Apple’s long standing goal for a foldable device has been to avoid the display crease that current foldable devices have when they’re in the open position. Reporedly Apple made progress on this front: Prototypes of this new product within Apple’s industrial design group have a nearly invisible crease. In a 2024 report, Gurman is quoted as pointing to a new foldable device having an almost invisible crease. Until now, Samsung and Chinese smartphone vendors has failed to deliver on such a promise. Yet that may be about to change.

Pete Lau, the Founder of OnePlus and now the SVP and Chief Product Officer (CPO) at OPPO in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China posted a few photos of their upcoming book-style foldable phone that clearly illustrates that their foldable smartphone has no visible crease. He juxtaposes the upcoming OPPO foldable to  Samsung's Galaxy X Fold to make the point crystal clear. Is it marketing voodoo or the real deal? While only time will tell, the images provided below looks impressive, if true.

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Lau wrote on his LinkedIn page: "We're pushing the boundaries of what's possible with foldable phones. By meticulously analyzing every detail and adopting 20 new materials across 30 key components.  we achieved unparalleled thinness without sacrificing durability." If it's as thin or thinner than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, its going to be very impressive.

Lau further noted that "Our dedication to innovation doesn't stop there. Through advanced PCB engineering and a streamlined layout, we reduced the motherboard length by 31.4% compared to its predecessor, creating more space for an increased battery capacity and defying conventional limitations of foldable design.

With the leaps of innovation we've made in design and user experience, is 2025 the year you get a foldable?"

While it's a nice pitch, it'll come down to price. Still, their work on foldables is impressive and is definitely going to pressure Samsung to up their game.

OPPO's Foldable is branded the Find N5, is due to launch sometime around February 19 or 20. It's expected to measure less than 9.2mm when folded, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 12.1mm thick.

OPPO Find N5 will feature a selfie camera embedded in the top-right corner of the inner display, a USB port in the bottom edge of the right half, and an alert slider on the left edge. The device also appears to have a speaker grille at the bottom edge of the left half and the volume rocker and power button on the right edge.

The device showcased in these photos resembles leaked live images of the Find N5 we’ve seen in the past, so it’s safe to assume that it will feature a circular camera island on the back with a triple camera setup. Although OPPO has remained tight-lipped about the device’s specifications, leaks suggest that it will pack Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, a nearly 6,000mAh battery, 80W wired and 50W wireless charging support, IPX/IPX8/IPX9 certification for ingress protection, a 3D printed titanium alloy hinge, and a periscope zoom camera.

If OPPO actually delivers a foldable phone with an almost invisible crease, then we know that Apple's long term goal to achieve this feat is in fact doable and closer to reality.

While we're on the topic of foldable smartphones, Huawei will be introducing their next-gen trifold on February 18, 2025 in Kuala Lumpur. It'll be a busy week for foldables.