OPPO Find X Review

The last innovation that really struck my attention was LG G5. While it didn’t really take off, the reason behind having a modular device was impressive albeit an unsustainable setup. Other brands followed suit, but it didn’t take long when they raised the white flag and moved on to the next frontier – the screen notch.

Joke or not, the notch is proved to be the trend that still persists. The screen got bigger, but there was no easy way to hide the front camera and the sensors that usually go with it until OPPO came up with the first phone that has a full mechanical back panel. This hides both front and back cameras, plus all the powerful sensors it boasts of while giving the user a seamless widescreen experience.

Announced in June 2018, I didn’t actually realize that OPPO Philippines will bring the OPPO Find X to the Philippines. Just over a month from official launch, OPPO Philippines announced the availability of the device in the Philippines in August with an unbelievable price of PhP49,990.

Cheaper than the price in other countries, OPPO Find X was a delightful deal for Filipinos. Those who were thinking about getting a Galaxy Note 9 were given another option that carries with it an innovation that wasn’t bravely done before.

I had many reservations when Find X was announced. Its moving parts are its main culprit and its seeming underpowered set of cameras make it an overpriced piece of beta product. I guess I was wrong; and to judge a product solely because of assumptions is unfair, to say the least.

“Wala kayo sa phone ko!”

If there’s one category that makes this smartphone stand out is ‘design’. While it’s premature to give our decision, OPPO Find X may just be the most beautiful phone this 2018. Yes, even Huawei P20 Pro’s dazzling Purple Iris will not match this smartphone’s overall design.

Add its ultra-futuristic retractable cameras, and you’ve got a smartphone that’s made to WOW users. I had to audacity to show this phone to my friends and colleagues, and I rarely received zero reaction each time I try to unlock the phone with my face.

The Lowdown

OPPO Find X is a powerful device. Armed with Snapdragon 845 SoC and 8GB RAM, it is currently the most capable smartphone OPPO has introduced to the Philippine market to date. While its storage is not expandable, there’s just too many things you can put in its 256GB internal memory. I have loaded quite a number of games and applications on my OPPO Find X, and I still have 212GB available to spare.

As its most striking feature, its 6.4-inch screen is its cup of tea. Colors pop out, and the quality of its default sharpness is top notch. The screen occupies 93.8% of its front panel, and if you’re presented with a screen such as gorgeous as the one on this phone, there will always be this sense of awe each time you turn it on.

For a device that lacks a fingerprint sensor, other than traditional means, you are left with one security measure that just works everytime it’s triggered. I have activated face unlock on the Find X and enabled “Press the Power Button to Unlock” option, and I couldn’t be happier. For added convenience, I even included “Double Tap to Wake” as another option to turn the screen on.

OPPO Find X Specs

Power Overwhelming

OPPO Find X deserves the spotlight as one of the most powerful devices this 2018. Just a few digits away versus Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9, Find X ranks second in our benchmark chart.

However, just like what we usually do, we don’t just settle with mere numbers. We played several games on our Find X, and tested its capabilities using GameBench.

Gaming performance verdict: OPPO Find X performs at par with Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Nova 3, and even better compared to Galaxy S9. As of today, the latter products are gold standards when it comes to mobile gaming; and I’m very happy to note that OPPO Find X has proven itself to be a worthy adversary.

Performance stability is top notch, and memory usage is acceptable. Battery and energy efficiency is something that OPPO Find X excels in, and I really hope for the phone to perform this well (or better) even after several software patches.

While OPPO hasn’t rolled out HyperBoost (though there is still no confirmation if OPPO Find X is included in the list of compatible devices, the device currently has Game Space pre-installed in the system. This feature is included in the device’s ColorOS version, and it brings with it a ton of nifty good things for mobile gamers such as Game Acceleration (to supported games) and zero disturbance modes. Unfortunately, among all the games I installed in the system, only AoV supports Game Acceleration.

Awesome Front Camera

One of the major advantages of OPPO smartphones, in general, is the performance of their smartphones’ front-facing camera. The company invested a lot in perfecting beauty mode on their smartphones, and their superiority in this aspect has always carried on in their previous and current line of devices.

OPPO Find X’s front camera presents a plethora of impressive specifications: it has a 25MP selfie camera, flood illuminator, infrared camera, receiver, and a dot projector. Yes, whatever you find on Find X’s front camera is similar to the ones available on iPhone X and XS.

To add further details to photos, it uses its dot projector and flood illuminator to recognize depth and analyses your face prior to taking a shot or unlocking the phone. Add AI in the mix, and you’ve got yourself a front camera that may be among the smartest ones available in the market.

Rear Camera is… just right!

I expected so much from Find X’s Dual AI-Enhanced rear cameras. Yes, it is unarguably good, but the overall performance was not enough to convince  that it’s the best one available in the market.

Both cameras, with varying megapixels and aperture, aren’t special, but carry out a job well done; Not laudable, but good enough for what it can do. Both cameras have the same aperture level and do not have special tricks up its sleeve like the iPhone X and Huawei P20 have. Still, despite its limitations, Find X’s dual rear cameras can take decent photos.

Default exposure level is a little high, and focus sensitivity is way too strong. These lapses cause the cameras to be not ideal when taking photos during concerts and events. Taking photos at night or at low-light environments is easy albeit inferior to the performance of Zenfone 5z, iPhone X and Huawei P20 Pro.

Taking portrait shots, on the other hand, is where this smartphone excels in. The camera senses depth and translates everything to the desired output.

Verdict

OPPO Find X is the company’s best phone yet, and everything it features proves that they are a company that values innovation. It is also the most beautiful smartphone we’ve seen in ages, and will definitely carry on in the years to come. The “premiumness” it carries defines the company’s dedication to bringing the best of their technology in the country, and a statement of their commitment to presenting more options to Filipinos.

Giancarlo Viterbo

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Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.