OnePlus has confirmed that it is working on a foldable phone for late 2023, confirming previous rumors and hopefully bringing previously unavailable, superior hardware to users worldwide.

During a panel discussion at MWC 2023 in Barcelona, OnePlus President and COO Kinder Liu broke the news that OnePlus will finally offer a foldable flagship phone. He didn't mention much other than the promise that it will embody OnePlus' "fast and smooth" mantra and will be one of the best foldable phones when it comes out.

He also named the OnePlus Pad tablet, last year's OnePlus Watch smartwatch, and the India-only OnePlus TV as important parts of OnePlus' ever-expanding product portfolio.

A OnePlus foldable is likely to appear in September under the name OnePlus V Fold, according to one existing rumor. This foldable will use a high-resolution 2K display, the same source adds.

We really like OnePlus devices like the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Nord 2T, but the lack of precedent makes it hard to imagine how the company's special features will map onto the foldable. Fortunately, thanks to sibling company Oppo, we don't have to imagine this phone from scratch.

Oppo already makes two great foldable phones, the Oppo Find N2 and Oppo Find N2 Flip, giving OnePlus a sturdy foundation to develop its own foldable phone. the Find N2 Flip is available worldwide (except in the U.S.). It is available for sale, but the larger Find N2 is exclusive to China. Therefore, it makes sense for OnePlus to use the Find N2 as a base, make some tweaks to make it more OnePlus-like (such as adding the rumored upgraded display), and sell it globally.

It would also be interesting to see some elements of the newly announced OnePlus 11 Concept on the foldable, although it is a longshot. Built-in liquid cooling might be a stretch, but a transparent back with tiny metal pieces scattered around and a delicately sculpted camera block would certainly give the foldable an impressive look.

Whatever OnePlus does with the foldable, it will have to do something to stand out in the increasingly crowded handset market segment; Oppo's own foldable aside, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 (and rumored Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 successors), as well as the global launch of the Honor Magic Vs, which OnePlus will have to try. And that's not even taking into account the possible shakeout if the rumored Google Pixel Fold and iPhone Flip actually make it to market; for OnePlus' sake, and for the sake of foldable users, let's hope OnePlus' foldable does well enough to stand out. We hope.