Oppo Find X5. Picture: Noel Campion.
The Oppo Find X5 features flagship hardware in a handset with a large 6.55-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate that makes it breeze through all your favourite social feeds and of course, the latest 5G connectivity.
The rear of the Find X5 shares the same design language as the more expensive Find X5 Pro with a camera module that deviates from the usual rectangular camera bumps we’re used to seeing on other flagships. The body gradually rises to meet the oblong-shaped camera module that houses three cameras comprising a 50MP primary sensor (f/1.8), a 13MP 2x telephoto zoom (f/2.4) and a 50MP ultra-wide camera (f/2.2). Around the front is a 32MP selfie camera (f/2.4) located at the top left corner of the screen in a punch-hole cutout.
The back has a matte glass texture that doesn’t attract fingerprints like the ceramic glossy surface of the Find X5 Pro. It feels silky smooth in the hand and during my time using it, I didn’t see any signs of use.
The bottom edge has a USB-C port, the SIM tray and a bottom-firing speaker. The loudspeaker at the top of the display combines with the bottom speaker to create a stereo sound. An under-display fingerprint optical sensor is the main method of authentication and works fast and reliably. It’s positioned about a third of the way up from the bottom making it easy to reach one-handed.
The glass is the most recent Gorilla Glass Victus, and the phone comes with a screen protector already in place. The screen curves around the sides which makes holding the phone a little nicer and I didn’t notice any accidental touches.
The Find X5 has a 6.55-inch AMOLED screen with a 2,400 x 1,080 (FHD+) resolution. It has a total pixel density of 402ppi, a refresh rate of either 60Hz or 120Hz and HDR10+ playback certification. The screen can also reach a peak brightness of 1,000nits when playing HDR content and of course, an infinite contrast ratio that makes viewing media a pleasure.
Although it isn’t an LPTO panel that can automatically adjust its refresh rate from 10Hz up to 120Hz like the Find X5 Pro, there’s no discernable difference. However, using 120Hz all the time will affect battery performance slightly.
The Find X5 uses a slightly older Snapdragon 888 CPU rather than the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 which is found in the Find X5 Pro. It also comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage with no option to upgrade the storage with a micro SD card.
In everyday use, I couldn't tell the difference in performance between the two. It also uses a performance mode that’s turned off by default and this feature saves on battery without any perceivable dip in performance. However, turning it on will help in more demanding games or intensive tasks at the risk of battery drain and heat.
The Find X5 isn’t as capable when playing high-end games like Apex Legends, PUBG, Call of Duty or Genshin Impact. This isn’t to say it won’t play them but it’s not as smooth as its bigger sibling.
The Find X5 comes with the same imaging NPU: MariSilicon X which is a dedicated processor for handling all image-related and computational photography tasks.
Battery life is excellent and I’d consider the Find X5 an all-day phone. Additionally, a wired 80W charger is included in the box, along with support for up to 30W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging. The 30W wireless charging is possible when using the Oppo AirVooc wireless charging which keeps the phone cool while it charges thanks to its built-in fan.
The Find X5 uses the camera tech as found in the Pro version with the exception of the five-axis stabilisation on the main sensor.
The Hasselblad partnership is also included which offers the famous camera brands tweaks to some of the shooting modes, looks and filters.
The results are stunning with all of the cameras doing an amazing job of capturing incredible details with good colour accuracy and consistency between the different cameras.
Video capture is capped at 4K at 60fps so no 8K, which is no loss in my opinion. The captured footage is generally great with impressive image stabilisation despite the lack of the five-axis sensor stabilisation.
The Oppo Find X5 is an impressive handset with a distinctive look that stands out from the crowd in a good way. The Find X5 Pro offers additional features and a more premium build quality but at an additional cost.
While the Find X5 does lack an official IP rating there is a rubber seal around the SIM tray so I’m sure it’s fine.
Oppo Find X5 — €799 sim free or from €129 on bill pay from three.ie
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