Oppo Find N2 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: How do they compare?

Oppo is a relative newcomer to the folding phone market having only launched its first consumer flexible smartphone in 2021, but it entered with a bang, delivering a product that was quite unique. Right at the end of 2022, it delivered another in the Find N2, bringing a refined design and higher performance levels than its predecessor. 

It's entering a market that's slowly becoming more competitive, but there's no denying that it's up against some stiff competition, specifically from Samsung. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the most recent premium folding phone from Samsung, and - in many ways - is seen as the trendsetter and market leader in the book-style folding phone category. So exactly how does Oppo's 2022 Oppo Find N2 compare? Read on to find out. 

Design and build

• Find N2: 132.2 x 140.5 x 7.4mm (unfolded)
• Fold 4: 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3mm (unfolded)
• Find N2: 132.2 x 72.6 x 14.6mm (folded)
• Fold 4: 155.1 x 67.1 x 14.2-15.8mm (folded)
• Find N2: 233 grams - Aluminium, Gorilla Glass Victus/Vegan Leather
• Fold 4: 263 grams - Armour Aluminium, Gorilla Glass Victus+ - IPX8 water resistance

There's no denying that it's in the design that these two show the biggest differences and - seemingly - the biggest similarities. 

Both are horizontal folding phones with a rigid glass display on the outside and a larger flexible display on the side. Both phones are also predominantly made from aluminium and glass, although the black Oppo Find N2 does feature a vegan leather back. 

Samsung's phone features a newer version of Gorilla Glass Victus than Oppo's, for slightly better durability, but also has IPX8 water resistance, whereas Oppo's doesn't have any official rating against moisture or dust. 

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They are very different devices to look at and hold, however. The Fold 4 is much taller than the Oppo, and a solid 30 grams heavier. That means the Find N is the more portable, pocketable and palm-friendly of the two phones. The compactness and lightness definitely work in its favour. 

One more design and build element that works in Oppo's favour is the design of the hinge and the flexible display. The phone folds completely flush, leaving no gap near the hinge. The display rolls inside the hinge to allow this and - in doing so - means you don't get an obvious, visible crease as you do on the Samsung phone. 

External/Cover displays

• Find N2: 5.54-inch AMOLED - 120Hz
• Fold 4: 6.2-inch AMOLED - 120Hz
• Find N2: 1080 x 2120 - 18:9 ratio
• Fold 4: 904 x 2316 - 23.1:9 ratio 

There's huge appeal in Oppo's approach to the external or cover display. If only because it's got a much more standard aspect ratio. At 18:9, and with its relatively small 5.54-inch diagonal size, it's a lot easier to use for everyday tasks than the Samsung. 

The Z Fold 4, by comparison, is a lot narrower and longer, featuring a 23.1:9 ratio 6.2-inch screen. It's perfectly usable, but just not as single-hand-friendly. 

Both phones feature fast and smooth displays on the front, with both devices capable of reaching up to 120Hz. They're bright, vivid and colourful AMOLED displays too. 

Of the two, it's the Oppo's which is more useful for watching videos, browsing social media and responding to messages. It feels like using any regular smartphone's display, so doesn't take much adjustment if you're switching. 

Internal/main displays and software

• Find N2: 7.1-inch foldable LTPO AMOLED - 120Hz
• Fold 4: 7.6-inch foldable LTPO AMOLED - 120Hz
• Find N2: 1792 x 1920 - 370ppi - HDR10+ - 1550 nits peak
• Fold 4: 1812 x 2176 - 373ppi - HDR10+ - 1200 nits peak
• Find N2: ColorOS 13 based on Android 13
• Fold 4: One UI 5 based on Android 12L (upgradeable to Android 13)

The Galaxy Z Fold 4's additional height means that its main, internal folding display is much bigger than the Oppo's. At 7.6-inches diagonally (versus 7.1-inches) it offers a more expansive canvas. 

Both offer similar performance, however. The two phones offer 120Hz adaptive refresh rates for smooth animation, and both are HDR10+ certified with high peak brightness. 

Samsung's phone can reach up to 1200 nits, whereas Oppo can manage 1550mAh outdoors in bright daylight. 

Due to their differing aspect ratios, you don't get the same resolution on both, but looking at them side-by-side they certainly look very similar in terms of sharpness. And that's because there's very little in this. With 373 pixels per inch, the Oppo has a few more pixels in every inch of the screen than the Samsung, which has 370 pixels per inch. 

