Oppo Find N5 Review: Stellar Foldable Has One Big Problem

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A fire has seemingly been lit inside Oppo in 2025; just take a look at its current smartphone lineup. You’ll see examples of boundary-pushing hardware and some of the most complete productivity and AI-powered features in the mobile space, across its portfolio.

It’s foldables, however, where Oppo’s ambition has truly been made manifest, with what looks set to be one of the best phones of 2025. The Oppo Find N5 builds on the company’s already-strong foundation in the foldable space, but demonstrates unrivalled engineering prowess, with an industry-leading design that, in spite of its thin profile, houses one of the most complete flagship-tier spec sheets in its category. Not to mention, it comes complete with boundary-pushing software enhancements that rivals will unquestionably ape in the near future.

But for all the praise I can heap on what is arguably the best foldable in the market right now, the ‘market’ in question isn’t quite as we first expected, and that’s a small tragedy, at least for the time being.

Evaluating the Find N5 in the context of newer rivals from Honor and Samsung adds an additional layer of depth to the experience. While both the Magic V5 and Galaxy Z Fold 7 haven’t yet hit store shelves internationally (at the time of writing), knowing what they bring to the table – and lack – compared to the Find N5, better clarifies just how capable and innovative Oppo’s new foldable is.

Design & Build

• World’s thinnest “book-style” foldable at launch
• Physical three-stage alert slider
• 229 grams

When the Find N5 officially broke cover back in February, its claim to fame came with one small caveat. Oppo was keen to tout the phone’s wafer-thin waistline – 8.93mm when folded and only 4.21mm when unfolded.

That was thinner than any of its then-rivals (Galaxy Z Fold 6: 5.6mm, Pixel 9 Pro Fold: 5.1mm, Honor Magic V3: 4.35mm) save for one: the exotic Huawei Mate XT tri-fold, which at its thinnest measures only 3.6mm. With this in mind, you can see why Oppo specified “book style”.

Of course, since the company threw down the gauntlet, two major rivals have subsequently emerged. The Honor Magic V5 – available in China as of 15 July and planned for an international release in late August – set out to steal the Find N5’s title of “world’s thinnest”, with the V5’s body supposedly measuring 0.1mm thinner than the Find N5’s svelte silhouette.

A week after Honor’s announcement, Samsung then dropped the hotly anticipated Galaxy Z Fold 7. While never directly claiming to be the “world’s thinnest”, first and third-party impressions place it pretty close to the mark (Samsung also cites a thickness of 4.2mm when open).

In the case of the Magic V5, the measurements Honor’s published relate specifically to the Ivory White model, while its other colourways are actually 0.1mm thicker. No manufacturer accounts for the camera bump in their measurements either, but having all three foldables to hand, I can also confirm that, if you factor that in, the Honor is the thickest and Oppo’s entry is actually the thinnest.

As for Samsung’s new entry, the company’s ability to slim the Z Fold 7 down by a seemingly outlandish 25% was made possible by simply nixing the digitizer altogether, which means no more S Pen stylus support. You know what the Find N5 supports despite being less than 0.1mm thicker? A stylus.

It’s clear that whichever way you slice it, the Oppo Find N5 is an undeniable engineering achievement, beating these major players to the punch on foldable thinness in 2025, of course, but in other ways too.

Hair-splitting out of the way, it’s also reassuringly resilient. Not only due to its top-of-the-line IPX6, IPX8 and IPX9 water resistance, but thanks to its titanium alloy-reinforced hinge, which according to Oppo has been tested to 100,000 folds in temperature extremes as high as 50°C and as low as -20°C.

It’s the first foldable I’ve used that truly looks and feels like a conventional smartphone when not unfolded

For all the stats that come attached to the Find N5’s impressive form factor, handling it in person is something else. Switching from a Mous case-clad Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, a closed Find N5 feels like a breath of fresh air that – even when sporting the in-box case – is still thinner across the body, by comparison. It’s the first foldable I’ve used that truly looks and feels like a conventional smartphone when not unfolded; boasting the proportions to match.

At 229g, it’s not the lightest entry out there, but still pleasingly capable for extended periods; even during one-handed use. For context, it clocks in at only two grams heavier than your run of the mill iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Finish-wise, Oppo offers up the Find N5 in most markets in either Misty White or Cosmic Black (pictured), with the former featuring a faux patina similar to the ‘Moonlight White’ Honor MagicPad 2 from 2024. I think it actually cheapens the look of what is, an obviously premium product, so I’d suggest going for the sophisticated and understated Cosmic Black version.

That is, unless you’re in markets like China, where there’s the third option: the head-turning Dusk Purple, which I think is the most interesting and enticing option of the three.

Screen & Speakers

• 6.62-inch 1-120Hz LTPO AMOLED outer display
• 8.21-inch 1-120Hz LTPO AMOLED main display
• Improved impact and puncture protection on both screens
• Oppo Pen stylus support

The main reason for owning a foldable is that all-important folding display, and the Find N5’s is the biggest of the bunch, at a whopping 8.12-inches (compare that to the Vivo X Fold 5 at 8.03 inches, the Z Fold 7 at 8 inches, and the Magic V5 at 7.95 inches).

It also tussles with the Vivo for the sharpest panel amidst the current crop of book-style foldables, at around 412ppi (pixels per inch).

By surface area, it actually serves up more display than the latest iPad Mini, and for those that might wag a finger about the iPad’s more usable aspect ratio (the Find N5’s screen sports an almost-square 9.9:9 format), Open Canvas – an interface upgrade within Oppo’s ColorOS user experience, tailored to larger-displayed devices – makes multitasking regardless of aspect ratio a cinch.

It’s, in fact, one the best takes on app multitasking on foldables around, and an experience that no rival has done a particularly good job of rivalling so far, so far.

As for jumping between the two screens, an open app on the 6.62-inch outer screen will be readily available on the main display the moment you open the Find N5 up. When closing it back down, however, you’re prompted to swipe up on the external panel to resume whatever app you’re using, which might sound tedious, but actually proves unobtrusive and prudent, based on real-world use.

It’s one the best takes on app multitasking on foldables around, and an experience that no rival has done a particularly good job of rivalling

To go in hand with the phone’s aluminium frame and IP-rated protection, Oppo has also added a new anti-shock layer to the main folding display, which the company claims makes the panel 70% stronger against impacts than previous Find-series foldables. Months of use, at this point, have yet to yield any noticeable wear and tear either (beyond dust gathering at the edges of the non-removable screen protector), so I’d say the company’s durability efforts are paying off.

Whichever of the phone’s screens you’re using, you’re served crisp, vibrant, bright visuals, with a responsive 120Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 2100 nits on the main screen (2450 nits on the outer screen), plus a respectable panel-wide brightness max of 1400 nits (1600 on the outer screen), making the N5 a great option for use outdoors and when enjoying HDR content.