We checked: The OnePlus Open does not open completely flat

The OnePlus Open is an impressive attempt at a foldable that pips the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Google Pixel Fold in both features and price. OnePlus surprisingly undersold its foldable, as it ended up technically supporting an active stylus (but one isn’t sold officially by OnePlus), and it also supports foldable features such as tent mode, clamshell mode, and tabletop mode. But it’s not all rosy for the Open, as it is one of those foldables that can’t open 180° flat.

I noticed that my OnePlus Open review unit does not open completely flat. It stops at about 178-179°, just a smidge away from being 180° flat.

As you can see above, there is no room for the Open to open anymore, but it’s also not completely flat. Attempting to stress the hinge into opening completely flat does not incite confidence, so the natural resting position of the Open’s cover display is not-180°.

This ~1-2° of angled unevenness is admittedly a nitpick and is pretty difficult to ordinarily notice. I suspect most users would not have spotted it unless it was pointed out to them. But I saw it, and now I can’t unsee it. You can only spot it when viewing the phone from its bottom, as shown in the image above. There’s also a possibility that this unevenness may have appeared after weeks of use, as I have been daily driving the foldable since its launch.

Irrespective, this is far from being a dealbreaker to me. Even when using the cover display for Netflix and YouTube or when multitasking with Open Canvas, my attention is captured by the gorgeous, crease-less display rather than the fact that it is not entirely flat open. It’s quite easy to ignore, but I understand not everyone may feel the same way.

So, if you are about to buy the OnePlus Open, know that the phone completely shuts flat but does not entirely open flat. If that is a dealbreaker for you, you may need to reconsider your choice.

Even the Google Pixel Fold suffers from the same fate. Samsung’s older foldables, like the Galaxy Z Fold 4, also do not open flat, though Samsung fixed the hinge design on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which can open flat and shut flat.