Oppo introduces the Find N5: the slimmest foldable smartphone globally featuring DeepSeek R1.

      The sleek design of the Oppo Find N5 is made possible by its specially designed titanium alloy hinge.

      On February 20, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo introduced the Find N5, claiming it to be the thinnest foldable flagship phone globally, measuring just 8.93mm in thickness when closed. As the first foldable device to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, this new addition to the series also includes a 5,600mAh battery, supports 50W wireless fast charging, and is equipped with DeepSeek R1.

      Why it’s significant: The Oppo Find N5 sets a new standard for foldable flagships with its sub-8mm thickness and incorporates the fully functional DeepSeek R1, an AI processing platform from China that competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

      Details: According to the company, the Oppo Find N5's slim profile is facilitated by its custom titanium alloy hinge. To achieve the thickness of 8.93mm, Oppo employs aerospace-grade titanium alloy 3D printing techniques, as explained to attendees during the product launch. This method involves melting the alloy at a temperature of 1700°C, atomizing the molten titanium into micron-sized particles using nearly 100% pure inert gas, and then precisely printing the material with a high-temperature laser at 1700°C.

      Moreover, Oppo announced that its proprietary titanium alloy hinge has received certification from TÜV Rheinland for having invisible creases, making the Find N5 the first foldable phone to achieve this distinction. The stringent requirements stipulate that the maximum depth of the crease should not exceed 0.15mm after a two-week testing period.

      The company asserted that the foldable phone's 5,600mAh battery can sustain up to 8 hours of video calls or 24 hours of movie playback. Besides being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the Find N5 will be the first Oppo device to support DeepSeek-R1, enabling AI capabilities like deep thinking and online search.

      The Find N5 will be available for purchase worldwide starting February 26, with a price tag of RMB 8,999 ($1,241) for the 12GB + 256GB variant, and RMB 10,999 ($1,516) for the 16GB + 1TB model, which also supports satellite communication.

      Context: As of now, several smartphone brands have confirmed their integration with the DeepSeek model, including OnePlus, Oppo, Huawei, Honor, Realme, Vivo, Meizu, Lenovo, and ZTE. According to market intelligence firm IDC, the shipment of foldable smartphones in China in 2024 reached approximately 9.17 million units, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 30.8%. However, shipments of foldable smartphones saw a decline of 9.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period the previous year.

      In 2024, Huawei held the leading position in China's foldable smartphone market, capturing nearly 50% of the market share, followed by Honor with 20.6%, Vivo with 11.1%, Xiaomi with 7.4%, and Oppo with 5.3%, as indicated in the IDC report.

      Jessie Wu is a technology journalist based in Shanghai, focusing on consumer electronics, semiconductors, and the gaming industry for TechNode. She can be reached via email at [email protected].