The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a great foldable, but part of that is definitely because there’s been no meaningful competition until now. And that new rival comes in the form of the Oppo Find N.
Oppo’s first-ever foldable, announced at the company’s Inno Day event, offers impressive credentials, and on paper beats the Z Fold 3 in several areas. Unfortunately, the Find N is only available in China for now.
However, it’s certainly worth comparing the two phones, as they’ve got slightly different takes on the book-style foldable design. Read on for an in-depth Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3 comparison.
Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3: specs
| Oppo Find N | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 | |
| Inner Display | 7.1 inches (1920 x 1792) 120Hz | 7.6 inches (2208 x 1768) 120Hz |
| Outer Display | 5.49 inches (1972 x 988) 60Hz | 6.2 inches (2268 x 832) 120Hz |
| Rear cameras | 50MP (f/1.8) main, 16MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 13MP (f/2.4) 2x telephoto | 12MP wide (f/1.8); 12MP ultrawide (f.2.2); 12MP 2x telephoto (f/2.4) |
| Front cameras | Outer punch-hole/ Inner punch-hole: 32MP (f/2.4) | Outer punch-hole: 10MP (f/2.2) | inner under-display: 4MP (f/1.8) |
| Processor | Snapdragon 888 | Snapdragon 888 |
| RAM | 8GB/12GB | 12GB |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB | 256GB/512GB |
| Battery | 4,500 mAh | 4,400 mAh |
| Charging | 33W wired, 15W wireless | 25W wired, 11W wireless |
| Size | Unfolded: 5.2 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches | Folded: 5.2 x 2.9 x 0.6 inches | Unfolded: 6.2 x 5 x 0.25 inches | Folded: 6.2 x 2.6 x 0.56 to 0.62 inches |
| Weight | 9.7 ounces | 9.55 ounces |
Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3: price and availability
The Z Fold 3 starts at $1,799/£1,599, which while cheaper than the previous Galaxy Z Fold 2, is still substantially more expensive than a typical $1,000/$1,000 flagship phone.
Oppo has priced the Find N at 7,699 yuan (about $1,210 converted). For comparison, the Z Fold 3 sells for 14,999 yuan through Samsung’s Chinese website, so it’s certainly far cheaper. At that price, it’s more comparable to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, which sells for 7,599 yuan but is a much smaller foldable.
Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3: design
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 sets the standard for foldable design. It takes Samsung’s design cues, such as a rounded rectangular camera bump, central punch-hole selfie camera, rounded corners and slightly curved side rails, and stretches it out across the foldable chassis. The only major trade-off is the under-display fingerprint sensor, which has been replaced by one mounted on the power button on the side of the phone. You can buy it in either silver, black or green colors.
The Oppo Find N differs in a couple of interesting ways. For one, it’s got curved edges, making it in theory more comfortable to hold than the harder-edged Z Fold 3. It also copies the camera block design of the Oppo Find X3 Pro, which has the sensors rise smoothly from the rest of the back panel. It’s a unique look, and even more so for a foldable. It’s available in either white, black or purple colors.
Crucially, Oppo seems to have figured out how to remove the display crease. Its “Flexion Hinge” uses a waterdrop-shaped cavity to store the display, which the company says (citing tech certification group TÜV) promises to eliminate the appearance of the display crease by 80%. In side-by-side images of the two phones we’ve seen (such as the one below posted by IceUniverse), this claim appears to be accurate. The hinge design also allows the Find N to close completely flat, unlike the Z Fold 3, which leaves a small gap between the two halves of the display when shut.
Both the Oppo and Samsung foldables offer the ability to open their hinges to any angle between open and shut, known as “Flex Mode” on the Z Fold 3 and “FlexForm” on the Find N. You can use this to stand the phones up with their display at a 90-degree angle, which can be useful for watching video, taking photos, or even for typing on in the style of a small laptop keyboard.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is rated as IPx8 water-resistant, which is a great guarantee to have in case you drop the foldable in some water or try to use it in the rain. The Find N doesn’t have such a rating, but Oppo does promise the phone’s resistant to low amounts of moisture.
Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3: displays
Both foldables use a smaller external display as well as main internal displays, but they go about it in different ways.
On the Z Fold 3, you get a 6.2-inch external display and a 7.6-inch internal one. Both of these feature adaptive 120Hz refresh rates. Oppo uses a smaller 5.49-inch outer display and a 7.1-inch inner display on the Find N. Only the inside screen offers an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate though.
