OPPO Find X5 Pro 5G review – Divine Design Meets Charging Wizardry

Like all major manufacturers these days, OPPO follow the dual premium flagship release model. This time around, OPPO Find X5 Pro is the slightly bigger device with more theoretical power and the obligatory larger cell.

But it’s a little more interesting than usual with the two models offering different approaches to their innards as a well as a divergence in look and feel.

Looks Apart

In terms of shape and molding, OPPO Find X5 Pro’s macro design is a descendant of that of Find X3 Pro. There is a continuous curve around the horizontal axis while the rear curves elegantly to the camera island.

OPPO Find X5 series now has its own curve to match atop the device as it smoothly unites the front and rear of the device.

Find X5 Pro’s ceramic rear features a mirror-like finish that reflects light in a completely different way to regular glass. It’s unfamiliar and unique. The sheen teases and distorts the light with an even more otherworldly effect around the camera island.

The island itself is an asymmetric rounded quadrangle which, thanks to the precise moulding and light-distorting material of the rear, almost blends into the device.

Our Glaze Black Find X5 Pro is a fetching sight with its distinctive ceramic rear cover gracefully colour-matched with a polished aluminium frame, which itself morphs almost seamlessly to the gently curved front screen.

OPPO Find X5 Pro is delightfully different with a bold-but-understated look. Somewhat similar to its sibling and parents, but also highly distinctive.

In-Hand Competence

A near-90% screen-to-body ratio is not just visually appealing but offers greater display real estate for the pocketability of the device. The device is also slim at around 8.5mm deep.

Despite a large display size, OPPO Find X5 Pro doesn’t feel like a big phone. The 6.7″ display almost feels like it was been magically shrunk into a smaller device.

OPPO Find X5 Pro is a shade heavy for its volume. Many, like myself, will love that feeling of density that suggests superior engineering and/or build quality. At 218 grams, you’ll definitely know it’s in your pocket.

The device sports Gorilla Glass Victus on its front, offering some protection against minor drops. OPPO Find X5 Pro also comes with an IP68 rating, the device is resistant to dust, and water up to 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes.

In a marriage of function and aesthetic consideration, the eye-catching ceramic material used on the rear is also stronger than glass lending further peace of mind to OPPO Find X5 Pro.

In-House Competition

OPPO offer the series in two styles with Find X5 wearing a conventional glass rear. It looks heavily frosted, almost rough, yet feels smooth to the touch.

This creates sharp lines between polished and frosted surface. It offers contrast where the Find X5 Pro offers harmony.

Similarly, the island remains polished on the Find X5 while a rubber bumper sharply separates the sea of frosted glass from that polished island.

Which is a superior look is a matter of taste. It’s ultimately two strokes of genius from OPPO’s visual design department offering a choice beyond screen size, power and battery.

World of Colour

OPPO Find X5 Pro features a billion-colour pipeline with 10-bit video and camera modes matched with 10-bit processing and display. Like its predecessor, OPPO Find X5 can convert 10-bit content to 8-bit content for processing on another device before restoring the expanded colour depth once the file is returned.

The display is impressive; vibrant, sharp and bright. Additionally, OPPO Find X5 Pro has a pleasing natural tone to its display with very accurate colours once you enable it.

The display features a very low reflectivity coating, when combined with the overall screen brightness, offers outstanding outdoor legibility.

At 6.7″ it’s not all that much bigger than the display of its stable mate and Find X5 can match its Pro sibling for stunning colour, contrast and clarity.

OPPO Find X5 Pro’s display offers LTPO though, and the battery-saving dynamic refresh rate to go with it. The Pro model is also capable of higher brightness than its little brother.

Cutting Edge

OPPO Find X5 Pro sports a cutting-edge chipset in the first-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon 8. While it’s not yet hammering more established designs in benchmarks, it’s an exciting SoC.

