OPPO Find X review - a completely frameless flagship with a pop-up camera

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The most powerful Chinese flagship with a futuristic design, a motorized camera and 3D face recognition for 70 thousand rubles.

The Chinese company OPPO broke into the premium segment with the Find X. This is one of the most anticipated smartphones of 2018, since it was here that the panoramic design was first announced without frames, cutouts and sensors - only a screen in the entire area of the front panel and a telescopic unit with cameras, which automatically slides out of the thinnest glass case. The life hacker studied the novelty in detail.

Design and construction

ORRO herself believes that with the arrival of the Find X, there has been a visual revolution. In an attempt to get rid of the bezels, smartphone manufacturers have stumbled upon a "monobrow" that very strangely splits the usable space on the screen. OPPO got rid of even this element by hiding the cameras in a telescopic unit. As a result, the OPPO Find X screen, slightly curved at the edges, occupies 93.8% of the entire surface.

The back is glass, double-sided Gorilla Glass 5 is used. The edges are also slightly curved. The gradient fill shimmers in the light.

Smartphone metal frame and buttons. It is difficult to say how resistant the device is to bending. There is a blogger who managed to break OPPO Find X with his hands, but there is also another blogger who did not succeed, although he tried very hard. There can be only one conclusion: the thing is expensive, and it is better to handle it with care. You never know what.

Telescopic camera

The main feature of OPPO Find X is a motorized telescopic camera unit that extends from the top of the smartphone. This is an innovation, and, like any other innovation, it raises questions - how reliable, how convenient.

OPPO itself claims that the drive resource is 300,000 actuations. However, here I would like to make a remark that in real operating conditions it will probably be less, and here's why.

Leaving the case, the unit collects dust, debris, lint and other small particles. Therefore, going inside, he takes all this with him. At first you don’t think about it, but in fact, after a few days, the retractable unit needed wiping and purging, and debris falling between the planes of the unit and the case could easily scratch the lenses. It is difficult to say whether the rubbish gets deep into the smartphone and whether it ends up in the mechanism itself.

For this reason, OPPO Find X is strictly contraindicated in beaches, deserts of Kazakhstan and sandstorms in Dubai. Also, if you carry a smartphone in your pocket, make sure that there are no seeds, cigarettes, cookies - in short, anything that can crumble with it. The idea of photographing in the rain is also not very good: moisture can easily get into the case.

Then another question: what if the smartphone falls? For this case, OPPO Find X has sensors that will detect a fall and hide the block. We have verified that it really works.

So it seems like a viable solution. But what about convenience?

The block leaves instantly, in just half a second. Feels like the camera turns on just as quickly as other smartphones. The sound of a motor is audible, but only in complete silence. However, since not only the rear camera is hidden in the block, but also the front one, when authorization is on, it will go out in the face every time the smartphone is unlocked. And it can get on your nerves.

In addition, because of this block, cases for OPPO Find X do not have a top, so the end remains unprotected. By the way, a simple plastic bumper is supplied with the smartphone. On AliExpress, there are already glass cases, and wooden, pewter, and leather.

Despite the reservations, this telescopic design seems to be becoming a trend, at least among Chinese manufacturers. The retractable front camera is also equipped with the Vivo NEX, but there is no need to talk about the design there. It is expected that the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 will also have a slider camera, but without a motor - manual. Honor Magic 2 is also expected by the end of the year - there OPPO's design ideas will be fully implemented.

Screen

OPPO Find X has a large 6, 4-inch screen on AMOLED-matrix, aspect ratio - 19, 5: 9. Resolution - Full HD +. Like any other AMOLED screen, we see excellent contrast, rich colors, high brightness levels and a wide viewing angle. There is an always-on screen mode, like in Samsung and LG smartphones, when notifications and time are shown on the lock screen. True, this mode does not work in conjunction with the lock screen gestures, so you have to choose between the clock and the ability to unlock the smartphone with two taps on the display. Out of the box, a protective film is glued to the screen.

