Oppo Find X2 Pro: first look at a 5G phone

The Find X2 Pro is a flagship Android phone. Like similar high-end models it has:

• a super-fast multi-core processor
• a giant, vibrant, edge-to-edge OLED screen
• a collection of high-resolution cameras on the back (and a fairly good, single, front-facing camera)
• a large price tag.

Spec-heavy

The Find X2 Pro has impressive numbers and notable specs.

It’s got a 6.7”, 3168x1440 OLED screen that features a 120Hz refresh rate and 1200 nits peak brightness, which is a very jargon-heavy way to say the display looks amazing. The screen is edge-to-edge, so the fingerprint sensor is underneath it, while the front-facing camera sits behind a small “hole-punch” dot in the top left corner.

It comes with the latest build of Google’s mobile software with Oppo’s ColorOS operating system sitting on top of it. Most Android phone makers have their own overlay for the software to make it unique, so they run Android, but with a different “skin” on top. Oppo’s ColorOS is a clean and mostly simple interface, though I found some of the controls a bit confusing (I imagine it’d be worse for new Oppo users). Behind the scenes, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 2.84GHz, octa-core, 64-bit processor makes everything run smoothly.

Cameras

It’s par for the course with new phones to wax on about the cameras. But with the X2, they’re just so prominent, it’s hard not to.

I mean prominent literally, as they jut out 2mm from the back of the phone. The three giant cameras (a 48MP wide-angle lens, a 48MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 13MP periscope telephoto lens) need that room in order to have a bit more focal length.

The cameras take excellent images. I used the Find X2 as a time-lapse camera to shoot a review video and the quality was as good as a dedicated digital camera.

The Find X2 handles night photography well, making clear shots from darkened scenes. Yet despite the powerful cameras, they aren’t quite as good as other Android phones, lacking depth in some much darker areas.

As the cameras stick out so much, the phone wobbles excessively when placed on a flat surface – worse than any other phone I’ve used. Oppo supplies a case with the Find X2, but this still has a small lip that causes the phone to wobble. It’s easily the worst thing about this phone.

5G experience

Vodafone loaned me a 5G SIM card to try in the Find X2. The speeds over the 5G network were astounding. In testing I was able to get well in excess of 230Mbps (a better result than our in-office fibre).

In the video below you can see the results of two tests, one with phones both on 4G networks and with the Oppo on a 5G network.

Say what you will about 5G – and a lot of people on Facebook do – it is blisteringly fast. At least for downloads. I was surprised that 4G seems to have similar or faster upload speeds.

However, currently there’s not a lot of 5G coverage in New Zealand. Even at our office in central Wellington I had to walk around until I picked up a 5G signal so I could run my speed tests.

In the image you can see Vodafone’s coverage in Christchurch for 4G (red) and 5G (purple). If you can’t see the purple 5G coverage, click the image to see a bigger version.

5G coverage will get better, but most projections are that it will remain mostly in urban areas, as 5G signals don’t travel as far as 4G.

So while 5G speeds are great, coverage is patchy. This means you shouldn’t base your purchase solely on the power of new mobile tech unless you live and work in the middle of the city – and that city is Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or (technically not a city) Queenstown.

First Looks are trials of new and interesting products from the perspective of our product experts. Our lab-based tests offer truly objective product comparisons.

This mobile phone was loaned to the writer by Oppo.

Specifications

OPPO FIND X2 PRO

Price: $1899
Dimensions: 165x74x9mm
Weight: 217g

Rear cameras:

• 48MP Wide-angle camera: Sony IMX689 sensor, 1/1.4" sensor size, f/1.7 aperture.
• 48MP Ultra-wide-angle camera: Sony IMX586 sensor, 1/2" sensor size, f/2.2 aperture.
• 13MP Periscope telephoto camera: f/3.0 aperture.
  

Front camera:

• 32MP selfie camera: f/2.4 aperture.
  

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform

• CPU Speed: up to 2.84GHz
• CPU Type: octa-core, 64-bit
• GPU: Adreno 650
  

Memory: 12GB RAM+512GB ROM

Display: 6.7”, OLED

• Resolution: 3168x1440
• Refresh Rate: up to 120Hz