OPPO Find N Review: Combining the best of Samsung and Huawei’s foldables

OPPO may be late to the foldable smartphone game — Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Motorola, and even, uh, Royole have already hit the market with foldables. But according to the company’s chief product officer Pete Lau, this late entrance wasn’t due to a lack of ability. OPPO had, in fact, built six foldable prototypes over the past four years — and in a media briefing with Lau, we even caught a glimpse of these devices, which included clamshells, innie-folds, and outer-folds. But ultimately, the company decided to wait until the technology matured.

And with the benefit of hindsight, OPPO could also examine what other companies did right and wrong. And so the company’s first foldable, the Find N, seems to take the best of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Huawei’s Mate X2 to form one well-balanced package. In fact, this is my new favorite foldable hardware.

OPPO Find N Specifications: Click to expand

OPPO Find N: Specifications

Specification	OPPO Find N
Build	Gorilla Glass Victus front and back Aluminum frame and hinge
Dimensions & Weight	Folded: 132.6 x 73 x 15.9 mm Unfolded: 132.6 x 140.2 x 8.0 mm
Display	Main 7.1″ flexible OLED with UTG 1792 x 1920 120Hz refresh rate Secondary 5.5″ AMOLED screen 988 x 1972 60Hz refresh rate 18:9 aspect ratio
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 CPU 1x ARM Cortex-X1 @ 2.84GHz 3x ARM Cortex-A78 @ 2.4GHz 4x ARM Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz GPU: Adreno 660
RAM & Storage	12GB LPDDR5 RAM + 256GB UFS 3.1 storage 12GB LPDDR5 RAM + 512GB UFS 3.1 storage
Battery & Charging	4,500mAh battery 33W wired fast charging 15W wireless charging
Security	Side-mounted fingerprint reader
Rear Cameras	Primary: 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56″ Secondary: 16 MP, f/2.2, 14mm (ultra-wide), 123˚ Tertiary: 13 MP,f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.4″
Front Camera	32MP, f/2.4 (main screen) 32MP, f/2.4 (secondary screen)
Port	USB Type-C No 3.5mm headphone jack
Audio	Stereo speakers
Connectivity	Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 4G LTE and 5G integrated modem 5G: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78/n79 4G: LTE FDD: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/28/32/66 4G: LTE TDD: B38/40/41/42 3G: WCDMA: B1/2/4/5/8 2G: GSM: 850 900 1800 1900 MHz Dual SIM, Dual 5G standby Bluetooth 5.2 Wi-Fi 6E NFC and IR blaster
Software	ColorOS 12 based on Android 11

About this hands-on: OPPO provided me with a Find N unit to test. This review is after a week of use. OPPO did not have any inputs in this article.

OPPO Find N Hardware: The Goldilocks foldable

Up until now, foldable phones have been either very small or very large. Clamshell foldables like the Galaxy Z Flip 3 or Motorola Razr are just normal-sized phones that fold in half to become tiny — smaller than even a drink coaster in height and width. Larger foldables like Samsung’s Fold series, Huawei’s Mate X series, or Xiaomi’s Mix Fold, are basically iPad Mini-sized tablets that transform into a modern era flagship slab — which means they’re relatively big even in this form. Samsung and Xiaomi did make their foldables narrower in width, but they’re still tall phones that tower over, say, a standard iPhone.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, Huawei Mate X2, and Xiaomi Mix Fold

The OPPO Find N is the first foldable to find a balance between the two approaches. Its outside secondary screen measures just 5.5-inches, with a more conventional 18:9 aspect ratio, and thanks to thin bezels and subtle curvature at the edges, this makes the Find N look and feel ultra-compact in folded form. In fact, it’s significantly smaller than an iPhone 13 Pro, which itself is not big by modern slab standards.

The Find N with an iPhone 13 Pro

And it’s noticeably shorter and more compact than the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Find N and Galaxy Z Fold 3

The OPPO Find N is the first foldable to find a balance between too big and too small

And because the Find N’s screen uses an 18:9 aspect ratio compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s 24.5:9, it can display smartphone content in a more “normal” manner, without the cramped and elongated feeling you get from the Z Fold 3. This is of particular importance when typing — onscreen keyboards have always felt cramped on the outer screens of Samsung’s Fold phones, and even worse on the Xiaomi Mix Fold, which leads to more typos. On the Find N, I can peck away at my usual speeds.

The curvature of both front and back glass, along with a more rounded hinge area also makes for a more comfortable in-hand feel than the Galaxy Z Fold 3, whose hinge corners are still slightly sharp (this problem was even worse on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 before it).

You may notice from the photo above that the Find N also folds completely flat, while the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s folds at an angle and leaves a slight gap. That’s because the Find N’s hinge has a small cavity into which the screen tucks for a less harsh fold than the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s design.

This design also means the Find N’s inside screen doesn’t show much of a crease (and it actually has a double crease because of the lenient fold bend). You can spot the double-crease if you look at the screen from extreme angles under certain lighting, but it’s far, far less noticeable than the crease in the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Find N (left), Galaxy Z Fold 3 (right).

The Find N’s main screen is a 7.1-inch, 1792 x 1920, 120Hz panel, and it looks and feels great. It’s covered by ultra-thin glass so it feels less plasticky than Xiaomi and Huawei’s foldable and more like Samsung’s foldables — the screen, in fact, is sourced from Samsung. And animations are buttery smooth, although quite jarring when jumping back to the mere 60Hz outside screen.

In the last week, the Find N has received a lot of gushy praise from tech media for this hinge design that has mostly eliminated the crease and the gap. I have to add some context to that. While this is a damn great design, the Find N is not the first to offer this design. We’ve seen it in Motorola’s Razr foldables, and in more direct comparison, the Huawei Mate X2, too. In terms of look and feel, the Find N’s hinge is very similar to the one seen in the Huawei Mate X2.

