OPPO Find X5 Pro is the latest iteration of the brand’s flagship device. With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 at the helm, along with a triple rear camera system, a 5,000mAh battery, and of course, the brand’s MariSilicon X NPU.
The brand has confirmed that it will not be sold locally (for now). But they were generous enough to send us a review unit to try, so we can still give our honest feedback.
Design and Build Quality
While some brand have shifted to matte surfaces for its devices, OPPO has retained a mostly glossy finish for its flagship. I’m not a fan of it, but it does make the phone look sleek, formal, and when smothered with fingerprints and smudges, well, a bit unpleasant. That’s the price you’ll usually pay, but then again, you can always use a case.
As with a lot of other phones, the camera module slightly protrudes. The rear panel is also brushed with branding – from the Powered by MariSilicon text, to the OPPO and Hasselblad collaboration. Not surprising, but I would’ve wanted a cleaner look.
The right side houses the power button, while the volume rocker is on the left. At the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C port, the microphone, and speaker grille.
There’s no headphone jack, so you’ll be carrying a dongle for your wired headphones.
In terms of ergonomics, despite having a 6.7-inch screen, allows some room for one-handed use, thanks to its curved sides. It’s even better with the case that adds even grip.
Moving on to the display, the device’s AMOLED panel curves to the sides, which some people like, and some people don’t. It’s got QHD+ resolution, Gorilla Glass Victus protection, up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and 240Hz touch sampling rate. As expected from this kind of panel, colors are very punchy and you also get deep blacks, adding to the immersion when watching movies or playing games. Visibility under direct sunlight is also good, with brightness cranked up.
Performance
With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 at the helm, the OPPO Find X5 Pro expectedly breezes through day to day tasks with ease. As for gaming performance, the numbers can speak for themselves.
Camera
OPPO Find X5 Pro boasts a trio of shooters at its back – a 50MP main camera, along with a 50MP ultra-wide unit, and a 13MP Telephoto lens, aiming to achieve imaging superiority with its partnership with Hasselblad.
To further enhance its imaging prowess, the brand also equipped its latest flagship with the MariSilicon X NPU, which basically allows for high-quality 4K AI HDR Night Video, as well as faster performance when using OPPO’s AI-assisted Noise-Reduction. You also get improved color reproduction, HDR, and detail.
Now, of course, the only way to tell if all of these things actually work, is with samples, and I can confidently say that for most instances, you do get photos with plenty of detail and good color reproduction. The experience was great, but there’s always room for improvement.
The AI, for example, can sometimes continuously switch between the default and macro mode continuously even when not moving the phone, as if it doesn’t know what to do. There are also times when text isn’t as clear as you would expect. This is more evident when shooting from a distance. It also seems to over compensate when in dim lighting, with smudging.
Software
What I like about ColorOS is the amount of personalization that it offers, allowing you to adjust several elements of the UI to match a certain theme that you want. Performance-wise, I have no complains. The UI is fast, smooth, and snappy.
As far as features are concerned, you get the usual goodies like Game Focus Mode, which basically shut out notifications and just about anything that may distract you when playing. There’s also an Always-On Display option, which I think should be a standard in any phone, as it allows you to have a glance at your notifications without actually having to unlock the device.
Then there’s Edge-Lighting, which at first, seemed like a gimmicky feature to me, but after using the phone for a while, I found that it’s a very useful tool, especially when you’re not directly looking at your phone and it’s on Silent or Vibrate mode.
Battery
In PCMark’s Work 3.0 Benchmark, which simulates tasks ranging from simple day-to-day ones like web browsing, to resource intensive activities like video and photo editing, the Find X5 Pro managed to score 12 hours and 6 minutes, which is not the best we’ve seen, but is still a very good number.
In terms of charging speed using the supplied power brick, the device was able to charge back from empty to full in about an hour, which is really handy if you need to be back in action with minimal downtime.
Verdict
In most aspects, the OPPO Find X5 Pro delivers – the design looks great, the performance is what you’d expect from a flagship, and the battery life is decent, not to mention it charges insanely fast. As for its cameras, it can be a hit and miss at times, but in general, it’s a very flexible configuration that allows you to adapt to various shooting conditions.
Now, there’s just one tiny problem. It’s not going to be sold here. At least for now. I’m not sure why.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
