Oppo Find X5 Pro review: Is this S$1,699 flagship Android phone worth its price tag?

Note: This review was first published on 18 May 2022 and updated on 13th Oct 2022 to reflect an updated score in the changing landscape of competing products.

Overview

No, Oppo didn’t forget how to count up to five.

2022 saw the introduction of the Oppo Find X5 Pro, succeeding its 2021 flagship, the Find X3 Pro. Why Oppo chose to skip a number wasn't officially explained by the company. What we do know is the Chinese cultural aversion to the number “4”, which rhymes with “death”. Cue the number “5”, which ironically rhymes with “nothing” in Mandarin.

Aside from the wholly rational and clear-headed marketing strategies based on superstition, the Oppo Find X5 Pro is the furthest smartphone away from nothing, having packed in the best Oppo can offer in a S$1,699 mobile phone.

You’re looking at a device that goes beyond simply sticking in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset within, a handset that didn’t only just squeeze three cameras into its rear, a smartphone that doesn’t only just have a vibrant and sharp 6.7-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED display. How Oppo went above and beyond for each of these aspects is covered in the review below.

The phone also packs a generous 5,000mAh battery with 80W SuperVOOC fast-charging (and its compatible charger in the packaging). It’s also IP68 dust-and-water-resistant, has 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 5G network compatibility, and a speedy in-display fingerprint sensor. Find X5 Pro’s desire to be the best Android flagship phone is unmistakable.

But, can it be the best? Considering the stellar performance of the Samsung Galaxy S22 series and a bevvy of lower-priced 2021 Android flagship handsets (like the Google Pixel 6 series), the Oppo Find X5 Pro has plenty to prove if it wants to make people part with their money.

Let’s find out if it can. But first, have a quick look to see how the Find X series has evolved over the last two years in key attributes juxtaposed against the latest entrant.

Design and Handling

Oppo Find X5 Pro’s renewed Space Age Design sounds futuristic on paper, but it actually looks nearly identical to its predecessor, the Find X3 Pro. The main differences lie in its rear camera arrangement and the resultant housing shape, but the phones are otherwise similar-looking.

Beneath its appearance lies premium build quality. The “nanometer microcrystalline ceramic back” is optically transparent like glass, but has twice the hardness (per Oppo’s claim). That makes the rear slightly more scratch-resistant, but much more durable to soft knocks. Matching the protection on the front is Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. Together, the Find X5 Pro is moulded with curved sides meeting along its metallic rim. 

The rear camera housing is a recycled design from its predecessor. It’s a continuous slope that blends with the phone’s back, creating a smooth slope on all sides. While it’s still unique, Oppo didn’t entirely fix the old ergonomic issues caused by this camera housing. For example, if you lay your phone face up, the housing still makes the phone wobble towards the top-left corner. To Oppo’s benefit, having a gradient slope for its camera housing mitigates the chances of the phone’s corners catching the seams of your pockets.

What we liked best about the Find X5 Pro was its button placement. Oppo put the power/lock button on the opposite side of the phone, so the volume rockers are never mistakenly pressed, and screenshots are far easier to take with opposable fingers. For added measure, the power button comes with a subtle green inlay marking, making it really easy to tell by hand or at a glance. 

A notable difference in the Find X5 Pro (versus other Android flagships) is its front camera placement. Unlike your Pixel 6 phones or Samsung handsets with centre-aligned cameras, Oppo Find X5 Pro’s pin-hole front shooter rests in the top-left corner of the screen. It’s not easily noticeable, and it never gets in the way of input. But, you do need to remaster your selfie angles since it’s shoved to the side. On the other hand, it does make the viewing experience marginally better, which is what the Oppo Find X series is better known for. About that…

Display and Audio

Oppo’s excellent attention to display quality returns to the Find X5 Pro. You’re not just getting a 6.7-inch QHD+ (3,216 x 1,440 pixels resolution) LTPO AMOLED panel. It also has 100% DCI-P3 (typical) and 100% sRGB (typical) colour support on top of full-path 10-bit colour depth and management paired with HDR10+ support, making it highly accurate, sharp, and pleasing to the eye.