But OPPO improves on this hinge by adding a trick pioneered by Samsung: the ability for the hinge to stay open mid-fold at any angle. Samsung calls this “Flex Mode,” OPPO calls its take “FlexForm Mode,” but they work the same way. Right now, only Samsung and OPPO foldables can do this — and it is a very practical feature that further justifies the point of foldables.

The hinge being able to stay halfway folded allows the Find N to be used as a mini laptop, and because the screen aspect ratio is wider than the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the keyboard is less cramped too. I actually can type slightly faster in laptop mode with multiple fingers than just two-thumb typing.

This form also lets users take photos or videos, or watch media, hands-free. For example, I was able to take this photo of myself in front of a graffiti wall without needing a tripod.

Battery and Memory

The OPPO Find N, despite its compact size, packs a 4,500 mAh battery that is slightly bigger than the 4,400 mAh cell in the Galaxy Z Fold 3. And because the outside screen is just a 60Hz panel and OPPO’s Chinese ROM software has some aggressive battery management (more on this in the software section), the Find N’s battery life has been stellar. In the first two days of use, I would unplug at 9 am, use it heavily all day, and still have around 40% battery 15 hours later by midnight. But this is with OPPO’s overly aggressive battery optimization that has unintended side effects (again, more on this in the software section). After I disabled the aggressive battery micro-management, I still finished 15-hour days with 25% battery left. This phone should be able to go all day for anyone. Topping up can be done via the included 30W fast charging brick or wireless charging.

With 12GB of RAM and at least 256GB of storage (my unit has 512GB), the Find N is as well equipped as many modern flagships. In my week of heavy use I have not experienced app launch stutters or crashes.

Hardware nitpicks

There are some nitpicks to be had with the hardware: the Find N only has two speakers (Samsung, Xiaomi and Huawei’s large screen foldables have four), and they’re both located on the bottom of the Find N, so you are not getting immersive stereo sound. And while the hinge feels very sturdy and well-built, there is no official IP rating like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 either. The phone’s Snapdragon 888 SoC will also be officially “last-gen” in a few weeks as flagships with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 get announced. Still, considering the Find N’s relatively low price (7699 yuan, which converts to around $1,206), these can’t be called anything but nitpicks.

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OPPO Find N: Cameras

There are five cameras on the OPPO Find N: two 32MP selfie cameras (one on each screen), and a triple-camera main system headlined by a 50MP, f/1.8, 1/1.58-inch sensor, along with a 16MP ultra-wide and a 12MP telephoto lens that can do 2x optical zoom. While the main camera is the same one used in the Find X3 so it is quite capable, the latter two lenses are inferior to what was seen in the Find X3, which means, once again, a foldable phone is using a compromised camera system that is not the company’s best optics.

The Find N’s triple-lens array consists of a 12MP telephoto (top), 50MP main (middle), and 16MP ultra-wide (bottom)

For the most part, the Find N can still produce great shots — and the camera definitely holds up well against the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s cameras — but for someone like me who’s been spoiled by jaw-dropping, world-beating cameras seen in the Vivo X70 Pro Plus and Google Pixel 6 Pro, I can’t say the Find N camera really wows me. For example, the OPPO Find X3 had an awesome ultra-wide camera that produced shots almost as sharp as the main camera. The Find N can’t do this since the ultra-wide sensor got downgraded, so if you pixel peep, you can clearly see that ultra-wide photos are softer and less detailed, especially at night.

In the below set, we can see the Find N’s main camera blows out the skies a bit compared to the iPhone 13 Pro’s shot. The ultra-wide battle is closer, with the Find N’s shot looking punchier and livelier, but in a scene like this shooting against backlight, some contrast (shadows) may be preferred.

The OPPO Find N’s telephoto zoom lens can capture 2x optical zoom and digital zoom up to 20x. If we stick to 2x, the shot is clean and sharp.

But if we go up to 10x zoom, which is purely digital crop, shots are noticeably not as good as what the Galaxy S21 Ultra or Pixel 6 Pro can do, however, if we compare the Find N against the Z Fold 3, the OPPO foldable’s digital zoom is still a bit better (less noise) than the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s 10x zoom.

The Find N’s main camera does a great job at night thanks to the combination of pixel-binning and relatively large sensor. Colors and dynamic range are on point in both shots below.

Selfies and portrait shots all turn out quite good — overall the Find N’s camera system is very good unless you have been spoiled by the absolute best cameras (again, the Vivo X70 Pro Plus and Google Pixel 6 Pro).

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OPPO Find N Software: Awesome gesture and customizations but needs some polish

The Find N runs ColorOS 12 over Android 11, and when the phone is folded up, the software behaves like any other recent OPPO phone, which in my opinion is a great thing — because ColorOS is very similar to OxygenOS, which most would agree is a very smooth and useful Android skin. ColorOS, like OxygenOS, is highly customizable, both in aesthetics and using the phone. We don’t just have the option to change UI color scheme, icon shape and sizes, and animation speeds, but we also have a myriad of shortcut gestures, from a quick launch sidebar that can be pulled into homescreen with a swipe, or screen-off gestures, which allows us to trigger actions or launch apps by scribbling a shape onto a sleeping screen (without needing to wake up the screen). I absolutely love the screen-off gestures and wish other phones would adopt them: I can, for example, turn on the flashlight by drawing a V, or skip music tracks by scribbling an arrow (“>”), all without needing to wake up the screen. OPPO even lets us customize these gestures, so I can, say, launch Google Maps by drawing an M.

Speaking of Google, because the Find N is officially selling only in China, it does not come with Google apps, but these can be installed very easily. OPPO’s own app store has the Google Play Store, so it’s just a matter of downloading and installing.

