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The OnePlus Open is the company’s very first smartphone, and it actually launched quite recently. In this article, we’ll compare the OnePlus Open vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. These are basically both flagship-grade foldable smartphones, but they are quite different. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 arrived a couple of months ago, but it’s running the same SoC, in a different shell, though.
Both of these smartphones are book-style foldables, but despite that fact, a lot of detail differentiates them. Ranging from the in-hand feel, build materials, aspect ratios, and so on. We’ll kick things off by listing their specifications, and will then move to compare them across a number of other categories. We’ll compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio performance.
Specs
OnePlus Open & Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, respectively
– Screen size (main):
7.82-inch LTPO 3 AMOLED display (120Hz, Dolby Vision, 2,800 nits)
7.6-inch Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X display (120Hz, HDR10+, 1,750 nits)
– Screen Size (cover):
6.31-inch OLED (120Hz, 2,800 nits)
6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (120Hz, 1,750 nits)
– Display resolution (main):
2268 x 2440
1812 x 2176
– Display resolution (cover):
2484 x 1116
2316 x 904
– SoC:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
– RAM:
16GB (LPDDR5X)
12GB (LPDDR5X)
– Storage:
512GB (UFS 4.0)
256GB/512GB/1TB (UFS 4.0)
– Rear cameras:
48MP (wide, f/1.7 aperture, multi-directional PDAF, OIS), 48MP (ultrawide, 114-degree FoV), 64MP (periscope telephoto, 3x optical zoom, 6x “in-sensor” zoom, macro)
50MP (wide, f/1.8 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF OIS), 12MP (ultrawide, 123-degree FoV), 10MP (telephoto, 3x optical zoom)
– Front cameras:
20MP (main display, f/2.2 aperture), 32MP (cover display, f/2.4 aperture)
4MP (under display, main display, f/1.8 aperture), 10MP (cover display, f/2.2 aperture)
– Battery:
4,805mAh
4,400mAh
– Charging:
67W wired (charger included)
25W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless (no charger)
– Dimensions (unfolded):
153.4 x 143.1 x 5.8mm
154.9 x 129.9 x 6.1mm
– Dimensions (folded):
153.4 x 73.3 x 11.7mm
154.9 x 67.1 x 13.4mm
– Weight:
239/245 grams
253 grams
– Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.3
– Security:
Side-facing fingerprint scanner
– OS:
Android 13 with ColorOS
Android 13 with One UI
– Price:
$1,699
$1,799+
– Buy:
Best Buy
Samsung
OnePlus Open vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: Design
Both of these phones are book-style foldables, though as mentioned earlier, there are quite a few differences here. In fact, many people would agree the OnePlus Open has an advantage from a design standpoint. Its outer display has a 20:9 aspect ratio, the Galaxy Z Fold 5’s is much narrower (23.1:9 ratio). That makes the phone quite narrow. The OnePlus Open also has larger displays in general, both of them, and a less visible crease.
The OnePlus Open is made out of metal and glass/vegan leather, depending on what variant you end up getting. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 combines metal with glass. Both phones have a display camera hole on the outer display, while the OnePlus Open has one on the inner one too. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 keeps the camera under its main panel. Both devices have fairly thin bezels around their displays.
They’re also quite different when you look at their back sides. The OnePlus Open includes a large camera oreo on the back, hosting three cameras. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 has three cameras too, but in a vertical orientation, and they take up less space. The OnePlus Open will wobble less on the table, when folded, in case you were wondering. Both phones look very nice overall, it’s all a matter of personal preference. The OnePlus Open’s model with a vegan leather backplate (the black one) is considerably less slippery, though.
Both smartphones offer protection against rain. The OnePlus Open has an IPX4 rating, while the Galaxy Z Fold 5 offers an IPX8 rating, which is better. OnePlus’ foldable is slightly shorter, considerably wider, and also thinner in both folded and unfolded orientations. It’s actually considerably thinner when folded, and also lighter. The OnePlus Open weighs 239 or 245 grams, depending on the variant, while the Galaxy Z Fold 5 weighs 253 grams.
OnePlus Open vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: Display
The main display on the OnePlus Open measures 7.82 inches. That panel offers a resolution of 2268 x 2440 pixels, and it’s a foldable LTPO 3 AMOLED display. It can project up to 1 billion colors, has Dolby Vision support, and goes from 1-120Hz in terms of refresh rate. This panel can also get immensely bright at up to 2,800 nits, and it has UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) on top. The second display on the phone measures 6.31 inches, and it has a resolution of 2484 x 1116. That is also an LTPO 3 OLED display, and has the same brightness as the main panel. Its refresh rate goes from 10 to 120Hz. A Ceramic Guard protection is included on top of it.
The main display on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 measures 7.6 inches. It has a resolution of 2176 x 1812, and it’s a Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with up to a 120Hz refresh rate. HDR10+ content is supported here. This panel has a max brightness of 1,750 nits. The cover display on the phone measures 6.2 inches, and it has a resolution of 2316 x 904. This is also a Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. It is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 by Corning.
