Hands on with the OPPO Find X8 Pro: Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 22 November 2024

I’ve been testing OPPO’s newly announced Find X8 Pro for just under a day, and it sure seems neat! Obviously, that’s not enough time for a review - and I’ve not been able to get a gauge on the chonky 5,910mAh battery - but here are some first impressions.

What we like about the Find X8 Pro so far

It’s actually launching in Australia. The Find X6 and Find X7 were only available in China, so it’s nice to see the Find X8 Pro making it down under. I’ve historically been a fan of OPPO’s flagships - the Find X2 was the camera phone of the year in the 2020 WhistleOut awards - and I love to see a competitive smartphone landscape. Having more options when it comes to high-end phones is good for everyone. Even if you always stick to one brand, having strong challengers helps foster innovation.

Promising cameras. The Find X8 Pro has a rather interesting camera configuration with four 50MP cameras on the back. This includes a primary lens, ultra-wide lens, 3x zoom lens, and 6x zoom lens. OPPO has built a good reputation for its high-end camera phones, and I managed to get some lovely shots from the Find X8 Pro. Here are a few camera samples:

Find X8 Pro camera samples

Check out these camera samples taken on the OPPO Find X8 Pro. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.

It didn’t get more expensive. $1,799 isn’t cheap, but the Find X8 Pro is priced in line with what the Find X5 Pro retailed for in Australia back in 2022. And while $1,799 is in the same ballpark as Apple, Samsung, and Google charge for their flagship phones, the Find X8 Pro has 512GB of storage. A 512GB iPhone 16 Pro will set you back $2,349 while a 512GB Galaxy S24 Ultra is even pricier retailing at $2,399. You’re also still getting a charger in the box, unlike almost every other phone these days.

Lighter than you’d expect for a large phone. The Find X8 Pro weighs in at 215g, which is lean for a phone with a 6.78-inch display. For comparison, The iPhone 16 Pro Max is 227g, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra is even heavier at 233g. The Find X8 Pro feels great in hand, I’m a big fan of the fingerprint-resistant matte finish on the back and frame.

What we dislike about the Find X8 Pro so far

Slow aperture on the 6x telephoto lens. One camera-related con is the slow 6x telephoto lens. It has an aperture of f/4.3, which lags behind the f/2.8 we’ve seen on 5x telephoto lenses on devices like the iPhone 16 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro. A faster aperture can help compensate for shaky hands or moving subjects, and becomes especially important in low light. In initial tests, the 6x lens performed well in bright environments, but became inconsistent in low lighting. You can get nice shots from the 6x lens in a dark environment, but you need a bit of luck.

Shorter software life span than the competition. The OPPO Find X8 Pro will get five years of Android operating system upgrades and six years of security updates. That’s the longest software life of an OPPO phone yet, but it falls short of the competition. The Samsung Galaxy S24 family and Google Pixel 9 family have been promised seven years of both operating system updates and security.

What we need more time to test

Battery. Battety life is the big question on the Find X8 Pro. The phone has a sizeable 5,910mAh cell, which exceeds the typical 5,000mAh that’s become the standard on Android devices. When paired with the new processor, OPPO says the phone can stream Netflix for 24 hours straight.

Performance. The Find X8 Pro has been as zippy as you’d expect a flagship phone in my initial usage, but I didn’t have the chance to test any demanding apps or games.

Disclaimer: WhistleOut travelled to Bali for the global launch of the Find X8 series as a guest of OPPO.

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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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