per inch (ppi) at a 2484 x 1116 pixel resolution. It is shielded by Ceramic Guard, which is 20% more impact-resistant than regular Gorilla Glass Victus.

Once you open up the OnePlus Open, you’ll have a 7.82-inch Flexi-fluid AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 2,800 nits peak brightness, 1.07 billion colors, and 426 ppi at a 2440 x 2268 resolution. The inner screen also has a TPU layer that protects it from physical impact, and there’s an antireflective screen protector on the top layer, which protects the foldable display from everyday wear and tear and also prevents glare.

The OnePlus Open is also the first foldable that supports LTPO 3.0 dual displays. With LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) 3.0 technology, it can intelligently reduce power consumption and still give you silky smooth visuals. The crease on the inner display is also barely noticeable, probably due to the antireflective layer.

On the Google Pixel Fold, the cover display is a 5.8-inch OLED panel with 1080 x 2092 resolution at 408 ppi. It has a 120Hz refresh rate, and reaches typical brightness at 1,200 nits and goes up to 1,550 nits peak brightness. It uses Gorilla Glass Victus, which is a bit dated for durability.

The inner display of the Pixel Fold is a 7.6-inch plastic foldable OLED with 1840 x 2208 resolution at 378 ppi, a 120Hz refresh rate, and typical brightness of 1,000 nits or 1,450 nits peak brightness. However, the inner display is very reflective, which makes it hard to use when you’re outdoors. The crease is also more pronounced when compared to the Open.

Winner: OnePlus Open

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: cameras

OnePlus has what looks like an impressive camera array on the back, thanks to its Hasselblad branding. With the OnePlus Open, you have a 48MP main camera with a Sony LYT-T808 “Pixel Stacked” CMOS sensor, a 64MP telephoto camera, and a 48MP ultrawide lens. The telephoto lens is capable of 3x optical zoom, 6x in-sensor zoom, and up to 120x Ultra Res zoom.

On the inside of the Open, you will find a 20MP selfie camera, and there’s a 32MP selfie camera on the cover. These are certainly impressive specs for the Open in terms of cameras.

The OnePlus Open takes pretty good photos based on our testing so far. The colors are bright and vivid without being over the top like on some Samsung phones, and skin tones are pretty accurate. Portraits look good without edge detection messing things up, though sometimes the sky appears a bit blown-out or washed-out, and macros aren’t great. The selfie cameras are decent, though it does seem to use an airbrush effect by default that I’m not too fond of.

Google has a pretty solid reputation with its Pixel devices in terms of photography, and the Pixel Fold continues that tradition. On the rear, you have a 48MP main camera, a 10.8MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, and a 10.8MP ultrawide lens. The selfie camera on the inner display is 8MP, while the cover display has a 9.5MP camera.

While the specs certainly don’t look as impressive as those of the OnePlus Open, the Pixel Fold is still a great camera thanks to the post-processing done with the Tensor G2 chip. It does a great job of capturing accurate color temperature and range, making the images realistic and detailed. Portrait mode images may be a hit-or-miss, though, depending on how the software wants to do the edge detection for the scene.

Both phones also let you take high-quality selfies by using the rear cameras instead of the selfie ones. If you want good photos without much effort, then go with the Pixel Fold. But if you prefer better overall specs and more zoom capabilities, then go with the OnePlus Open. A lot of this comes down to personal preference, so we’re calling it a tie.

Winner: Tie

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: software and performance

The OnePlus Open packs in a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with 16GB RAM, which is also accelerated with OnePlus’ own proprietary RAM-Vita feature. It also has a source-focused heat dissipation system designed specifically for foldables to help keep the phone cooler and running smoothly.

The OnePlus Open comes equipped with OxygenOS 13.2, which is OnePlus’ customized version of Android 13. It also has the customized Open Canvas interface that was built to make multi-window efficiency on larger screens even better. Open Canvas lets you have up to three multiple windows open without being restricted to the physical size of the display. You can stretch and resize active windows as you see fit, even with secondary windows sliding in and out of the display on demand. Open Canvas also allows for a desktop-like taskbar with easy access to switch between your recent and preset applications. You can also save up to nine multi-app preset combos.

