Foldable smartphones, both existing and upcoming, are now embracing thinner profiles as part of their evolution. While this may seem like another trend for brands to follow, slim form factors are actually a much needed improvement for this segment. Reason being that, for the past generations or so, foldable smartphones are known to be bulky by design.
One of the more notable models released this year is the OPPO Find N5, which was launched back in February. Admittedly, it’s a bit late for me to put up this review (other commitments be damned), but with competing models from HONOR and Samsung now appearing closer on the horizon, now’s a good time to revisit it.
Specifications
Unlike the Find X8 series, OPPO’s latest foldable smartphone is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset which, by right, should deliver better performance than the MediaTek Dimensity 9400. All of its displays are larger than its predecessor, with the internal display almost rivalling that of an iPad mini.
Meanwhile, battery capacity has been bumped up to 5,600mAh, as opposed to just 4,805mAh on the Find N3. Charging is also faster, with 80W support on wired and 50W on wireless.
However, not everything is upgraded on the Find N5. The most obvious offender are its cameras, which now consists of a 50MP primary, a 50MP periscope telephoto, and an 8MP ultra-wide. For comparison, its predecessor came with a 48MP, 64MP and a 48MP respectively. While this may sound bad on paper, results tell a different story altogether.
Looks
The slimness is my favourite aspect of the OPPO Find N5, and rightfully so, as it is considered one of the major selling points. The phone is very discreet in its folded form, able to blend seamlessly with other bar-shaped phones in public. To that extent, it handles quite flawlessly as one too in both practicality and comfort, thanks to the size of its display and combined thickness of both halves.
Weight-wise, the Find N5 comes in at around 229g, which is heavier than an iPhone 16 Pro Max but ever so slightly. The weight balances out when unfolded, allowing for a satisfyingly comfortable tablet experience when browsing the web, watching videos or reading e-books while lying down. This is made even better with the virtually creaseless foldable display, made possible by OPPO’s improved Flexion Hinge. Just to be clear, a crease is still there, but it is something that’s only prevalent if you’re actively looking for it.
Getting back to the hinge, this component is both sturdy and stiff, enough to not make the Find N5 feel flimsy. On top of keeping the phone secure in folded and unfolded forms, the stiffness also helps it maintain certain positions, such as the laptop-like FlexForm mode. The improved hinge also contributes to the phone’s IPX8/IPX9 water resistant rating.
Oh, and I should mention that the phone comes with a first-party case, which is something I genuinely appreciate. As is typical with most foldable phone cases, the protection mainly covers the rear rather than the external display, so you’ll still want to handle it with care. Also worth noting is that the case does add some thickness to the Find N5, but not enough to make it feel bulky.
Other features present include a three-stage switch on the left side of the internal display (on the right when in folded form), which lets you toggle between default, vibrate-only or silent modes. Being a foldable smartphone, fingerprint verification is done through a sensor that’s integrated on the lock/power button instead of on-screen.
For audio, the Find N5 employs a top and bottom firing stereo speakers, which sounds good for a device of this standard. One thing to note for southpaw users: you may end up blocking the bottom speaker with your palm, as it’s positioned on the left side of the phone when unfolded.
Functionality
On the software front, the phone runs on OPPO’s ColorOS 15, which is based on Android 15. But unlike the version featured on the brand’s Find X8 Pro model, which I reviewed in January, this iteration is tailored specifically for the Find N5 foldable smartphone. First- and third-party bloatware are still present, unfortunately.
The most notable Find N Series-exclusive feature is the ability to split apps into different windows (up to three) via the Boundless View feature, allowing you to seamlessly navigate between them at the same time. What’s impressive about this version on the Find N5 is that all apps that are visible are actually active, so you can leave a YouTube video running in one window and still reply to a message in WhatsApp in another, and so on. However, not all apps (ie: Camera) support this mode.
Moreover, the cool gesture of sliding two fingers down the middle of the internal display to activate Boundless View makes a return on the new OPPO foldable. This is a feature that I appreciate, as it shaves off a number of steps to initiate the mode, but bear in mind that this works to only bring up two windows. Adding a third will require you to tap the “three dot” icon on top of either active windows, select Split View, and then launch the desired app from the app drawer. Additionally, there’s also the ability to minimise an app and have it appear in a floating window on top of the screen.