Once the kinks are ironed out, it’s expected to be a large generational leap in terms of performance (some suggest 20% more raw processing power with the same on-paper specs as an 888 setup) and efficiency.

As it stands, OPPO Find X5 Pro possesses an abundance of power. The device is flawless for everyday tasks and handled whatever I could throw at it, seemingly without breaking a sweat.

And I would like to repeat that the chipset’s relatively new setup has some way to go before it reaches its potential.

Snap Decisions

OPPO once again went with a dual-prime lens on Find X5 series.

Using the same lens for both wide and ultra-wide guarantees better consistency across images when it comes to colour and contrast.

In practice, the large lenses deliver a bright and detailed image in practically all circumstances on OPPO Find X5 Pro. There are plenty of granular options for more advanced users, but the vast majority of users will simply get the image they want first or second time using the AI’s snap decisions.

In our review of OPPO Find X5, we loved the treatment of skin tones and the nigh-on infallibility of the MariSilicon NPU. Find X5 Pro offers superior colour recognition that boasts better skin tone correction and a more powerful global chromatic performance.

This adds to the ‘from the pocket’ photographic excellence. The bright, sharp images with lifelike colour and tone seem to arrive with minimal interaction impressively often.

OPPO Find X5 Pro fares incredibly well after sunset. The night mode engages automatically, the device flashes its huge eyes at the black void for a few seconds and it’s done.

Even with a relatively unsteady hand, the MariSilicon NPU wrings better-than-usable shots with a reassuring consistency. Like the daytime excellence, it just works a commendable majority of the time.

The weakest suit of the camera suite is its telephoto lens. Optical capture topping out at 2x is disappointing. The 2x telephoto is a little more sorely missed on OPPO Find X5 Pro than it is on its little sibling, given the difference in price.

Video Vaunt

The video options suite is more than adequate with 4K60, 1080 up to 240 frames per second, and the ability to shoot and display in 10-bit colour. The suite is bolstered by an impressive 3-axis sensor-shift, 2-axis lens-shift optical image stabilisation system (OIS).

In practice, Find X5 Pro’s OIS smooths out capture with noticeable accuracy and grace. Coupled with a zoom slider, a user can get excellent dynamic footage beyond what you would expect from a smartphone, even a premium plus device.

That OIS is also used by the stills camera to wring a little bit more performance from longer exposure shots, like night-mode, and for quicker action shots. We praised OPPO Find X5 for it’s night work but it’s edged out by Find X5 Pro for the crispness afforded to free-hand dark mode snaps.

Night-mode video can capture up to 4K and no matter which mode you use, it’s an eye-opening experience and by far the best night video capture I have used on a smartphone.

A Very Mobile Phone

OPPO Find X5 Pro sports a 5,000mAh battery that allowed me to just about make it to bed on day two with my day-to-day regular use. While the handset is not class-leading in terms of raw stamina, it’s competitive.

Downtime is also minimal with either Find X5 series device. When you are constantly on the go, an extra hour or two between charges is nice but a day’s worth of use from a quick stop is better.

OPPO Find X5 and Find X5 both sport the latest 80W SuperVOOC 2.0 charging system with the appropriate charger in-box. Find X5 Pro’s 5,000mAh battery will go from 0-50% in around 12 minutes. A full charge from 0% takes under 40 minutes.

Find X5 Pro can also boast incredible wireless charging capabilities. 50W AirVOOC will charge the handset as quick as some competitors’ wired speeds with a full charge from 0% achieved in an outstanding 47 minutes.

Specifications

OPPO Find X5 Pro demands attention with elegant design, superb all-round capture, class-leading charging solutions and its cutting-edge chipset.

The use of a novel material may sound good but it’s the practical and visual integration of the ceramic into the device that is worthy of praise.

Similarly, the painstaking lengths that OPPO went through to morph, mould and meld the material is a great marketing hook. But one that can only illuminate so much about the the almost divine look and feel of the result of that process.

Review handset provided by OPPO