OPPO Find X Unboxing & First Impressions

You are most likely not reading this because you plan to buy an OPPO Find X. No. You’re here because you’re curious. You’re here because you want to know more about the 100k phone, about the disappearing cameras, about that unique design, about the phone that’s very much all-screen. About the hands-down most beautiful hand-held gadget in the world, right now.

I want to believe OPPO didn’t make the Find X to compete with Apple’s iPhones or with Samsung Galaxy S series or Note Series. Or even with the Huawei P or Mate series. OPPO didn’t sit down and engineer this futuristic beauty because they thought they have a big fan base who will want to buy it. No. They made it as a statement. This is a phone meant to introduce OPPO to the wider market who haven’t heard of them. So that when one becomes interested in any of OPPO’s products, they associate it with the class and sophistication that is the Find X.

People will argue left right about whether or not this device is worth the $1,000 price tag, but that doesn’t matter. The units that will be sold whether 100,000 or 10 Million will have done the job of ensuring people talk about OPPO and regard it as a big smartphone company worldwide.

If you have the money to get this phone, and you want it, you will get it without any convincing. A review won’t affect your decision; because not only do you know what you’re getting, you also know why you’re getting it. For you, it is either as a fashion statement, a class statement, a futurist tech lover obsession etc. Or maybe you just love OPPO, or phones in general.

OPPO Find X Specifications and Price in Kenya

What’s inside the box?

What do you expect from a phone that’s 100k? Well for one the packaging is quite premium, even if unnecessarily so. Because to be fair, you won’t be needing the box(es) once you unbox your phone. But inside you get:

• The phone
• USB Cable + Charger (you need the exact same cable + charge for VOOC Charging)
• Earphones (they look good)
• SIM Ejector
• a lot of paperwork

I had interacted with the OPPO Find X when it was officially launched some weeks ago at OPPO’s event. I knew what the phone felt like on the hand.

It is quite heavy, as you’d expect of an all glass finish device with a relatively huge 3730mAh battery. The glass is very reflective, very slippery, very fingerprinty and also very very beautiful. Having a glass finish, I kind of for a moment forgot it doesn’t support Wireless Charging. So immediately I pulled it out of the box, I placed it on top of my wireless charger waiting for an animation like I am used to on the Galaxy S9+, only to run to Google to be reminded Wireless Charging isn’t included.

What’s the first thing you do after unboxing a new phone, signing in and setting up? Well, I go straight to the cameras. Honestly I really didn’t know what to expect. My earlier interaction with the phone, weeks ago didn’t quite give impress me camera-wise. It is a different case for now. The cameras look really good. I will be sharing pics on social media in the coming days so that you can see what I am talking about.

The AI here is quite dope. Point it to a scenery and it switches the settings to landscape, bring a subject up-close and it knows it is time for macro mode. There’s a lot baked in, and I cannot wait to try everything out.

About that moving parts, yes you can hear it. You hear it pop out and you hear it retracting. But what’s nice is you don’t have to do anything extra with the cameras. When you launch the camera app, it slides out, when you are done, it slides back in. You don’t even wait. It is almost instantaneous. Also, this phone has made me realise just how many times apps open your camera.

The Face Unlock technology used is really good. Like really good. I am saying this based on the fact that it is lightning fast, and also works in dark rooms. Also, I am still finding my index finger trying to reach out for the fingerprint scanner (which wasn’t included in the Find X) because of muscle memory, but I hope to in the coming days – while I review it – get used to clicking power button to unlock. I love that there’s a gesture navigation system, which doesn’t come on by default, but which I’ve switched to to enable me experience the absurdly big screen without in its fullness.

In terms of performance, you know this device boasts of 8GB RAM, the best Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor out there. There’s no smartphone task I believe that this device will have a problem handling. There’s also 256GB of internal storage and even if you’re not getting expandable storage, 256GB is more than enough.

Witha a 1080p AMOLED panel, and a huge 3730mAh battery, whilst being powered by a very efficient Snapdragon 845, I am getting incredible battery as it seems!

Okay, this is my first real full time interaction with an OPPO phone, I didn’t know the skin doesn’t break down battery the way every other phone does. So I will have to use an app called AccuBattery to serve you with numbers on things like screen-on-time. But since about 7pm (100%) to now 2.30am, I have been using the phone continously on 4G internet and I have 37%. With a rough estimate, that’s about 6hrs of screen-on-time. This is to be expected as that processor, that panel, that battery, and that resolution all point to exceptional battery life.

I will be using the phone for the coming days before I write a full review, including an in-depth analysis of the motorised cameras. So if you have any questions, drop them so that I can answer you in the full review.

I know many are wondering about that moving part that slides into the phone and appears only when needed and whether or not it is durable, how it will handle dust, and oily hands, or how it will fair on after long use. For one, I believe OPPO thought all this through. Also, we treat our phones very well whether they are 10k or 100k, and there’s no doubt dust, sand, oil, water etc. can’t and won’t reach the Find X easily.

OPPO didn’t include:

• A fingerprint scanner – An under-the-display one would be nice
• A headphone jack – yeah, that one is dead
• Wireless charging – but VOOC Fast Charging is super incredible, trust me.
• Case – I don’t know if there are cases for this device, but it’d make sense if the manufacturer added one just for the sake because the phone is super super slippery.
• Expandable storage – even with 512GB internal storage, the Galaxy Note 9 still boasts of a micro-SD card slot. Why OPPO?
• Water Resistance – It makes sense that with moving parts, it is hard to have water resistance

Is this phone worth 100,000?

Like I said earlier, this phone needn’t be worth whatever price OPPO says they’ll sell it for. It isn’t really a phone for the masses to scramble to own. It is a statement and that’s why we can’t really expect an OPPO Find X2 in the coming year.

However, we can expect a serious, more aggressive and stronger OPPO in the coming months (even as the beautiful OPPO F9 comes to Kenya). This, the Find X, is the phone meant to show us what OPPO can do, and you’ll agree with me that suddenly even the Galaxy S9+ design looks dated when compared to the Find X.

Think about it, if OPPO keeps the design of the device, adds in wireless charging, and an under-the-display fingerprint scanner and still ask for $1000 next time, would it now be worth it?

I am hoping to enjoy reviewing of the Find X. Even though I won’t be comfortable walking with it to the kitchen or the bathroom the way I am comfortable with the Galaxy S9+. I expect similar performance on the Find X, if not better. I love that OPPO copied the Galaxy S9’s curved screen, and the way it lights up during notifications, so I won’t miss that.

I expect way better battery life which will rid me of the need to constantly place the phone on my wireless charger. Also, I am ready to enjoy VOOC which remains the world’s fastest charging mechanism on a phone.

If you’re down for a comparison of the OPPO Find X and the Samsung Galaxy S9+ tell me. Also, do share which of the two you think looks good.

What are your thoughts on the Find X? Do you think it is worth the asking price? If you had 100k, what would you spend it on? How do you rate OPPO as a brand?