Then we have ColorOS 15’s O+ Connect tool, which lets you easily transfer files between the Find N5 and an iPhone or a Mac. On top of that, this feature also lets you to remotely control your Mac or MacBook device directly through the phone’s display in unfolded or Flex modes – the latter mirrors the laptop’s interface on one half of the screen, while the other functions as the keyboard and trackpad.
Allowing me to remotely access my MacBook over the air is convenient, but seeing how much can actually be done through the Find N5’s 8.12-inch display, it’s best to leave this approach as a last resort. Not to mention that your Mac needs to be both powered and online in order to have this work. Moreover, enabling this won’t be straightforward and will involve several steps, which includes downloading the O+ Connect’s companion app for desktop via OPPO’s website.
Performance
Thanks to the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, you can expect the OPPO Find N5 to perform well, whatever the occasion may be. In both its folded and unfolded modes, the phone handles multi-tasking, as well app launching and switching with no issue. This is especially so with the aforementioned Boundless View feature, which lets the phone run three different apps simultaneously. Of course, you can expect it to maintain high levels of performance in gaming as well.
On that note, benchmark scores on Geekbench and 3DMark ranks the Find N5 among the top performing flagships of 2025, though it does lag just slightly behind bar-shaped rivals. For gaming, the Find N5 runs Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves at the highest settings at high frame rates with no noticeable drawbacks, while also maintaining decent heat control. Needless to say, playing games in its unfolded form is the way to go if you want a more fulfilling visual experience, and there’s no shame to rely on the exterior screen instead if you prefer a more traditional approach.
In terms of battery, as with all foldable smartphones, performance differs from one mode to the other. In its folded form, the OPPO FInd N5 managed to last over 20 hours while running our non-stop video streaming test, whereas its unfolded mode clocks in lower at only 16 hours. While not terrible, these figures are bafflingly lower when compared to its South Korean rival, which records at around 25 hours and 19 hours respectively when running the same test. As a daily driver, it’s safe to say that the Find N5 could last close to two days on a single charge.
Speaking of which, a full top-up from 0% takes close to an hour via a charger which supports its 80W rate, whereas a quick 15 minute charge enables for over 40%. Based on these results, we noticed that the phone will throttle its charging rate once hitting a certain percentage, likely as a safety measure to avoid overheating or battery degradation.
Camera
Despite featuring an arguably downgraded setup from its predecessor, the cameras on the OPPO Find N5 perform remarkably well. They’re not groundbreaking by any extent, but are still flagship-levels in terms of photos and videos nevertheless. Personally, I find that they are on par with its bar-shaped cousin, the Find X8 Pro.
Photos taken with the phone exhibit a nice balance of brightness, contrast and colour saturation, mostly thanks to the optimisation done by OPPO’s partner brand Hasselblad. Even when shot under broad daylight, particular details like clouds, surface textures and others are clearly visible as sunlight and shadows are automatically adjusted.
And I’m glad to report that similar results can also be seen in low-light photos, even under mostly dark conditions. However, the latter is also where you’d start to notice any software-based tweaks, such as noise reduction and artificial sharpening, being used by the camera app to achieve these results.
The Find N5’s camera performance mirrors the Find X8 Pro in the video department as well. Like the latter, it can only record up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, which is still more than sufficient for the casual user, though content creators may find this somewhat lacking. While low-light results are impressive for still shots, quality takes a significant dive for videos that are shot in poorly lit conditions, with software-based compensation becoming more noticeable.
One thing I didn’t quite appreciate is the inconsistency between the on-screen preview and the final captured image. In low-light conditions especially, the preview often appears much darker than the actual result. While it’s impressive to see how much the final image improves, this disconnect can be discouraging, as users might hesitate to take the shot – assuming the outcome would match the preview.
Sample Photos
Conclusion
What’s impressive about the OPPO Find N5 isn’t just its thinness, but how much has been packed into the overall package. Beyond the chipset, battery, and camera performance, it also delivers practical features that power users will appreciate. Chief among them is the Boundless View multitasking feature, which makes full use of the internal display – something other foldables (and even tablets) have yet to replicate effectively.
That said, like most products we’ve reviewed, it isn’t without flaws. Issues such as pre-installed bloatware and the unnecessarily tedious process of connecting to a Mac, among others, hold it back from being a complete package. Its RM7,999 price tag doesn’t help its case either.
Still, I personally think the OPPO Find N5 is the foldable to beat this year. With several months still to go, there’s time for others to challenge it – but for now, it sets a strong benchmark in the category.
