OnePlus president and COO Kinder Liu told The Verge that consumers aren’t the reason the foldable phone market is expanding. This is something echoed by Nothing’s Co-Founder Carl Pei, who told IndiaToday, “I don’t think consumers walk around saying, hey, I wish my phone could fold,” arguing that the push for foldable phones is coming from manufacturers. However, Oppo, Oneplus’s parent company, sees the potential in these devices, as the company achieved strong numbers in the foldable market in China last year.
Contemplating why not everyone is on board with foldable phones, Liu argued that although consumers want big screens, the bulkiness of foldable phones creates friction that turns people away from the product. But Liu stated that after two years of development and some technical challenges in the early stages, the OnePlus Open has a solution with its slim and light design that aims to “make it more convenient for users and remove that friction.” According to Liu, during development, the team ignored the competition and just wanted to “deliver an all-around flagship foldable that will not make any compromises.” We won’t know if they have succeeded until the Mumbai reveal on October 16 at 10 a.m. EDT.