Oppo Teases 'World's Thinnest Foldable' With Apple Device Comparisons

[MacRumors]

If you still need convincing about the tech industry's current obsession with thinness, check out these images from Oppo's recent social media marketing spree, which has been busy hyping up the slimness of its upcoming Find N5 foldable by comparing it to Apple devices, including an iPhone 16 Pro Max and an M4 iPad Pro.

Oppo Find N5 (left) compared to iPhone 16 Pro Max​

The latest images shared by the Chinese company suggest that when opened up, the Find N5 is about half as thick as an iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is 8.25mm thick. The image makes the device look barely thicker than its USB-C port. Indeed, Find series product manager Zhou Yibao has suggested that the obstacle to making it any thinner is now "the limit of the charging port."

That would seem to back up Oppo's claim that the Find N5 is the "world's thinnest foldable" – a title currently held by the Honor Magic V3, which is 4.35mm thick when unfolded. Reports suggest the Find N5 is around 4mm thick. For reference a USB-C port is 2.6mm at minimum. The company has previously compared the Find N5 to two Chinese yuan coins and a stack of four ID cards. Recently surfaced images also show that the device will have a cut-down camera bump on the back.

Oppo Find N5 (left) compared to iPhone 16 Pro Max​

If you've been following our coverage, you've probably heard that for the upcoming iPhone 17 lineup, Apple is expected to replace the standard iPhone "Plus" model with an iPhone "Air," so-called because of its purported thinness.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the iPhone 17 Air will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, putting it at around 6.25mm, which would make it Apple's thinnest iPhone to date. Analyst Jeff Pu has also suggested that the upcoming iPhone will be around 6mm thick, but The Information has said it will be between 5mm and 6mm thick.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the iPhone 17 Air will be 5.5mm thick at its thinnest point, which likely means that it will have a 5.5mm chassis with a thicker rear camera bump area.

The thinnest iPhone we've seen so far was the iPhone 6, which measured in at 6.9mm. iPhones got thicker with the iPhone X and beyond, as Apple increased thickness to provide more space for the battery, camera lenses, Face ID hardware, and more.

Oppo Find N5 compared to Apple's "thinnest product ever"​

Oppo has not officially specified the launch date for the Find N5, which is expected to be re-branded as the OnePlus Open 2 for its US release, but it is set to be released sometime in February. Apple's "iPhone 17 Air" will likely launch alongside the rest of the iPhone 17 series around Apple's typical mid-September time frame.

Article Link: Oppo Teases 'World's Thinnest Foldable' With Apple Device Comparisons

 

[jayducharme]

It’s not really an “apple-to-apple” comparison. You don’t carry around an open foldable in your pocket. So the N5 will be at least double that thickness much of the time. And I wonder how that USB port will hold up.

 

[ignatius345]

Irrelevant how thin it is when open -- a foldable would in fact would make the "bulging pockets" issue worse.

 

[AndyUnderscoreR]

Will this be the point where the industry finally learns that the public don't care very much about a millimeter or two (or put much weight on their worthless 'ignore the camera bump and obligatory case' measurements) but do care a lot about rigidity and battery life?

 

[Onelifenofear]

Not that we are copying the general design or anything....

 

[Kensley]

I just hope we are not in for bendgate 2.0! As it is I keep my MagSafe wallet on my phone almost all the time since I find it more comfortable to hold with it on, don’t really understand this drive towards thinness. To each their own.

 

[Ctrlos]

Not that we are copying the general design or anything....

Oh we'd be here all day of who-copied-who. The iPhone 4 is both heavily influenced by the work of Dieter Rams and kind of looks like a stack of playing cards which were originally invented in ancient China so its all largely swings and roundabouts.

 

[Ctrlos]

Given that smartwatches do not feature a USB-C port and are available across the EU, I have to wonder how long before the welcome pursuit of thinner products results in the loss of the dataport altogether in favour of pure Qi2 which takes up a lot less room?

 

[klasma]

We need micro-USB-C. Lightning would allow for thinner devices than USB-C.

 

[con2apple]

Will this be the point where the industry finally learns that the public don't care very much about a millimeter or two (or put much weight on their worthless 'ignore the camera bump and obligatory case' measurements) but do care a lot about rigidity and battery life?

As long as the Apple community celebrates every millimeter (ignoring the camera bump):
No

 

[Realityck]

We need micro-USB-C. Lightning would allow for thinner devices than USB-C.

Afraid we are stuck with that limitation for the foreseeable future.

 

[jlc1978]

Will this be the point where the industry finally learns that the public don't care very much about a millimeter or two (or put much weight on their worthless 'ignore the camera bump and obligatory case' measurements) but do care a lot about rigidity and battery life?

My thoughts exactly. This marketing obsession doesn't address things that would make phones even better, although most people would not immediately notice the difference.

Phones now are as much a fashion accessory for many people as something they use everyday.

Afraid we are stuck with that limitation for the foreseeable future.

Yea, until Apple figures out a way to make a thin wireless charger and ditches the plug completely.

 

[spartan1967]

Will this be the point where the industry finally learns that the public don't care very much about a millimeter or two (or put much weight on their worthless 'ignore the camera bump and obligatory case' measurements) but do care a lot about rigidity and battery life?

I’ve always wondered why Apple doesn’t increase the thickness of the iPhone to get rid of those hideous camera bulges & put in a battery that could probably last a couple days for your average user.

 

[Kiwamu]

It’s not really an “apple-to-apple” comparison. You don’t carry around an open foldable in your pocket. [...]

