Foldable smartphones are slowly beginning to mature. From Samsung Galaxy's disastrous debut three years ago to its more robust third-generation sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G, the South Korean tech giant has slowly and incrementally fine-tuned its devices to a state where they are ready for public consumption.
This is not to say other companies have been twiddling their thumbs -- Microsoft released two poorly received foldables, called the Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2, while other smartphone makers too released their own attempts at foldables with varying degrees of success.
BBK Electronics-owned Oppo debuted its new foldable, the Find N, and by all accounts, it is a worthy opponent to Samsung's premium offering.
So, just how well do these two phones (or foldable tablets) stack up against each other? Let's find out
Price
Now the first thing that comes to mind whenever we see flashy technology is, "What does it cost?".
Well, the Oppo Find N is currently available only in China and starts at 7,699 yuan (around Rs 92,000) for the 8GB/256Gb variant and 8,999 yuan (around Rs 1,07,552.72) for the 12GB/512GB model.
In comparison, Samsung’s latest foldable makes a slightly bigger dent in your finances -- the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G's 12GB/256GB variant is priced at an eye-watering Rs 1,49,999, and the 12GB/512GB version costs Rs8,000 more.
Features and Specifications
So now we come to the nuts and bolts of it -- what is under each phone's flashy, pretty hood?
Fully opened, Oppo Find N comes with a 7.1-inch 370 ppi screen with resolution of 1792x1920. When folded, it sports a 5.49-inch touchscreen cover display with a resolution of 988x1972 with a pixel density of 402 ppi.
For its part, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G boasts of a taller yet narrower screen and body. The device comes with a 7.6-inch expanded display at a 1768x2208 resolution. The cover display clocks in at 6.2 inches at 832x2268.
Both devices are powered by the same SoC (system on chip), the Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G. The octa-core processor comes with the Adreno 660 GPU onboard. The Find N runs the Android 11 OS-based ColourOS 12, while the same time Fold3 5G comes with Android 11 out of the box, but can be upgraded to Android 12 OS.
Cameras
These days, the camera modules in smartphones have become major talking points. Even to the tech-illiterate, those megapixels matter. A lot.
The Find N comes with a triple lens setup in the rear -- a 50MP primary lens, a 16MP secondary lens and a 13MP lens playing third fiddle. For all your selfies, the front camera is loaded with a hefty 32MP sensor.
Now as for the Fold3, it too has three lenses on the rear, all clocking in at 12 megapixels. On front, the device comes with a 10MP primary lens and a secondary 4MP lens.
Miscellaneous
Perhaps one of the biggest draws to the Samsung Galaxy Fold3 5G is the fact that while it does not come with a smart pen (Samsung likes to call it the S Pen), it does support both Samsung's S Pen ‘Fold Edition' and the new S Pen Pro. Additionally, Samsung has had a longer time to tweak the OS and UI of its flip phone to make sure the Galaxy Fold3 5G offers a superior user experience.
Also read: What exactly is a foldable phone, explained
(Edited by : Vijay Anand)
First Published: Dec 29, 2021 8:09 PM IST
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