Samsung is the current and 
OnePlus Open daylight camera samples. Top to bottom: Primary camera, telephoto camera, macro mode (tap images to expand)
Image quality across the board is quite impressive, especially after some recent software updates which brought big improvements to the portrait mode and the telephoto camera. The primary camera snaps quality photos with good contrast and plenty of resolved detail in all types of lighting conditions. These images show slightly saturated colours and have a slightly contrasted appearance thanks to Hasselblad’s colour inputs. While I usually prefer more natural-looking colours, I really appreciated Hasselblad’s input with this camera system.
OnePlus Open daylight zoom camera samples. (tap image to expand)
The telephoto camera is definitely the highlight of this new camera system. It shoots photos at 3X optical zoom and can even shoot 6X in-sensor zoom, which is said to offer lossless quality. Images shot at the native 3X zoom appear quite sharp and pack in plenty of detail in all types of lighting conditions. It struggles a bit with fast-moving subjects like a pet or kids, but when they do manage to stay remotely still, the results look brilliant with a natural bokeh. Photos captured using the 6X in-sensor zoom also appeared quite good, with image quality holding up to 10X and deteriorating beyond that.
OnePlus Open low light camera samples. Top: Primary camera (night mode) bottom: Ultra-wide-angle camera (night mode)
Ultra-wide angle photos come out with good detail and dynamic range, but I noticed plenty of purple fringing in the brighter areas of the image. In low light, I found the images captured from this camera to be a bit soft.
Since you can use the rear cameras for snapping selfies (using the cover display as the viewfinder), I managed to take tack-sharp selfies in all kinds of lighting conditions. Results from the cover display and main display selfie cameras were decent.
OnePlus Open low-light selfie camera sample (using primary camera)
Videos come out sharp with no noise in daylight, but low-light video sees some noise even when captured under good indoor lighting. Dolby Vision recording, when enabled, sees a noticeable drop in video quality and is far from what’s possible on an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. Low light video captured in 4K at 30fps or 60fps is still usable, just that I have seen regular premium smartphones perform a lot better at this price point when recording in the same scenarios. The telephoto camera also does a good job of shooting video with noise-free and well-stabilised output in daylight.
OnePlus Open Review: Verdict
With the Open, OnePlus has really changed my perspective about foldables. Horizontal foldables no longer have average cameras, decent battery life, charge slowly, and weigh over a quarter of a kilo. There’s finally a foldable that lets you leave behind these shortcomings we have gotten used to or consider to be the norm over the past few years.
OnePlus has raised the bar indeed. The Open has little to no compromises made when compared to regular premium flagship smartphones. And that itself speaks volumes about how much OnePlus has distanced itself from Samsung. The OnePlus Open offers a high-resolution cover display which can be used like a regular smartphone, a large foldable display with well-optimised software, the same level of performance that’s expected from an ultra-premium flagship and for once quality cameras on a foldable.
Apart from offering better displays, better cameras (on paper), faster charging and better battery life, it’s also priced lower than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 (Review). What’s not to like?
