OPPO Find X5 Review

The Find Series was introduced by OPPO a few years back. You remember that first OPPO Find X? It had this spectacular look. It stood out from everything that was being released back then. I got a chance to use it, and I remember the stares I’d get from people. And just how fragile, incredible and futuristic it felt. In my review I however called out its high asking price despite all the features it lacked.

Well, 5 generations have since passed and we’re now talking about the OPPO Find X5. It’s very different from the first in the series. The pop-up camera mechanism is gone. The curves are reduced, the shiny purple glass is not here anymore. However, the features I had complained were missing are now here. But it now looks like every other mainstream phone. A really good phone for that matter, before you think I am complaining.

This is something we’re used to now. Launch something very eye-catchy with all the bells and whistles. Then slowly take away the shiny things and make it standard but with more actually useful features while hoping to attract more customers.

So there’s now:

• Standard looking set of front and rear cameras
• Standard looking design albeit with some curves here and there
• Wireless charging and wireless reverse charging
• Incredibly fast fast-charging at 80W
• A dedicated extra chipset for the camera
• Good Dolby Atmos-tuned speakers
• sub-6GHz 5G support
• WiFi 6 Support
• Corning Gorilla Glass at the back with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus at the front
• 1000x better software

The switch from the first Find X to the Find X5 looks dramatic were you to hold the phones side by side. However, if you were to use either phones I believe you’d pick the Find X5. And that’s not just because it’s the newer phone. No. OPPO’s refinements – to all its devices – can really be felt here.

Software on OPPO phones is now 1000x better than when the Find X launched. You’re not only getting clean software, you’re also getting updates on time. You can customise so much, set your phone to be incredibly yours in a way many other companies still can’t do. I love ColorOS and if you’ve not yet used an OPPO phone, please try.

I’ve used almost all the OPPO Reno series, and I’ve always pitted them as being really good mid-rangers, even asking in certain reviews why someone should buy anything more expensive – unless you’re a hardcore smartphone gamer or just want the premium things. While I will still stand with that, I will say this of the Find X5; this is a Reno that’s perfected on almost all angles except one.

To perfect a Reno like say the Reno6 5G, all you need do is:

1. Add a slightly bigger & better AMOLED display – Done!
2. Use a better processor to offer incredible performance – Done!
3. Improve the cameras – Done!
4. Offer faster charging and wireless charging – Done!
5. Have a proper IP Rating for Dust and Water resistance – Unfortunately not done.

Display:

The display here supports 120Hz refresh rates, is just slightly curved to give that premium feel, while also making it easy for navigation. It can do 1000 nits of peak brightness while supporting HDR10+ and being protected by Gorilla Glass Victus to make it harder to scratch and break.

Performance:

This phone uses the Snapdragon 888 5G chipset. Though that’s now two generations old, it’s still a top class chipset. It will handle any tasks smoothly. So whether you’re a gamer, a heavy user, or just someones who enjoys fast internet, the device will offer you all that.

Cameras:

OPPO now has a partnership with Hasselblad the maker of incredibly premium cameras. You can see that from the obviously loud branding.

That partnership brings Hasselblad Color Calibration to ensure your shots are good and accurate. I can say I’ve loved the shots I’ve taken. You will get good photos – even in very low light. I think this is the best camera I’ve used for night photography – and all the lenses can be used in Night Mode.

You will get nice portraits – though it still struggles with doing perfect blurs. However, generally the camera handles dynamic range very well. You will also get great videos – with incredible stabilisation and processing that is accurate, balanced in lighting, and sharp.

You also get features like:

• Dual camera recording allowing both front and back cameras to be used simultaneously to record videos.
• Long exposure mode allowing you to take incredible photos be it at night with moving vehicles, or water and clouds, or light painting.
• XPan mode which is borrowed from Hasselblad allowing you to shoot panoramic pictures that capture wide aspect ratio images.
• Film mode which lets you use a Hasselblad style menu to shoot videos in a cinematic aspect ratio. You can set your ISO levels, Shutter Speeds, Exposure Values, Focus Points, and White Balance. You can also shoot in LOG or HDR.

Processing for the camera is done by a dedicated MariSilicon X NPU that brings AI to improve photography and videography.

I would say this is a top tier camera experience. If you’re a professional who enjoys mobile photography, you will be able to produce mind blowing shots and videos from this device. If you’re just there – like me – for simple good photos and videos, you will get those here too. But I wouldn’t want to say outright go get this phone for the cameras. That’s not to downplay this phone’s cameras. It’s just to say you can buy a cheaper phone and still get simple good photos and videos. If you’re getting this phone for the cameras, you must be someone who’ll take full advantage of all the features.

Battery and Charging:

I was wowed by the battery life I have been getting from this phone. Over 8hrs of screen on time in some instances. This is comfortably a two-day phone. Plus it charges really fast at 80W giving you 0-100% in 32mins. You also have 30W fast wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging.

Reverse wireless charging is still a gimmick for me – and I bet for many other people. However, I’ve used it once with my AirPods Pro case to recharge them a little.

IP Rating:

This over 100k phone doesn’t have an IP Rating unfortunately. It’d be nice to have IP68 at this price point. Even Samsung’s much more affordable A-series of devices now come with IP67 ratings, so why not you OPPO?

I think this is a huge deal breaker for many potential buyers. Because when buying a premium phone you want all the premium features that keep you feeling like you have the best in the world. Not being sure if you can dunk your phone in water shouldn’t be a thing someone gets to consider when they pay such amounts for a phone.

Extra good things:

• A really fast under-display scanner
• The 120Hz refresh rate feels so smooth across all apps
• The privacy features of Android 12 and OPPO’s own are very well implemented
• There’s night mode even with the front camera
• There’s a tripod feature when in night mode to help you take very stable photos.

So, who should get the OPPO Find X5?

First of all, anyone who wants to.

Secondly, anyone who’s ever used an OPPO Reno and want to spend more money for the extra features and improvements I’ve mentioned.

Thirdly, anyone who loves playing with smartphone cameras and wants to push the limits of what pictures and videos phones – moreso Android phones – can take.

The thing is this: when you hit certain price points, people go with brands and ecosystems. OPPO needs to work on making their brand name enviable than say Apple or Samsung so that someone doesn’t look at the Galaxy S-series or the iPhone when wanting to spend over 100k on a phone. Would you buy this device? Let me know!