Oppo Find X Lamborghini Edition review

Competition

The Find X Lamborghini Edition doesn't quite fit in the usual narrative where at the end of the review we compare phones to rivals within a similar market segment or having comparable feature sets. It's an exclusive product and one you won't find at your local store or offered by a carrier, plus its exorbitant price doesn't really encourage reasonable comparison. Exorbitant... Hmm.

Apple iPhone XS Max • Huawei Mate 20 RS Porsche Design • Samsung Galaxy Note9

You see, if you manage to go through the hoops of getting a Find X Lamborghini edition to your door, it will have cost you about as much as a 512GB iPhone XS Max sells for (in Europe, that is). And for that price Apple won't be bundling Airpods or a case either. True, the iPhone will sit better in terms of warranty (as in, you will have it), and is an overall a much more polished product.

Now, if you absolutely must have a premium car's brand on your phone, there's always the just announced Porsche Design Huawei Mate 20 RS. It'll set you back more than the Lambo in its base 256GB trim, and going for the 512GB version will be even pricier (if that makes any difference). The Mate has all sorts of interesting cameras on its back, while the Lambo only really has the one, and if any phone can come close to this Find X's charging speed it's the Huawei SuperCharge-able Mate. Tough one this.

Back to the realm of regular people who make decisions at least a little founded in reason, a Galaxy Note9 looks like a sensible choice. You can even have it in 512GB/8GB trim to match the Oppo's numbers and that'll cost you, say, 20% less - a difference you can spend on a pair of Icon Xs and a fancy case.

Verdict

People don't buy Lamborghinis because of practicality considerations, and they certainly don't frown at the price. Similarly, this special edition Find X doesn't really need to rank high in any bang-for-buck contests to justify its existence.

Much like the regular Find X that runs for about half the price, the Lamborghini Edition is a pretty competent smartphone package overall. Display, battery life, camera - none of this is class leading going by the specs or the test results, but they're all comfortably above average.

And what the Find X has going for it in the first place - a one of a kind all-display design, is taken a step further by the Lambo customizations to pretty much ensure no one around you will have the same phone.

But in fact, the Lamborghini edition comes with some added practical value beyond the looks. Your friends may get annoyed every time you remind them that you can fully charge your phone in 35 minutes, but it's something you're never going to get tired of (yes, both the quick charging and the bragging). The bundled wireless earphones and the ample half terabyte storage also help with the cost-benefit analysis.

So, it's shaping up little like this - if you've got unlimited budget and you're after a unique smartphone, the Lamborghini Edition of the Oppo Find X is that. It's also practical enough to go grocery shopping with.

Pros

• Rich package contents, the wireless earbuds are definitely a nice touch, the charger is a gamechanger.
• About as exclusive as they come - the one-of-a-kind design of the standard-issue Find X is further enhanced by the carbon-fiber back and Lamborghini badge.
• Ample, half-terabyte of storage, top shelf internals.
• Not bad battery life despite the capacity reduction compared to the vanilla Find X, and when power does run out, SuperVOOC takes you back to 100% in 35mins.

Cons

• Expensive, though a 512GB iPhone XS Max costs about the same and there are no Airpods included, so...
• Moving parts could potentially fail, the phone is prone to bending under (accidental?) load, and there's no dust or water resistance.
• The crazy fast charging requires all proprietary bits to function.
• Idiosyncratic custom software.
• No NFC and wireless charging.