I absolutely love ColorOS’ screen-off gestures and wish other phones would adopt them.

However, like most China market-only phones, the battery optimization is overly aggressive, to the point that the phone breaks push notifications — meaning you may not be notified when someone sends you a WhatsApp message because the Find N has put WhatsApp to sleep. I can solve this problem by diving into settings and turning off battery optimization for important apps like WhatsApp, Slack, and Gmail, but it is really annoying that we have to do this. Chinese brands — please stop with the aggressive battery optimization! Nobody likes opening a chat app just to realize there are 12 messages sent hours ago waiting to be read. We will gladly sacrifice some battery life to be able to get notifications in time. Seriously, please stop doing this!

So that’s ColorOS when used as a normal slab phone. OPPO has made further changes to the UI for when the Find N is unfolded — in tablet mode. The biggest additions are quick gestures to help multi-task. With any app opened, swipe down the middle with two fingers to activate the split-screen mode. The gesture feels like you’re slicing the screen in half and the animations add to that whimsical feel. You can also pinch with three or four fingers on an app and the app will shrink into a floating window that can then be resized.

Not every app works: Instagram, for example, refuses to be split-screened or float. But 90% of apps I use worked well. And because the Find N’s inside screen has a wider landscape aspect ratio, it can display two apps side-by-side in a more native format than the cramped, narrower Galaxy Z Fold 3 screen. Notice in the photo below, XDA’s homepage is looking very cramped on the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s split-screen.

Find N (left); Galaxy Z Fold 3 (right).

However, the Find N’s software as a tablet needs more polish. Because the Android tablet scene is so sad, app developers don’t really bother optimizing apps for Android tablets (at least not like they do for the iPad), so one major problem is some apps will open in the wrong orientation. This usually happens with Android tablets in landscape orientation but the app in question only was written to run in portrait orientation. It’s an issue I encountered with tablets from Xiaomi, Huawei and Samsung too.

On the Find N, for example, YouTube Studios and Uber must open sideways — they refuse to fit into the landscape orientation. But Instagram, another app which only opens in portrait orientation, will open upright on the Find N, but with major pillar-boxing.

This problem was also there for Samsung’s first couple of foldables, but it’s mostly non-existent on the Galaxy Z Fold 3. This is partly because the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s main screen, even when unfolded, is in portrait orientation. But it’s also because Samsung has clearly fine-tuned its UI to make sure apps can be rotated in any orientation. Samsung’s Fold UI can also force any app to stretch across the entire screen, which I find very preferable for a visual-heavy app like Instagram. Pillar boxing just takes away from the immersion.

Many third-party apps, from Spotify to Telegram to Gmail, automatically take advantage of the Find N’s larger canvas by showing a two-pane layout.

Overall, considering this is OPPO’s first foldable, the Find N’s software experience can be called good — it just needs a bit more polishing to adapt to the fact that some widely used apps don’t play well with landscape aspect ratio.

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OPPO Find N: Conclusion

If we compare the OPPO Find N against competitors, the Find N wins in most cases. The Find N’s screens are clearly superior to the Xiaomi Mix Fold’s screens, which have thicker bezels, slower refresh rates, and a noticeable crease on the inner display. And while the Mix Fold has since gone on discount, if we go by the official retail price, the Find N is cheaper by a thousand-plus yuan or around $200.

If we compare the OPPO Find N against competitors, the Find N wins in most cases

The Huawei Mate X2’s form factor, screen and crease all compete well against the OPPO Find N, and the Mate X2 is still to this day the only foldable to offer a Periscope zoom lens. But its $2,700 price and lack of Google Mobile Services makes this a no contest. You’d have to have no regard for money to want to pay $2,700 over $1,200 for a similar type phone.

Of course, the device most people will compare the Find N against is Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3, and this one is closer. As I already said, I think the Find N’s hardware looks and feels better in-hand than the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but the latter has more polished software. We also can’t discount the fact that the Z Fold 3 has an official IP water resistance rating, stylus support, and Samsung DeX. How important these extra features are depends on the person — I personally have never broken a phone from water damage, and the stylus experience on the Fold is so compromised that my review unit S-Pen Pro has been collecting dust in a drawer somewhere. So the only Fold 3 extra feature I “miss” is Samsung DeX. But your mileage will vary.

I can say from my usage, I much prefer the Find N’s form factor and aspect ratio. And judging from many of the comments I’ve seen from my peers in tech media and also readers, I think my opinion is shared by many. But ultimately, it’s the price that makes the Find N a winner. For two years, foldable detractors have mocked the price of foldables. Well now OPPO has made a foldable that is not a cent more expensive than a top-tier flagship. I understand that this is China pricing, and if the Find N gets released internationally, the price will surely jump higher. But even if it gets up to $1,500, this is still not far off from a Samsung Ultra or Apple Max phone.

The age of foldables is here

The point is, I think 2022 is the year foldables will finally go mainstream, because if reliable rumors are to be believed, the OPPO Find N is just the beginning. We will get foldables from Honor, Vivo likely soon, and Xiaomi will surely have a follow-up. And since OPPO has set pricing at $1,200, there’s no way Honor and Xiaomi can price their products much higher.

Once multiple brands compete and try to outdo each other, tech breakthroughs happen. Samsung will have no choice but to bring their A-game too. The age of foldables is here.

OPPO Find N

The OPPO Find N is a foldable that's neither too big nor too small -- and it has a mostly crease-free screen.

Pros:

Cons:

View at AliExpress

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Leaked renders of the Xiaomi 12 reveal display size and colors

When Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 earlier this month, Xiaomi revealed that its next flagship Xiaomi 12 would be among the first to use the new chipset. At the time, the Chinese smartphone maker didn’t reveal when it was going to launch the new flagship lineup. We learned recently that Xiaomi intended on releasing its Xiaomi 12 series next week, on December 28 in Beijing, China, though we still weren’t quite sure what it would look like. Now leaks have given us our first look at official renders of the Xiaomi 12.