Google’s Pixel Fold uses the Tensor G2 chipset, along with 12GB RAM. It comes equipped with Android 13 out of the box,  but has since been updated to Android 14. Google has also optimized its apps for use with larger displays. However, a lot of third-party apps won’t look great on the Pixel Fold’s inner display since it defaults to a horizontal landscape position. As a result, many third-party apps will have black bars along the sides or just take up a small section of the screen.

Multitasking on the Pixel Fold is pretty basic compared to the OnePlus Open. With split-screen mode, you can have only two apps, so if you want more than two at a time, then the OnePlus Open does it better. The taskbar also isn’t persistent if you have the device set to gesture navigation, unlike on the OnePlus Open.

It’s also important to note that, like other Pixel phones, the Pixel Fold tends to get warm when you are doing more resource-intensive tasks. This also happened with the Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 7 Pro, which also use the Tensor G2.

Winner: OnePlus Open

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: battery and charging

OnePlus packed an impressive 4,805mAh battery into the OnePlus Open. Combine it with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, and you’ll get pretty good power efficiency to help the phone last at least a full day. The OnePlus Open also supports 67-watt SuperVOOC charging, which means the phone charges from 1% to 100% in about 42 minutes.

The Google Pixel Fold, on the other hand, is a little less impressive on this front. It has a 4,821mAh battery, which will last around a single day with heavy use. It also only charges around 30W, so going from 1% to 100% will take over 90 minutes.

Neither phone has reverse wireless charging, but the Google Pixel Fold does charge wirelessly.

Winner: OnePlus Open

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: price and availability

You can preorder the OnePlus Open starting on October 19, with wide availability beginning on October 26. It’ll be available directly from OnePlus, or you can get it from other retailers like Amazon. It only comes in one variant with 512GB storage and 16GB RAM for $1,700, though you can choose the Emerald Dusk or Voyager Black colors.

If you want to save some money, you can trade in any phone in any condition on OnePlus.com to get a guaranteed $200 off a OnePlus Open — bringing it down to at least $1,500. You’ll get more money off the purchase if it’s a newer trade-in. This offer is limited to one trade-in per purchase, and the offer is available the entire time the OnePlus Open is being sold, so it’s not just a one-time deal.

You can purchase the Google Pixel Fold right now from the Google Store, carrier stores, or big-box retailers starting at $1,799 for 256GB or $1,919 for 512GB. It comes in Obsidian or Porcelain colors.

OnePlus Open vs. Google Pixel Fold: verdict

Between the OnePlus Open and the Google Pixel Fold, the OnePlus Open is mostly the better pick. There’s a lot to like about the OnePlus Open — the displays are absolutely gorgeous, especially the inner display with the antireflective layer (it makes the phone so much more usable outdoors). And the cover display is actually a pretty usable size compared to other foldables on the market.

The cameras on the OnePlus Open are also very impressive, including the 48MP main, 48MP ultrawide, and 64MP telephoto with 3x optical, 6x in-sensor, and up to 120x Super Res zoom. I just wouldn’t depend on it for good macro shots. Battery life should be able to get through an entire day without issue, and the 67W fast charging won’t slow you down at all.

The biggest drawback of the OnePlus Open is the hinge design. If you don’t plan on using it in clamshell mode very often, then you should be fine. But if you want to prop it open on a table for hands-free use, you may be frustrated with the looser hinge that seems more designed to just keep it fully open rather than in clamshell. It’s great if you want to have it open flat easily, which is something that is annoying on the Pixel Fold.

Even with the annoying hinge design, it’s difficult not to be impressed by the OnePlus Open — especially when you factor in its more competitive price compared the Google Pixel Fold. Both phones are good foldable options, but it’s the OnePlus Open you should probably buy.