Both phones - of course - run Android. However, Oppo's is launching with Android 13 out of the box, with Oppo's own ColorOS skin running on top. Samsung launched with Android 12L but is rolling out Android 13 to its users currently. 

The two companies have slightly different approaches to optimising the software for flexible displays, but each has its version of a 'Flex' mode of sorts where main visuals move to the top of the display and controls shift to the bottom when the phone is set at an angle.

Samsung's phone also has the advantage of being compatible with the company's S Pen stylus and has the optimised software to make the most of that for annotating, scribbling, handwriting and marking up images and documents. 

Hardware and performance

• Both: Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
• Find N2: 12GB/256GB or 16GB/512GB
• Fold 4: 12GB/256GB, 12GB/512GB or 12GB/1TB
• Find N2: 4520mAh battery - 67W SuperVOOC wired charging
• Fold 4: 4400mAh battery - 25W wired charging - 15W wireless charging

We suspect in real everyday performance and speed there will be little to separate these two phones, if only because the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor can be found running the show in both devices. 

The two phones also come with plenty of RAM, with a minimum of 12GB on both. However, Oppo's higher storage model comes with an additional 4GB, taking it up to 16GB. 

Batteries are similar too, with the 4520mAh in the Oppo slightly outdoing the Samsung with its 4400mAh cell. Find N2 does ramp things up a notch when it comes to fast charging though. It's equipped with 67W SuperVOOC charging, and can completely refill in about 35 minutes. 

Samsung's phone can manage up to 25W speeds, but only if you have the right charger (which doesn't ship in the box). Samsung does have another trick up its sleeve though: wireless charging. It just adds a level of convenience to proceedings. 

Cameras

• Find N2: 50MP primary, 48MP ultrawide, 32MP telephoto 2x zoom
• Fold 4: 50MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto 3x zoom
• Find N2: 4K/60fps video and FHD/240fps slow-mo
• Fold 4: 8K/24fps, 4K/60fps and FHD/240fps slow-mo
• Find N2: Two punch-hole 32MP selfie cameras
• Fold 4: 4MP under-display and 10MP selfie cover camera

Although their exact sensor makeup and image processing is different, and will certainly lead to slightly different-looking images, the two phones do have similar camera systems. 

Both feature a triple camera system on the back with a primary camera joined by an ultrawide and a telephoto zoom. Samsung has a slight edge, in that its zoom goes up to 3x optical, whereas Oppo reaches 2x optical. 

There's a very different approach to selfie cameras from each. Oppo went the simple route and punched a 32-megapixel selfie camera into both the front cover screen and the internal one. 

Samsung went high-tech and hid a low-resolution selfie camera in its main display using its latest UDC/UPC tech. Its results aren't great, but thankfully there is a much better 10-megapixel sensor in the front display. 

Price

• Find N2: Approximately $1,150/£945 
• Z Fold 4: Starting at $1499/£1,649

It's very difficult to compare prices for the Oppo Find N2 at the time of writing, if only because the phone is only launching in China for now. Converting its 7,999 yuan price into US Dollars gives us an approximate price of $1,150 (or £945). That would make it considerably cheaper than the Samsung phone, however, most devices launching in the US, UK and Europe often get significant price increases versus their Chinese market prices, and the actual price would not be anything close to that low were it to actually launch. 

Samsung's folding flagship is the company's most expensive smartphone and one of the most expensive phones on the market. Without taking trade-ins into account, it can set you back a minimum of $1499 in the US for the handset only, or £1649 in the UK. 

Conclusion 

In the end, that's a lot to like about both phones, and each has its appeal. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a mature offering that delivers exceptional performance, a strong camera system and a bigger internal display. For those who want to feel like they're using a tablet when it's open, it's ideal. Samsung's software also seems a little better optimised for the folding display, and benefits from the years of development into the optimisations for Samsung's S Pen stylus. 

The Oppo's biggest draws are its lightness and compact size when shut, plus the aspect ratio of that front display. It's much more convenient to use one-handed, shuts virtually flush and feels comparatively light. There is a problem, however, in that it's not launching outside China, and that will make it very difficult to get hold of. 

Source : https://www.pocket-lint.com/phones/buyers-guides/oppo/163866-oppo-find-n2-vs-samsung-galaxy-z-fold-4