Technologies

Oppo Flip Phone: Using the Find N2 Flip’s Huge Cover Screen

Oppo’s Find N2 Flip has the largest vertical cover screen on any flip phone.

Oppo’s first flip phone has arrived. The Chinese company showed off the Find N2 Flip at its global launch event on Wednesday. Oppo’s clamshell-style phone appears to be heavily inspired by Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4, but with a notably different cover screen and perhaps a more squarish design.

Unlike the Z Flip 4, the cover display has a vertical orientation, as opposed to a horizontal layout. It’s also much bigger, measuring 3.26 inches with a resolution of 720×382 pixels. By comparison, the Z Flip 4 has a 1.9-inch external display with 260×512-pixel resolution. In fact, the Find N2 Flip has the largest vertical cover screen on any flip phone.

Apart from the display, the Find N2 Flip has all the features you’d expect from a flip phone in 2023. There are two rear cameras, led by a 50-megapixel lens, a 32-megapixel front-facing camera, a capable processor (MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus) and a 4,300-mAh battery, which can be fast-charged at up to 44 watts. There’s no IP rating for water- or dust-resistance. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 has an IPX8 rating, which means it’s also more of an indoor device: It can withstand water immersion but has no official protection against dust.

The Find N2 Flip will be available to pre-order from today and will start at 849 in UK. There are no plans currently for a US release, but this phone is set to hit stores in parts of Europe and Asia.

Find N2 Flip’s cover screen is the biggest display on any flip phone

It’s commendable that Oppo dared to shake up the design of the cover screen on flip phones. Although this might not look as aesthetically elegant as the Galaxy Z Flip 4’s horizontal screen, I believe the Find N2 Flip’s cover screen has the potential for greater functionality. After all, it does boast the largest vertical cover screen on any flip phone.

I found it convenient to use the Find N2 Flip’s cover screen to quickly scan the weather without needing to open up the phone as I went about my day. All I had to do was swipe left, and the cover screen would display my chosen widgets, including the camera, a timer, the weather and the recorder. I wish Google Calendar was included on the list of the widgets — I could still receive notifications from it, but I couldn’t view my plans from the cover screen.

Navigation is simple. You can swipe down the cover screen to bring up the control panel, swipe up to see a list of notifications and swipe left to bring up different widgets.

The camera widget lets you use the cover screen as a viewfinder, allowing you to take selfies, take portrait photos and even shoot video without opening up the phone. Thanks to the larger screen size, you get a good idea of how the photo will turn out as you’re taking the photo.

Quick replies — also available on the Z Flip 4 — are another convenient feature on this device. When I received a Whatsapp message, I could simply reply from the cover screen by choosing from a set of prewritten templates. I also had the option to create my own message template. In addition to WhatsApp, the quick replies feature is available on Slack, Messenger, Telegram and Line. Like the Galaxy Z Flip 4, this phone doesn’t allow you to type or dictate a reply without opening up the phone. You’re limited to the templates.

In its current form, however, the Find N2 Flips cover screen has limited functionality compared to the one on the Motorola’s Razr 2020. The Razr 2020 serves up a full keyboard for typing, curates apps that are well suited for the cover screen, such as Gmail and YouTube, and it even lets you play PUBG. I wish the cover display on the Oppo offered such freedoms and utility, but there certainly is potential if Oppo manages to nail the software component.

Find N2 Flip camera

There are two rear cameras on this phone, consisting of a 50-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel ultrawide. While this phone has respectable cameras, don’t expect it to take crisp shots of faraway subjects. In fact, images tend to soften when you zoom in digitally by around 5x. To be fair, you’re not likely to be buying this phone for its camera or its zoom skills (there’s no telephoto camera), but for its compact and approachable design. Taking that into account, I found the photos respectable. You can see the camera in action here.

Find N2 Flip’s inner display has a slight crease

The inner display of the Find N2 flip takes the form of a 6.8-inch AMOLED panel. At first glance, you might not see any crease running across the screen, but sometimes it’ll appear in certain angles or in bright lighting conditions. You can also feel it on occasion. For the most part, however, the crease didn’t interfere with my user experience and it’s by no means a deal-breaker for me. After all, the display looked crisp, was responsive and reasonably bright in sunny conditions.