Performance

In terms of hardware, OPPO Find X is a typical 2018 uberflagship. Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of internal - the device can handle any games on ultra-high graphics settings.

In the popular AnTuTu test, the smartphone is ranked third with 286,293 points. True, our device showed more modest results, having dropped after the third run from the first place with 284 thousand points to the sixth place - to 276 thousand points. Yes, there is a slight throttling: the device does not allow the processor to heat up above 59 degrees, but it reaches such temperatures only in the fifth run of AnTuTu tests. The average operating temperature is about 40 degrees.

In the PCMark "Best Devices" ranking, the OPPO Find X reference smartphone takes first place with 9,854 points and a battery life of 7 hours 39 minutes. Our device scored 10 162 points and was noted for an autonomy of 8 hours 28 minutes - a gap for the better.

Cameras

The OPPO Find X has just three cameras - one on the front and two on the back.

Front-camera. Here is the most interesting part. The camera itself is a 25-megapixel Sony IMX576 photomodule, but it is accompanied by an IR illumination, an IR camera, a dot projector, a certain receiver and a distance sensor. Doesn't it look like anything? OPPO calls this whole complex a "3D camera" because it allows the smartphone to perceive depth. How does this affect selfies?

Photo mode includes 3D AI Beauty, an intelligent enhancement of self-portraits based on 3D modeling. It works like this: a smartphone scans your face, creates a 3D model, and then corrects important areas so that it becomes beautiful - corrects the oval of the face, the shape of the nose, and so on. There is an AI mode, six presets and the ability to create your own presets. All this happens very neatly - 3D AI Beauty has nothing to do with traditional "enhancers" that create "glossy" portraits.

There is also SelfieTune 2.0 technology, which smoothes wrinkles, adds sparkle to the eyes, and more. Everything is also very neat, but for some reason there are no settings. When shooting in backlight, RAW HDR technology is turned on - the smartphone processes the original RAW data, and then compresses the result into JPEG. It turns out well, but if the backlight is too strong (shooting against the midday sun), then the color distortion typical for HDR is inevitable.

Portrait mode - here 3D AI Beauty and SelfieTune 2.0 work by default, nothing can be configured. HDR does not work in this mode. However, background blur is turned on here. OPPO Find X does it very well, there are no bugs like blurry ear or hair. In addition, there are 3D filters that simulate different types of lighting, the so-called portrait lighting effects - monochromatic, outline, flickering light, and so on. Sounds powerful, but in reality we get weird filters.

A fun 3D Omoji function: you can create a similar animated 3D character that can copy your facial expressions, form a sticker pack with it and use it in messengers.

The bottom line for selfies is this: they turn out to be sharp and beautiful due to 3D processing. Thanks to RAW HDR, you can get adequate shots in backlight conditions. In portrait mode, we have a high-quality background blur.

The main camera is the flagship 16-megapixel Sony IMX519 photo module, which is also found on the Russian market in the OnePlus 6. The aperture is f / 2.0, the pixel size is 1.22 microns. There are optical and electronic stabilization. The second camera is a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376k. Its official purpose is to blur the background in portrait mode and increase detail in night shots.

Not without artificial intelligence: AI Scene Recognition 2.0 recognizes 21 scenes and up to 800 combinations of optimization scenarios. It is done like this: you shoot a cat, OPPO Find X reports "Pussy" and applies the appropriate settings. Photographing a sunset - you get a Sunrise / Sunset scene. Bent over a flower - macro photography is turned on. The smartphone even manages to recognize moiré on the screen.

The rear camera also has portrait mode and 3D AI Beauty just like the front camera.

How does this whole combination take off?

During the day - no problem. Wide dynamic range, high detail, blue sky when HDR is on. Autofocus is fast enough to catch a leaf trembling in strong winds. However, in a room, focusing loses its former agility: it is no longer so easy to shoot a restless cat. Focusing problems also appear in low-contrast scenes. Night shots are sharp, detailed, but the noise is still noticeable even when shooting in the evening. With firmware updates, the situation may be improved.

