Why does the Pixel 9 Pro Fold look so much like the OnePlus Open?

Ben Schoon | Jul 21 2024 - 9:00 am PT

Google is quickly approaching the launch of its new Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and continued leaks just cement that this upcoming device looks almost exactly like last year’s OnePlus Open.

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The Pixel 9 Pro Fold – a terrible name for what should simply be the “Pixel Fold 2” – is set to be announced alongside Google’s other new flagships at an event on August 13. The revamped foldable has a drastically different design from the original Pixel Fold, ditching the short and wide aspect ratio of the outer display and the super-wide inner display for a more “traditional” design closer in line to other book-style foldables on the market.

But, the more we see of it, the more it has in common with the OnePlus Open.

Fresh leaks of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold this week show off a foldable that has an outer display that’s wider than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and also offers a first look at the inner display which seems to have a way less noticeable crease down the middle. It looks great, but also super familiar.

Starting with the outside, the parts of the device where the glass meets the hinge have the glass curve in line with the opposite side, meeting a piece of metal that lines up with flat edge of the hinge. That also makes for a front display which has a not-small, but distinctive bezel.

Inside, the display itself has uniform bezels and a raised black piece of plastic for protection. Mounted in the top right corner is the selfie camera.

All of those design traits are virtually identical to that of the OnePlus Open. All foldables tend to share certain pieces of their design with one another, but the similarities here are uncanny.

This isn’t the first time Google’s foldable has carried a striking resemblance to an Oppo design. The original Pixel Fold has a pretty unique look and feel, but as we pointed out, the shape and aspect ratio were remarkably similar to Oppo’s first two Find N foldables.

It’s hard not to imagine that, somewhere, Oppo is involved in Google’s design and/or manufacturing. That’s not particularly likely, and there’s no evidence suggesting that’s the case, but it’s an idea that I can’t get out of my head as I continue to see more elements of Oppo’s foldables popping up in Google’s.

And none of this is to say this is a bad move on Google’s part. As far as I’m concerned, the OnePlus Open is the gold standard for foldables, at least in the US. If the Pixel’s hardware remotely lines up with that, we’re in for a good time.

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Top comment by The Werewolf

Liked by 20 people

Uhm, are we going to go through this again?

Really?

The basics of a folding phone limit what you can do. The only real differences are

how curved are the edges
how curved are the corners
how much of the closed front has a screen
the cameras on the back

Everyone is trying for thinness, so that doesn't count.

The trend is to stick a full screen on the front so it can act like a regular phone when closed, so everyone is doing the same #3.

The cameras are OBVIOUSLY very different (rectangular and small for the Pixel and massive and round for the 1+) so different #4.

That just leaves #1 and #2 and for those, seriously who cares?

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This week we also published our review of Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 6. And… it’s fine? It’s a genuinely good foldable, but it doesn’t stand up very well to the increasingly-fantastic competition.