Oppo Find X8 Pro review: move over Samsung, this is my new favorite phone camera

How do you make a non-folding phone stand out in 2024? For Oppo, the answer is four cameras in a phone without Ultra branding or the associated price tag, complete with best-in-class performance, hardware, and even software.

Oppo’s return to the global market — after it resolved its legal issues with Nokia in Europe — has delivered an outstanding phone that is packed with the best hardware, offers excellent performance, and the aforementioned four cameras. All of this is at a price tag that beats most of the competition.

At its launch in Bali last week, the company dubbed its new flagship the new “Zoom King,” and after several weeks with the Find X8 Pro, Oppo has delivered one of the most versatile smartphone cameras ever. If you’re looking for a new phone, the Find X8 Pro should be on your shortlist, as long as it’s sold where you live. Here’s why.

Oppo Find X8 Pro specs

A unique design that feels familiar

Look at a picture of the Oppo Find X8 Pro; it’ll probably look like any other smartphone. However, once you see it in person, you’ll realize that while it shares many traits with every candybar smartphone, it has a few unique touches. In particular, its rear finish is one-of-a-kind — literally.

Each Find X8 Pro features a different pattern on the rear. The process of the unique coating on the Pearl White option that you see in our photos ensures that no two Find X8 Pro look alike, and this helps each one stand out from the competition and other Find X8 Pro users. The finish has a slight texture, which adds a little bit of a grip and provides a reassuring feel in the hand, although you won’t see it if you use the included clear case in the box.

As part of Oppo and OnePlus’s convergence into a single company, the Find X8 Pro borrows many design cues that have become a mainstay on OnePlus devices. The Find X8 series has the ring/vibrate/silent alert slider found on previous OnePlus devices, which is extremely useful, but I’ve found it a little too easy to change modes when taking the phone in and out of my pocket.

There have been many changes to the past OnePlus and Oppo phones, but the Find X8 series offers a glimpse of Oppo’s future design language. A quad-curved display makes it comfortable to hold, but if you dislike a curved screen, this won’t appeal to you. However, the curves ensure it blends fairly well into the flat-edged sides, making it very comfortable to use with one hand.

On the back, the camera bump has been flattened and made into a round camera block. Both the Find X8 and X8 Pro share the same camera design, even though the non-Pro model only has three cameras.

The Find X8 Pro also borrows some cues from the iPhone 16 with a new Quick button that is heavily inspired by Apple’s Camera Control button. It’s a fully capacitive button that acts like a camera shortcut and shutter button. The features are limited to adjusting zoom with a swipe or pressing and holding to take burst photos. It’s a simpler approach, but I wish all companies would make these buttons easier to press without looking.

Weighing 215 grams, the Find X8 Pro is heavier than you might expect from a non-Ultra branded phone, but it’s still lighter than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It’s a few grams lighter than last year’s OnePlus 12, although it feels heavier once you use the included case. You don’t necessarily need to use this case, with Oppo touting its use of a toughened glass display and aluminum rail, but it’s protected by Gorilla Glass 7i, which is not as protective as Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus that’s used by Samsung in its flagships, so it’s likely worth using the case.

This display is a joy to use

Oppo isn’t known for class-leading smartphone displays, but the Find X8 Pro has one of the nicest displays I’ve used on a phone. In particular, the quad-curved edges feel more immersive than I expected.

The Find X8 Pro features a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel rated as 4,500 nits peak brightness, 800 nits typical brightness, and 1,600 nits in high brightness mode. The typical brightness is slightly higher rated than the Pixel 9 Pro XL, but otherwise, it is the same, and it is significantly brighter than the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

In actual usage, it’s a joy to use. I’ve tested it in gloomy conditions in the U.S. and the U.K. and under the harsh overhead sun in Bali. It has delivered in every scenario. Anecdotally, the Pixel 9 Pro feels a little brighter at times, and the 1,264 x 2,780 resolution means the 450 ppi pixel density is noticeably less sharp than the 505-510 ppi density of the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro XL.

