OPPO still "exploring" foldable smartphones

Previous reports suggested that OPPO would launch its first foldable smartphone at Mobile World Congress this year, citing Product Manager Chuck Wang. This didn't happen, but we did get an explanation regarding its absence.

"We know that a lot of smartphone manufacturers are working on developing foldable smartphones," said Wang, speaking to journalists at round table at Mobile World Congress. "OPPO is taking into account a lot factors, like consumer demand, user experience, as well as the battery life of the smartphone. Currently, we haven't quite lived up to the standards we're pursuing, so we're not ready for commercial use or mass production."

He elaborated on this in a follow up statement:

"As an innovation led business, we're constantly exploring new technologies and products, and this includes a foldable smartphone. However, before we bring any product to market, we need to ensure that it meets our extremely high standards in terms of quality, performance and overall user experience. At this point in time we're not launching a foldable device, but we will continue to explore this, as well as other technologies." 

While we're all for weird and wonderful new smartphones, rushing out a foldable device for the sake of having a foldable device isn't necessarily the best decision when it comes to end users. After all, no one wants to be stuck with an "unfinished" product, especially when foldable prices could be as high as $3,000 locally.

WhistleOut travelled to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress as a guest of OPPO Australia.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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