12 pic.twitter.com/fhfjHp1gOp

— Ev (@evleaks) December 23, 2021

These renders come from Evan Blass of @EvLeaks fame, and show off a green leather back on the Xiaomi 12, similar to the vegan leather that the Xiaomi Mi 11 had in China. They also reveal the display size, coming in at 6.28-inches, and show two other color variants too. Xiaomi opted to drop its “Mi” branding last year with the launch of the Xiaomi Mix 4 and the Xiaomi 11T Pro. These appear to be official marketing renders from the company, whereas previous renders released by OnLeaks were not. However, OnLeaks did reveal at the time that the phone will measure around 152.7 x 70 x 8.6mm (11.5mm including the camera module), giving us an idea of how large the phone may be.

To be clear, we know a little bit about the Xiaomi 12 series, though obviously, we don’t know everything. As confirmed by Xiaomi CEO Lei June, it will launch with MIUI 13, the latest iteration of the company’s custom skin. We have known for a while now that Xiaomi has been internally testing MIUI 13 with Android 11 and Android 12 bases and it looks like the Xiaomi 12 will be the first to run the new software. According to previous leaks, the Xiaomi 12 was expected to feature three 50MP cameras on the back, consisting of a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 50MP telephoto lens with 5X optical zoom. While it’s unlikely to be the case given the size difference of the three sensors on this device, it’s possible that it may still hold true for the Pro or the Ultra.

Details about the battery size, charging speed, and other hardware are unknown at this point, though the company has also revealed that the Pro variant of the Xiaomi 12 would feature a 2K resolution Samsung E5 AMOLED display with second-gen LTPO technology and micro-lens micro-prism technology.

The post Leaked renders of the Xiaomi 12 reveal display size and colors appeared first on xda-developers.

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Exclusive: This is our first look at Android 13 “Tiramisu” and some of its upcoming features

Android 12 is the current flavor of the season as OEMs go on to update their skins with this new release as their base. If you have a foldable, there’s Android 12L to look forward to, bringing along changes that make it easier to use foldables and other large-screen devices. Now, we bring to you an exclusive look at some of the features and changes you can see in Android 13 “Tiramisu”, the next version of Android that is likely to be unveiled after Android 12L’s stable release.

If you recall, we at XDA had brought to you your first look at Android 12, and then your first look at Android 12.1 (which Google eventually unveiled as Android 12L). Now, a source with access to a very early Android 13 build has shared with us screenshots of the unreleased version, and through it, we can show off several upcoming features and changes. We have a high degree of confidence in the veracity of these screenshots. But since Android 13 is still quite some time away, features that we show here may or may not make it to the first Developer Preview of Android 13 that is expected to be publicly released in 2022.

New features expected in Android 13:

• App Languages
• Runtime Permission for Notifications
• TARE: The Android Resource Economy
• Lock Screen Clock Layout

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App Languages in Android 13

Android has offered language selection as a feature since its earliest days. But this selection is applied universally across the device for the most part. Apps can offer their own in-app language settings, but most developers don’t offer this as a dedicated feature. The result of this is that panlingual users have to choose one language they are most comfortable with, and use the phone and all installed apps and services in that one language only. If they do need to switch languages, the switch needs to be made at the system level, accessible from Settings > System > Languages & input > Languages. As long as apps include the strings for the language chosen, they will display that chosen language.

A recent report from Android Police revealed that Google is working on a new feature, codenamed ‘Panlingual’, for Android 13 that will let users define language settings on a per-app basis. This feature will let users specify language settings for each app individually on their device, which will prove to be quite useful for multilingual users who may prefer different locales for different apps. The feature will appear as a new “App languages” option within the “Languages & input” settings, but users will also be able to access it from the “App info” screen.

We have access to screenshots that confirm that the feature is being worked on.

As you can see above, a new “App Languages” setting is now present within Settings > System > Languages & input. Choosing this option allows you to select an installed app, and change the language it is presented in, without affecting the language of the rest of the system. This way, you can have several different apps set up in different languages as per your need and convenience. Note that this still relies on the app including the relevant language strings, though one cannot rule out a possibility of on-device app string translation down the line.

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Runtime Permission for Notifications

Every app you install on Android automatically has the ability to push a notification to your device. As the number of apps on our phones increased, so did the number of notifications and the number of apps that send regular notifications. The result is that every app now wants to, and gets to, send notifications on your phone, resulting in notification spam and an unpleasant experience. Newer versions of Android have attempted to tackle it through solutions like Notification Importance (for determining how much the notification can interrupt the user), Notification Channels (to allow certain types of notifications from an app to be treated differently from other types from the same app), and even the ability to turn off notifications entirely on a per-app basis. However, most users do not know these solutions exist, so the notification spam remains practically untackled.

Google could be taking another step in tackling this menace next year. Android 13 adds a new runtime permission “POST_NOTIFICATIONS” for notifications. This means that notifications could become an opt-in feature on Android 13. Users may be able to choose whether they want to allow an app to send a notification to their device in a fashion similar to how they choose to allow other runtime permissions like Location and Camera access.

It is likely that the new notifications runtime permission will be pre-granted to all apps targeting Android 12 or older. But for apps targeting Android 13, they will have to abide by the new rules. Note that the settings interface for the feature does not fully work yet, and there aren’t any apps to test with it yet, so we are not completely sure that the feature is what we have made an educated guess towards.

