Another dubious rumor claims Oppo and OnePlus will stop making flagship foldables

Ben Schoon | Nov 19 2024 - 7:40 am PT

The OnePlus Open, based on the Oppo Find N3, is perhaps one of the best foldables in recent memory even though it’s over a year old at this point. However, a rumor is circulating that Oppo and OnePlus will abandon high-end foldables, but let’s not panic just yet.

A post from NotebookCheck claims that Oppo and OnePlus will “discontinue flagship foldable smartphones.” Android Central brings up the same possibility, with both outlets citing a report from Leifeng based out of China.

That report claims that a foldable manufacturer is looking to exit the foldable market as it currently reevaluates “large-screen folding products” and has suspended plans for new foldables to be released in 2025. But the report does not mention which company has these plans.

Xiaomi and Oppo’s struggles in large-screen foldables are mentioned, and Transsion, the company behind Tecno, is also said to have stopped developing new foldable products. That comes just months after the launch of Tecno’s Phantom V Flip 2 and V Fold 2. But, again, the report does not specific which brand it is actually referring to in regards to what other smartphone brand is looking to “suspend” development of its book-style foldables.

Claims that Oppo and OnePlus are the brand being mentioned here are, for now, mere speculation.

In the context of this report from China, it’s rather easy to look at Oppo/Vivo/OnePlus as the obvious candidate for who the report is referring to, but it still seems like a leap to think these brands would abandon foldables, especially looking back just a few months.

This is not the first time such a rumor has circulated. Early this year, a report made the rounds claiming that Oppo and Vivo, the two biggest brands in the BBK group, would cease production of new foldables due to falling market share. Oppo rebuked such a claim, saying that it was dedicated “to the continuous development of foldable smartphone technology.” Hearing the same rumor twice does raise an eyebrow, certainly, but it should still be taken with a grain of salt, especially given all we’ve heard about the OnePlus Open sequel.