Oppo Find X5 Pro review: Is this S$1,699 flagship Android phone worth its price tag?

Design & Handling, Display & Audio, User Interface

Note: This review was first published on 18 May 2022 and updated on 13th Oct 2022 to reflect an updated score in the changing landscape of competing products.

Overview

No, Oppo didn’t forget how to count up to five.

2022 saw the introduction of the Oppo Find X5 Pro, succeeding its 2021 flagship, the Find X3 Pro. Why Oppo chose to skip a number wasn't officially explained by the company. What we do know is the Chinese cultural aversion to the number “4”, which rhymes with “death”. Cue the number “5”, which ironically rhymes with “nothing” in Mandarin.

Aside from the wholly rational and clear-headed marketing strategies based on superstition, the Oppo Find X5 Pro is the furthest smartphone away from nothing, having packed in the best Oppo can offer in a S$1,699 mobile phone.

You’re looking at a device that goes beyond simply sticking in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset within, a handset that didn’t only just squeeze three cameras into its rear, a smartphone that doesn’t only just have a vibrant and sharp 6.7-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED display. How Oppo went above and beyond for each of these aspects is covered in the review below.

The phone also packs a generous 5,000mAh battery with 80W SuperVOOC fast-charging (and its compatible charger in the packaging). It’s also IP68 dust-and-water-resistant, has 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 5G network compatibility, and a speedy in-display fingerprint sensor. Find X5 Pro’s desire to be the best Android flagship phone is unmistakable.

But, can it be the best? Considering the stellar performance of the Samsung Galaxy S22 series and a bevvy of lower-priced 2021 Android flagship handsets (like the Google Pixel 6 series), the Oppo Find X5 Pro has plenty to prove if it wants to make people part with their money.

Let’s find out if it can. But first, have a quick look to see how the Find X series has evolved over the last two years in key attributes juxtaposed against the latest entrant.

	Oppo Find X5 Pro	Oppo Find X3 Pro	Oppo Find X2 Pro 5G
Launch SRP	From S$1699	From S$1599	From S$1699
Network:	Up to 5G SA and NSA	Up to 5G SA and NSA	Up to 5G SA and NSA
Operating system	ColorOS 12 based on Android 12	ColorOS 11.2, based on Android 11	ColorOS 7.1, based on Android 10
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 MariSilicon X NPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Octa-core up to 2.84GHz
Built-in Memory	12GB RAM (LPDDR5)	12GB RAM LPDDR5	12GB RAM LPDDR5
Display	6.7-inch, LTPO AMOLED, 3,126 x 1,440 pixels resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 10-bit colour	6.7-inch / 3,216 x 1,440 pixels (525 ppi) / 120Hz refresh rate / 240Hz touch sampling rate / AMOLED Display	6.7-inch / 3,168 x 1,440 pixels (513 ppi) / 120Hz refresh rate / OLED Display
Camera	Rear: (Main) 50MP, f/1.7 aperture, 1.0μm pixel size, 5-axis OIS (Ultra-wide) 50MP, f/2.2 aperture, 1.00μm pixel size, 110° FOV (Telephoto) 13MP, f/2.4 aperture, 5x hybrid optical zoom, 20x digital zoom Front: 32MP, f/2.4 aperture, 0.8μm pixel size, fixed focus	Rear: 50MP, Sony IMX766 1/1.56-inch sensor size, f/1.8, All Pixel Omni-Directional PDAF, OIS 50MP, Sony IMX766 1/1.56-inch sensor size, f/2.2, 110° FOV, 4cm Macro, All Pixel Omni-Directional PDAF 13MP Telephoto, f/2.4, 5x Hybrid Zoom, 20x Digital Zoom 3MP Microlens, 60x magnification, f/3.0 Front: 32MP, f/2.4	Rear: 48MP, Sony IMX689 1/1.4-inch sensor size, f/1.7, All Pixel Omni-Directional PDAF 48MP, Sony IMX586 1/2-inch sensor size, f/2.2, 120° FOV, 3cm Macro 13MP Periscope Telephoto, f/3.0, 10x Hybrid Zoom, 60x Digital Zoom Front: 32MP, f/2.4
Video Support	(Rear) 4K60FPS, 5-axis OIS	—	—
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, UWB, USB Type-C, GPS, A-GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS	Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4Ghz, 5.1Ghz, 5/8Ghz), Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.2, A-GPS, Beidou, Glonass, Galileo, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4Ghz, 5.1Ghz, 5/8Ghz(, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.1, A-GPS, Beidou, Glonass, Galileo, GPS
Storage Type	256GB (UFS 3.1)	256GB internal storage UFS 3.0	512GB internal storage UFS 3.0
Battery	5,000mAh 80W wired fast-charging (SuperVOOC) 50W wireless fast-charging (AirVOOC)	4,500mAh 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 30W AirVOOC (wireless charging)	4,260mAh 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 Flash Charge
Dimensions	163.7 x 73.9 x 8.5mm	163.6 x 74.0 x 8.26mm	165.2 x 74.4 x 8.8mm
Weight	218g	193g	217g

Design and Handling

Oppo Find X5 Pro’s renewed Space Age Design sounds futuristic on paper, but it actually looks nearly identical to its predecessor, the Find X3 Pro. The main differences lie in its rear camera arrangement and the resultant housing shape, but the phones are otherwise similar-looking.

