OPPO Find X8 Pro review: Camera-first, but its appeal goes beyond imaging

The OPPO Find X8 Pro is a feature-rich smartphone with strengths in camera system, display, build quality, and battery performance. However, the software experience, requires further refinement

After a long hiatus in the Indian market, Chinese smartphone maker OPPO has introduced its flagship Find X series with the launch of the OPPO Find X8 series. The series includes two models, one of which is the Pro variant reviewed here.

 

The OPPO Find X8 Pro is positioned as a premium smartphone designed with a focus on photography, yet its appeal extends beyond its imaging capabilities. It runs on Android 15-based ColorOS 15, featuring numerous artificial intelligence enhancements. The smartphone also offers unique hardware elements, including a dedicated camera button (Quick Button) similar to the Camera Capture feature on the Apple iPhone 16, and an alert slider reminiscent of those found on OnePlus devices. Additionally, it boasts IP68 and IP69 certifications for dust and water resistance, along with a large-capacity battery that supports both wired and wireless fast charging.

 

Priced at Rs 99,999, the OPPO Find X8 Pro enters a segment traditionally dominated by the Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhone. Whether it can establish OPPO as a significant contender in India’s ultra-premium smartphone market remains to be seen, here is how the smartphone fares in experience.

Design

The OPPO Find X8 Pro introduces a fresh design with subtle yet impactful novelties, setting it apart from its competitors and its predecessor.

 

Noteworthy design elements include a four-sided curved glass construction on both the front and rear. The rear glass features a frosted texture with a fingerprint-resistant finish, maintaining its pristine look even when used without a protective cover. The phone also includes a three-step alert slider for quickly switching between ring, vibrate, and silent modes, along with IP68 and IP69 certifications for dust and water resistance.

 

The rear camera module is circular, drawing similarities to the Vivo X100 Pro. However, it has a smaller footprint and protrudes less, enhancing its sleek appearance. The camera module features Hasselblad branding in the centre, accented by a subtle orange ring at the base, reflecting the brand partnership.

 

The phone’s dimensions and weight are comparable to other Pro models, yet it houses a 5,910 mAh battery—the largest in its category—adding a competitive edge.

 

Aesthetically appealing, the OPPO Find X8 Pro is also comfortable to hold and operate, especially in vertical orientation. Unlike other curved-display smartphones where the curve affects the frame, this device maintains a full-frame thickness, improving grip and usability. However, the weight distribution is not ideal; the top side feels heavier than the bottom, requiring some adjustment during use.

 

In horizontal orientation, the rear camera module introduces some imbalance. This is particularly noticeable during activities such as gaming or video playback, where the module causes slight obstruction and affects the device's stability when held with both hands.

Display and Audio

The OPPO Find X8 Pro has a 6.78-inch flat display layered with quad-curved glass, giving it the appearance of a curved display while retaining the functionality of a flat screen. This design enhances usability, particularly for gesture navigation, and provides a sleek aesthetic with thin, symmetrical bezels contributing to its premium appeal.

 

As befitting an ultra-premium smartphone, the display delivers sharp visuals with a resolution of 1264 x 2780 pixels. It supports an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz, ensuring smooth performance while optimising power efficiency.

 

The display is customisable, offering multiple colour profiles and an option for auto colour temperature adjustment based on ambient lighting, a feature similar to Apple’s True Tone technology. Additionally, OPPO provides a unique feature to manually set the refresh rate for individual apps, though this requires the default refresh rate to be set at high (120Hz) rather than auto mode.

In terms of performance, the display is bright, vibrant, and highly responsive. It is a 10-bit panel supporting Dolby Vision alongside HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG formats. The inclusion of OPPO ProXDR technology further enhances display brightness and contrast, highlighting intricate details. However, this feature is limited to images captured on the OPPO Find X8 Pro or devices from OPPO’s sister brands, such as OnePlus.

 

The display incorporates advanced pulse-width modulation (PWM) technology with a peak rate of 2160Hz, reducing eye strain during prolonged use. Furthermore, its IP68 and IP69 certifications ensure the display remains responsive to touch even when wet or used with damp fingers.

 

Complementing the display is a pair of stereo speakers tuned with OPPO Sound technology for spatial audio output. The speakers deliver loud, balanced, and clear sound with excellent depth, performing at par with the best in the segment.

Camera

Imaging is a key strength of the OPPO Find X8 Pro, positioning it as a competitor to the Ultra and Max models from other brands, despite its “Pro” label.

 

The OPPO Find X8 Pro is the first Android smartphone in India to incorporate a feature akin to the "Camera Capture" introduced in the Apple iPhone 16 series. Unlike traditional physical buttons, the Quick Button is a capacitive sensor with a force sensor, enhanced by haptic feedback for a button-like tactile experience.

 

Quick Button: How it works

• Double-tap: Launches the camera interface.
• Single tap: Captures a photo.
• Long press: Activates burst mode for capturing multiple shots.

OPPO has indicated plans to enhance the functionality of the Quick Button with future software updates, potentially broadening its applications.