It also has a 120Hz refresh rate, which made navigating between apps and scrolling through news feeds a smooth experience. This year, Oppo has updated its hinge, which the company says is smaller and thinner, yet stronger than the one on its predecessor. According to the company, Find N2 Flip has been tested for 400,000 folds. Oppo says the display also has an ultrathin glass coating that should help with durability.

For more details on the Oppo Find N2 Flip, take a look at the specs chart below.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Nov. 5

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 5.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Some of the clues are tricky, but we have all the answers, so read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Fresh addition to a pasta sauce, perhaps
Answer: BASIL

6A clue: Log ___ (water park ride)
Answer: FLUME

7A clue: Group of ships
Answer: FLEET

8A clue: Some drinks from «streams»
Answer: SODAS

9A clue: Documentarian Burns
Answer: KEN

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Closest pals, for short
Answer: BFFS

2D clue: «No problems here!»
Answer: ALLOK

3D clue: Shoe material in an Elvis hit
Answer: SUEDE

4D clue: «That is to say …»
Answer: IMEAN

5D clue: Tennis do-overs
Answer: LETS

Technologies

Apple Reportedly Planning Cheaper Macs to Compete With Budget Chromebooks, PCs

Apple doesn’t market its machines as affordable, but that could be changing.

Apple may release more affordable Mac laptops to compete with Chromebooks and budget-friendly Windows laptops as early as 2026.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports the company has plans to roll out a machine for «well under $1,000.» According to Gurman, the new laptop is already in early production under the codename J700. This matches earlier rumors that a low-cost MacBook Air was in the pipeline at around $599, which would allow Apple to directly compete with other cheap laptops, including Chromebooks and Windows PCs.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

According to the report, costs will be kept down by using a lower-end LCD that’s smaller than the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, potentially making the new affordable MacBook as small as 12 inches.

Another way Apple could reduce the cost is by using an A-series iPhone chip, which falls short of the top-tier performance offered by the MacBook Pro or the current M4 Air. The upcoming chip may be a variant of the A19 Pro chip that debuted with the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air, which Apple says is capable of MacBook-level performance.

As CNET senior editor Matt Elliott noted, the promise is a bold one. He speculates that the rumored $599 MacBook Air may get the same smartphone processor, or an M-series chip based on that architecture.

Bloomberg also reports that a MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro and M5 Max chip is in development, and Apple has completed work on a MacBook Air powered by the M5 chip, which is planned for release early next year.

The affordable laptop would be designed for casual users, students and businesses, specifically individuals who need a device for tasks such as web browsing, light media editing and document creation. The tech giant is also targeting the education market, as well as iPad buyers who may also want a traditional laptop.

«If this is strictly a move to entice consumers with a high-quality, lower-cost MacBook running MacOS in place of an iPad with a keyboard, then yes, Apple can likely take a chunk of that market,» said Josh Goldman, managing editor at CNET.

«Making inroads into the education market at this point, where Chromebooks have taken over since the pandemic, will prove challenging, though I’m sure it’s nothing that throwing billions of dollars at can’t fix,» CNET’s Goldman said.

This price range is ‘a big departure’

Price is likely to be key here. A $599 price tag would place the new Mac in the same range as more affordable Chromebooks and entry-level laptops, representing a significant change from Apple’s previous strategy.

«Apple potentially dipping into the Chromebook range of $300 to $500 with a new MacBook is a big departure,» said Goldman.

He notes that one of Apple’s most affordable MacBooks is the M4 MacBook Air, available new starting at $999 for the 13-inch model. Walmart still sells a new M1 MacBook Air, a 5-year-old laptop, for around $600.

By contrast, an iPad 11th Gen with a Magic Keyboard will run you around $600, making it clear that Apple’s target market for the rumored device is students and lighter users.

Apple typically hasn’t targeted the lower-priced segment of the market with its MacBooks. However, with consumer wallets under pressure from inflation, high tariffs and layoffs, an affordable MacBook could be imperative and timely.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 5, #408

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 5, No. 408.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is pretty diverse. The blue answers stuck out to me right away, because some of them are super famous and the others felt like they belonged with those names. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: How to see a game.

Green group hint: Soccer.

Blue group hint: Giddy up!

Purple group hint: Not a run play.