While the overall color reproduction of the OPPO Find X tends to be natural, sometimes the artificial intelligence over-embellishes reality, and then you can get fantastic shots of the sunset, when in fact it was ordinary.

When it comes to video recording, optical image stabilization helps a lot: even shooting on the go, you will get smooth video. OPPO Find X can shoot in 1080p @ 60fps and 4K @ 30fps. There is a slowmo mode - 720p, 480 fps.

Security

Incredible but true: OPPO Find X does not have a fingerprint scanner. The logic is simple: the 3D face recognition system is so advanced that this scanner is simply not needed. Moreover, it is 20 times safer, said at the presentation. Well, compared to other Android smartphones, OPPO's system is really powerful. As we have already found out, in addition to the usual front-facing camera, the Find X has an IR camera, IR illumination, and a dot projector. The system projects 15,000 points onto the face, creates a 3D model, and determines the owner from it. Since the infrared spectrum is involved, all this works even in the dark, and with closed eyes, the smartphone does not recognize you. By the way, data about the owner's face is stored encrypted in the smartphone itself and is not sent anywhere.

Everything seems to be thought out, but in real life it is not always convenient. If the smartphone for some reason did not recognize you, then you have to drive in a 6-digit PIN-code. Also, authentication by face, unlike a fingerprint, does not support Google Pay, so you have to enter a password when paying in the Google Play Market.

Besides 3D face recognition, OPPO Find X supports voice authentication. Yes, this is a Google Assistant feature, but it is not found in every smartphone yet.

Software

OPPO Find X runs Android Oreo 8.1 and proprietary shell ColorOS 5.1. At first glance, the interface is simple, but if you dig a little deeper, you will find a lot of handy pieces.

For example, you can:

• remove navigation buttons and fully activate gesture control;
• hide important data in an encrypted "File Safe";
• hide selected applications;
• restrict applications' access to personal data.

There is a special Game Space environment in which you can adjust the performance of your smartphone while playing, enable blocking of calls and notifications, and block the brightness setting. In addition, the smartphone automatically optimizes resources for games that run through Game Space.

Other cool features include a pop-up menu where you can launch a messenger right on top of the game and turn on screen recording, and Google Lens, thanks to which the smartphone visually recognizes objects and searches for information about them on the Internet.

Connection

OPPO Find X supports Wi-Fi networks at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, has a Bluetooth 5.0 module, can work in all GSM bands and allows you to connect external devices via the OTG interface. Unfortunately, there is no NFC chip, as well as a 3.5 mm audio jack. It is quite possible to live without NFC, and the mini-jack is compensated by support for the aptX HD codec, a complete USB-C headset and an adapter from USB Type-C to 3.5 mm plug.

Autonomy

OPPO Find X is equipped with a 3,400 mAh battery, which lasts for a day and a half in mixed mode. In the PCMark battery test, the smartphone played 8 hours and 28 minutes, with 20% of the charge remaining after the test. Everything is within the usual limits.

But the OPPO Find X's charging is incredible. It's called SuperVOOC. Think about it: the smartphone charges up to 100% in just 35 minutes. Over the years, we've gotten used to charging smartphones before going to bed, but modern technology is changing that scenario and charging the device, say, while you're making your morning coffee or ironing your shirt.

However, SuperVOOC has a limitation - it only works with a proprietary 50W power adapter and proprietary USB Type-C cable.

Summary

With its panoramic design, color gradients that change according to lighting, and a futuristic camera solution, OPPO Find X stands out from other premium smartphones, including even the iPhone X.

However, the practicality of the glass case and the reliability of mechanical solutions are questionable. Computing and graphics power OPPO Find X does not occupy, photo capabilities correspond to the flagship level and will appeal to those who like to shoot portraits and take selfies. But the lack of an NFC module for many may be a reason for criticism. But nothing more - such devices are taken not because of NFC, but for the sake of the wow effect and new technologies, which are full of them: from artificial intelligence to 3D face recognition.