Don’t forget to toggle on 1440p in the settings (under Display and Brightness) because the Find X5 Pro has its panel at 1080p by default. Fortunately, it has a 120Hz refresh rate enabled from the start, which is adaptive based on the content shown on your display.

The Find X5 Pro also offers highly colour-accurate tweaks like the preceding handset. One such returning feature is Colour Vision Enhancement, which lets users adjust the phone’s palette based on their colour blindness. Also returning is the O1 Ultra Vision Engine microchip which has existed since the Find X2 Pro. The primary use of this microchip is to enhance SDR (standard definition range) videos into HDR, which works even on videos seen on TikTok and Instagram. The engine also works on still images. 

Of course, the main drawback to toggling on all these fantastic panel features is shorter battery life.

While Oppo’s Find X series phones typically have high-quality audio chops, the Find X5 Pro focuses more on its display tech, battery advancements, new chipset, and better camera accessibility. Hence, there’s nothing new to note in Find X5 Pro’s stereo sound other than it still being loud, clear and among the best in the phone industry.

UI and Features

ColorOS 12 by Oppo is naturally based on Android 12, so its user enhancements are carried over from its base operating system. You can still find Privacy Dashboard and microphone/camera indicators like those available in Android 12, albeit with Oppo’s own schemes and themes. 

The overall OS still employs a youthful, somewhat juvenile appearance with oblong icons, sufficient spacing between menu options, and relatively chunky sliders for volume, brightness, and other tweaks. Oppo played it really safe this time around, while still maintaining a signature software appearance.

A proprietary Oppo feature is Omoji, which lets you personalise the phone with a 3D cartoon of your face. Setting up Omoji requires you to head into Settings > Account (at the top, first option) > My Profile > My Omoji. While it does rely on its advanced algorithms to capture your expressions, you’ll still need to use its preset options to pick out the facial features that best represent you.

We’ve also tried out its in-display fingerprint sensor – its speed rivals that of the Galaxy S22 series phones, which lets you tap the display for secure unlocking. Neat.

Imaging Performance

Here’s a quick overview of rear cameras offered by Oppo Find X5 Pro before we go into its features.

• 50MP main camera (Sony IMX766) with 5-axis OIS (1/1.56-inch sensor, 1.0um pixel size, f/1.7 aperture, 80° FOV.
• 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera (Sony IMX766) 1/1.56-inch sensor, 1.0um pixel size, f/2.2 aperture, 110° FOV).
• 13MP telephoto camera (Samsung S5K3M5) with 5x hybrid optical zoom and 20x digital zoom (1/3.4-inch, f/2.4 aperture)

Such a configuration meant that the Find X5 Pro has two leading lenses – one for regular, all-purpose shots and one for ultra-wide-angle stills. The added benefit is the consistency between both shots, which you can see from the sample images below. However, the main camera has a “pro-level” 5-axis OIS (3-axis sensor-shift, 2-axis lens shift, three-degree anti-shake), so you can expect a much easier time getting less blurry shots and videos on the main camera.

Oppo also used glass lens groups for cameras, which supposedly reduces chromatic aberration by 77% when compared to plastic lens groups. The company also replaced its 5-channel RGBCW sensor with a 13-channel spectral sensor, and further boosted the efficiency with improved auto white balance software. Having more channels and more flexibility in detection helps to offer better accuracy in colours, skin tones, and scenes.

Its Hasselblad collaboration is on a superficial level with its iconic shutter sound and “Master Filters” for post-production edits – stuff that you don’t always rely on to get closer to true-to-life still and videos, but still nice to have for variety’s sake.

All these perks aren’t forgetting that Oppo also implanted a dedicated, 6nm MariSilicon X neural processor solely for better image processing. It gives the Find X5 Pro four times better dynamic range in HDR videos when compared to the Find X3 Pro, among other AI-related perks mentioned above.

