AndroidHeadlines did a quick hands-on of the OPPO Find X5 Pro around the time it was announced globally. Since then I have had the chance to use the phone on a regular basis and during my review time I have absolutely enjoyed using the Find X5 Pro.
Unique, eye-catching design
From the front, the OPPO Find X5 Pro looks just like any other top-shelf smartphone. Curved display, tiny hole punch for the selfie camera, and curved edges. The side rails are metallic with a shiny chrome finish.
But on the rear is where the OPPO Find X5 Pro looks different than most modern smartphones. In general, the rear camera module in the top left corner is attached to the rear housing and you can always see a seam between the two pieces. OPPO bucks this trend, and has created a unique ceramic back for its flagship which blends seamlessly around the triple camera module. I can see this being done easily with plastic (via injection molding) or metal (via die casting or machining) but to do it with ceramic takes some serious engineering prowess. So kudos to OPPO for creating a visually appealing design with a seamless one-piece ceramic back cover.
Single piece ceramic back housing results in a seamless surface
Long story short, I absolutely love how the white ceramic cover on the OPPO Find 5 feels and how every single camera lens is flush to the rear housing. While last year’s model sported a module that was similar to a certain device from a Cupertino-based company, the new Find X5 Pro has its own unique take on the camera layout. And for some reason, I like the newer random polygon shape of the camera module better than what was on the Find X3 Pro in 2021.
Ceramic White is the color to get in 2022
OPPO Find X5 Pro Display is absolutely gorgeous
OPPO Find X5 Cameras are flagship-grade
Purists will point out that the Find X5 Pro has one less camera than last year’s Find X3 Pro. Yes, the 3MP microscope camera is no longer available on the latest version. However, OPPO has added a new imaging chip to the overall hardware on the Find X5 Pro. There is a 50MP main camera with f/1.7, a closed-loop focus motor, and dual-OIS-5-axis stabilization. For ultrawide photography, there is another 50MP f/2.2 aperture camera with 112° field-of-view (FOV). The ultrawide camera can also do double duty as a macro camera. Last but not least is a 13MP f/2.4 telephoto lens for taking zoom pictures.
MariSilicon X chip for custom image processing
OPPO is trying to chart its own course when it comes to controlling the image processing pipeline. To that effect, the Find X5 Pro has a custom chip called MariSilicon X for image processing. Google and Apple have a lot of control over hardware and software when it comes to processing the images captured by the cameras. OPPO is trying to join that exclusive club by using their own custom silicon for image processing. This isn’t new as sister company Vivo included a custom image processing chip on the Vivo X70 Pro+ in 2021. On the Find X5 Pro, MariSilicon X improves low-light video recording. According to OPPO, it uses real-time machine learning to recover image information that may be missing due to a lack of lighting. During my testing, I could see that videos in really dark settings looked bright with a reasonable amount of detail in dark areas. However, this advantage over other smartphones disappears during daytime videography.
Stellar still photography results with main and ultrawide cameras
OPPO uses the same 50MP Sony sensor for both main and ultrawide cameras with different focal lengths. Because of this reason, there is a lot more consistency between pictures taken with either camera in quick succession in terms of color science and lighting. This is something that you don’t see on iPhone or Google Pixel 6 because they use different sensors for main and ultrawide cameras. OPPO Find X5 Pro Camera Samples - Flickr Gallery Take a look at the pictures in our Flickr gallery. I would say that the OPPO Find X5 Pro can easily go toe-to-toe with Samsung, Google or Apple as far as main and ultrawide cameras are concerned. In my experience, Find X5 Pro images have slightly better color and contrast but look slightly more processed. Overall, though you will be very happy with the results at night or in daytime. However, ultrawide pictures from the Find X5 Pro are better than the competition.
Telephoto camera is the weakest of the bunch
The third camera on the rear is a telephoto zoom lens. However, it is the weakest of the three cameras and is downright disappointing, especially in contrast to the stellar zoom results on the S22 Ultra. The Find X5 Pro telephoto lens only offers a 2X zoom which I think can’t compete with what other flagships have to offer. For the most part, if you stick with the main and ultrawide cameras you will be very happy with the results for photos and videos.
OPPO Find X5 Pro Performance and Software Impressions
The Find X5 Pro is running on Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8Gen1 processor built using the 4nm wafer fabrication process. This new octa-core processor has a 1+3+4 configuration, similar to the Snapdragon S888, but uses Arm’s newest v9 architecture cores. The main big core is a Cortex-X2, running at 3.0 GHz while the three middle Cortex-A710 cores are running at 2.5 GHz. Finally, the four efficiency cores are Cortex-A510, running at 1.8 GHz. Qualcomm claims that the new Adreno 730 GPU on this processor is 30% faster and 25% more power-efficient in contrast to the Adreno 660 on the Snapdragon 888+ platform. Geekbench 5 scores were quite good but not as good as the RedMagic 7 which has the same processor as the Find X5 Pro but a lot more RAM. It is somewhat perplexing that last year’s Vivo X70 Pro+ has higher single and multi-core scores in comparison with the newer Find X5 Pro. I hope that a future software update improves overall performance because on paper this is a step back with the newer CPU/GPU.
ColorOS 12.1 is fast, fluid, and full of useful features
Battery life and Charging Performance
Find X5 Pro has a dual-cell 5,000mAh battery. The dual-cell enables high watt charging capability with very quick 0-100% charging times. OPPO does include an 80W SUPERVOOC charging brick in the retail box. Albeit, I was unable to use the Euro brick here in the USA. I did get fairly quick charging times using my Google 65W charging brick. During daily use, I consistently saw screen-on-time of about 6+ hours. You may have a better experience than me since I have a very poor cell signal in my location which probably drains the battery faster when the phone is not connected to Wi-Fi.
80W SUPERVOOC charging is very fast
Audio and Connectivity on the OPPO Find X5 Pro
Audio output is great via the loud stereo speakers. And results are equally good when using wired USB-C OPPO earbuds (from the Reno series) and via wireless Bluetooth earbuds. In short, the audio quality from the Find X5 Pro is as good as the other flagships.
Connectivity is also equally good when compared to my daily driver Pixel 6. Even though this device is mainly for Asia (Malaysia specifically) I got 4G LTE out of the box on T-Mobile in Southern California. I couldn’t find the 5G setting on the device however so your mileage in North America in terms of getting a 5G signal may vary. Calls were clear and there were no issues in terms of data connections during the review time.
OPPO Find X5 Pro Final Verdict
On paper, the Find X5 Pro is a flagship device that can hang with the best that Samsung, Google, and Apple have to offer. It is probably one of the best looking especially in Ceramic White – yes that is a personal opinion. It has an excellent color-accurate display, great customization in terms of software, custom image processing silicon, and superb main and ultrawide cameras – day or night. The Find X5 Pro also has the fastest wired and wireless charging times amongst all flagships out there. But there is only one area where it is head and shoulders above the competition – ultrawide camera. Samsung S22 Ultra has a better screen, S-Pen, and much better zoom camera. Google Pixel has clean a clean software experience and lower price. Finally, the Find X5 Pro is priced 1299 EUR which is way more expensive than flagships from Samsung, Google, and Apple. I think if this phone was priced around 999 EUR it would sell like hotcakes but at the suggested retail price it lacks the brand recognition the phone actually deserves.
