Oppo Find X5 Pro: Five reasons this flagship android phone is worth a look

The Find X5 Pro is the latest flagship Android phone from Oppo, replacing last year’s Find X3 Pro and bringing with it a host of neat features, including a potent processor, luscious design, 5G connectivity and impressive camera setup.

But it needs all that exciting tech as the premium phone category has never been more competitive, with Google’s Pixel 6 Pro and the brand new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra both ticking every box you’d expect from a flagship phone in 2022. So Oppo will have to work hard to steal your attention away from its rivals, particularly if it won’t be competing hard on price.

But that said, there are some good reasons to look towards Oppo’s phone so here then are the five things I like most about the Find X5 Pro.

Slick design

I love the look of this phone. It’s made from ceramic that’s apparently baked at over 1,000 degrees Celsius which has allowed it to be formed into this single piece that flows up and around the camera lenses. It’s certainly got a unique aesthetic that makes it stand out against its rivals and I think it manages to be both stylish and smart, so it wouldn’t look out of place in a fancy wine bar or on a boardroom meeting table.

It might look fragile, but Oppo reckons that ceramic build actually makes it twice as durable as toughened glass, while the front is made from Corning’s most hardcore Gorilla Glass Victus. I haven’t tried hurling it to the ground for fun just yet, but I’m confident it’ll take at least a few knocks and bumps. It’s also IP68 rated for waterproofing, so spilled drinks or taking phone calls in the rain should not be a problem here.

Excellent stabilized cameras

Tucked into that ceramic design are three cameras. There’s a 50-megapixel main sensor, along with a 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor. Much as it did with the Find X3, Oppo has used the exact same image sensor for both standard and ultrawide views, so you won’t need to sacrifice quality when switching between the lenses.

I found the camera took great shots when I took it out and about in Edinburgh. Exposure was spot on, there’s tons of detail and while there’s a bit of a shift in color balance between the main and ultrawide cameras, there’s no dip in image quality. There’s also a 13-megapixel zoom lens giving a 2x optical zoom which is perfectly fine, but personally I’d like to see more zoom levels here. Oppo says its customers care more about wide angle shots so that’s where its efforts have gone, but I love the longer zooms offered by the Pixel 6 Pro and the huge 10x zoom from the S22 Ultra as they let me get much more creative images. Whether that’s a problem for you is something you’ll have to decide for yourself.

But Oppo is also making some big boasts about its night mode quality in both images and videos. The main sensor has the first 5-axis optical stabilization seen in a phone along with its own dedicated processing unit that helps brighten dark shots while keeping image noise down.

I found its night shots to be generally good, with plenty of fine details that certainly put it on a par with the other top camera phones. That video stabilization works for night time shots too, but I mostly found it helpful in the daytime, smoothing out my footsteps as I walked around Edinburgh.

It’s a great camera system overall and if you much prefer those sweeping wide-angle vistas rather than zooming in on tiny details then you’re well catered for here.

Vibrant display

The Find X5 Pro’s 6.7-inch display has a 3,216×1,440-pixel resolution which makes even tiny details look pin sharp. It’s bright too, with vibrant punchy colors which makes it really great for playing colorful games like Asphalt 9: Legends or — I suppose — Candy Crush Saga.

It curves gently at the sides, which gives it an extra little premium touch, while the 120Hz refresh rate means swiping around the interface feels buttery smooth. You can however turn that refresh rate down and lower the resolution in order to put less strain on the battery. Personally, I’d do that as I don’t think there’s such a difference that you’d notice it in day to day use, and you can always ramp things back up if you’re settling into some gaming.

Massive power

And speaking of ramping things up for gaming, the Find X5 Pro comes loaded up with a seriously potent processor in the form of Qualcomm’s latest 8 Gen 1 chip. On our benchmark tests the X5 is certainly up there with the likes of the S22 Ultra, meaning it offers a smooth experience overall.

There’s no lag whatsoever as you swipe your way around the Android 12 interface, while more demanding games such as Asphalt 9: Legends or PUBG play well. In short, there’s little I imagine you’d be able to throw at this thing that would slow it down.

Solid battery and fast charging

Powering all of that is a 5,000-mAh battery, which is a generous size and should keep you going for a full day of mixed use. As with all phones, it depends on how demanding you are though — if you barely touch it all day beyond answering the odd text, it’ll have plenty of juice the next day. Spend the day streaming YouTube videos and you can expect it to need a boost in the afternoon.

But a boost is a very quick thing though as the phone supports 80-watt fast charging which will take the phone from empty to 50% full in just 12 minutes, which is great if you need that extra bit of juice before you head out for a night on the town. And that fast charger comes in the box too so you won’t need to scour Amazon trying to find one that’ll work.

Overall I think the Find X5 Pro is an impressive phone that gives you the overall power and performance — and, I think, the looks — you’d expect from a top-end phone right now. Sure, I’d like a better zoom lens, but the camera system is great regardless and it makes this phone worthy of your consideration.