The Oppo Find N2 Flip launched in South Africa at the end of March 2023, bringing another foldable offering to the market. 

With a larger cover screen than last year’s Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, the device was sure to attract the attention of clamshell foldable fans. 

But how does the device measure up in everyday usage? Here’s my review of the Oppo Find N2 Flip…

Oppo Find N2 Flip features

The Find N2 Flip is a clamshell foldable, meaning it opens and closes like a compact mirror. This differs from the book format of foldables, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series. 

The phone comes with several notable features. This includes a 3.26-inch display on the cover that you can use while the device is folded shut. This screen allows you to see notifications and use certain widgets. 

Since its release, competitors have launched devices with larger cover screens, such as the Galaxy Z Flip 5. 

But the Find N2 Flip still remains a compelling offering. It unfolds to reveal a 6.8-inch AMOLED foldable display, with a slight crease in the display where the hinge folds. 

It also features capable hardware, including a 50MP main camera lens and a 32MP selfie camera. It is powered by 8GB of RAM and a MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chipset.

You can see a summary of its specs below: 

• Main display: 6.8 inch FHD+(2520×1080) AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate
• Cover display: 3.26 inch (720×382) display with 60Hz refresh rate
• Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 9000+
• Main camera: 50MP main lens + 8MP ultra-wide lens
• Selfie camera: 32MP
• Battery: 4300mAh
• RAM: 8GB
• On-board storage: 256GB

But what about how the device looks and performs in person? 

Design 

The Find N2 Flip has one of my favourite takes on the clamshell foldable format. It feels robust, while still remaining lightweight and compact. 

The 3.26-inch cover screen is large enough to be functional, without being so large that it becomes another screen you have to constantly worry about scratching. That said, it does come with an already applied screen protector to give you peace of mind.

It’s a welcome addition considering so many premium brands have scaled back on what comes with the device, such as covers, screen protectors, and charging adaptors. The Oppo Find N2 Flip comes with all of these.

The device feels incredibly good to hold. A textured back cover on the Astral Black version makes it stand out from other foldables on the market, as well as smartphones in general. 

The smartphone also shuts very easily, giving you some of that satisfying flip phone nostalgia. However, there is some resistance when it comes to opening the device and you can’t really easily do it one-handed. 

With the screen unfolded and on, the crease doesn’t feel as noticeable, though if you’re looking for it you can easily find it. 

Overall it’s a good-looking and well-designed device. 

How useful is the cover display? 

The cover display is a great size for multiple use cases. I mostly used it for taking photos with the main 50MP camera while the phone is closed. I could clearly preview the image using the cover screen as a viewfinder, and the results came out extremely well. 

The cover screen also has a digital pet feature, which is great for those who like cute additions to their tech. It also makes the cover screen more interesting than simply showing a clock. 

Another benefit of the clamshell format is that you can use the lower half of the device as a stand, so you don’t need a tripod. However, this mostly only works with flat surfaces.

You can also use the cover screen for quick replies to messages. In the cover screen settings, you can adjust these replies. 

While there are a few widgets, such as the weather and calendar widget, that work with the cover screen; I do wish there were more widgets available, especially for apps like Spotify.

Find N2 Flip camera

To use the 50MP high-resolution lens, you do have to switch the setting for high-resolution images. 

But even if you’re not on the high res mode the phone takes great photos. Images are detailed, with great saturation. It performs particularly well in well-lit scenarios, both for general images and macro images.

When using portrait mode on the selfie camera, the phone did a good job of blurring the background and highlighting the subject. However, I did find I preferred to use the phone’s main camera due to the better balance of colour and exposure.

In challenging lighting situations, such as low light or extremely bright light, the camera does struggle a bit more to balance everything out. But it does an admirable job. 

If you’re mostly snapping pictures for social media and selfies, the Oppo Find N2 Flip performs very well. 

Oppo Find N2 Flip battery life

Often people are concerned about the battery life of foldables due to the need to use dual batteries. The Oppo Find N2 Flip’s total battery capacity is split between a 3110mAh battery and a 1190mAh battery. 

So how does the phone last when it comes to regular and moderate usage? 

The phone lasts well and will last you through the working day. 

When put through a PCMark for Android battery test, at 50% brightness, the phone lasted 13 hours and 18 minutes. This means that it took that long to run through a series of back-to-back tasks from 100% battery to 20% battery. 

This is just over 3 hours longer than the Galaxy Z Flip 4 lasted during the same test when I reviewed it.

Your experience will vary depending on how much you’re downloading when using the device, signal strength, and screen brightness.

So while the phone doesn’t offer the battery life of a large device like the S23 Ultra, it can easily get you through the day. 

It also supports 44W charging, which is incredibly convenient. This charges up the device quickly and you can reach 50% charge within 23 minutes. 

Performance

You’ll have a smooth experience while using the Oppo Find N2 Flip, thanks to its processing power and 120Hz refresh rate. 

I did have a few hiccups using the fingerprint sensor, but when I registered my fingerprint again, it performed better. 

In a PCMark for Android performance test, the phone scored 12,969 points. This represents good performance and puts it in a similar performance range to the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S21, and OnePlus 11. 

Overall the device and UI are very responsive and perform capably. 

Review verdict: Is the Oppo Find N2 Flip worth it?

The phone is great-looking, capable, and easy to use. Its biggest drawback is its price. At R29,999; it is very pricey and costs well above the Galaxy Flip 4 (though it is the same price as the newer Galaxy Flip 5). 

But as Liam Faurie, Head of Go-To-Market and Operations at Oppo South Africa, said in an interview with Tech Valkryie, the company’s goal is not to undercut competitors but to bring diverse offerings to the local market. 

In this case, the Find N2 Flip succeeds. It’s different enough from competitors to attract interest, it’s well-designed, and it performs well. 

If you’re looking for a standout foldable, the Find N2 Flip achieves this. But if you’re looking for a more affordable device, you might want to check out older foldable smartphones.