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Oppo Find N3 Flip Review: The Better Flip Phone (In Some Aspects)
October 23, 2023 Andrew Cheng

The Oppo Find N3 Flip, compared to its predecessor, brings a couple of neat upgrades. Naturally, it features a faster chipset for improved performance, and it is now packed with a more sophisticated (still Hasselblad-branded) triple camera system as well with a telephoto lens.

Looking at other foldable flip phones in the market now, the Find N3 Flip certainly has the most versatile camera system, though this also comes at a price. To be specific, the N3 Flip costs RM400 more than last year’s N2 Flip, which is not a small amount by any means.

After spending a good couple of weeks with the Find N3 Flip as my daily driver, is the phone worth it with the higher asking price? Well, it depends. While the foldable is, strictly speaking, better than other folding phones in some regards, the N3 Flip still lacks some features that its main competition offers.

What It Is

DisplayMain: 6.8-inch FHD+ AMOLED (2520 x 1080), 120Hz adaptive
Cover: 3.26-inch SD AMOLED (720 x 382), 60Hz
ChipsetMediaTek Dimensity 9200 3.05GHz octa-core
GPUArm Immortalis-G715 MC11
RAM12GB
Storage256GB, non-expandable
Camera (rear)50MP f/1.8, AF, OIS
48MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide angle), AF
32MP f/2.0 (telephoto), AF, 2x optical zoom
Camera (front)32MP f/2.4
Battery
4,300mAh with 44W charging
DimensionsUnfolded: 166.4 x 75.8 x 7.79 mm
Folded: 85.5 x 75.8 x 16.45 mm
Weight
198g
OSColorOS 13.2 based on Android 13
Connectivity5G
LTE
NFC
Bluetooth 5.3
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz)
USB Type-C
PriceRM4,399

As mentioned, the Find N3 Flip brings two noteworthy upgrades: a faster Dimensity 9200 chip and a more versatile triple camera system. While the 32MP telephoto lens is only limited to 2x optical zoom, it’s…well, still better than nothing, and it can capture decent-looking shots too.

It’s also worth noting that the 4,300mAh battery of the N3 Flip is quite a bit bigger than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5‘s 3,700mAh cell. This translates to great battery life as well, which I will elaborate in the following section.

The Good Stuff

Since the Find N3 Flip’s improved Hasselblad triple camera setup is one of its main highlights, let’s talk about it first. Not surprisingly, the camera performs well regardless of lighting conditions. While noise can be quite apparent in low light shots, the overall image quality is still good with decent detail preservation and wide dynamic range. Judge for yourself with the sample shots below:

Oppo is quick to point out that the Find N3 Flip is the first clamshell foldable phone to feature a telephoto lens, giving it an edge compared to other devices in this segment. While I wouldn’t say its camera performance is amazing, it is true that this is the most versatile camera configuration on a flip phone, for what it’s worth.

Besides that, we have the newer Dimensity 9200 chip of the N3 Flip. In everyday use, the SoC can deliver fast and responsive user experience, though the chip does show its limits in more intensive mobile games. In Honkai: Star Rail, for one, it can’t quite sustain the frame rate at 60fps, though the game does run better once I lowered the graphics settings.

And then we have the Flexion Hinge of the Find N3 Flip, which is said to have been tested for over 600,000 folds. The hinge itself feels nice and smooth, though I do wish it was a tad stiffer. Nonetheless, it does feel solid and well-built, and I love how the phone closes (flat) with a satisfying, reassuring thud.

What about the crease on the internal screen of the N3 Flip? Well, it’s as minimal as ever. Yes, with the screen switched off, the crease is visible, and you can still feel it if you glide your finger over the crease. But in normal use, you’d be hard-pressed to notice the crease, especially in comparison to Samsung’s Z Flip 5.

As for the display quality itself, it’s great. The 6.8-inch 1080p AMOLED display offers vibrant colours with deep, true blacks. The panel’s 120Hz adaptive refresh rate also lends to very smooth animations.

Although the Find N3 Flip’s cover screen is unchanged from last year’s model, it does get a new trick in the form of mini apps. Basically, it’s a more minimalist version of certain apps, and quite a number of apps support this feature. These include Gmail, Google Maps, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

However, as much as I like the idea of using these apps on the N3 Flip’s cover screen, the overall experience is not particularly great. Granted, it does come in handy if I just want to check on certain notifications, but I usually find myself unfolding the phone for a better user experience.

Anyway, I’ll get back to this later on.

Last but not least is the impressive battery life of the Find N3 Flip. With the N2 Flip, I can easily get between five to six hours of screen on time with the foldable, and the same remains true with the N3 Flip. Throughout the review period, never did the phone fail to deliver all-day battery life, even on days where I put in more than a few gaming sessions throughout the day.

The Bad Stuff

Unlike other companies, Oppo is sticking to a vertical cover screen with the Find N3 Flip. The brand said that this allows for apps to work better as the aspect ratio mirrors the internal screen. I do agree with Oppo here, but the thing is, the cover screen still feels limited in functionality.

This boils down to the N3 Flip’s software experience and size of the cover screen. Take Telegram: while I can look at my conversations seamlessly with the mini version of the app, the low resolution 3.26-inch 720 x 382 AMOLED screen doesn’t offer the best viewing experience.

If I want to reply to a message with a mini version of the Gboard keyboard, it can prove to be quite a challenge as well. It’s just much too small to type accurately, and while swipe typing feels much better, it’s still cumbersome to do so. I would be much happier to use, say, a T9 keyboard instead.

Other than that, there’s the lack of water resistance on this RM4,399 smartphone. This is where the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 – besides its more refined cover screen experience – has an edge over the Find N3 Flip. For a phone that costs this much, it’s not unrealistic to expect some form of dust or water resistance.

Last but not least is the very slippery glossy finish of the N3 Flip. I lost grip on the phone more times than I care to admit, and it can even slide around when I place it on a hard, flat surface. Needless to say, I highly, highly encourage slapping a case on this phone.

Is It Worth It?

Priced at RM4,399, the Oppo Find N3 Flip is not an affordable phone, but I do think it is a (somewhat) fair asking price for a clamshell foldable phone of this calibre. It has an objectively more versatile triple camera system with the addition of a telephoto lens, long battery life, and if you’re particular about display creases, the N3 Flip has the least visible crease in the market now.

What would’ve made the Find N3 Flip even better is the inclusion of IP rating, a less slippery design, and most importantly (to me, anyway) a more polished cover screen experience. If Oppo can address these pain points with the next iteration of its flip phone, I reckon it will be a winner.

That being said, I’m still happy to recommend the Find N3 Flip, especially if you can overlook its shortcomings.

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