OnePlus will challenge Samsung next week with most ambitious phone launch ever

If you haven't been tempted to take the leap and get your first foldable smartphone yet, there’s a new challenger entering the ring to take the fight to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Google Pixel Fold. OnePlus has just confirmed its first ever foldable is called the OnePlus Open, and it will launch on 19 October.

Excitingly, OnePlus is describing the new device as a ‘flagship phone’, so though details are still underwraps, it should be a powerful premium Android phone rather than a mid-range foldable. It's definitely coming to the UK, as you can already pay a deposit with OnePlus to secure your very own OnePlus Open, with money off the full price and a free pair of OnePlus Buds Pro 2.

The OnePlus Open has been teased in the above image, which clearly shows a device with the alert slider, the OnePlus fan favourite switch that can quickly set the phone to silent, vibrate, or ring. It looks like this will be a book-style foldable that opens - hence the name - to show a larger inner screen. Though it’s unconfirmed, we expect there will be an outer screen too, much like on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 for use when the phone is folded shut.

The phone will be unveiled in Mumbai, India, on 19 October, with an event kicking off at 3pm UK time. You should be able to watch a live stream given OnePlus is promoting the time of the launch, where you should be able to discover the full specs and features of the OnePlus Open, how much it will cost, and when exactly you can buy one.

Then again, book-style foldables are usually very expensive - the Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold are both an eye watering £1,749. We’ll have to wait and see if OnePlus can undercut that.

“The OnePlus Open is the dream smartphone, set to break the compromise between display technology, imaging performance, and weight that has become the status quo for existing foldable devices,” said Kinder Liu, President and COO of OnePlus.

Liu also said the OnePlus Open has “an imperceptible screen crease” - a bold claim given Samsung’s folding phones still have visible creases in them that you can also easily feel. If OnePlus has solved this foldable pain point, it could make for a very tempting phone indeed.

We are hoping the phone can bring together the best bits from foldables and improve upon their downsides, such as build quality and camera performance. OnePlus needs a bit of a hit, and the OnePlus Open might prove to be it.

You can check out full details of the OnePlus Open launch on OnePlus’ website, and even pay a deposit now to secure your own.