OPPO Find N5 Durability Tested: Is Thinness Too Costly?
The race to make foldable phones thinner is intense. Is thinness costly regarding strength? Tech pundit Zach Nelson, known for his brutal durability tests, recently put the ultra-thin OPPO Find N5 through its paces to find out. He scratched it, heated it, and, most tellingly, tried to bend it.
Scratches and Scuffs
How did the screens hold up? The external display had standard results, starting to scratch at level 6 on the Mohs hardness scale. The internal, flexible screen is protected by a softer polymer coating. It was much more vulnerable, showing marks from level 2 scratches.
The phone's frame is made of aluminum. It scratched pretty easily with a blade. The rear cover is treated with an artificial leather texture. It also was susceptible to scratches.
Dust and the Hinge: A Gritty Fight
Folded hinges are dust traps. Nelson attempted this by spilling sand on the phone. Sand was put on the closed inner screen. The hinge looked well-sealed. Sand was spilled on the *back* of the phone near the hinge mechanism. It was another story. Opening and closing the Find N5 after that made a crunching noise. This indicated that grit had penetrated the minute mechanism.
The Bend Test: The Turning Point
It is typically the determining test for foldables. When folded shut, the OPPO Find N5 fared under the bending stress quite well considering its svelte build. Once flattened out after being unfolded, that was no longer true.
Trying to flex the phone in its open state led to almost immediate failure. Bright lines could be seen across the flexible screen. This indicated damage to the underlying display matrix. The structural integrity appears to be seriously compromised when the phone is in an open position.
Inside the Thin Design
Nelson also took the phone apart to investigate how OPPO managed to make it so thin. He highlighted two curious design decisions:
- The USB plug does not include a standard metal housing. It relies on the frame work of the phone.
- The motherboard is two-sided with chips packed on both the top and bottom for space purposes.
Durability Concerns
Ultimately, the OPPO Find N5 could not withstand the whole set of tests, especially the open bend test. Its thickness is impressive. However, this test showed potential durability concerns for users. These concerns are regarding the resistance of the hinge against dust and dustproofing of the phone once unfolded.
