When I first held the OnePlus Open in my hands, I was instantly won over by everything about it. Despite being the first ever foldable phone, the OnePlus Open redefined everything I expected from a foldable (including a proper multitasking method). Instead of a proper successor this year, another phone called the OnePlus Open Apex Edition will be released.

I know many people, myself included, are eagerly awaiting the next generation of OnePlus foldables, but the Apex Edition seems like the perfect distraction in the meantime. It's clearly not trying to lure existing OnePlus Open owners, especially when it has nearly identical specs. Instead, it's a fresh new fold aimed at keeping people away from competing devices like the rumored Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold plus the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.

I think it's impressive that the OnePlus Open continues to reign supreme and not be dethroned as the best foldable phone, considering that it has fought off many rivals trying to take the title of best foldable phone since its launch last fall. I got my hands on the OnePlus Open Apex Edition, so here's everything new about it.

In true makeover fashion, the OnePlus Open Apex Edition is treated to a brand new Crimson Shadow colorway that highlights the phone's vegan leather back cover. It is certainly different from the sleek glass casing of my OnePlus Open's Emerald Dusk colorway. As much as it adds a more polished look, I'm pleased that it folds into a much grippier grip in the hand due to the textured feel of the vegan leather casing.

If you're like me and worried about the vegan leather fading over time, it comes with the same snap-on case that came with the original.

Otherwise, the design is identical to the standard OnePlus Open, including the 7.82-inch AMOLED and 6.31-inch AMOLED outer displays. Ultra-brightness, rainbow colors, and outstanding viewing angles. It is also worth pointing out that the fold in the middle of the inner display is much more subtle than the fold on the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

When the OnePlus Open launched, I was amazed by the generous 512GB of storage that came with it. With the Apex Edition, however, OnePlus has gone a step further and included a whopping 1TB of storage capacity. This is more than enough capacity to meet the needs of the most demanding users, especially considering that the foldable has proven to be a champion in photography. In fact, it showed its strength in my Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open photo shootout.

The combination of 16GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip is alive and well, delivering buttery smooth response in interface and app execution.Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has since been used in devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and while far superior in benchmark scores, it did not do much in terms of extending battery life, falling short of the OnePlus Open. It will therefore be interesting to see how the Apex Edition fares when subjected to the same tests.

I accidentally did something to my phone when I first set it up that somehow disabled the camera. The on-screen notification said that I had to turn off VIP mode for the camera to work. So I went to the settings menu to find out where VIP mode was located and realized that the alert slider on the phone controlled it. When the slider is placed at the top, VIP mode is turned on and the microphone and camera are disabled.

Now, you may be wondering what the purpose of this is. Actually, this is not so much to protect the privacy of your phone as it is to help if you are worried about eavesdropping or snooping. Permissions are managed at the chip level, so enabling this would add a layer of privacy not offered by other phones. Furthermore, the VIP mode prevents apps from seeing or recording chat information, but strangely enough, it does not disable the device's GPS location.

With a number of smartphones now offering AI-assisted photo editing tools, such as the Pixel's Magic Editor and the Galaxy S24's Generative Edit, the OnePlus Open Apex Edition joins the ranks with its own features. Its new AI Smart Cutout tool can easily create custom stickers and images from photos by intelligently lassoing objects.

I can understand why some would find this useful, but what is missing is the generative AI power I have seen in other tools that can fill in the blank spots with the help of AI.

With all the new changes, the OnePlus Open Apex Edition is priced slightly higher at $1,899, which is technically higher than the $1,699 price of the standard OnePlus Open. OnePlus continues to offer $100 for any phone in any condition. trade-in promotion, effectively making it $1,799.

What's really interesting, however, is that for a limited time, the standard OnePlus Open 16GB RAM + 512GB ROM version is reduced to $1,399 from August 8 through 30, 2024. Combined with the same trade-in offer, it can be had for $1,299. if there is one thing that OnePlus would have liked to see added with the Apex Edition, it would be wireless charging. That one, it seems, will have to wait for a suitable successor.