Oppo fans would notice that the Find X3 Pro’s microscopic camera (3MP Microlens) didn’t make it to the Oppo Find X5 Pro. To be honest, we didn’t miss it at all – it was a fun camera to have, but it had limited use cases and was difficult to manipulate. 

Now, on to the images!

Sample Images

Contrast issues aside, the Oppo Find X5 Pro certainly delivers on vibrancy, sharpness, and tonality (look at all the fruits available!). It's also excellent at capturing detail, where you can spot the little fruit stickers and price placards clearly. 

Oppo Find X5 Pro clearly does a much better job under sufficient sunlight, where it's able to capture the textures on the gravelled cement edge around the grass patch (although the patch itself didn't quite have the detail we wanted). You could still make out the grilles on the purple roofs for the playground structure.

Oppo wasn't kidding when they said the ultra-wide-angle camera's performance is consistent with its main camera and it holds true when comparing the shot above with the earlier shown image shot on the main camera.

All in all, we found the Find X5 Pro's imaging performance reasonable and within expectations. It's fully capable of taking high-quality shots, save for a few outliers. We expected slightly better contrast handling, but were also impressed by its macro shooting capabilities.

5-axis OIS does go a long way in getting your shots in, and the device is also quick to the draw and shutter.

Benchmark Performance

As a 2022 Android flagship handset, the Oppo Find X5 Pro packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. This puts the Oppo Find X5 Pro at the same performance tier as Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series phones.

Of course, a proper phone brand wouldn’t just jam a nail-sized component into a bunch of electronics and hope for the best. Find X5 Pro offers a multi-tier cooling system that supposedly carries the bulk of SD8G1’s heat management needs. It includes a 3D graphene film that hugs the motherboard and charging coil, an ultra-thin graphite layer for the display and internal controller, and a vapour chamber that lays across the entire middle portion of the device’s insides. Our benchmarks should tell us if these components are of any tangible help.

For comparison’s sake, we’ll also handpick some of the outstanding 2021 flagship phones we’ve come across.

JetStream 2.0

JetStream 2 is a combination of a variety of JavaScript and Web Assembly benchmarks, including benchmarks that came before like SunSpider and Octane. It primarily tests for a system’s and browser’s ability in delivering a good web experience. It runs a total of 64 subtests, each weighted equally, with multiple iterations, and takes the geometric mean to compute the overall score. The higher the score, the better.

Geekbench 5

Geekbench CPU is a cross-platform processor benchmark that tests both single-core and multi-core performance with workloads that simulate real-world usage. Geekbench 5 scores are calibrated against a baseline score of 1000, which is the score of an Intel Core i3-8100. The higher the score, the better.

3DMark Wild Life (Unlimited)

3DMark Wild Life is a cross-platform benchmark for Windows, Android and Apple iOS for measuring GPU performance. Its graphics test consists of multiple scenes with variations in the amount of geometry, lights and post-processing effects, mirroring mobile games that are based on short bursts of intense activity. Wild Life uses the Vulkan graphics API on Windows PCs and Android devices. On iOS devices, it uses Metal.

In Unlimited mode, the benchmark runs offscreen using a fixed time step between frames. Unlimited mode renders exactly the same frames in every run on every device, regardless of resolution scaling. The higher the score, the better.

PCMark for Android - Work 3.0 and Storage 2.0

PCMark for Android is a benchmark for testing the performance of Android phones and tablets. The Work 3.0 test checks how the device handles common productivity tasks such as browsing the web, editing videos, working with documents and data, and editing photos. Storage 2.0 checks write-in and read-out performance for internal storage, external storage (if applicable), and SQLite database management. Together, the benchmarks can clue us in on how capable a phone is at handling everyday use. Work 3.0 scores are above, while Storage 2.0 scores are immediately below for each device - the higher the score, the better.

Since this is a newly introduced benchmark in our reviews, we’re building up our database of PCMark scores for Android phones.

