After a major controversy erupted between the ruling party and the opposition leaders over the alleged hacking of their phones, Apple officially announced that it does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker.

“State-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time. Detecting such attacks relies on threat intelligence signals that are often imperfect and incomplete. It’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected,” Apple said in a statement.

The tech giant further said that they are unable to provide information about what causes them to issue threat notifications, as that may help state-sponsored attackers adapt their behaviour to evade detection in the future.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to X on the clarification from Apple and said “Apple’s clarification is a long-winded non-denial… it only confirms what Rahul Gandhi said in his press conference today.”

Multiple political leaders have alleged that their Apple devices have been the victim of alleged hacking. The leaders shared the screenshot of the warning received on their Apple devices.

The leaders alleged that the Government was behind this attempt to breach their devices.

Leaders like–TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Congress’ Pawan Khera, Shashi Tharoor, Rahul Gandhi, and AAP MP Raghav Chaddha were among others who claimed that their phones were hacked.

The opposition party’s allegations bring the BJP on the front foot where multiple leaders slammed the opposition leaders.

BJP IT cell head, Amit Malviya told ANI “Apple has clarified that they have sent several such notifications across the world. Approximately users in 150 counties have received such notifications and they are also not able to point out why such notifications have been triggered. So, for the opposition to allege that this is being done at the behest of the government is absolutely baseless. Rahul Gandhi apparently under the influence of foreign-funded agencies keeps raking these issues but has never cooperated with the investigation. The Opposition does not have any issue to take on the Government and therefore they are resorting to making these false allegations.”

Earlier Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that many people in his party had got similar notifications and claimed that he was not scared of phone-tapping.

“Very few people are fighting against this but we are not scared. You can do as much (phone) tapping as you want, I don’t care. If you want to take my phone, I will give it to you” Rahul Gandhi said.

After a major controversy erupted between the ruling party and the opposition leaders over the alleged hacking of their phones, Apple officially announced that it does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker.

“State-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time. Detecting such attacks relies on threat intelligence signals that are often imperfect and incomplete. It’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected,” Apple said in a statement.

The tech giant further said that they are unable to provide information about what causes them to issue threat notifications, as that may help state-sponsored attackers adapt their behaviour to evade detection in the future.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to X on the clarification from Apple and said “Apple’s clarification is a long-winded non-denial… it only confirms what Rahul Gandhi said in his press conference today.”

Multiple political leaders have alleged that their Apple devices have been the victim of alleged hacking. The leaders shared the screenshot of the warning received on their Apple devices.

The leaders alleged that the Government was behind this attempt to breach their devices.

Leaders like–TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Congress’ Pawan Khera, Shashi Tharoor, Rahul Gandhi, and AAP MP Raghav Chaddha were among others who claimed that their phones were hacked.

The opposition party’s allegations bring the BJP on the front foot where multiple leaders slammed the opposition leaders.

BJP IT cell head, Amit Malviya told ANI “Apple has clarified that they have sent several such notifications across the world. Approximately users in 150 counties have received such notifications and they are also not able to point out why such notifications have been triggered. So, for the opposition to allege that this is being done at the behest of the government is absolutely baseless. Rahul Gandhi apparently under the influence of foreign-funded agencies keeps raking these issues but has never cooperated with the investigation. The Opposition does not have any issue to take on the Government and therefore they are resorting to making these false allegations.”

Earlier Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that many people in his party had got similar notifications and claimed that he was not scared of phone-tapping.

“Very few people are fighting against this but we are not scared. You can do as much (phone) tapping as you want, I don’t care. If you want to take my phone, I will give it to you” Rahul Gandhi said.

Design

The OnePlus Open exhibits a degree of thickness and weight that may seem excessive when compared to traditional bar-shaped smartphones. However, in the context of foldable devices, it manages to maintain a relatively slim profile with a thickness of 11.9mm when folded and a lightweight construction weighing 239g. It features a premium metallic body and a textured vegan leather back cover in Voyager Black (review unit). It is worth noting that the thickness is impacted by the rear-camera bulge, which is as thick as the frame. While the rear-camera module is positioned at the top side, it can hinder the in-hand experience by obstructing hand and finger movements. In the folded state, the camera module elevates the phone at an angle but does not cause it to wobble on flat surfaces. However, when unfolded, it renders the phone nearly unusable on flat surfaces due to excessive play on all sides.

Despite these minor issues, the OnePlus Open offers a comprehensive user experience. The flexible hinge allows for easy folding and unfolding, and it closes completely without leaving any gaps between the two halves of the device, minimizing the risk of dust and debris entering the main display. The device is IPX4 rated, offering some water resistance but no dust protection. The hinge also effectively conceals the display crease, which, while present, is not as prominently visible as on other foldable devices. Completing the design is the alert slider key, located on the top half of the frame. Despite being positioned directly above the volume rocker keys in folded state, it does not create any obstructions and is easily distinguishable from the volume keys due to its textured finish.