However, these don’t detract from the overall experience, and the Find X8 Pro has a fantastic display that hasn’t let me down yet. In particular, when viewing HDR content, the high brightness and support for the Ultra HDR standard make it a joy to consume content on.

My new favorite smartphone camera

There’s no getting around the vital feature that’ll probably draw you to the Oppo Find X8 Pro: the quad camera. Oppo’s return to the global stage brings the best camera features from the China-only Find X7 Ultra at a lower price, and Oppo has created the most versatile all-around smartphone camera I’ve used.

The Find X8 Pro doesn’t match the 200MP max resolution of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but unlike Samsung, it can boast that all four of its cameras are 50MP resolution. This has a key benefit: consistency in quality across the entire zoom range.

During its keynote, Oppo claimed that the Find X8 Pro was the new “zoom king” — in a direct dig at Samsung — and after spending a lot of time testing it, I agree. Samsung often highlights its 100x space zoom feature but somewhat struggles at the lower zoom levels (above the 10x zoom). Despite only having a 6x telephoto lens, the Find X8 Pro has consistently punched above its hardware capabilities.

Like many smartphones, the Find X8 Pro allows you to easily switch between different focal lengths. The default 6x photos are captured at 135mm, while a secondary tap takes you to 13.3x (300mm), and a further tap enables the 26.6x photos at 600mm focal length. The results are absolutely stunning, and I’ve been blown away by the camera’s capability at every single focal length.

It takes more than zoom to make a great camera, and the other cameras are equally capable of capturing excellent photos. From the primary camera to the ultrawide, most photos are outstanding, but it’s worth noting that Oppo’s processing can be hit-and-miss. Take multiple pictures together, and the processing can sometimes generate entirely different results. However, this is few and far between and doesn’t detract from the excellent overall photos.

One of the reasons I enjoy the Oppo Find X8 Pro camera is the lack of shutter lag. Unlike virtually every other phone, you can take as many photos as you want back-to-back, and the processing happens later. This has allowed Oppo to create a new burst mode called Lightning Snap, and it is fantastic. Press and hold the on-screen or capacitive shutter button and watch how the Find X8 Pro captures up to seven frames per second. Each image combines up to nine photos into one, so there’s a wealth of data — and the results speak for themselves.

You may be wondering why you would need this. The answer is simple: When was the last time you tried to capture great fireworks photos but missed the perfect moment? Or your child’s soccer game, or your pet being cute? This is a far more common problem than you may expect, and the Find X8 Pro finally provides a solution.

The gallery above shows what you can expect: the first photo is the first one captured — and probably the photo you would get on most phones — whereas the other images were all extracted from the Lightning Snap feature. Many of the samples featured in this review were also captured from a moving car (including all of the photos in the gallery below), and despite traveling at more than 30 miles per hour, the images look like they were captured from a standing position.

That summarizes the entire Find X8 Pro camera experience. Is it perfect for everyone? Some people won’t love the color science, and others may prefer images captured on the Pixel 9 Pro or the iPhone 16 Pro. But for most folks, this is the smartphone camera you’ve been waiting for.

Every feature delivers as expected, and like the Galaxy S20 Ultra — Samsung’s first foray into the Ultra space — it has made me want to take more photos and videos. It’s also not just for taking pictures of scenery or people; I take many product photos, and the Find X8 Pro could replace my camera for many of these still shots, as evidenced by many of the photos used in this review.

MediaTek’s newest chip is a beast

The Oppo Find X8 Pro is the first phone to run the new MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chipset that launched a few weeks ago. MediaTek has been known for excellent performance and battery life but often struggles in the graphics department. The Dimensity 9400 solves this problem.

