Browsing through our list of the best folding phones, you'll see that our current favorite is neither Google's Pixel Fold 2 nor Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6, but the first-generation model, the OnePlus Open. [The OnePlus Open is the first OnePlus-branded foldable phone, but it is actually a rebranded Oppo Find N3. Any phone can be traded in for less than $1,500, more than $400 less than its rivals.

So, we already had high hopes for the OnePlus Open 2, but those hopes have been heightened by recent rumors of what upgrades are planned for the device. at X, leaker @chunvn8888 has some encouraging improvements pointing to a number of fascinating details.

The first of these will be speed: the original was powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but the sequel appears to skip a generation and jump straight to the Snapdragon 8 Elite. As early benchmarks show, this is quite a performance.

But the latest processors are always expected in flagship smartphones, and what's even more impressive is that OnePlus is apparently putting a massive 5,900mAh battery in its next foldable. [Battery life has been the Achilles heel of early folding handsets, but no one can blame the OnePlus Open for its shortcomings. Not only did it perform well in our tests, at 11 hours and 45 minutes, but with the included 67W charger, it was able to charge from empty to 50% in just 15 minutes.

So if OnePlus can offer this much battery capacity without adding too much weight, it would be quite an upgrade. And it would also be a little more protected from the elements too. @chunvn8888 claims that IPX9 waterproofing is coming - a solid step up from the IPX4 “splashproof” offered by its predecessor.

The post is somewhat light on camera details, but it appears to repeat the triple array centered around a 50MP main sensor (up from the previous 48MP) and a 3x telephoto lens. The original had a 64MP sensor with this feature, and it is unclear if it will be the same again or somewhat improved.

However, there is some debate as to when in 2025 it will be released; chunvn8888 claims it will be in the first quarter (January to March), but Sanju Choudhary is more pessimistic, posting on X that it will appear in late 2025.

That would mean a release between July and December, a risky move for OnePlus, as the Snapdragon 8 Elite is new and shiny now, but Qualcomm is expected to debut the chip's successor around October, The longer the company leaves it out there, the less cutting-edge it will seem.

But no matter when the OnePlus Open 2 arrives, we're glad it's back. At one point it was rumored to have been canceled, but thankfully that no longer seems to be the case.