The more noticeable difference with the Find N is its screen ratio. The phone is quite a bit shorter than the Z Fold 3, as its inside screen is designed to have a familiar landscape orientation. The Z Fold 3’s inside display is more square, which often doesn’t suit apps designed for rectangular smartphone or tablet screens.
For materials, both Samsung and Oppo have gone for ultra-thin glass (UTG) for their internal displays. Despite the name, this isn’t as tough as the regular glass you’d find on a non-folding phone, but it is the secret sauce that allows the display to bend back and forth without breaking.
Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3: cameras
The Z Fold 3 offers five total cameras: 12MP main, ultrawide and 2x telephoto cameras on the back, a 10MP punch-hole selfie camera on the front, and a 4MP under-display camera on the inside.
The Find N does things differently. It offers a 50MP main camera, a 16MP ultrawide camera and a 13MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom on the back. There are then two more punch-hole cameras on the inside and outside displays for taking selfies.
Both phones make use of their extra displays to offer unique photo-taking experiences. You can use either side of either phone as a viewfinder when taking photos, meaning you can take selfies using the more powerful rear cameras instead of the normal ones embedded in the displays.
Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3: performance
Here’s the area where there’s the smallest difference between these two phones. Both are equipped with the Snapdragon 888 chipset, the most powerful chip currently found in Android phones (until the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 starts entering the market on handsets).
Both phones differ when it comes to memory. The Z Fold 3 offers 12GB RAM and 256GB storage by default, with 512GB available for another $100. The base Find N features 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, with 1,300 yuan extra letting you upgrade to Z Fold 3-matching 12GB RAM and 512GB storage.
Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3: battery and charging
The Z Fold 3 has a 4,400 mAh total battery capacity. The Find N offers a 4,500 mAh total battery capacity, plus it offers an efficiency advantage by using smaller displays and only offering one with a 120Hz refresh rate. You can’t judge effective battery life from these specs alone, but we’d wager that the Find N has the advantage here.
The Find N has a much more substantial lead when it comes to charging. Oppo is famed for its fast charging tech, and while the 33W wired/15W wireless charging system of the Find N doesn’t match up to its standard flagship phones, it’s still a lot faster than the 25W wired/11W wireless charging offered by the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Oppo also includes a charger in the box, something that Samsung doesn’t do.
Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3: software and special features
Here’s the reason why you shouldn’t import a Find N, even if money is no object. As it’s a China-only phone, Oppo hasn’t equipped its foldable with Google Mobile Services, meaning all your favorite Google apps, including the Play Store, are unavailable unless you start downloading the APK files yourself. It’s nowhere near as straightforward as the Z Fold 3, which uses Google services and the Play Store just like you’d expect.
The Z Fold 3 works with specific S Pen styluses, allowing you to make use of the large internal screen like a regular tablet. You can also split up to three apps across the internal screen simultaneously, and enable a static app dock that you can use that’s similar to Windows.
The Find N also focuses on multiple app use at once. However, Oppo boasts of making it easier for users to start this up, requiring only a downward swipe with two fingers on the middle of the screen to divide it in half, or a four-finger pinch to open up a floating app window above your current main app.
Both phones offer other useful enhancements designed to make their multi-screen designs more practical. You can move apps between displays just by opening or closing the phones, and both foldables offer split keyboard layouts when open, to make it simpler to type with your hands holding either side of the larger display.
Oppo Find N vs Galaxy Z Fold 3: outlook
Because the Oppo Find N isn’t being solid in the U.S. or U.K., the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 remains the default choice. But say that wasn’t an issue, or if Oppo were to change its mind and launch the Find N globally next year — how would that change things?
You get more display for your money with the Z Fold 3, both in terms of size and the fact it offers high refresh rates both inside and outside. Plus, it has the advantage of stylus compatibility, Google apps and higher default specs. But the Find N is superior in other ways.
The Oppo Find N has a more practical form factor, costs almost half as much, charges faster and features better cameras (on paper). It’s the competitor the phone market so desperately needs to show Samsung it can’t have the foldables segment to itself, so it’s a shame that only Chinese users will be able to try it out.
We hope that Oppo decides to release the Find N globally despite what it’s currently saying, or at least that the Find N2 will ship internationally to take on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Right now, though, the Z Fold 3 remains the top foldable.