After a few weeks, I can safely say this is a phenomenal piece of silicon. The Find X8 Pro I’ve been using has 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which is a higher default specification than most Android smartphones’ 12GB RAM/256GB storage combination. The higher RAM amount certainly helps deliver a fast and smooth experience, and I’m yet to experience any lag or slowdown.

However, how does it compare to the competition when it comes to benchmarks? In the Geekbench 6 test, the Dimensity 9400 scores 2,753 in the single-core test and 8,102 in the multi-core test. It also scores 20,522 in the GPU test. In the 3D Mark Solar Bay benchmark test, it scores 11,560 and 11,051 in the stress test.

These numbers likely mean very little to you, but they do reveal some interesting results. First, the graphics tests outpace Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which consumes more battery and scores lower. The Dimensity 9400 also outscores Qualcomm in the Geekbench GPU test, but in the CPU tests, Qualcomm outscores MediaTek. The surprise is that MediaTek used to be slightly better in the CPU tests and worse in the GPU tests, but the Dimensity 9400 reverses the pecking order.

It’s also worth noting that Apple’s A18 Pro chipset in the iPhone 16 Pro Max still outpaces both MediaTek and Qualcomm in all Geekbench CPU and GPU tests but is inferior in the 3D Mark graphics tests. Simply put, the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 offers everything you need for a flagship phone.

Wi-Fi 7, IP69, and other perks

Beyond just an excellent chipset, the Find X8 Pro also comes with almost everything you’d expect from a true flagship phone. There’s super-fast UFS 4.0 storage, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 with several profiles, USB-C 3.2 with OTG, and support for every global GPS standard. There’s no DisplayPort out support — which Samsung uses for its DeX solution — and curiously, only the model with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage supports satellite connectivity, but the lack of these won’t affect most people.

However, one of the key reasons to buy the Find X8 Pro isn’t immediately obvious. It’s one of the only phones to be rated IP69, the next generation of dust and water resistance. No, it won’t mean you can use it in saltwater — please don’t do this, as it will corrode your phone quickly — but it does mean the device can shrug off high-pressure jets heated to 176 degrees Fahrenheit.

Do you need IP69 protection? Not in everyday life, but it will protect your phone against freak accidents. For everyday usage, there’s also IP68 protection, which means the phone can be submerged in freshwater for up to 1 meter and up to 30 minutes.

Excellent battery, fast charging

Like many Oppo phones, the Find X8 Pro pairs a large battery with super-fast wired and wireless charging. However, the Find X8 Pro is also different as it uses a more compact silicon-carbon material in the battery instead of the lithium-ion used by most smartphones. This next-generation battery technology allows phone makers to use a more dense battery, which means a higher overall capacity.

Despite measuring a similar thickness and weight to its rival phones, the Find X8 Pro features a 5,910mAh battery. This far outpaces the 5,000mAh battery used by the Galaxy S24 Ultra, as well as the 5,400mAh battery inside the Pixel 9 Pro XL and even the OnePlus 12’s 5,500mAh battery.

Our initial testing didn’t highlight the excellent battery I was expecting, but after Oppo diagnosed a hardware problem and replaced the phone, the battery life has consistently delivered a whole day of usage with plenty of battery life to spare. Most smartphones struggle with heavy camera usage, but from my experience, the Find X8 Pro handles heavy camera use better than most of its competitors.

When you need to recharge the battery, Oppo has you covered with exceptionally fast charging. The Find X8 Pro supports 80W charging — which charges the Find X8 Pro to full in around 50 minutes — if you use Oppo’s SuperVOOC charger. The phone doesn’t come with a charger in the box, although our samples included it, so if you don’t want to buy the charger, you can use any plug with USB Power Delivery and still charge at 55W. There’s also 50W wireless charging if you buy a magnetic charging case and wireless charger.

ColorOS 15 software and updates

The Find X8 Pro runs on Oppo’s ColorOS 15, which is based on Android 15. It offers the full suite of features that you’d expect from a flagship phone. It comes with a guarantee of five years of software updates and six years of security updates, which is slightly lower than the competition. However, this isn’t likely to be a problem as most people will have upgraded to a new phone by then.

