The Oppo Find X3 Pro is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of (not expandable) storage memory. The 6.7-inch AMOLED display has a high resolution of 3,216 by 1,440 pixels with a 120Hz refresh rate. This is a 1 billion colour screen. According to Oppo, the device can display 1 billion colours on the screen, but also capture with the cameras. Furthermore, the device has Dual Stereo Speakers with Dolby Atmos and a battery of 4,500 mAh with 65W fast charging.
The quad-camera module has a main camera of 50 megapixels (Sony IMX 766, f/1.8) and an ultra-wide-angle lens of also 50 megapixels (Sony IMX766, f/2.2). We also find a zoom lens of thirteen megapixels (f/2.4, 5x hybrid zoom, 20x digital zoom) and a microlens of three megapixels (f/3.0). The latter is a microscope camera and lets you bring subjects up to 60x closer.
Design
No matter how good the hardware of this device is, the design of the Oppo Find X3 Pro is something you have to love. The Gradient Arc Camera module is fully integrated into the glass back, where it does protrude slightly. The glass back feels really smooth. It looks sleek and futuristic, but the disadvantage is that the device without a case will slide off everything.
It is a sleek and futuristic design, but as far as we are concerned not a real outlier. The placement of the cameras seems to have looked oppo away from Apple with the ‘hob’ in a triangle with a smaller zoom lens in the corner.
The device has a curved display with minimal screen edges. The front camera can be found in a hole at the top left of the display. At the bottom, we find the USB-C connection and the possibility to insert a SIM card. On the right, we find the power button and on the left the volume buttons.
The device is available in the colours Gloss Black and Blue, which are fairly standard colours, but other coloured versions of the Oppo Find X3 Pro, in different regions and carriers.
The showpiece of the device, in addition to the cameras, is the curved AMOLED screen of 6.7-inch. The screen has a resolution of 3,216 by 1,440 pixels and a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz. This refreshes the display 120 times per second, where you can scroll much smoother and animations seem to go smoother. A standard smartphone has a refresh rate of 60 Hz. In automatic mode, the screen itself changes between 5 Hz all the way to 120 Hz, without you immediately realizing this. Thanks to this technology, the battery lasts considerably longer.
This concerns the 1 billion colour screen. Thanks to 10-bit Full-Path Colour Management, you can capture, store and display photos and videos up to 1 billion colours on display. According to Oppo, you have 1.07 billion colours in the palm of your hand. The big question, of course, is whether you can actually see this with the naked eye, but we have to admit that we are dealing with a very good display here. Thanks to the high resolution, it is a very sharp display with beautiful full colours. Movies and series are a pleasure to watch and your homemade photos and videos really splash off the screen. The screen also supports hdr10+, in terms of range and the full spectrum of the colour gamut, it’s a really great display, sometimes even managing to exaggerate a bit in terms of colour. Everything is made more beautiful than it really is.
From the settings you can, fortunately, change various things yourself to adjust the display completely to your liking. For example, the P3 mode ensures better colour reproduction, you can use O1 Ultra Vision Engine to improve video resolutions and there is an option to convert SDR content to HDR. This does not always work well, especially with videos in a low resolution, but can certainly be an added value. In addition to automatic brightness, you can also have automatic colour temperature applied based on the ambient light. You can also easily adjust the standard values at your own discretion. The display is already very good in itself, but due to the many setting options, you can adjust everything completely to your liking.
Specifications
| Oppo Find X3 Pro 5G | |
|---|---|
| Screen | 6.7-inch, 3,216 by 1,440 pixels, 120hz, AMOLED |
| Operating system | ColorOS 11.2 (based on Android 11) |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 |
| RAM | 12 GB |
| Storage memory | 256 GB |
| SD | No |
| HDMI | No |
| USB | Yes, USB-C |
| GPS | Yes |
| 3G/4G/5G | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes, 5.2 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Cameras | 50 megapixel, 50 megapixels, 13 megapixels, 3 megapixel rear, 32-megapixel front |
| Battery | 4.500 mAh Lithium Polymer, 65W fast charging |
Connectivity
All modern connectivity options are present on the Oppo Find X3 Pro. You’re ready for 5g with the support provided. Wifi, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth and various sensors are all present. Charging can be done via the USB-C connection on the bottom of the device. A 3.5mm headphone jack is missing and that will be a loss for some people. The fingerprint sensor in the screen works quickly and accurately but is placed slightly lower in the display than you might be used to.
Speakers
The Oppo Find X3 Pro features Dual Stereo Speakers with Dolby Atmos. Dolby Atmos is always a bit exaggerated on a smartphone if you ask us, but both speakers (at the top and bottom) are excellent. As usual, the bass is a neglected child on the small smartphone speakers, but you can clearly hear the difference between the highs, mids and lows. This remains clear even at higher volumes. And this smartphone can turn up the volume very loudly. We see more and more often that high-end smartphones are equipped with good quality Dual Stereo Speakers and that is no different here. If you play a lot of games, this is an added value, because you are more sucked into the action. Not entirely unimportant is the sound when calling. Both you and your conversation partner are easy to understand, so the quality when calling is very good.