Will this approach solve the notification spam? One can hope. Users have also become accustomed to liberally granting runtime permissions to any and all apps that request for them. So for these users, the situation is unlikely to change. However, for those that pay more attention when granting permissions, this should help cut down the number of apps that can send them a notification.

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TARE: The Android Resource Economy

Here’s something fairly interesting that we had been hearing whispers about for a while, that we can now see in the screenshots.

With Android 13, Google is expected to lay the foundations of a feature called “TARE”, short for “The Android Resource Economy”. TARE primarily focuses on energy-use management on the device, with the feature working through AlarmManager and JobScheduler policies.

Here’s some background we had separately learned about TARE some weeks ago: TARE introduces “Android Resource Credits”, something that is best described as a form of currency that is tied to the battery level of the device. Google will be “awarding” credits to apps based on how depleted the battery is, and apps can then use these credits as “payments” for the opportunity to perform tasks. Essentially, Google will be setting limits to how many tasks an app can schedule through JobScheduler and AlarmManager depending on the battery level and the needs of the app. There’s likely going to be complexities involved in this, so we will have to wait until documentation is released by Google to learn more intricacies.

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Lock Screen Clock Layouts

With Android 13, a new setting has been added in lock screen settings to toggle the layout of the clock on the lock screen.

In Android 12 currently, the lock screen clock is displayed in the double line layout that you see in the first screenshot above, but only when there are no notifications. When notifications arrive, the layout switches to a single line layout, and reverts back when notifications are cleared. The new setting allows users to retain the single-line layout persistently, something that users had been requesting for a while.

We’ve also seen evidence that this feature is being added to Android 12L, so you may be able to use this pretty soon.

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These are all the new features on Android 13 that we have access to. There’s bound to be more features and changes coming, especially once the update officially releases. Until then, this is your first look at Android 13.

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Here’s a list of the best PC cases for gamers in 2022

A PC case is more than just an enclosure for the components. It acts as a solid platform for the overall build and plays a huge role in deciding a lot of other factors such as the radiator support for cooling, GPU support, and more. Besides that, a PC case also acts as a statement piece for your desk. If you’re spending a ton of money putting together a high-end gaming rig, then why not give it some personality? In this article, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best PC cases for gamers in 2021.

As a gamer, you’re likely to build anything from a mid-range PC to a high-performance powerhouse to handle all the new and demanding titles on the market. We recommend picking up a good quality PC case with good support for cooling solutions. You must pick up a PC case that has a lot of space for all the high-end components or even a custom loop for water cooling. Perhaps picking up an airflow case isn’t a bad idea either. The best airflow cases on the market have a lot of air vents and space to install case fans.

Navigate this article:

• Best overall PC case for gamers: Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO
  • Second best overall PC case for gamers: Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact
• Best full tower PC case for gamers: Corsair Obsidian 1000D Super Tower
• Best case for dual PC setups: Phanteks Enthoo Pro II
• Best RGB case for gamers: Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB case
• Best budget ATX PC case for gamers: Phanteks Eclipse P360A
• Best compact ATX case for gamers: Lian Li Air Mini
• Best miniITX case for gamers: Antec Cube designed by Razer

Best overall PC case for gamers: Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO

Lian Li has been making waves in the industry for quite some time now. The company has a ton of PC cases on offer and some of them are extremely popular in the PC hardware space. In fact, we picked the Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL as the best overall PC case in our collection of the best PC cases. We still think the O11 Dynamic is one of the best PC cases you can buy on the market, especially as a gamer. As such, the Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO is our pick for the best PC case in this collection.

The Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO is identical to the standard O11 Dynamic case. The main difference between the standard and the EVO version is the fact that the EVO version of the case can be flipped and used in reverse mode. This essentially means that you can move the tempered glass side from left to right. This particular process requires a full disassembly, but the fact that it’s doable makes it a unique case by itself.

Besides that, this is the same Lian Li O11 Dynamic PC case that’s packed with a ton of features. The O11 Dynamic is a mid-tower PC case with a dual-chamber design. This case, as you can see, has plenty of glass panels on both the front as well as sides. There’s a mesh panel on the top with vents for airflow. This is one of those mid-tower cases that have enough space for plenty of case fans or even a custom cooling loop.

You can install up to three 120mm or two 140mm fans on the front, top as well as bottom panels. There’s also space to add a 120mm fan at the back. As for the radiator support, you can mount up to a 360mm radiator on the top, bottom, or front. You can also mount smaller 60mm fans on the hard drive cage to maintain the temperature of the drives. While the Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO PC case doesn’t come with any pre-installed fans, you do get a front panel LED strip. This LED strip can be controlled via the motherboard software or a hub.

Another interesting thing about this case is that you can move the IO ports of the case between four different locations on the case. This can be done without any tools, which makes it very convenient to customize. Notably, you can also buy a port hub as an additional accessory for the case to add more ports. This feature is unique to the O11 Dynamic EVO that no other PC case currently offers.

Overall, we think there’s a lot to like about the Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO PC case. It’s obviously not a perfect case for everyone, but there’s still a lot to consider. It has plenty of space for all the components, support for dual PSU mounts, a cable management bar, modular design, and more. The Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO is available in black, white, and grey color options, so pick the one that suits the overall aesthetics of your setup.

Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO

The Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO PC case is a solid mid-tower cabinet with lots of customization options and plenty of space.

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Second best overall PC case for gamers: Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact

The Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact is one of the best mid-tower PC cases you can buy on the market right now. We think it’s one of the best Fractal Design PC cases right now mainly because of its form factor and the ability to keep the internals cool. The Meshify 2 Compact PC case, as you can see, comes with the iconic mesh front panel with an angular design. This stylish panel provides fresh filtered air to the chassis with the help of the fans fitted on the front. The top is also a mesh panel for airflow. You get an option to choose between a solid or a tempered glass panel for the side. Tempered glass is probably the one we recommend if you’re using this case to build a high-end gaming rig with RGB lights. The glass panel will allow you to see the internal components.