If you’ve used an Oppo phone before, ColorOS 15 will feel fairly familiar but it’s worth noting that it has undergone some fairly substantial improvements, especially in the version shipped on phones outside of China. In many ways, it’s a cross between the best parts of ColorOS, OnePlus’ OxygenOS, and even Samsung’s One UI, with ColorOS 15 offering options for just about everything you could need on your phone.

I’ve long been a fan of Samsung’s interface as it is designed for power users, but ColorOS 15 has even more options to customize the phone. I’ve yet to find a feature I’m missing from the software, and options like being able to customize what’s shown in your status bar are little features that I like. It’s one of the best user experiences on Android, and unlike previous Oppo phones, there are only a few preloaded apps that can all be uninstalled.

Like every phone maker, Oppo has gone all-in on AI and the features line up with what we’ve seen from rival smartphones. Whether it’s summarization, translation, transcription, text generation, or photo editing, all of the usual features are present. Most of these AI features are powered by Google Gemini 1.5, which is the default assistant, and the Find X8 Pro also comes with the Circle to Search feature that’s now available on most modern Android phones.

One of the surprising additions to ColorOS is a new Share with iPhone feature that’s designed to make it simple to share photos, videos, or files with the iPhone. You’ll need the O+ connect app on your iPhone, and it works by connecting the two phones via a temporary hotspot, but from next month, you’ll also be able to just tap the two phones together. It’s an elegant solution that shows it is possible to build interoperability between the two platforms, and I hope that Google builds this feature into Android.

ColorOS 15 is pleasant, fast, and packed with options to satisfy even the most demanding power user. Rather than make assumptions, the Find X8 Pro asks what you want to happen by default. I dislike that Google’s Pixel launcher forces you to use a phone a specific way, but I appreciate that ColorOS 15 asked me whether I want the classic Quick Settings or a split setup like the iPhone, as well as what swiping down on the home screen should do. If you want the flexibility to use a phone the way you want to, ColorOS 15 delivers, and I think there are many features other phone makers can learn from Oppo.

Oppo Find X8 Pro price and availability

The Find X8 Pro launched on November 21, 2024, and was released on November 27. There’s no official launch in the U.S., but it is available in Australia (AU$1,799). Across the pond in the U.K., Oppo’s online store is selling it for 1,049 pounds, while carrier O2 will offer it on pay monthly plans.

Oppo has priced the phone fairly aggressively, with it costing less than the Galaxy S24 Ultra (1,250 pounds), Pixel 9 Pro XL (1,100 pounds), and the iPhone 16 Pro Max (1,199 pounds). It’s available in two colors — Space Black and Pearl White — and I highly recommend the latter thanks to its beautiful, unique finish.

Should you buy the Oppo Find X8 Pro?

The Oppo Find X8 Pro isn’t perfect — no smartphone is — but it delivers an exceptional experience that I recommend to anyone who wants a well-balanced flagship smartphone. It’s the best Oppo phone I’ve used and a strong contender for the best smartphone in 2024.

The rear finish is unique, the battery life is great, and the performance is second to none. Despite launching late in the year, the Find X8 Pro will easily challenge the best smartphones launched next year.

The choice of four cameras in a non-Ultra-branded smartphone makes this a fascinating alternative to the best that Samsung, Google, and Apple have to offer. Most companies would adopt the Ultra branding as Samsung and others have cleared the way for these phones to cost more, but despite the much smaller sensor size, the Find X8 Pro camera is more than capable of matching last year’s Find X7 Ultra. It also does so at a considerably lower price.

So, should you buy the Oppo Find X8 Pro? No U.S. availability is a shame, but if you live in a market where it is sold, I see no reason not to buy it. Simply put, the Find X8 Pro is of the best phones you can buy in 2024.