Product design
![[IMG]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/zFneC5ACNB8O8ZxqNF5oHgyym_px1budCyLFh5-m52shaZukTp8-fTv4UOxzrOSNR2qu-i_M1vgYkD0CjF2XpgQznQpZevXhr5UF0NZk80xSw0PznHsIa1UcQ6__1Y1XlW4N57CT)
Welcome to a game of trust. After you look at the OPPO Find N long enough, you have to trust it was designed to break in half. The device wants you to do that, but your brain’s initial reaction is more coyness than confidence. And it is a beautiful piece to fold.
My unit is coated in white, making it a slippery and compact
snowflake. With 275g, it is also a heavy device to hold. It is small when closed, measuring just 132.6 by 73 mm, something that makes getting a hold of it a more confident act. When it’s unfolded, it spreads its wings from 73 mm to 140.2 mm, practically doubling in size.
Doing that, the act of prying open the OPPO Find N, slashes the thickness in about half - from 15.9 mm to 8.0 mm. Each half needed to be incredibly thin so the bulk is manageable when closed. Comparatively, the OnePlus 9 Pro is 163.2 by 73.6 by 8.7 mm, so you can see how shorter that outer screen is.
![[IMG]](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/M_oTqMIjpcKJP0tJaCGaESdU-TheObegAzV-HLZsLU5_O2nuA2ZLlvlNVrN7BbxqU8G37RLPqa8GHnu2WMEbq4jueBcVLBdg683__1PL-cqIsadkDoTaTLBz5GMw-y43JN4DFizz)
![[IMG]](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/G-N3LLdXvD7AlemqccEZF3qhnn-1lhVyTGY8MerGK8EpKTyHdvvB8GBc6XokHuqeyK7I-V1WVl-iaS7dSbCHK2adoSjA29SyQcsFNng2BiAlQV946dnkEtZ0MCV8vmCBTrCU9IQw)
The frame around feels like silver cutlery, aluminum polished to a sheen and ready for your fingerprints. At the bottom you’ll find two stereo speakers, a USB-C port and the entry for your SIM cards. The right side houses the power button that doubles as the fingerprint scanner, to the left you’ll find your volume rocker. This is true for when the device is opened, use it closed and the volume and power buttons meet on the right side, making it harder to differentiate by touch.
There’s something truly appealing in this white variant, the way the Gorilla Glass Victus gently curves to meet and highlight the ceramic plate that houses the three lenses in the main camera array on the outside, a design touch that shows charisma capable of owning these choices. It wobbles on a table, but the camera bump rests on top of your index finger when you grab it.
![[IMG]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RsfFR7ecm0t-Mz6a6EZd25m7AfruPbGQu-lrUeDyxEI2IecczFT_rEu9pTP_apCWkSD8BGjoLDMLvYP24Rl7XDxsGeuX3fFB4YfcOQpjKZ9aBR-s9gJMObwFnKg2sBLtfYuSn3Bc)
![[IMG]](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/69-QSlcLOdLyBGcntceM2UzbbJs2RxiiZBk1081i55pg_qMjskWer9Q9d_VhEVDfRJAMpaQOyrNgFA4_Ucln0IAphSvzeiIallU28AMeQshjaQrDOh5sU__zXAcgfRwWBZ6a_sk2)
We don’t have any partnership in-sight, but you can see the indications “50MP AI CAMERA” and “Find N” near the trio of lenses - one of which, the middle one, shows a thin circle in red. White, black and red are tried-and-true colors that just match. The OPPO is not an exception.
It’s ironic that the most impressive part of the device, the segment where design and engineering better work together, is not visible. The hinge that you won’t be able to see is made with 135 components and the result is a device that transmits the sense that it’s as beautiful as sturdy. No gap between the screens when the device is closed is a feat that’s translatable into a barely noticeable crease to the eye, but not to the touch.
We’ll talk more about this later, but my impressions of the design is that it is not just a poster boy with its ceramic looks. This is a design that was made to serve the customer, to edify a device that wants to be operated with the same confidence that you operate a non-foldable phone.
![[IMG]](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/qYr-4VVa_CtXCsDqmCTqjb3bV9QjD9B78HzYQxU_q9hW77qbpopjvI05LZ8WcyzzezBC_85vKtkHT_7Mv77f7ZhADqiS-7bARcZeTY3CQZJRvEznktt6-aXahg3upehSPCd6tDwJ)
I do miss the Alert Slider from its cousins, but the buttons and the cutouts are where they were supposed to be. Even the headphone jack is missing, so you know you are dealing with a flagship device in 2022. When opened, you can see a plastic rim surrounding the 7.1” screen. Not only it doesn’t feel cheap, it makes you more confident when it’s time to close the Find N.
There’s not a single design element that feels out of place, even the OPPO logo is just left on a corner, almost completely out of the way. The spine of the Find N is the place where the aluminum shines the most, but I don’t understand the need to write, yet again, “Designed for Find” there. The font is classy and tiny, but it would look even more minimalist without any corporate slogan.
![[IMG]](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Fowvv3wHK2-xYjvLoIo7q-n-ZdmgOVlbWhE5UkqqX-Qr08bDK9O7d-UpDfDLxxIzVt1grsLI2mX5UVjrGNIjVvNURX5Dk3NSXiDw5AnyYuWylrFn-vTJwJdpFofI3G03d1vlggbO)
One last note, it looks like the outer screen is encrusted on top of the aluminum. OPPO’s cleverness makes the metal visible on the left part - it is gently curved on the other side. It’s a touch that I cannot stop looking at, not because it is distracting, but because it ties this language together.
Click to expand...