The front mesh panel also has a removable dust filter under it making it easier to clean. You can also remove the nylon filter for increased airflow. You get dust filters for both the top as well as the bottom panel of the case too. One of the best things about the Meshify 2 Compact PC case is that it comes with three pre-installed fans out of the box. You get two 140mm Dynamic X2 fans on the front along with a single 120mm fan at the back for exhaust. There’s space to add more fans, but you’ll have to buy them separately.

In addition to the one that’s already installed on the case, you can add another 140mm fan on the front, two 120mm or 140mm fans on the top and a single 120mm fan at the bottom. When it comes to the radiator, there’s space to mount up to 360mm radiator on the front, up to 240mm radiator on the top, and two small 120mm radiators at the back and the at the bottom each. The Meshify 2 Compact also comes with cable routing space, making it easier to manage the cables inside the chassis.

The Meshify 2 Compact PC case is big enough to house a ton of components inside the chassis. You can install GPUs with a max length of up to 341mm and CPU coolers with a max height of up to 169mm. The PSU sits inside a separate compartment at the bottom along with drive bays. The Meshify 2 Compact has seven expansion slots, two 3.5″ and four 2.5″ drive days at the bottom. It’s also relatively easy to build inside the Meshify 2 Compact PC case as the top panel can easily be removed. We recommend picking up the Meshify 2 Compact PC case mainly for its airflow capability.

You can easily build a high-end PC inside this chassis without worrying about the thermals. You can use both CPU fan coolers or AIO liquid CPU coolers with this case. You can also use an mATX motherboard and use the remaining space inside the chassis to build a custom cooling loop.

Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact

The Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact is an excellent ATX case with plenty of space inside the chassis and a mesh front panel for airflow.

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Best full tower PC case for gamers: Corsair Obsidian 1000D Super Tower

The Corsair Obsidian 1000D may seem like overkill for most people, but we had to add this particular case to the collection mainly because of how much value it brings to the table. Full tower PC cases are known for their sheer size. Well, it can’t be better than the Obsidian 1000D PC case. This is one of the biggest PC cases on the market right now. The Obsidian 1000D is big enough to house two systems simultaneously. That’s right, the Obsidian 1000D is big enough to house two PCs inside.

We know there are plenty of gamers out there who also like to stream their gameplay on online platforms like Twitch, YouTube, etc. Having a PC case like this will help you build both your gaming as well as streaming PC in a single chassis. Not only will it save you some money, but it’ll also save you a lot of space. It’s also relatively easier to maintain a single case rather than having to deal with two cases for different rigs.

We think the Obsidian 1000D is also one of the best-looking PC cases on the market right now. It features smoked tempered glass panels, giving it a very unique look. This is one of those PC cases that’ll definitely attract a lot of attention. The Obsidian 1000D has a triple-chamber design that makes it very easy to work with. One of the best things about this case is that it has a ton of space to add case fans and radiators for cooling. In fact, the Obsidian 1000D also has radiator trays that allow you to install radiator mounts very easily to the unit.

When it comes to case fans, you can install as many as eight 120mm fans on the front, three 140mm fans on the top, and two 120mm fans at the back. As for the radiator mounts, you can install up to two 480mm radiators on the front, up to 420mm radiator on the top, and up to 240mm radiator at the back. This PC case can easily house a full-fledged water-cooled PC with a custom loop. You can also use this case to build just one PC and use the extra space to hide all your cables, add more storage or even have a dual PSU setup. The Obsidian 1000D also comes with built-in lighting and fan control. You’ll need that given the number of fans that can go into this case.

The Obsidian 1000D comes with 10 expansion slots, and six 2.5″ and five 3.5″ drive bays in total. Component clearance isn’t an issue with this case either. You can install a GPU with a max length of up to 400mm and a CPU cooler with a max height of up to 180mm. This full tower PC case also accommodates anything up to an extended ATX motherboard, so feel free to splurge all you want on high-performance components because the case will be ready for you. We recommend adding RGB fans or even some RGB lights for added bling. The tempered glass panels will allow you to see through the case, so it’s great if you like having a lot of RGB lights.

Corsair Obsidian 1000D

The Corsair Obsidian 1000D full-tower cabinet is the biggest case we have in our collection. It can contain two separate PC builds inside.

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Best case for dual PC setups: Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2

While the Corsair Obsidian 1000D is also a pretty big PC case, we think the Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 has got to be the biggest PC case on the market right now. We’re talking about a case that’s big enough to easily accommodate two PC builds inside. In addition to the primary build with up to an E-ATX motherboard, the Enthoo Pro 2 has space for a secondary ITX system at the bottom too. This type of case is perfect for power users and streamers who can greatly benefit from a dual PC setup. The Enthoo Pro 2 is also largely used as an enterprise solution as it can house an SSI EEB motherboard too.

We wanted to add this case to the collection as a solid option for gamers mainly because of all the space it offers. The chassis is big enough to accommodate a fully water-cooled build, complete with a custom loop. We highly recommend investing in a case like this even if you don’t necessarily want to have a dual PC setup. You can use all the space to manage cables, add water cooling components such as a pump, a reservoir, and more.

One of the highlights of the Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 PC case is that it offers exceptional airflow performance. The case comes with a mesh front panel that uses Phanteks high-performance fabric material. This mesh panel is made out of rugged and durable nylon fiber for increased airflow. It also helps keep the dust from getting inside the chassis, which is good.

The Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 is big enough to house as many as fifteen 120mm fans. There’s space to install up to four 120mm or three 140mm fans on the front. The top panel can hold up to three 120mm or 140mm fans. You can also install up to four 120mm fans on the internal side panel and three 120mm or a single 140mm fan at the bottom of the case. There’s also space to add a single 120mm or a 140mm fan at the back for exhaust. Radiator support is also plenty inside the Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 case.

