With the appearance of "Find N" cheaper than the iPhone, 2022 will be "folding smartphone first year"

OPPO folding smartphone "Find N"

The smartphone "Find N" announced by OPPO on December 15 has been attracting a lot of attention in the "cheap price" in the lower 100,000 yen range, even though it is equipped with a foldable display. Folding smartphones are no longer special, and it's time for anyone to purchase as one of the options for choosing a smartphone. [Photo] The price of Find N that no one could predict. Find N, which has a large venue, will be released in China, and the price starts at 7,699 yuan, about 137,000 yen. The price exceeds 100,000 yen, but in the same China, the 256GB model of the iPhone 13 Pro is 7,999 yuan, about 143,000 yen. Find N is a folding smartphone that can be purchased at the same price range as the iPhone. The price of the folding smartphone that opens horizontally as well as Find N is 17,999 yuan for the Huawei "Mate X2", about 321,000 yen. Samsung "Galaxy Z Fold3 5G" is 14,999 yuan, about 267,000 yen. And Xiaomi's "MI mix Fold" is 9,999 yuan, about 178,000 yen. Despite their different functions, Find N is cheaper than Cospa's Shamoomi folding smartphone. Folding smartphones have been delayed due to high prices before "necessary or not". The first model "Galaxy Fold" released by Samsung in 2019 has appeared in the United States for $ 1,980, below $ 2,000. Although it was released in Japan for 245,520 yen, it was not a product for general consumers because it was higher than a smartphone but also a price higher than a cheap laptop. Samsung later reduced the price of $ 200 to $ 1,799 to $ 1,799, which was released in 2021, but the price is still high. At the time of the announcement of the price at the Find N presentation, the price of the 10,000 China Genpai was presented first, and it made me think that the folding was still high. However, the price of "XXXX Gen", the 4 -digit range, and the price of 10,000 yuan were presented, and the presentation venue was greatly messed up. Then, after that, the official price of 7,699 yuan was displayed, and the venue was wrapped in a whirlpool of excitement and delight. By the way, when I accessed the OPPO Chinese online store immediately after the announcement, Find N was sold out in an instant. In the closed state, the same screen ratio as the normal smartphone 5.A 49 -inch display can be used and appears when it opens 7.There is no fold on the hinge part on the 1 -inch large screen. The camera is 50 million pixels + 10 million pixels telephoto + 1,000 pixels ultra -wide angle, and the front is 32 million pixels and the specifications are sufficient. If you can buy it at the same price as other companies' high -end models, Find N will be a hot product at once. By the way, the overseas expansion of Find N has not been revealed at this time. The problem in overseas expansion is after -sales service, and it is difficult for sales countries to expand larger, given that folding displays are more vulnerable to damage or scratches than general displays. Due to the high price, the number of buyers will be limited in Southeast Asia, where OPPO is relatively strong. If so, it may be suitable for regional developments, such as Europe and Japan, which have a certain level of awareness and high -priced models. Folding smartphones are almost in Samsung's products other than China, so if OPPO puts Find N in developed countries, it will be a prominent product. Samsung's next horizontal smartphone "Galaxy Z Fold4" (tentative name) appears in the summer of 2022, so there is a possibility that Find N will come out before that. Comparing Find N and Galaxy Z Fold3 5G, Galaxy Z Fold3 5G supports pen input. However, those who do not use a pen will not be bothered by this performance difference. The major difference in practical use is waterproofing, Galaxy supports IPX8 waterproof, and Find N is not compatible. In recent smartphones, the battery cover does not remove the battery cover and there are few gaps in the main body, so even if it is a waterproof product, it is less likely that water will penetrate if it is dropleted. However, the folding display is highly likely that water will be mixed from the hinge part, and it is safer to fold a product that is not compatible with waterproofing outdoors and fold it in a pocket as soon as it falls even in light rain. Although Find N has a great advantage at the price, there is a little anxiety in terms of waterproofing. Nevertheless, the appearance of folding smartphones that can be purchased at the same price as the iPhone, and the next time you buy a new smartphone, some people may think, "Let's buy a folding soon." In addition, when Xiaomi or the like will put out the next folding smartphone, it will be at a price cheaper than Find N, so the price drop may proceed at once. 2022 may finally be the "folding smartphone first year".

Yasuhiro Yamane