Oppo is finally ready to launch the Find X5 series, with official confirmation of the phones’ names, a partnership with camera company Hasselblad, and plans for a launch event later this month.
Three phones are rumoured, including the latest premium Snapdragon and Dimensity mobile chipsets, faster charging, and a camera system led by Oppo’s new dedicated NPU – the MariSilicon X. Here’s all we know so far about the Oppo Find X5 series.
When will the Oppo Find X5 be released?
We had expected Oppo to reveal the phone at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona later this month, but instead the company has announced a separate event just before the show, at 11am GMT (6am ET) on 24 February.
Strangely, there will still be an Oppo presentation at MWC, at 3:00pm CET on 28 February (2pm GMT, 9am ET), but we’re not sure what the firm will show off there.
In previous years we’ve seen the Find X range include regular, Pro, Lite, and Neo models. Digital Chat Station has predicted we’ll see just three phones when the series debuts this time around, and so far it looks like it’s the Neo that may not make it – or perhaps will just launch later in the year.
Why isn’t it called the Find X4?
We’ve heard for a few months that Oppo might skip the Find X4, and the company has now confirmed that to be the case.
While Oppo hasn’t officially said why it’s jumped a number, it’s easy enough to guess – 4 is an unlucky number in Chinese culture, similar to 13 in the West, and it’s not uncommon for brands to skip straight past it in their phone numbering.
How much will the Oppo Find X5 cost?
We don’t have any details on the cost of the Oppo Find X4 phones at the time of writing, so we need to look to the previous entries to give us a clue. Here’s how the last couple of generations of the Pro model have lined up:
As you can see, these are flagship devices and as such come with flagship prices. They’re still cheaper than the closest rivals – such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which will set you back £1,149/€1,249/US$1,299.99, but it’s a fair wedge of cash you’ll have to hand over for a premium handset.
If Oppo holds to the pricing of previous models, then obviously you’ll have to save up if you want to buy one. There is a possibility of a slight increase though, with the global chip shortage and pandemic-related supply chain restraints seeing a creep in costs that are being handed on to the consumer.
What about the Oppo Find X5 series specs and design?
Since we’re expecting three phones in the Find X5 series, we’re going to break them down one by one, starting with the top spec model.
Find X5 Pro
Oppo surprised us all with the outlandish design of the Find X3 Pro, and the company has done it again with the Find X5 Pro.
Unexpectedly, Oppo has revealed the Pro model’s design in full already. You’ve seen an image up at the top of this article, but you can get an even better look in this teaser video from Oppo’s launch website.
We can see that the phone is available in both black and white finishes, in what Oppo describes as “an ultra-hard, true ceramic back.”
The curved camera module of the X3 Pro returns, but now with an even stranger irregular design. We can’t say we’re fans, but then we didn’t love the Find X3 Pro camera when it first leaked and it eventually won us over.
We can see a triple rear camera with what appear to be two main lenses and a third smaller shooter – so one lens fewer than the Find X3 Pro.
By now you’ll have noticed that the phones feature the Hasselblad logo. This is the camera company that’s already partnered with Oppo subsidiary OnePlus – it helped with the cameras on the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, and is also contributing to the 10 Pro. In that sense it’s no huge shock to see it partner with Oppo too, and this partnership has now been made official ahead of the Find X5 series launch.
“Following the success of OnePlus and Hasselblad’s collaboration in the past year, we are very pleased to see the partnership enter a new stage of development, giving more users around the world a chance to enjoy the legendary Hasselblad mobile imaging experience,” said Pete Lau, Oppo’s chief product officer. “Camera colour performance has always been a focus for Oppo and a part of Hasselblad’s DNA. We are very excited to be able to explore the future of Hasselblad Camera for Mobile together.”
The three-year collaboration will include software improvements for natural colour tuning and other improvements to colour calibration and performance – starting with “the next generation of Oppo’s flagship Find X series in the first quarter of 2022.”
We can also see MariSilicon branding on the camera module. This refers to Oppo’s own MariSilicon X NPU – the company’s first in-house chip designed to assist with advanced image processing and confirmed to be featured in the Find X series.