You can mount up to a 480mm radiator on the front, up to a 360mm radiator on the top panel, up to a 360mm radiator on the bottom panel as well as either a 120mm or a 140mm radiator at the back. There’s also space to add an option 480mm radiator inside the chassis on the side panel. It’s safe to say that the Enthoo Pro 2 is fully kitted to house a fully water-cooled system. The case also has massive storage support. You can add as many as eleven 2.5″ SSDs and up to four 3.5″ HDDs inside the case.

The big thing about the Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 case is that it’s not as expensive as a lot of other full tower PC cases on the market. It’s perfect for those who’re looking to build a high-performance PC, as you can use the money saved on the PC case on other core components such as the best CPUs, motherboards, and more.

Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 PC case

The Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 is a full tower PC case with space for up to two separate builds inside. It also offers great airflow performance.

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Best RGB case for gamers: Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB case

Corsair’s iCUE RGB-enabled PC cases are perhaps one of the most popular RGB cases on the market. Sure, you can always buy a normal PC case and add RGB lights to it, but the Corsair iCUE cases come with RGB-enabled fans out of the box. We’ve picked the Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB case for this collection mainly because this also happens to be one of the best mid-tower PC cases around. The iCUE 4000X RGB is a mid-tower PC case that comes in black or white-colored options.

The Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB, as you can see, comes with a tempered glass panel for both the front as well as the side. The top panel has air vents for airflow under which you can attach some fans to move more air in and out of the chassis. One of the best things about these Corsair iCUE RGB cases is that they come with ARGB fans pre-installed out of the box. This means you’re ready to build the PC without having to spend any more money on case fans.

The Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB case is equipped with three Corsair AirGuide RGB fans on the front. In addition to the ones that are already installed, there’s space to add more fans to the chassis. You can install two more 120mm or 140mm fans on the top panel along with a 120mm exhaust fan at the back. You also get decent radiator support with the Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB case for liquid cooling. There’s space to add up to a 360mm radiator on the front along with a 240mm radiator on the top. This may not be enough for a fully water-cooled build with a custom loop, but there are plenty of compatible AIO liquid coolers on the market that is worth checking out.

You can easily control the lighting of the case or any other RGB lights that you add with the help of Corsair iCUE software. The 4000X RGB case also comes with plenty of space behind the motherboard tray for cable management. It’s also worth pointing out that this particular case supports vertical GPU mounting, thanks to a couple of vertical expansion slots at the back of the case.

When it comes to the component clearance, you can install a GPU with a max length of up to 360mm and a CPU cooler with a max height of up to 170mm. You also get two 3.5″ and 2.5″ drive bays for storage drives. All in all, we think the Corsair 4000X RGB case is a solid option to consider if you’re looking for an RGB case for your gaming rig. You can also check out the Corsair iCUE 5000X RGB case if you want something bigger. The 5000X is a full tower case which means it’s more suitable for a fully water-cooled PC with a custom loop. Both of these PC cases are readily available on the market, so be sure to check them out.

Corsair 4000X RGB PC case

The Corsair 4000X RGB is a fantastic PC to for those who're looking to buy an RGB-enabled PC case for their new gaming rig.

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Best budget ATX PC case for gamers: Phanteks Eclipse P360A

Buying expensive components for a high-end gaming rig significantly increases the overall budget of your build. This is exactly why we wanted to add a relatively affordable PC case to this collection. We think the Phanteks Eclipse P360A is one of the best affordable mid-tower PC cases on the market. It carries a price tag of just $80, making it the most affordable PC case in this collection. But just because the Eclipse P360A is affordable doesn’t necessarily make it a bad PC case. In fact, this budget case is just as good as many other mid-tower PC cases we’ve mentioned in this collection.

The Phanteks Eclipse P360A comes with a mesh front panel for better airflow. A mesh panel is almost always better than having either a solid or a tempered glass panel. The installed fans on the other side of the case tend to benefit from the mesh panel as there’s more ventilation. The front panel of the Phanteks Eclipse P360A comes with a dust filter to keep the dust and dirt away from the internals. Another thing that’s worth mentioning about this case is that it comes with two 120mm D-RGB PWN fans pre-installed out of the box.

A lot of budget PC cases don’t come with pre-installed fans. The Eclipse P360A, on the other hand, comes with D-RGB PWN fans. You can also sync the fans with the motherboard and control it using any third-party lighting software. The included RGB fans add a touch of bling to the case and look great on both the black as well as the white variant of the case. The top of the case also has vents for airflow. There’s a dust filter on the top too, which is again a nice addition.

In addition to two 120mm fans that are pre-installed on the front, you can add two more 120mm or 140mm fans on the top panel. There’s also space to add another 120mm fan at the back for exhaust. When it comes to the radiator support, you can mount up to a 280mm radiator on the front along with another 240mm radiator on the top panel. There’s also space to add a small 120mm radiator at the back panel.

The Phanteks Eclipse P360A also comes with vertical expansion slots that lets you mount the GPU vertically to the system. You will, however, need a vertical GPU bracket for the same if you don’t have one already. You can install a GPU with a max length of up to 400mm and a CPU cooler with a max height of up to 160mm. The case also has two 3.5″ and three 2.5″ drive bays for adding more storage drives to the build. The front panel IO ports include two USB 3.0, audio ports, a power button along with buttons to change the LED mode and LED colors. This particular PC case can fit in motherboards ranging from E-ATX to miniITX, so we think it’s suitable for a variety of different builds.

Phanteks Eclipse P360A PC case

The Phanteks Eclipse P360A is the most affordable PC case in this collection. Despite the price tag, it comes with pre-installd RGB fans and a mesh front panel with dust filters.

