I really hope the OnePlus Open 2 isn’t dead for good

Look, I won’t lie — I’m really disappointed. The OnePlus Open wasn’t just a good foldable when it first launched in 2023. It was the best option, blowing Google’s rough-around-the-edges Pixel Fold out of the water and proving to Samsung that cover displays could actually be comfortable to use. We’ve seen how both Samsung and Google have responded to the Open’s success, and based on Galaxy Z Fold 7 rumors, the first OnePlus foldable continues to leave its mark on the industry. But without a successor, we could be looking at some serious foldable stagnation in North America.

The OnePlus Open felt like a revelation

And its successor was poised to feel the same

We don’t know all there is to know about the Oppo Find N5 just yet, but early impressions from this week suggests a pretty impressive phone. This thing is slim, even by the standards set by other Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Honor. At the same time, it continues to keep most of what worked about the original OnePlus Open (and its Oppo counterpart, the Find N3), including a Hasselblad-branded camera system. While we won’t know every detail about this phone until next week, everything seemed to suggest a pretty exciting blueprint for an eventual OnePlus launch.

Considering just how cutting edge the original Open was, that all makes sense. North America saw the launch of just three large-scale folding phones in 2023: Google’s Pixel Fold, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5, and the OnePlus Open. The Pixel Fold was an interesting attempt, but felt more like a beta product than something anyone should actually spend $1,800 on. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 closed the gap between its two halves, but failed to actually close the gap between the competition. Once OnePlus rolled in, it all felt over.

The OnePlus Open was slimmer than both of its rivals, and significantly lighter. Despite this, its internal display was larger than either the Pixel Fold or the Z Fold 5, and the 6.3-inch cover display felt ripped from any standard slab smartphone. It had excellent battery life, killer performance from its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and the best camera you could find on a folding phone at that time. Hell, I’d argue it’s at least on par with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s camera system, despite launching nearly a year earlier.

OxygenOS isn’t for everyone, but the decisions OnePlus made around multitasking remain the best on any foldable. There’s a simple reason the OnePlus 13 received Open Canvas this year: It’s a really smart way of using multiple apps at once on any device with a smaller display. I still vastly prefer the always-moving grid of windows offered by OxygenOS over One UI’s locked grid of tiny, little apps, or Google’s two-and-no-more approach taken on both of its folding phones so far.

Even minute details, like the anti-glare finish on the internal display, felt like a device that had faced a more thoughtful approach than most smartphones ever receive. At the end of the day, it was a fun phone to use, and it delivered a unique experience without having to drown everything in AI-related buzzwords. It’s still a phone I like quite a bit, even if it’s been replaced by newer rivals from Google and Samsung.

The OnePlus Open left behind a big impact

And that sense of competition is essential for North America

It didn’t take particularly long to see the impact OnePlus left on the market. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has far more in common with the OnePlus Open than it does with its direct predecessor, utilizing a similarly-sized cover display, aspect ratio, and hinge design. I’m all but sure this device was in the works prior to the Open’s launch, but clearly, Google saw a need to drop the look of its original Pixel Fold. And frankly, the aspects where Google differentiated itself from OnePlus — no anti-glare finish, a heavier overall chassis — remain my least-favorite aspects of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

The inspiration isn’t quite as obvious with Samsung, but it’s there. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 tried to keep the spirit of Samsung’s original design alive, retaining its ultra-tall cover display and mostly focusing on delivering a minor redesign to match the rest of the brand’s lineup. The Galaxy Z Fold Special — a device exclusive to China and South Korea — does seem to pull from OnePlus, though. A larger, squarer display; a more traditional cover screen; a thinner, lighter chassis. All of it seemed to scream influence from the Open.

And based on this week’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 rumors, it’s that design that is seeing a global launch this summer. Frankly, after years of watching Samsung make the bare minimum amount of changes possible to continue selling foldables, right down to launching an improved model exclusive to a region with real competition, I have to hand it to Google and OnePlus for delivering on some much-needed pressure. Without an Open 2, I’m just not sure that pressure can still exist in the same light.

Even setting aside the impact the OnePlus Open has left over the past year and a half on its competition, just missing out on a North American-friendly version of the Find N5 is enough to feel disappointed. As I said up top, every early preview suggests a really impressive gadget, and considering how much I liked the OnePlus 13, I was ready to dive headfirst into another OxygenOS-based foldable. Instead, we’ll have to keep holding our breath for, at minimum, another 12 months.

Still, there is hope. OnePlus says it’s not done with the form factor, and if I’m taking the company at its word, that’s promising. We’ve also seen other OEMs skip out on North America with certain launches, only to return bigger and better than ever after returning to the drawing board. Would 2023’s Razr+ been as well-received as it was if Motorola hasn’t kept the third-gen Razr as a China-exclusive? History has a habit of repeating itself, and I, for one, am hoping the Open 2 finally makes its grand debut sometime next year.