OPPO’s First Foldable Flagship Smartphone – Find N

Hi everyone,

I’d like to introduce a new product to all of you today: the OPPO Find N, a foldable smartphone that is truly easy to use and can provide an innovative experience.

This is our first foldable flagship smartphone – a result of four years of intense R&D and 6 generations of prototypes. This device is OPPO’s answer to the future of smartphones, and one that I’ve been truly excited about since taking on the role as chief product officer at OPPO.

After more than a decade of rapid development, the smartphone industry has hit a wall.

Whether it’s fast charging, high refresh rates, mobile photography covering several focal lengths, or 5G connectivity, smartphone development has reached a limit that requires new ways of thinking and new approaches to continue innovating.

So the question that all manufacturers and product people have been thinking is, “What’s next for smartphones?”

In the past, smartphone evolution focused on the display panel, first combining a small display with a big keyboard, and evolving to today’s full-screen smartphones. But in an era where everyone has a phone with similar configurations, the smartphone experience has come to a standstill. If we can find a way to break through the bottleneck of smartphone displays, we could once again revolutionize efficiency and interactivity.

OPPO realized this four years ago, and since then the team has worked tirelessly to find a creative solution. OPPO has always dared to venture into the unknown to look for breakthroughs and innovative answers, while also exercising restraint when it comes to impacting the user experience. For OPPO, it is better to launch a product at a later date when it is ready to offer a great user experience instead of simply rushing to keep up with trends.

As early as April 2018, the first generation of the Find N prototype was born internally. Although a handful of other brands have already introduced foldable devices to the market, barriers such as utility, durability and user experience continue to prevent foldable devices from becoming a more feasible daily driver for most people. So when I returned to OPPO last year, I was excited to take over this major project and guide the team to overcome the final hurdles to turn this dream into reality.

During this process, two principles guided us in making this product a reality.

First and foremost, a device must be beautiful. Nowadays as our industry comes up with more advanced and complex technologies, it is ever more crucial for us think about what a good product should be based on the fundamental needs of each person. We believe that a good product must first be beautiful and pleasant – simple in design, natural and comfortable in material. It needs to offer powerful performance while maintaining an appropriate weight and size. Especially for a foldable device with a large-screen, it has to feel good in the hand. The OPPO Find N has achieved each of these.

Second, a product must actually be both useful and easy to use. We have to provide users with a nicely balanced experience. For a foldable smartphone, both the closed-screen and open-screen experience should be equally simple to use. Then on top of that, we should create a groundbreaking efficient experience that a traditional smartphone cannot provide. Over the past ten years, OPPO has been a leader in key smartphone technologies such as displays, connectivity, and camera technologies. With the Find N, we have solved the main pain points in previous foldable smartphones, such as the crease in the display and overall durability of the device, by inventing perhaps the best hinge and display designs available today. We look forward to truly pushing the folding screen experience forward.

To us, the name Find N represents new possibilities. We are ushering in the next chapter of smartphones: the revolutionary experience of this new form factor will undeniably shake up the industry. The Find N is OPPO’s unique solution in an increasingly homogenized smartphone industry.

I’d like to invite everyone to join us on December 15, the second day of OPPO INNO Day, to witness the launch of this exciting new product.

Pete