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Best compact ATX case for gamers: Lian Li Air Mini

The Lian Li O11 Air Mini is essentially a smaller version of the regular O11 Dynamic PC case that we saw earlier in this collection. This particular case is perfect for those who don’t have a lot of space in their setup. It’s also worth pointing out that the Air Mini PC case is an airflow case. It’s got a mesh front panel instead of a glass panel to allow for more airflow. The top is also a mesh panel as we’ve seen on the standard variant of the case.

One of the best things about the O11 Air Mini PC case is that it comes with three pre-installed fans. This is the only Lian Li O11 case that comes with pre-installed fans out of the box. The O11 Air Mini comes fitted with two 140mm PWM fans on the front along with a 120mm PWM at the rear. Additionally, there’s space to add up to three 120mm or two 140mm fans on the top as well as the bottom panel too. You can also install two more 120mm fans on the side. It’s safe to say that there’s a lot of space to add fans to this PC case, making it one of the best airflow cases on the market.

Despite the small form factor, the O11 Air Mini is perfectly viable to be used for a water-cooled system too. You can install plenty of radiators inside the case without having to deal with any clearance issues. There’s space to mount up to 280mm radiator on the front along with a 240mm radiator each on the side as well as the bottom panels. There’s also a dust filter at the bottom of the case, which means it’ll keep all the dust and dirt away from the internals.

The O11 Air Mini may be a compact ATX case, but it’ll allow you to install either an ATX, an mATX, or a miniITX motherboard inside. The case also has a lot of space inside the chassis which means, you won’t have any issues with component clearance too. You install GPUs with a max length of up to 362mm and CPU coolers with a max height of up to 170mm. The Air Mini case also comes with up to seven expansion slots, allowing you to install even the most modern GPUs out there on the market. As for the front panel IO ports, the case offers two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 3.1 Type C port along with audio ports.

The Lian Li O11 Air Mini is available in black and white colors options, so you can pick the one that matches the overall aesthetics of your setup. The Air Mini isn’t exactly a small form factor PC case. It’s smaller than a lot of other ATX cases on the market, but you might want to look somewhere else if you’re looking for, say, a Mini-ITX case. This is still very much a compact ATX and we think it can be used even for a high-end gaming rig without having to worry about any thermal issues.

Lian Li Air Mini O11

The Lian Li Air Mini O11 is a smaller, airflow version of the bigger Dynamic O11 full-tower PC case.

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Best miniITX case for gamers: Antec Cube designed by Razer

We don’t necessarily recommend buying a miniITX PC case for a high-performance gaming rig. High-end PCs tend to have powerful internals that produces a ton of heat. Since miniITX PC cases aren’t the best for maintaining the thermal output, it’s best if you keep your expectations in check. That being said, if you’re still in the market to buy a new miniITX PC case for an entry-level to mid-range gaming PC, then you might want to check out the Antec Cube case.

The Antec Cube PC case is, without a doubt, the smallest PC case in this collection. This is good for those who don’t have a lot of space to accommodate a full tower or even a mid-tower PC case in their setup. There’s a lot to like about the Antec Cube despite its small form-factor, which is why we wanted to add this as a solid miniITX case option. The Antec Cube is a premium high-end case that comes with acrylic panels for the top, front and right side. The acrylic windows allow you to see the internals of the chassis.

Despite the small form factor, the Antec Cube has enough space to hold a couple of fans and radiators for liquid cooling. There’s space inside the chassis to install three fans. You can install two 120mm fans or a single 140mm fan on the front. There’s also some space to add either a 120mm or a 140mm fan at the back for exhaust. As for the radiator mounting options, you can install up to a 240mm radiator on the front and a small 140mm radiator at the back. There are plenty of AIO liquid coolers on the market that comes with a 240mm radiator, so you might want to consider those options for this build.

When it comes to component clearance, the Antec Cube has enough space for GPUs with a max length of up to 350mm and CPU coolers with a max height of up to 190mm. You can add an SFX PSU inside the case with a max length of up to 200mm. The Antec Cube comes with dust filers for all the vents on the case, which means you don’t have to worry too much about dust or dirt getting into the system. This is crucial for the SFF PC cases as it’s relatively harder to clean the internals of these small cases.

There’s a green-colored Razer logo with LED lights. You also get two USB 3.0 ports along with the audio ports as a part of the front panel IO. There are three expansion slots inside the chassis for your GPU along with two 2.5″ and a single 3.5″ drive bay. The Antec Cube trade blows with a lot of other miniITX cases on the market. We recommend this one over the other options mainly because of its premium build quality and decent component clearance. It’s a little difficult to get your hands on this case right now, but we think it’s worth waiting for a restock.

Antec Cube miniITX PC case

The Antec Cube PC case is a solid option to consider if you're looking to buy a miniITX case for your build.

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Best PC cases for gamers: Final Thoughts

Well, that concludes our list of the best PC cases for gamers. We think the Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO is the best case to buy for your gaming rig followed by the Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact. Those leaning towards a high-end rig should consider checking out the Corsair Obsidian 1000D case. It’s one of the most expensive PC cases on the market, but we think it’s worth splurging for all the features it offers. The Lian Li O11 Air Mini is also a great option to consider if you’re looking for a compact case, but not necessarily a miniITX cabinet.

We also encourage you to check out our collection of the best white PC case and even the best pink PC cases if you want your PC to stand out from others. Picking a PC case is only the only first in your PC building process. We hope you’re pairing your case with the best CPUs, best GPUs, etc. for better overall performance. You can also consider checking out our XDA Computing Forums where you can discuss your PC builds or get more product recommendations from the experts in our community.

The post Here’s a list of the best PC cases for gamers in 2022 appeared first on xda-developers.

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