Speed Test on 5G
Cameras
The Oppo Find X3 Pro comes with two primary cameras with 50 megapixels. Both the main camera and the ultra-wide-angle use the Sony IMX 766. The main camera at an aperture of f/1.8 and the ultra-wide-angle at f/2.2. The main camera is therefore slightly brighter, but in practice, there is hardly any difference in quality between the two cameras. By default, photos are shot by pixel binning (4 pixels combined to 1) at 12.5 megapixels, but you can also opt for the full 50 megapixels. It’s nice to have an ultra-wide-angle lens on a smartphone that performs as well as the main camera.
The camera app automatically switches between the right cameras and does that very well. If you have selected the main camera and you hold the smartphone close to an object, then the ultra-wide-angle lens is used without any delay, which also serves as a macro camera. The camera app changes effortlessly and the artificial intelligence is top-notch. Photos from both main cameras are sharp, brimming with colours and detail, and are among the top of the current camera smartphone market. The AI optimization works fine, although the HDR function sometimes fails. This sometimes causes halos in the photos and does not work very well to bring out light and dark details. Oppo has already released a camera update while testing this smartphone, so let’s hope this gets some more attention in the next update.
Despite the two great primary cameras, there is also a minus. Although minus, it just depends on where your preference lies. The periscope camera of the Find X2 Pro has been thrown overboard. So you can no longer zoom in as far as you are used to, but have now received a much more limited zoom lens and the microscope camera in return. The photos below show the capabilities of both primary lenses and the zoom lens. We had to reduce the resolution slightly to make the photos presentable on this page. Normally the photos are around 8 MB per photo. We have tried to preserve the quality of these smaller photos as much as possible to get a good impression of the camera capabilities of this smartphone. The last photo shows the zoom lens at 20x digital zoom, where it becomes clear that this will no longer yield usable photos.
Sample photos
By holding a finger on the lens, we know that the zoom capability uses up to 10x of the primary camera. It has 2x optical zoom, 5x hybrid zoom and 10x digital zoom. From 10x, the zoom lens is only used up to a maximum of 20x. And even at the 10x zoom, the main camera is still better than the special zoom lens at 10.1x zoom. The difference between the two cameras is big, with the zoom lens really being the neglected child of the whole. Up to 10x, you shoot quite nice pictures in environments with a lot of light, but above that, the quality quickly decreases.
Then the microscope camera. I actually had zero expectations of this, but how wrong I was. The microscope camera (three megapixels, f/3.0) is the leftmost camera of the camera module and comes with its own illumination around the lens. Here’s how it works. You place the camera on an object and can switch between 1x or 2x, which stands for 30x or 60x. So you can bring subjects up to 60 times closer and that is a lot of fun.
If you put the smartphone on your jeans, you will see the individual fibres from the clothes.
Put the smartphone on your television and you can count the pixels. The three megapixels do not provide sharp photos on a large monitor and there is still plenty to criticize about the quality, but it is very nice to bring subjects closer in this way. On a smartphone screen, however, it looks fine.
The uncluttered camera app lets you easily switch between Night, Photo, Video, Portrait and More. Under ‘More’ you will find options such as panorama, slow motion, Time Lapse, Pro and the microscope mode mentioned above. For photos, you can indeed use the 10-bit colour (only in HEIF format). You can record videos in 4k, 1080p and 720p at 30fps and 60fps. The image stabilization has been significantly improved. Even at 4k at 60fps, you have stable and high-quality videos with great sound. Even in windy conditions.
Battery life
A minus of the Oppo Find X2 Pro was the battery life, the lightning-fast charging with 65W was also present on that device, but you sometimes had to take it easy to get through the day without charging. This time, Oppo has done that a lot better. The 4,500 mAh battery is not only a bit larger but also the battery optimization seems to have been greatly improved. We got through the day with ease and do you still have to recharge?
The 65W charger is so fast that you have a fully charged phone in half an hour. In 10 minutes, the empty battery is already 40 per cent fully charged. Note that you can only achieve this speed with the included charger with SuperVOOC 2.0 technology. Wireless charging is possible with up to 30W.
Software
ColorOS 11.2 (based on Android 11) has become a very mature software shell. It is clear with a clear setting menu, contains a lot of setting options to adjust all kinds of things to your liking, lets you easily switch between normal and dark mode and works very quickly and smoothly. Some additional apps such as Netflix are pre-installed, but you can remove them immediately if desired. From the animations to your home screen and from an app drawer to the many display options, everything can be adjusted to your liking without becoming cluttered.
The Oppo Find X3 Pro is a large smartphone with a 6.7-inch screen but still sits comfortably in the hand. You have to use a case because otherwise, your smartphone will fall off everywhere every day due to the smooth glass back. Fortunately, Oppo provides a complete package with the purchase of this device. There is a case in the colour of the smartphone included and a screen protector is already stuck on the screen, earbuds are also included, as is the 65W fast charger.
Conclusion
I can recommend the Oppo Find X3 Pro to everyone, the screen is top-notch, both primary cameras are fantastic, the microscope camera is more than a gimmick, and the fast hardware ensures powerful performance, this is the best phone I have reviewed this year. Priced at £1099 available from Oppo, Virgin Mobile, O2, Amazon and more for £1099.
TNC Score
4.2/5.0