Rather than relying on the Snapdragon and Dimensity chips’ integrated ISPs, Oppo has built its 6nm standalone neural imaging chipset to focus on the particular areas it wants to enhance in its flagship camera experience. The MariSilicon X promises greatly improved dynamic range (that’s reportedly four times broader than what the Find X3 Pro’s cameras are capable of capturing), along with the ability to run the X3 Pro’s AI noise reduction algorithm 20 times faster than the X3 Pro itself currently can.
As for the other internals, Oppo has now confirmed that the Find X5 series will use both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the MediaTek Dimensity 9000, with the Snapdragon found in the Find X5 Pro.
Both chips are built on a 4nm process and actually feature fairly similar specs, so don’t expect a huge performance gulf between the two handsets.
WinFuture adds that the phone will ship with 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage, apparently in just the one variant – at least for Europe.
A near-full spec leak from Digital Chat Station includes a 6.7in, 2K AMOLED display using LTPO 2.0 tech for variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, which matches previous leaks. WinFuture adds that it will be coated in Gorilla Glass Victus.
On battery, expect a 5000mAh cell with 80W wired charging and 50W wireless. That 80W speed has since been verified by the phone’s 3C certification.
Other leaks point to the phone being 8.2mm or 8.5mm thick, and weighing either 195g or 218g. It’s tipped to have an IP68 water and dust-resistance rating.
Then there’s the camera. As we pointed out earlier, there are only three lenses here – down from the four on the Find X3 Pro. Multiple leaks point to a more traditional camera setup, with a main lens, ultrawide, and telephoto – no sign of last year’s great but gimmicky microscope lens.
The main lens should use a 50Mp IMX766 sensor with optical image stabilisation, and an aperture of f/1.7.
Most leaks agree that the ultra-wide will use the same 50Mp IMX766 sensor again (as Oppo did last year) with an aperture of f/2.2, though one leaker instead predicts a 32Mp IMX709. Finally, there’ll be a 13Mp sensor appearing in a 2x telephoto with aperture f/2.4, likely the Samsung S5K3M5.
On the front, there’ll be a 32Mp selfie camera using the IMX709 sensor and an f/2.4 aperture.
Find X5 specs
There haven’t been many leaks devoted specifically to the Find X5, which is expected to be largely similar to the Pro model.
While we’d thought it might look similar to the Pro model, this image shared by Evleaks suggests that in face the regular Find X5 will have a more traditional design, albeit you can see the same shape of camera module here.
As mentioned above, it’s likely to use the Dimensity 9000 chipset instead of the new Snapdragon, but will feature the same 80W wired and 50W wireless charging speeds.
The camera is also expected to be similar, with three lenses most likely in a 50Mp + 50Mp + 13Mp configuration. The main 50Mp sensor will likely be the same as in the Pro, but might be paired with a slightly different lens at aperture f/1.8 according to MySmartPrice – though it should still have OIS.
The Find X5 is also expected to have the same 32Mp selfie camera at aperture f/2.4.
Find X5 Lite specs
Perversely, the Lite may be the model we know the most about – because a certification listing suggests that it will be a re-branded release of the Oppo Reno 7 5G. This wouldn’t be unusual for Oppo, which re-brands phones for different markets often.
If that’s true, it means you should expect a Snapdragon 778G, a 6.43in 90Hz AMOLED display, and 60W charging for a 4500mAh battery. The camera should have three rear lenses, with a 64Mp main camera backed up by an 8Mp ultrawide and 2Mp macro.
Here are the full Reno 7 specs, and thus what we expect to be the X5 Lite specs:
- 6.43in, 90Hz, FHD+ AMOLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
- 8/12GB RAM
- 128/256GB storage
- Rear camera:
- 64Mp, f/1.7 main camera
- 8Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide camera
- 2Mp, f/2.4 macro camera
- 32Mp, f/2.4 front camera
- 4500mAh battery
- 60W wired charging
- 5G
- 156.8 x 72.1 x 7.6mm
- 185g
In the meantime, take a look at our roundup of the best smartphones to see other worthwhile flagships competing for your money.