Irrelevant how thin it is when open -- a foldable would in fact would make the "bulging pockets" issue worse.

Welcome to the wonderful world of marketing, where you focus on the message to be able to make a bold claim, which you can print on banners...

Luckily as you demonstrated, people can see through this messaging with ease

 

[JohnRckr]

Yea, great.
Now compare it to the battery life of 16PM.
Who the hell ever asked for thinner device, just like with AI in phones they will now try to shove it down our throats like we all begged for it.

 

[JapanApple]

We need micro-USB-C. Lightning would allow for thinner devices than USB-C.

How about portless. I’m on favor of that

 

[carlo2003beta]

Battery life: 12 minutes.

 

[frou]

Companies don't need to spend money doing R&D, they can just take MacRumors commenters' confident assertions about what "the general public" really wants as gospel 🤣

 

[jlc1978]

I’ve always wondered why Apple doesn’t increase the thickness of the iPhone to get rid of those hideous camera bulges & put in a battery that could probably last a couple days for your average user.

Because people somehow thing thinner is better and the bulge doesn't bother them.

Welcome to the wonderful world of marketing, where you focus on the message to be able to make a bold claim, which you can print on banners...

My favorite is hypoallergenic..

Luckily as you demonstrated, people can see through this messaging with ease

You can never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the public...

 

[I7guy]

Yea, great.
Now compare it to the battery life of 16PM.
Who the hell ever asked for thinner device, just like with AI in phones they will now try to shove it down our throats like we all begged for it.

There may be lots and lots of people asking for thinner phones. You never know.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Yea, great.
Now compare it to the battery life of 16PM.
Who the hell ever asked for thinner device, just like with AI in phones they will now try to shove it down our throats like we all begged for it.

A thinner folding phone? Many people. One of the problems with folding smartphones is the thickness. This phone looks like it will be about the thickness of the 16 Pro when folded. That’s quite impressive.

I'm not interested in a folding smartphone until Apple releases one (mainly because I'm not switching back to Android any time soon -- I have nothing against it, I just like the iOS, macOS, watchOS, etc. integration), but it's good to see progress being made.

 

[TSloper74]

If you still need convincing about the tech industry's current obsession with thinness, check out these images from Oppo's recent social media marketing spree, which has been busy hyping up the slimness of its upcoming Find N5 foldable by comparing it to Apple devices, including an iPhone 16 Pro Max and an M4 iPad Pro.

Oppo Find N5 (left) compared to iPhone 16 Pro Max​

The latest images shared by the Chinese company suggest that when opened up, the Find N5 is about half as thick as an iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is 8.25mm thick. The image makes the device look barely thicker than its USB-C port. Indeed, Find series product manager Zhou Yibao has suggested that the obstacle to making it any thinner is now "the limit of the charging port."

That would seem to back up Oppo's claim that the Find N5 is the "world's thinnest foldable" – a title currently held by the Honor Magic V3, which is 4.35mm thick when unfolded. Reports suggest the Find N5 is around 4mm thick. For reference a USB-C port is 2.6mm at minimum. The company has previously compared the Find N5 to two Chinese yuan coins and a stack of four ID cards. Recently surfaced images also show that the device will have a cut-down camera bump on the back.

Oppo Find N5 (left) compared to iPhone 16 Pro Max​

If you've been following our coverage, you've probably heard that for the upcoming iPhone 17 lineup, Apple is expected to replace the standard iPhone "Plus" model with an iPhone "Air," so-called because of its purported thinness.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the iPhone 17 Air will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, putting it at around 6.25mm, which would make it Apple's thinnest iPhone to date. Analyst Jeff Pu has also suggested that the upcoming iPhone will be around 6mm thick, but The Information has said it will be between 5mm and 6mm thick.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the iPhone 17 Air will be 5.5mm thick at its thinnest point, which likely means that it will have a 5.5mm chassis with a thicker rear camera bump area.

The thinnest iPhone we've seen so far was the iPhone 6, which measured in at 6.9mm. iPhones got thicker with the iPhone X and beyond, as Apple increased thickness to provide more space for the battery, camera lenses, Face ID hardware, and more.

Oppo Find N5 compared to Apple's "thinnest product ever"​

Oppo has not officially specified the launch date for the Find N5, which is expected to be re-branded as the OnePlus Open 2 for its US release, but it is set to be released sometime in February. Apple's "iPhone 17 Air" will likely launch alongside the rest of the iPhone 17 series around Apple's typical mid-September time frame.

Article Link: Oppo Teases 'World's Thinnest Foldable' With Apple Device Comparisons

The obsession with thin is getting silly. It’s become a marketing metric rather than a useful metric for the user. The improvements in phones have now become very incremental and aren’t worth the yearly upgrade cycle for most.

 

[iMac The Knife]

As much as I love foldables, you can't compare the thickness of an unfolded foldable to a slab phone. You must compare the foldable when it is folded to the slab phone. In the case of my backup phone, the Honor Magic V3 Global, when folded it is only just over 1mm thicker than the iPhone 16 PM when it is folded. That is insane. The 16 PM also weighs 1 gram more than V3 Global. Also insane.

 

[spartan1967]

Because people somehow thing thinner is better and the bulge doesn't bother them.

I recommend Apple do a pilot program with a new Mini or SE version; thicken it up to the camera line & put the biggest battery possible with the added room. Since these are devices that were/are not the best sellers, Apple has a clear baseline to see how this change affects sales. Also, since these were/are not Apple flagship models, the risk of loss is less.

 

[dannyyankou]

Thin and light is trendy again!