5 things I want to see changed on the OnePlus Open 2

The OnePlus Open is an impressive piece of hardware, but its software and Android 14 do an even better job of utilizing that hardware to the fullest, which is a stellar feat for a first-gen phone from any company. That’s perhaps the reason I’ve stuck with the OnePlus Open as my daily driver for longer than any other phone in the past few years.

While I’ll always have a soft spot for the OnePlus Open, I still wish it did a few things differently. A chunk of my complaints with the phone are tied to its hardware, which will take another iteration to get fixed. Hence, here are a few things I hope OnePlus addresses with the Open 2 to make it the ultimate foldable champ.

1 I need better ingress protection

IPX4 doesn’t cut it anymore

There have been multiple instances in the past few months when I wanted to carry the Open to the beach or around a pool, but I always feared that even an accidental splash of water would wreck it for good.

The OnePlus Open is IPX4 rated, which means it can sustain drizzle, but anything more would likely test its limits; I’ve had to hold it extra tightly just to make sure it doesn’t slip out of my hand and end up in the water. Heck, I’ve even avoided taking the phone with me to the shower to play some tunes.

As you can see, the phone has given me more anxiety than peace of mind around water, which I wish wasn’t the case. And attaining a higher IP rating isn’t an impossible task for foldables anymore. We’ve seen the Galaxy Z Fold 6 come with an IP48 rating; even OnePlus’ own sister brand Vivo has a foldable phone with an IPX8 rating for top-notch water resistance. Maybe OnePlus is taking notes and will add better ingress protection to the Open 2.

2 Nobody says no to a larger battery

Charging your phone twice a day shouldn’t be the norm

The OnePlus Open comes with a 4800mAh battery. That’s a sizable capacity for a regular slab smartphone, but not for a foldable that has two high-res displays, one of which is the size of a small tablet.

Most days, the phone requires a midday top-up; it sometimes needs two full recharges to last a busy day. Sure, its fast-changing speeds come in handy, but the battery should last a full day on its own — on a regular day at least.

I understand that fitting large batteries inside the slim body of a foldable is a difficult task, as you just can’t stuff a bigger battery into the phone, disregarding safety, and call it a day. However, there have been rumors that the upcoming OnePlus 13 could use a new battery tech that helps pack a larger capacity in the same space. If OnePlus brings the same tech to the Open 2 as well, it would prove to be a huge upgrade for its next foldable.

3 Ultrasonic fingerprint readers are non-negotiable

Yes, plural — the OnePlus Open 2 needs two scanners

Okay, this is my personal outcry because I’m aware that a lot of people prefer capacitive fingerprint scanners mounted on the power button, but I’m not one of them. The way I grip my phone when not using it, my thumb sits right on the power button, which mistakenly unlocks it quite frequently. I’ve unintentionally unlocked the phone dozens of times while putting it in my trouser pocket, only to find that I butt-dialed someone without realizing it.

OnePlus does have a way to prevent that by requiring a firmer press of the button to unlock the phone, but this cumbersome workaround isn’t something I’ve gotten used to. I’d prefer an in-display scanner any day, mostly because it’s placed right where my thumb rests on the screen.

For a foldable phone, you’d need two of these sensors — one each for the inner and cover screens. If you think a foldable’s design may make it tricky, then I’ll point you to the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro. It uses a pair of ultrasonic fingerprint scanners that are thinner than conventional optical in-display sensors. And for phones that cost thousands of dollars, companies can afford to splurge a bit for the sake of convenience, right?

4 Fix the excessive heating, please?

The Open could learn a thing or two from the OnePlus 12

I’ve already pointed it out quite a few times here, but a foldable design comes with a lot of constraints, especially regarding the physical space available on the inside. Most slab phones have enough room for a dedicated heat dissipation system, but not foldables.

As a result, the OnePlus Open warms up quite a bit when under load or while fast charging. It doesn’t get too hot most of the time, but in certain scenarios, like when moving data between devices, a warning appears suggesting you unfold the phone for it to cool down faster.

The OnePlus 12 comes with one of the largest vapor chambers on any phone, which allows it to run far cooler even while gaming or recording 4K videos. The OnePlus Open 2 would also need a similar solution, albeit a slightly tweaked one considering the restricted space, to help bring down the temperature. An improvement like this will have an indirect, positive effect on the phone’s battery life as well.

5 Its software needs (a lot of) attention

Focus, OnePlus, focus

OnePlus did a fabulous job bringing some clever multitasking tricks to its foldable with Open Canvas, making use of that big inner display like no other foldable phone has so far. Having said that, OxygenOS updates are known to introduce new bugs while trying to fix older ones.

For instance, my current peeve is that apps like Instagram continue to play audio in the background even if I switch to another app. The only way to fix it is to manually go back to the app and close it. The Open didn’t have this bug early on — it was introduced with an update a few months ago, and it’s yet to be fixed.

But what has bothered me ever since I started using the OnePlus Open is its lack of native AI features. It makes the phone look further behind the curve when both Google and Samsung are offering so much on their phones.

The good news is the OxygenOS 15 beta has a nice suite of AI features for the OnePlus 12, from fun lock screen animations to AI-assisted text generation and editing. However, we’re yet to hear about what’s in store for the Open. Hopefully, the Open 2 will catch up to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 when it comes out sometime next year.

The OnePlus Open 2 only needs to be an iterative upgrade

While we all like it when phones get big, dazzling changes every year, the OnePlus Open was already a solid package that its follow-up can easily get away with minor tweaks and upgrades.

My personal grievances disguised as suggestions for the Open 2 here can already make the handset one of the best foldable phones of 2025, but I know I’d get a lot of virtual flak if I didn’t mention wireless charging, too. So, OnePlus, save me some harsh digital criticism and give the people what they want with your next foldable phone.