My first flip completely changed my opinion on foldables: this one was to blame

Folding mobile phones raise certain doubts in me, even though they leave me with good impressions after the analyses. Too expensive, thicker than usual, I can’t quite get the most out of the large interior screen. All the flexible screen mobile phones that fell into my hands were foldable, those that They go from being a mobile phone to a kind of tablet. Although I had contact with flips, I had not analyzed any in depth. It was time to remedy it.

Convenient folding and useful when unfolded

I can’t deny the obvious: The flip folding ones are really comfortable in their folded format; Not in vain do they reduce their height by half. Yes, it is true that they double the thickness and that this can be annoying when carrying them in your pockets, especially if the pants are tight, but they will always be much more comfortable than a fold. I can attest that I have worn both.

The greatest usefulness of a flip-type folding device is the convenience of transport and that, despite being small in size, it manages to transform into a “normal” smartphone when you operate on its hinge to unfold the two pieces of the phone. Once deployed There are no more drawbacks than the somewhat plastic feel of the screen and the ridge of the fold; which will be more or less pronounced depending on the model, always with the discomfort to the touch that comes with passing your finger over the area.

The OPPO Find N2 Flip meets the standards of the format: conveniently folded and useful when unfolded, its 6.8-inch diagonal allows complete and quality multimedia support. This also applies to the exterior screen, although with the logical annoyances of its smaller diagonal (3.26 inches).

When choosing a folding mobile phone, my recommendation tended to turn to the foldable ones because there was no obligation to unfold them to use them. Flips are attractive, they arouse interest and usually leave you speechless when they are displayed, but folded they offer no use. Or they offered, that this problem is being reversed.

So yes: when the external screen is really useful

I confess that my first days with the OPPO Find N2 Flip were not the best either, precisely because of the exterior screen: despite the fact that the position and ratio correspond to the panel of a more or less “normal” smartphone, the screen showed nothing more than a brief selection of widgets. Very brief. And pretty useless, in my opinion.

It is true that flip folding devices are quite comfortable to carry, but they should not emphasize that aspect as the only selling point; especially when the cost of a non-folding smartphone is usually much higher. And the update to ColorOS 14 changed my opinion completely, since OPPO took advantage of it to improve the use of the Find N2 Flip also when it is folded in half.

With the inclusion of the new widgets, and the navigation interface similar to that of a regular smartphone, it became very convenient for me to use the phone without having to unfold it. I read my important notifications, I can reply to Telegram messages directly from the external screen and even consult my mentions of Twitter X. Without displaying the cell phone, it seems brutal to me.

I had always avoided flips because of the limited use they offered when folded: I think that a foldable should maintain the basic use of a smartphone in its two operating states. And OPPO has taken the right step, Samsung also pointed in the same direction with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5; Even though responding to messages or consulting applications requires a configuration process. Even Motorola knew how to understand it with its Motorola Razr 40 Ultra.

It will still take us a while to see how the sales of folding smartphones compare to those of normal mobile phones, but I am convinced that that time will come. And, without a doubt, the key is in flip-type mobile phones: they are the ones with the greatest chance of becoming popular. Especially if they finally eliminate the main barrier of the exterior screen: Serve for much more than showing notifications or the clock.