OPPO Find X is an innovative flagship (first look)

OPPO has re-entered the flagship market. The OPPO Find X is the first tangible piece of innovation of the ‘glass’ slab in years.

OK, we all like glass slabs. For the past few years, the innovation has been in screen size, camera, software and components. Don’t forget the last major innovation was Motorola Mods where you could add on devices to the phone. But they are still glass slabs.

And what is worse is that pretty well every brand/model in the value, mass, mid and flagship tiers does pretty well what every other competitor does.

This is the first look. We have the device in our hot little hands. A full review takes about two weeks. But GadgetGuy Thomas Bartlet was over in Paris for the launch and you can read his first impressions here.

OPPO Find X is different. Time will tell if it is different enough

First, the 6.42″ screen is almost 100% of the face. It has a minuscule bottom bezel, almost no top bezel, no notch (thank goodness), and nothing on the front to show the usual selfie camera or earpiece speaker etc. Technically speaking the screen covers 93.8% of the face and offers an unprecedented 19.5:9 ratio of beautiful, first grade AMOLED screen.

Second, there is no visible front or rear camera. Q: Where is it? A: It instantly pops up when needed. As does the front camera. The motorised slide-out takes .5 second and has been tested for 300,000 uses or about eight years at 100 times a day.

Third, as far as glass slabs go its damned sexy in Glacier Blue or Bordeaux Red.

Fourth, it uses all the latest go-fast stuff

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (2018 Flagship processor)
RAM/Storage: 8/256GB (no MicroSD slot)
Screen: 6.42” (same size as the Samsung Galaxy Note 9) 2340 x 1080, 401ppi, 430 nits (typical), 100% DCI-P3 colour space, Gorilla Glass 5
Rear camera: 16MP (Sony IMX519), f/2.0, 1.22µm, PADF, OIS, HDR and 20MP f/2.0, 1.0µm with automatic scene detection for food, snow, pets, sunsets, grass, etc. Lots of AI
Front: 25MP, f/2.0, HDR, Beautify and 3D smart capture
Facial scanning using mini-Kinnect 15,000 dots – as fast as iPhone X
Wi-Fi AC dual-band, 4×4 MU-MIMO
Bluetooth 5.0
LTE Cat 18 and dual sim with every imaginable band. VoLTE and VoWi-FI support
3730mAh battery with USB-C 3.1 OTG, VOOC 5V/4A fast charge – 50% in 30 minutes and a full charge in 1.5 hours. 90-hour endurance rating (Note9 97-hours)
156.7 x 74.2 x 9.6mm x 186g (Note 9 is 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8mm x 201g)
$1099 from JB H-Fi (Note 9 is $1499 for 6/128GB)

OK, in comparison to the Note9?

8GB versus 6GB
No MicroSD slot (not so much of a deal breaker with 256GB versus 128GB)
Lacks water resistance or IP68
No notification LED
We can’t find NFC, but it does mention it works with Alipay (Alibaba)
Lower res screen 2340 x 1080 versus 2960 x 1440 (but to be fair all default to a lower res to save battery).
No Qi charging
The same processor and GPU specs
Colour OS 5.1 and Android 8.1 versus Samsung UI and 8.1 (both should receive Andriod P)
The Note has an S Pen stylus, so a more valid comparison would be the Galaxy S9 Plus
Far bigger MP slide-out cameras front and rear. 25MP selfie – get out of here!
We can’t comment on photo or sound quality yet, but in preliminary use, its handsfree is loud and clear. It loses the 3.5mm audio jack for a USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor
And it’s $400 cheaper

Those that know me will understand that I consider Qi wireless charging a deal breaker. So no, the Samsung Galaxy S9/Plus/Note9 is ahead there.

GadgetGuy’s take. The OPPO Find X has exceeded OPPO fan’s expectations

It is the most beautiful glass slab I have ever seen. The appeal is to the fashion crowd. It has already become an aspirational purchase in China earning the title the world’s coolest smartphone.

The motorised pop-up is blazingly fast. Congratulations OPPO for daring to be different. Just as Apple had the notch, I suspect we will see more pop-ups.

OPPO will go down in smartphone history as an innovator. You can’t ask more than that.