Oppo Find X5 Pro review

Competition

Whether it's at the Find X5 Pro's €1300 list price or the €1200-ish number that you could find at some retailers, pinpointing its rivals shouldn't be difficult - it's only the absolute finest. Those would be the latest and best Galaxy and iPhone, Xiaomi's currently available top-dog, and, just maybe, a Pixel?

In a lot of these bouts, the Find X5 Pro will show up outspec'd when it comes to zooming power, and nowhere is the difference as stark as it is against the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Samsung's 2022 flagship has two teles, and even the short 3x one can get you closer to the action than the Find's modest 2x unit, plus the Galaxy can go all the way up to 10x. So if you find yourself often shooting distant subjects, this one goes easily in Samsung's favor. Then again, the Find would be our pick if you prefer your photography on the wide end of the zoom range, so it's not as clear cut.

The Galaxy has the stylus going for it if that's an advantage for you rather than a nuisance. There's also the brighter screen, better battery life, and the autofocusing selfie camera. The S22 Ultra is easily the more complete package, but we'd argue the Find wins for personality.

It's quite the same situation if we compare it to the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Objectively, the iPhone wins for display quality and battery life, and it does have some extra reach with its telephoto cam. However, the Find may very well be the better overall cameraphone, particularly if you're into a more colorful look. The OS divide stands, but if you're okay with ColorOS' take on Android, perhaps you're not dead-set on Android in the first place.

The Xiaomi 12 Pro offers a thoroughly customized Android experience, too, differently so. It, too, doesn't go beyond 2x natively, but its big-sensor tele is superior to the Oppo's at both digital zoom and low-light photography. And it's not like Xiaomi is losing when it comes to the other cameras. The 12 Pro also has some edge in display quality. There's the matter of endurance though, and the Oppo wins comfortably there, but the Xiaomi can counter with some of the fastest charging we've seen. So it's looking like something of a draw on performance, but then the Xiaomi is nominally a good €250 less expensive, and that tips the scales in its favor, as far as we're concerned.

And if you're after savings, why not get a Pixel 6 Pro? Currently at €800, but even for its €900 MSRP Google's flagship is looking like a proper bargain next to the Find. It comes with some concessions, like last year's chipset, shorter battery life, slower charging and a not-as-good ultrawide camera. The Pixel does have a 4x tele, which is 2x the Find's 2x tele, and there are those who swear by the Pixel photo 'look'. Google's software comes with unique perks, too, the fast updates being chief among them.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G • Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max • Xiaomi 12 Pro • Google Pixel 6 Pro

Verdict

The Find X5 Pro builds on an already great predecessor, and even though it doesn't bring massive changes, it's still a thoroughly capable alternative to the 'default' options in the top-tier segment. Having said that, we had one major issue with the X3 Pro that we hoped to see resolved on the X5 Pro, and it's not - a mere 2x zoom camera simply does not cut it anymore. The fact that it's a fairly simple 2x camera with limited low-light capabilities doesn't help its case either.

Perhaps the other two cameras can make up for the tele's shortcomings, though - the pair of 50MPunits are among the most consistently great ones we've seen, and they deliver spectacular results regardless of the task or time of day. We also like the Find X5 Pro's build and the unusually curvy design that makes it stand out in the sea of blocky rectangular slabs that modern smartphones have become.

It's obviously a fully loaded proper flagship - it features the newest, most powerful chipset, it runs the latest OS, it has an IP68 rating. As all of the competitors do. Battery life is about average for the segment, charging speed is no longer class-leading, the display is wonderful in many ways but trails in maximum brightness.

The point is, the Find X5 Pro has no obvious downsides other than the telephoto reach and is strong on the fundamentals, but that's not making it exceptional. Not enough to justify the sticker price solely on the merits. On the other hand, less sensible decisions can be made than paying a premium for those two cameras in a sexy ceramic shell.

Pros

• Superb 120Hz LTPO2 AMOLED display with granular HRR control and great color accuracy.
• The ceramic back is the most premium and durable material you can get on a phone.
• Main and ultrawide cameras are properly excellent at everything - stills and video, daylight and low light.
• Wide-angle selfie cam is great for group selfies.
• Customizable and feature-rich Color OS 12.1, Android 12.
• Neat features such as 360-degree NFC, and crisp haptic vibration motor.

Cons

• At 2x zoom, the tele camera has a reach that's too short, and it's also not very good in low-light scenes.
• The display's maximum brightness is lower than the competition.
• The 80W charger is barely faster than last year's 65W charger and it doesn't support USB-PD for fast charging your other devices.