According to information released by the Digital Chat Station account on the Chinese social network Weibo, Oppo would be close to the launch of its first folding smartphone. Indeed, for the leaker, there could be two devices to unveil, along the lines of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3, namely a version with a clamshell opening and one like a book. For now, however, there is technical information only on the latter. The main display, the extended interior, should have a diagonal of 7.8 inches, a QHD resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate. As for the photographic sector, the candidate edge sensor is the 50 MP Sony IMX766, with a 32MP selfie cam. The processor seems to be Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 on Android 11 operating system, with Color OS 12 customization.Oppo had already shown one of its folding prototypes, also to the Italian press, months ago.
In that case, however, it was a smartphone with a sliding opening display, certainly more futuristic and with longer test times than normal, due to the particular mechanical system at the base. According to Counterpoint Research's Foldable Smartphone Shipment Forecast, shipments of foldable smartphones will reach 9 million units by the end of 2021. An already significant growth, three times higher than in 2020, but which within a couple of years will mark an even greater leap, equal to 10 times the current number. Analysts estimate double-digit sales, equal to about 90 million units, for mobile phones with flexible screens, if the trend remains so for the two years. Samsung currently dominates the scenario, with a market share of over 88% which,by the time other manufacturers launch their models, it should drop to around 75%.