Display

The OnePlus Open boasts two equally capable displays—an inward-bending main display and a cover display. The cover display is a 6.31-inch 10-bit 2K AMOLED panel with LTPO 3.0 for adaptive refresh rates ranging from 10Hz to 120Hz. The primary bendable display is a 7.82-inch 10-bit 2K AMOLED panel with the same adaptive refresh rate capabilities (1Hz-120Hz). Both displays are exceptionally bright and support Dolby Vision.

Notably, OnePlus has maintained the size and aspect ratio of the cover display to closely resemble that of bar-shaped smartphones, ensuring a familiar user experience. However, the main bendable display offers a unique experience in line with the foldable form factor. It features a near-square aspect ratio for a consistent experience regardless of orientation.

The main display mirrors the interface of the cover display, but optimised to handle multiple windows and apps more effectively. OnePlus has powered the main display with “Open Canvas” interface, which allows users to open three different apps simultaneously on the main display without interfering with each other. The active app window can be stretched, expanded, repositioned, and resized, and other windows can be easily brought back with a simple swipe gesture.

Additionally, OnePlus has optimised its own and select third-party apps to provide an intuitive experience on the large display. For instance, apps such as Outlook, LinkedIn, Recorder, IR Remote, and WhatsApp have different interfaces for the main display and cover display. This design facilitates multitasking, efficient app switching, and drag-and-drop functionality in supported apps.

Camera

The OnePlus Open features a total of five camera sensors—three on the rear, one on the cover display, and one on the main display. The rear camera setup comprises a 48-megapixel (Sony Lytia-808) autofocus sensor with optical image stabilization, a 48MP ultra-wide-angle sensor with autofocus, and a 64MP 3x telephoto with OIS and autofocus. The cover display houses a 32MP sensor, while the main display includes a 20MP camera sensor.

This on-paper flagship-grade camera system offers a mix of strengths and weaknesses. The primary camera sensor stands out, delivering consistent performance in various lighting conditions. It offers natural shallow depth-of-field, enhancing the quality of shots and ensuring accurate focus most of the time.

The ultra-wide-angle camera performs well in daylight conditions but struggles in low-light environments, exhibiting noise and difficulty capturing essential details like shadows, highlights, and contrast. Furthermore, it has different colour tuning, resulting in a lack of colour symmetry with the primary sensor. While it offers a wide field of view, it tends to soften the frame at the edges. The autofocus feature works best in good lighting conditions and from a close distance.

The 3x telephoto lens is decent, excelling in daylight but facing challenges in low-light conditions. The 32MP camera sensor on the cover display is good, conveniently placed in the center of the top side. However, the 20MP camera sensor on the main display is positioned at the top-right side in horizontal orientation, requiring users to adjust the frame and look directly at the camera for natural-looking photos. Despite this inconvenience, the camera compensates with impressive image quality, surpassing the under-display camera found in other foldable devices.

While the OnePlus Open camera system is not flawless, it offers several value-added features. Notable features include Hasselblad portraits at 1x, 2x, and 3x focal lengths, mimicking the bokeh effect of Hasselblad lenses, and Dolby Vision video recording in 4K resolution at 30fps. The rear camera setup can record videos in up to 4K resolution at 60fps from all three sensors. OnePlus has introduced a dedicated stabilisation mode, “Ultra Steady,” using the ultra-wide-angle sensor, limiting video resolution to 1080p at 60fps but providing effective stabilization. Overall, video quality from the rear camera sensors is good, though not the absolute best.

Performance

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the OnePlus Open delivers a smooth experience with no lag or slowdown even during extended use. Core features such as Open Canvas for multitasking, Dolby Vision video recording, and drag-and-drop functionality work flawlessly. The device maintains top-notch performance with no thermal issues during typical use. However, power- and graphics-intensive tasks can cause the device to become slightly warm, particularly in the hinge and display areas. Nonetheless, thermal levels generally remain within acceptable limits and do not significantly impact overall performance.

Battery

The OnePlus Open excels in battery performance, providing an impressive screen-on time of approximately seven hours in mixed usage. This translates to a foldable device that can confidently last a full day before requiring a recharge. Speaking of charging, the device supports 67W fast wired charging with the included 80W SUPERVOOC charger, taking just over an hour to fully recharge the battery.

Verdict

In summary, the OnePlus Open offers a thin and lightweight design, premium build, stunning displays, smooth performance, and impressive battery life. While the camera experience has its strengths and weaknesses, it is generally superior to that of other foldable devices.

The OnePlus Open represents a successful first attempt at a foldable smartphone by OnePlus, in collaboration with OPPO. Priced at Rs 139,999, it introduces novel experiences that are not typically achievable with traditional bar-shaped smartphones, making it a compelling option in the foldable device market.