All displays across these phones are really good. They are vivid, sharp, and have good viewing angles, and deep blacks. The thing is, the OnePlus Open has several advantages. Both of its displays get considerably brighter than the ones on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. On top of that, its outer display has a normal smartphone aspect ratio, and it’s much easier to type on. The third advantage comes in the form of the crease, it’s much less noticeable on the OnePlus Open’s main panel. Some people may prefer the extremely narrow cover display on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, sure, but chances are most will not, mainly due to typing.
OnePlus Open vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: Performance
Both of these smartphones are fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 does come with a version that is clocked a bit higher, but they’re basically the same. Both phones also offer LPDDR5X RAM, but OnePlus’ handset has more to offer in that regard. It offers 16GB of RAM, while the Galaxy Z Fold 5 offers 12GB. The OnePlus Open also offers 512GB of UFS 4.0 flash storage as a standard. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 starts at 256GB, but it goes all the way up to 1TB, and it also offers UFS 4.0 flash storage.
In case you’re worried about performance, don’t be, as both smartphones offer outstanding performance. They’re extremely smooth, even when it comes to heavier multitasking. Both of them can skip a heartbeat or two when you’re really pushing them, but any phone can. The point is, they perform great, even if you’re gaming. Yes, they both can handle the most demanding games on the Play Store, with ease.
Both of them have a number of software tricks to take advantage of their huge displays. Split screen is available on both, you’ll also find a very useful dock at the bottom on both phones, though that dock is used a bit differently. The OnePlus Open even has a new, innovative way of multitasking, where it keeps three apps on your screen, but one of them takes the majority of the display, per default. They automatically adapt when you want all three to be in focus (fully opened on the screen), and you do have control regarding that. It’s surprisingly easy to multitask this way, and more companies should take advantage of the idea.
OnePlus Open vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: Battery
There is a 4,805mAh battery included in the OnePlus Open, while a 4,400mAh battery sits inside the Galaxy Z Fold 5. It is worth saying that the Fold 5 has slightly smaller displays. In regards to battery life, the OnePlus Open fairs better, at least it did for us. The difference is quite considerable too. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 was barely able to get to 7 hours of screen-on time, it usually flew below that point. The OnePlus Open, on the other hand, can get past the 9-hour mark, we even managed to push it past the 10-hour mark, barely.
Now, do note that if you push any of these two phones heavily, the battery life will be noticeably lower. You can do that with every phone. We did not exactly baby either phone, but these numbers have been recorded on days without gaming, just to keep things fair. We did multitasking plenty, taking pictures, browsing the internet, consuming multimedia, and so on. Basically anything a regular user would do. Short tethering spans of tethering and music streaming were also included, while one accessory was constantly connected via Bluetooth (a smartwatch). Your mileage may vary, though, of course, due to different usage, and so on.
What about charging? Well, each of the two phones has its advantage in this regard. The OnePlus Open supports 67W wired charging, and no wireless charging, but it has a charger in the box. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is limited to 25W wired charging and it doesn’t have a charger in the box. It does, however, support 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.
OnePlus Open vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: Cameras
The OnePlus Open has a 48-megapixel main camera OIS, multi-directional PDAF, f/1.7 aperture, 1.12um double-stacked sensor), a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera (f/2.2 aperture, PDAF, 114-degree FoV, macro), and a 64-megapixel telephoto unit (f/2.6 aperture, 3x optical zoom, 6x “in-sensor” zoom, OIS, PDAF). The Galaxy Z Fold 5, on the other hand, includes a 50-megapixel main camera (OIS, Dual Pixel PDAF, f/1.8 aperture), a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera (f/2.2 aperture, 123-degree FoV, 1.12um pixel size), and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (f/2.4 aperture, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom).
The images these two phones take are considerably different, though both do a good job. The OnePlus Open clearly has a better camera setup on the back, and it does reflect on the final product too. The phone provides really nice-looking and sharp photos, with excellent colors, thanks to Hasselblad. The images can be a bit too dark at times, but for the most part, they’re excellent. That actually goes for the ultrawide camera too, which shoots not only great ultrawide photos, but good macro shots as well. We found that the telephoto camera on the phone is also more useful than the one on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, though out of the three cameras, you’ll see the least difference in that regard.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 loves to add plenty of saturation to its shots, which makes them look off in comparison with what the OnePlus Open offers. That’s especially obvious when you shoot people, as the color of their skin tends to be wrong quite often, especially if the sun is included in the equation. Other than that, the photos do end up looking quite good, though most of the time the OnePlus Open will provide a better photo. That goes for low light images too, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 tends to go a bit overboard when it comes to brightening up scenes, the photos from the OnePlus Open do look a bit more natural. The colors in low light are also excellent. Video recording is good on both, but not the best out there.
Audio
The OnePlus Open includes three speakers, while the Galaxy Z Fold 5 includes two. Both sets of speakers provide good audio quality, but the ones on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 are louder, despite the fact the phone has one less speaker.
Neither phone includes an audio jack. If you would like to connect your wired headphones, you’ll need to use a dongle. Alternatively, you can use wireless headphones, as both phones offer Bluetooth 5.3 support.