Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs OnePlus Open: Which foldable could win?

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs. OnePlus Open match-up is a collision of the known and the unknown, and could be one of the biggest things to happen to foldable phones in what’s already been a busy year.

We’ve had four generations of big Samsung foldables already, and having refined its formula over the years, the Galaxy Z Fold line has become a reliable source of practical and powerful foldable phones. But it’s possible the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will end up quite familiar to the outgoing Galaxy Z Fold 4, perhaps driving some users to look for something more interesting and innovative elsewhere.

OnePlus is a newcomer to the world of foldables, and so far all we know for sure is that a OnePlus folding phone is coming this year. The rumors so far have told us the phone’s like name of Open, and that it could be one of the biggest and best-specced folding phones on the market when it arrives. That could make it another big challenger to Samsung’s dominance alongside the Google Pixel Fold. However, as a first-gen product, there’s no telling what weird bugs or hardware issues it could face.

While we count down to both phones’ respective launch dates, we’ve been considering how the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and OnePlus Open may compare once both phones are official and on sale. Read on to find our analysis of the rumors for these two devices.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs OnePlus Open: Rumored specs

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs OnePlus Open: Possible release dates and prices

We should see the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 arrive on July 26th, the date of the company’s next Galaxy Unpacked event. The OnePlus foldable could be coming in August instead, (possibly on the 29th specifically) so in theory it’s not a long wait until we can try out both.

As for the cost of these phones, it’s possible we’ll see a higher Galaxy Z Fold 5 price in European markets, compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 4. But we’ve also come across rumors of Samsung lowering the price, so it’s hard to say for sure what’s going on. There are no murmurings of what the OnePlus Open may cost, though we’d have to assume it’ll be a similar $1,800 price as other leading foldables. Hopefully less. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs OnePlus Open: Design and displays

Real-life images (now removed) of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, as well as several other leaks, have seemingly confirmed that there is a lot of Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the Z Fold 5.

Once again we should see a foldable with 7.6 inch inner and 6.2-inch outer displays, both with 120Hz refresh rates. That means no change to the height or width of the outer display, which is rather annoying considering the narrow, tall shape of the screen makes the Z Fold a bit impractical to use when closed up.

Samsung is apparently using a new hinge in both the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 that will supposedly all but eliminate the gap between the two halves of the phone when folded. But despite this, the depth and width of the crease in the display may not have changed, despite rumors claiming it would be improved.

Annoyingly, rumors of full water/dust resistance for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 may not be true either. Though we should at least see IPX8 water resistance like we’ve seen on previous generations of Samsung foldables, dust resistance would have been a unique selling point for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 that would have given users more assurance that their expensive folding phone wouldn’t become unusable just because of a bit of debris in the hinge.

Finally, we come to the alleged Galaxy Z Fold 5 color options. These will apparently be blue, platinum, beige, black and light blue.

The OnePlus foldable is much more mysterious. So much so that we’re not even sure of the name yet. Currently it looks like it’ll be the OnePlus Open, but we had been calling it the OnePlus V Fold before that, and other name options have apparently been discussed internally too. 

One thing that seems to be established among leaks is that the OnePlus foldable will be quite large, with a 7.8-inch main screen and a 6.3-inch cover screen. That’s not only bigger than the Galaxy Z Fold 5 should be, but also any other foldable you can currently buy in the U.S. or U.K.

Design-wise, renders of the OnePlus foldable suggest it’ll look a lot like a doubled-up OnePlus 11, with the OnePlus 11‘s circular camera bump featuring prominently. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs OnePlus Open: Cameras

Photography on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 should feel basically the same as it did on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. That’s because it should be receiving the same 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide and 10MP 3x telephoto cameras on the back, plus a 10MP camera on the front and a 4MP under-display camera inside. Samsung may have introduced some upgrades beyond the resolution of the camera sensors, but we’ve not heard anything like this yet.

The OnePlus Open’s photo kit allegedly comprises of a 50MP main camera (or possibly a 48MP one), alongside a 48MP ultrawide camera, 32MP (or 64MP) telephoto camera, with 32MP and 20MP selfie cameras on the inside and outside respectively. This certainly has Samsung beaten on total megapixels, so perhaps with some careful tuning with OnePlus’ established photography collaborator Hasselblad, it could be the superior photography phone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs OnePlus Open: Performance

Inside the Galaxy Z Fold 5, we expect to find the speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, likely paired again with 12GB RAM and either 256GB, 512GB or 1TB RAM. While many other phones use this Snapdragon chip, the Samsung version has a higher clock speed and therefore extra power.

OnePlus is likely to use a standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip for the Open, or perhaps the new Leading Version of that chip that squeezes more power out. We’d imagine OnePlus will go for similar memory sizes too, with at least 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs OnePlus Open: Battery and charging

Going by the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s specs, we’d assume the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will feature a 4,400 mAh total battery capacity, with 25W charging and wireless charging available to fill it up. There haven’t been any rumors about what battery or charging the OnePlus Open will offer. But knowing OnePlus’ focus on speedy charging, we’d have to imagine whatever system they do use will be higher than 25W.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs OnePlus Open: Outlook

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 should be a refined product, and a safe bet to buy. But the problem with safe bets is that they’re not exciting, and with no big spec upgrades rumored beyond a new chipset, you’re unlikely to get much from the Z Fold 5 that you couldn’t get from the existing Galaxy Z Fold 4.

However, the OnePlus Open could be an exciting, super-sized foldable that could offer improved photography, charging and performance. But as a brand-new foldable phone, you run the risk of rough edges and problems you wouldn’t see on a standard phone. So we would wait until our OnePlus Open review goes live before buying. 

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Richard is a Tom’s Guide senior writer based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he’s also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he’s likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.