Oppo has announced the release details of its first foldable smartphone to go on sale in countries outside of China.
The Find N2 Flip will be released in New Zealand on March 9 with a launch price of $1679.
It will be a direct competitor with Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip4, which went on sale in Aotearoa in August last year with prices starting at $1699.
Oppo says the model combines "the largest cover screen on any flip phone with all-day battery life and SUPERVOOC flash charging" and "takes foldables from the fringes to the forefront in a compact, sleek, awesome way".
For Kiwi customers, the Find N2 Flip will come in two colours: 'astral' black and 'moonlit' purple.
When open, the phone's main display is 6.8 inches with a 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1600 nits. The cover display is 3.26 inches.
For comparison, the Galaxy Z Flip4 features a 6.7 inch display that offers 120Hz and a peak brightness of 1200 nits, but its cover display is much smaller at 1.9 inches.
"The large cover screen also features powerful widgets that help users stay on top of up to six notifications at a time and handle other simple tasks without needing to open the phone," said Oppo.
The Find N2 Flip's photography capabilities are driven by a Hasselblad-tuned 50MP main camera featuring a Sony IMX890 sensor with an f/1.8 lens.
The device also features dual-SIM 5G connectivity and is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chip with a 4300mAh battery that supports fast-charging. Oppo said will deliver 50 percent in 23 minutes, or go from 0 to 100 percent in just under an hour.
Although multiple storage and memory configurations are available overseas, in New Zealand there will be only one: 256GB and 8GB of RAM.
The phone weighs 191g and is 7.45mm thick and Oppo said has been independently certified by TÜV Rhineland to withstand over 400,000 folds and unfolds at standard room temperature. That would mean opening and closing it around 100 times per day for more than 10 years.
It comes offering four years of major ColorOS updates and five years of security updates.
The Find N2 Flip is the first major salvo from Oppo in its push to compete in the growing global foldable market.
"While the overall smartphone market in 2022 saw a decrease in sales, the foldable markets showed measurable growth both around the world and in Oppo's home market of China," reports Forbes.
"With sales up and a strong positive reaction from the market, the decision to expand the foldable portfolio to the global market is easy. Oppo is planning to make foldable in general, and the Find N2 Flip in particular, its focus."
Samsung has sold premium foldable phones in New Zealand for years and it's not just Oppo expanding internationally - other companies like Xiaomi, Motorola and Huawei also sell them overseas.
Behind Apple and Samsung, Oppo has been the third most popular smartphone brand in Aotearoa for the past few years. It is likely the Find N2 Flip is just the first of many foldables it plans to sell here.