 

Coming to the cameras, the rear camera setup consists of four 50-megapixel sensors, covering a wide focal range from 15mm (ultra-wide) to 135mm (6x periscope telephoto). Each sensor has its own strengths, making the system versatile and capable of handling varied imaging scenarios.

 

Despite its technological sophistication, the camera system is intuitive enough to deliver impressive results even without adjustments to software settings or modes. Advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence work seamlessly in the background to optimise outcomes. For example, the macro mode automatically activates across sensors when a close-up shot is detected. Likewise, AI comes into action for zoom enhancements to provides optical-quality results beyond the native zoom range (10x and above), though performance is best in good lighting conditions.

 

The Hasselblad collaboration is evident in portrait photography, with focal lengths tuned to emulate Hasselblad lenses:

• 3x Zoom: Designed for half-body portraits, replicating the bokeh effect of the Hasselblad XCD 73mm lens.
• 6x Zoom: Mimics the XCD 135mm lens, offering sharp facial focus against a softly blurred background.

Additional portrait features include a soft lighting filter that applies a glowing "white mist" effect, enhancing the aesthetic of captured images.

 

The Hasselblad Master Mode is present in this model, too. Master Mode provides advanced manual controls, extending beyond the typical Pro mode available on other camera-focused smartphones. It includes settings for ISO, shutter speed, EV, focus, and white balance, along with adjustments for saturation, contrast, sharpness, and vignette effects when capturing JPEGs.

 

Coming to video capabilities, the OPPO Find X8 Pro supports video recording at up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, with Dolby Vision available across all sensors, including the front camera. Additionally, users can switch sensors seamlessly while recording. However, a noticeable jitter occurs when the camera transitions between sensors during zooming, and this is captured in the final video output.

 

Additional features

• Burst Mode: Captures up to seven frames per second, processing each image individually for clarity and exposure.
• Live Photos: Captures a short video alongside the photo, enhanced with HDR and stabilisation.

ColorOS 15

The software experience on the OPPO Find X8 Pro, powered by Android 15-based ColorOS 15, offers a blend of improvements and areas needing refinement.

 

User Interface

 

While the user interface remains largely similar to the previous iteration, significant improvements in responsiveness enhance the overall user experience. The system feels smooth and intuitive, aligning with expectations for a premium device.

 

ColorOS 15 introduces several value-added features, including:

• Artificial Intelligence Tools: Focused primarily on imaging, accessible through the Photos app’s editing options. A new AI editor offers tools such as enhance clarity, AI eraser, unblur, and remove reflections. While functional, these tools show room for improvement, particularly the AI eraser, which struggles to blend removed objects with matching backgrounds, often resulting in artificial-looking edits.
• Google Circle to Search and Gemini AI Assistant: Native support for these Google services broadens the scope of AI-assisted features.
• O+ Connect App: Facilitates file sharing with iPhones. However, this requires the app to be installed on the iPhone, adding an extra step to the process.

AI in Productivity Apps

 

OPPO has integrated AI into its productivity apps, enhancing their functionality:

• Recorder app: Powered by Google Gemini 1.5 Pro, it can generate summaries of recorded audio files, improving utility for meetings and lectures.
• Notes app: Supports options to format, clean up, elaborate, and summarise notes, making it versatile for both casual and professional use.
• Documents app: Adds features such as summarisation, translations, and conversion to PDF, expanding its usefulness for document management.
• File Sharing with iPhones
• A notable addition is the ability to share files with iPhones using the O+ Connect app. This feature addresses a long-standing gap in Android's ecosystem, although requiring the app on the iPhone limits its convenience.

Performance

The OPPO Find X8 Pro, powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 processor, coupled with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, delivers a swift performance capable of handling demanding tasks with ease. Most AI functionalities are cloud-based, resulting in a slight delay, which should not be mistaken for a hardware performance issue.

 

The device manages tasks such as recording 4K 60fps videos in Dolby Vision format with consistent speed and responsiveness. It handles graphics- and processor-intensive applications, including gaming and multimedia editing, with minimal performance dips.

Thermal management is effective, with the device remaining cool during routine use. Slight heating is noticeable during prolonged sessions of resource-intensive tasks, such as high-end gaming or video rendering, but this does not impact overall usability.

Battery

Powered by a 5,910mAh battery, the OPPO Find X8 Pro offers an impressive on-battery time of over a day with moderate use. The phone supports 80W fast wired charging with the included charger, providing a full charge in a short time. The device also supports 50W wireless fast charging, but only with OPPO’s proprietary charger, which is not widely available. When used with standard Qi-compatible chargers, wireless charging is capped at 15W.

Verdict

The OPPO Find X8 Pro is a feature-rich smartphone. Its strengths lie in its camera system, display, build quality, and battery performance. However, the software experience, while promising, requires further refinement to match the polish of its hardware.

 

Priced at Rs 99,999, the Find X8 Pro competes well with industry stalwarts. Its unique offerings, such as the Hasselblad-enhanced camera and Quick Button, distinguish it as a compelling alternative in the premium smartphone space. Whether it establishes OPPO as a formidable player in this segment will depend on user adoption and software updates, but it is a strong start.