OPPO is making big photography promises with the Find X5 Pro

OPPO has officially taken the wraps off its latest flagship phone, the Find X5 Pro. Camera performance typically gets better on high-end phones year on year, but this time around, OPPO is making some pretty big promises about what its latest phone is capable of.

The biggest claims are all focused around low light camera performance, with OPPO going as far as saying each frame of 4K night video shot with the Find X5 Pro is as clear as a still.

The secret sauce behind this is the MariSilicon X, a custom-made neural processing unit solely dedicated to camera applications. In addition to physical camera lenses, a phone's photography prowess is linked closely to its hardware.

The vast majority of phones now rely on computational imaging, where artificial intelligence is used to maximise the performance you can get out of a camera. Many phones now have dedicated neural processing units (NPUs) which are processors used exclusively for artificial intelligence tasks, but OPPO's MariSilicon X is the first NPU made exclusively for imaging.

In addition to improved low light, OPPO says the new NPU also allows for better HDR photography. The Find X5 Pro is capable of capturing images with 20bit 120db dynamic range, which is four greater than last year's Find X3 Pro. This gives images a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio between the lightest and brightest areas.

The camera setup is made up of a 50MP primary lens with optical image stabilisation, a 50MP ultra-wide lens, and a 13MP 2x zoom lens. On the front, there's a 32MP selfie camera that can also take advantage of the MariSilicon X NPU.

Of course, we'll need to wait until we get our hands on the Find X5 Pro to see just how OPPO's claims stake up. We're cautiously optimistic, however, with both the Find X3 Pro and Find X2 Pro delivering great camera experiences.

The Find X5 Pro is also the first OPPO phone to launch since the manufacturer announced its multi-year partnership with camera manufacturer Hasselblad. Hasselblad doesn't appear to have done anything on the hardware side, with the Find X5 Pro instead shipping with Hasselblad software that can "enhance and finetune the beautiful and natural colours of your photography".

It is also worth noting that OPPO has axed the microscope lens featured on the Find X3 Pro, which enabled up to 60x macro zoom.

Other key Find X5 Pro specifications include a 6.7-inch Quad HD+ 120Hz display, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, 256GB of storage, 12GB of RAM, and a 5,000mAh battery.

The 5,000mAh is especially promising, given it offers a 500mAh step up over the Find X3 Pro. The Find X3 Pro battery life was pretty average, so the combination of a larger cell and a more efficient processor bodes well for the Find X5 Pro.

The Find X5 Pro also supports both wired and wireless fast charging, when using OPPO's proprietary chargers. When using a wired charger, OPPO says you can take the Find X5 Pro from flat to 50% in just 12 minutes. With wireless, you're looking at 47 minutes to go from full to flat.

The Find X5 Pro features an "ultra-hard" ceramic back instead of glass, and will be available in a choice of black or white. It's rated IP68 for water resistance.

In addition to the Find X5 Pro, OPPO revealed two companion devices: a standard Find X5, and the Find X5 Lite. Here's the complete breakdown of how the three phones compare.

The Find X5 is a step down from the Find X5 Pro, but still features a similar camera setup with a 50MP primary lens and a 50MP ultra-wide lens. The physical lenses aren't identical, however, and seem like a step back in quality. It still features the MaliSilicon X NPU, however. The screen is a bit smaller at 6.5-inch and it's powered by last year's Snapdragon 888 processor, instead of the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It will come in a choice of black or white.

Conversely, the Find X5 Lite is a completely different phone. The main feature it shares with the other phones in the Find X5 family is the name. That and 256GB of storage. Everything else is a bit more midrange. It will be the cheapest of the three, however. You'll be able to get it in a choice of blue or black.

OPPO has yet to confirm local pricing and availability for the Find X5 family, but said it will share details in the coming weeks. For comparison, last year's Find X3 Pro pre-orders started on April 1 for $1,699 ahead of a mid-April release. It wouldn't be surprising to see similar timing and pricing this year.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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