Beneath its appearance lies premium build quality. The “nanometer microcrystalline ceramic back” is optically transparent like glass, but has twice the hardness (per Oppo’s claim). That makes the rear slightly more scratch-resistant, but much more durable to soft knocks. Matching the protection on the front is Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. Together, the Find X5 Pro is moulded with curved sides meeting along its metallic rim. 

The rear camera housing is a recycled design from its predecessor. It’s a continuous slope that blends with the phone’s back, creating a smooth slope on all sides. While it’s still unique, Oppo didn’t entirely fix the old ergonomic issues caused by this camera housing. For example, if you lay your phone face up, the housing still makes the phone wobble towards the top-left corner. To Oppo’s benefit, having a gradient slope for its camera housing mitigates the chances of the phone’s corners catching the seams of your pockets.

What we liked best about the Find X5 Pro was its button placement. Oppo put the power/lock button on the opposite side of the phone, so the volume rockers are never mistakenly pressed, and screenshots are far easier to take with opposable fingers. For added measure, the power button comes with a subtle green inlay marking, making it really easy to tell by hand or at a glance. 

A notable difference in the Find X5 Pro (versus other Android flagships) is its front camera placement. Unlike your Pixel 6 phones or Samsung handsets with centre-aligned cameras, Oppo Find X5 Pro’s pin-hole front shooter rests in the top-left corner of the screen. It’s not easily noticeable, and it never gets in the way of input. But, you do need to remaster your selfie angles since it’s shoved to the side. On the other hand, it does make the viewing experience marginally better, which is what the Oppo Find X series is better known for. About that…

Display and Audio

Oppo’s excellent attention to display quality returns to the Find X5 Pro. You’re not just getting a 6.7-inch QHD+ (3,216 x 1,440 pixels resolution) LTPO AMOLED panel. It also has 100% DCI-P3 (typical) and 100% sRGB (typical) colour support on top of full-path 10-bit colour depth and management paired with HDR10+ support, making it highly accurate, sharp, and pleasing to the eye.

Don’t forget to toggle on 1440p in the settings (under Display and Brightness) because the Find X5 Pro has its panel at 1080p by default. Fortunately, it has a 120Hz refresh rate enabled from the start, which is adaptive based on the content shown on your display.

The Find X5 Pro also offers highly colour-accurate tweaks like the preceding handset. One such returning feature is Colour Vision Enhancement, which lets users adjust the phone’s palette based on their colour blindness. Also returning is the O1 Ultra Vision Engine microchip which has existed since the Find X2 Pro. The primary use of this microchip is to enhance SDR (standard definition range) videos into HDR, which works even on videos seen on TikTok and Instagram. The engine also works on still images. 

Of course, the main drawback to toggling on all these fantastic panel features is shorter battery life.

While Oppo’s Find X series phones typically have high-quality audio chops, the Find X5 Pro focuses more on its display tech, battery advancements, new chipset, and better camera accessibility. Hence, there’s nothing new to note in Find X5 Pro’s stereo sound other than it still being loud, clear and among the best in the phone industry.

UI and Features

ColorOS 12 by Oppo is naturally based on Android 12, so its user enhancements are carried over from its base operating system. You can still find Privacy Dashboard and microphone/camera indicators like those available in Android 12, albeit with Oppo’s own schemes and themes. 

The overall OS still employs a youthful, somewhat juvenile appearance with oblong icons, sufficient spacing between menu options, and relatively chunky sliders for volume, brightness, and other tweaks. Oppo played it really safe this time around, while still maintaining a signature software appearance.

A proprietary Oppo feature is Omoji, which lets you personalise the phone with a 3D cartoon of your face. Setting up Omoji requires you to head into Settings > Account (at the top, first option) > My Profile > My Omoji. While it does rely on its advanced algorithms to capture your expressions, you’ll still need to use its preset options to pick out the facial features that best represent you.

We’ve also tried out its in-display fingerprint sensor – its speed rivals that of the Galaxy S22 series phones, which lets you tap the display for secure unlocking. Neat.