Battery Life

Our standard battery test for mobile phones has the following parameters:

• Looping a 720p video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
• Constant data streaming through email

18 minutes to charge from 0% to 50%, and 43 minutes to charge from 0% to 100%. The Oppo Find X5 Pro has the fastest fast-charging we’ve seen in a 5,000mAh phone, given how other flagship handsets typically need at least an hour for a full charge, or advertise fast-charging that’s not-so-fast after trying them out. We’d even say that the Oppo phone is the fastest (if not one of the fastest) charging Android flagship phone we’ve recently come across, by a significant margin.

Conclusion

We were expecting the Oppo Find X5 Pro to be a typical, high-quality Android flagship phone. What we got instead was an impressive handset.

For one, Oppo didn't abandon its roots in providing the best components with ideal optimisations to help users milk the most of its features in a sensible manner. It doesn't have a flashy stylus, nor does it have an eye-catching design. But, the perks it confers in making the phone feel fast, fluid, and good to the eyes is probably one of the better examples of what Android smartphones today can and should offer.

It also does a great job in the places that a typical phone buyer would want. It has one of the fastest charging speeds in town, lasts long enough to get through your work-from-office days (boo), takes great photos, and has all the little things that solidifies its true flagship status (IP68, a fast in-display fingerprint sensor, amazing attention to display colour management and more). 

Find X5 Pro could afford to improve its zoom cameras further (though it's sufficiently good enough as it is), and Oppo could also consider making a UI that doesn't look like it came out of a kid's storybook. The effort that went into copying Apple's Memojis could've gone elsewhere, too. Also, the phone's design also needs to catch up with the times (ironic, given that their Apple-inspired Reno7 Pro mid-range handset looks better than the Find X5 Pro). But those are just nice to have, and not a must to succeed.

Its S$1,699 sticker price may stop some people in their tracks, but here's why it's a decent buy: it outperforms the Galaxy S22 series marginally in battery life and its performance is (at the time of writing) top of the charts, thanks to its heat management techniques. It doesn't have a stylus like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but it has 1440p LTPO AMOLED display unlike the 1080p+ resolution on the Galaxy S22+. For that, the price feels less outrageous, even if the Oppo phone doesn't have Samsung's all-encompassing device and software ecosystem or security protections. But it does meet international-grade security standards, something that few other phones can boast.

If the phone ever goes on a festival discount, it's easily the better buy if you have earmarked the non-stylus Galaxy S22+ as your next phone option. On its own, the Find X5 Pro has lots of things that give other 2022 flagship Android phones the pressure to perform. We're not saying it's impossible to top the Find X5 Pro, but things are really heating up for its rivals if this is the handset to match or beat this year.

In summary, if you want a top-notch Android-based phone that's not from Samsung but still exceeds it in some ways with attention to finer details, the Oppo Find X5 Pro is the phone for you. It's capable enough that we've awarded it our Editor's Choice seal of approval.

The phone is now available at all Oppo Concept Stores, Oppo’s Shopee, Lazada, and Qoo10 platforms, local telcos (M1, Singtel, StarHub), and authorised retailers.

 

13th October 2022 Update: Revisiting the Oppo Find X5 Pro's Proposition

Lots of newer Android phones have entered the market since Oppo debuted their flagship Find X5 Pro, but Oppo has certainly stood the test of time by going the mile in terms of delivering class-leading performance, design and a suite of features that make it unique and pander to those who can appreciate the finer matters.

However having recently conducted the Best 2022 Camera Phone Shootout, we found that Oppo didn't actually ace any of the tests and that took a bit of sheen off the Find X5 Pro. It's not a bad shooter by any comparison, but it didn't quite excel as much as we hoped it would. Plus, having reviewed even more devices since the Oppo Find X5 Pro, we're revising its Value sub-score from 8.0 to 7.5 and the User-Friendliness sub-score from 9.5 to 9.0 as we better align the phones for necessary comparison as we head to the end of the year buying season recommendations.

It's still an Editor's Choice-worthy Android smartphone, but there are now more contenders vying for its spot than ever before.