Oppo Find N2 Flip review: Better than Z Flip 4?

Oppo neglected the premium smartphone market in India until the release of the Oppo Find X2 Pro in 2020. Now, the Oppo Find N2 Flip has been launched in India to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.

The Find N2 Flip is similar in formula and software features to Samsung but has a larger outer display, higher resolution cameras, bigger battery, and quicker charging. Will these features make it a worthy rival to Samsung? Let's find out.

Oppo Find N2 Flip Price in India

Oppo Find N2 Flip price in India starts from Rs 89999 which is the same price as its competition, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.

The Oppo N2 Flip is available in Astral Black and Moonlit Purple

Design

If you've had a chance to get your hands on a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, then you'll feel right at home with the Oppo Find N2 Flip. Weighing in at 191g, it's impressively lightweight and folds up into a compact package that should easily fit into your pocket. Despite being thicker than most smartphones when folded, there's no visible gap between the two halves, and during my few weeks with the device, I didn't notice any lint or dust entering the folding display.

I had the pleasure of using the Astral Black model, which boasts a sleek matte finish that doesn't attract fingerprints and feels great to the touch. If you prefer a bit more flair, the Moonlit Purple colour option has a glossy sheen that looks equally impressive

New Hinge Design

Oppo is touting its new Flexion hinge as a major feature of the Find N2 Flip. While I haven't had a chance to compare it side-by-side with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, I did notice that the crease on the inner display is still visible at certain angles and can be felt with a finger. However, the hinge is impressively durable, with TÜV Rheinland certification for over 400,000 cycles of folding and unfolding. Additionally, it holds its position at various angles between 45 and 110 degrees.

Display

When you close the Oppo Find N2, you'll immediately notice the impressive outer display. It's the largest one I've seen on a vertically folding smartphone, measuring 3.26 inches. With its AMOLED display and sharp resolution (720x382 pixels), you can enjoy up to 800 nits of brightness even in direct sunlight. Plus, the pre-applied screen protector is a nice touch. Thanks to its size, you can do more without having to unfold the phone every time.

But that's not all. Once you unfold the phone, you're greeted by a stunning 6.8-inch inner display. This one has a full-HD+ resolution (2520×1080 pixels), a 120Hz peak refresh rate, and can reach up to 1600 nits of brightness. The ultra-thin glass layer also ensures durability. The best part is that you can use the phone half-folded or at various angles, and certain apps will adjust accordingly. I can't wait to try it out myself!

Performance and Software

After using the Oppo Find N2 Flip as my primary smartphone for a week, I can confidently say that I had a great experience. The large cover screen was particularly practical, as I could easily send basic replies to messages, view notifications, and access essential phone features such as the camera and toggle switches without having to open the phone.

However, I felt like the outer screen was not fully utilised. It would have been excellent if I could compose replies in more apps like Gmail, either through voice or typing, and the ability to see turn-by-turn navigation in Google Maps or the results of a Google Assistant query on the cover screen would have been incredibly useful. I'm optimistic that Oppo will improve the functionality of the cover screen with future updates.

The phone runs ColorOS 13 based on Android 13, and it's set to receive four years of major updates and five years of security updates. The UI is pretty standard, but there are some special features tailored for the Flip. For instance, the 'Foldable feature' menu in the Settings app lets you customise the cover screen with your own images or one of five interactive pets. Each pet has 15 animations or actions that they perform when you tap on them. You can also customise which widgets you want on the cover screen and add your own quick reply templates. I'm excited to see what other customisation options this phone has to offer!

FlexForm Mode

Oppo's version of Samsung's Flex mode is called FlexForm mode, and it essentially rearranges the layout of certain apps when the phone is semi-folded. For example, in the YouTube app, the video frame enlarges to fill the upper half of the display while pushing comments and other UI elements to the lower half. Similarly, in the camera app, the viewfinder is displayed in the upper half while controls are placed in the lower half, and you can even switch these positions for better framing of a subject at an awkward angle.

Camera

The Oppo Find N2 Flip has cameras with Oppo's MariSilicon X chip and Hasselblad's colour tuning in Pro mode. The main rear camera has a 50MP sensor, while the ultra-wide camera has an 8MP sensor with no autofocus. The selfie camera has a 32MP sensor. The main camera captures good photos in daylight, while the ultra-wide camera struggles with detail and colours. Low-light images taken with the main camera are vivid and have good exposure, while the ultra-wide camera struggles.

Videos can be shot up to 4K 30fps, with good quality and stabilisation in daylight. However, low-light videos look heavily processed with weaker details and grain. The ultra-wide camera can only shoot up to 1080p, and the quality is weaker than the main camera.

Battery

The Oppo Find N2 Flip boasts impressive battery life. With moderate usage, the phone lasted over a day and had more than five and a half hours of screen-on time. In the HD video loop test, it ran for 17 hours and 39 minutes. The phone supports up to 44W fast charging and can charge up to 96 percent in an hour with its 80W adapter, although I was able to get up to 54 percent in just half an hour.

Oppo Find N2 Flip Verdict

The Oppo Find N2 Flip is a strong competitor to Samsung's folding phones, offering a more practical outer display, faster charging, and higher resolution primary camera. It also comes with more storage than the 256GB variant of Samsung's offering. However, it lacks official IP rating, wireless charging, and the ultra-wide camera is underwhelming. Moreover, the outer display is not fully utilised yet. Despite this, the launch of Oppo Find N2 Flip in India provides buyers with more options to choose from.