OPPO Find X8 Pro review: designed for camera lovers

The OPPO Find X8 Pro shines bright with quad 50MP cameras and Hasselblad partnership.

• By Abhik Sengupta
Published On: 21 November 2024 | 11:30 IST Last Updated On: 5 December 2024 | 14:28 IST

It was about time that OPPO re-launched its most premium Find X series in India.

2024 began with the usual smartphone launch cycle, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, followed by the OnePlus 12 (review) and iQOO 12 (review), interspersed with a few foldable releases. Apple and Google introduced the iPhone 16 (review) and Pixel 9 (review) series respectively in Q3 (as expected). Xiaomi surprised fans earlier in the year with the Rs 99,999 Xiaomi 14 Ultra (review), and Realme is set to launch its most premium offering India later this month, followed by Vivo.

The only major smartphone OEM missing from the ultra-premium segment was OPPO, and the new Find X8 series fills the void. I can confidently say the Dimensity 9400 SoC-powered Find X8 Pro embodies OPPO’s years of R&D in cameras and batteries. But is it good enough to compete with Samsung, Google, and Apple? Let’s find out.

Verdict

The OPPO Find X8 Pro is easily one of the most premium smartphones in India right now. The phone particularly excels in areas such as cameras, battery, and display. While its large size may not be everyone’s jam, phones with big screens work well for media and productivity. However, even at this price point, the phone includes some pre-installed third-party apps, which might not sit well with Android purists.

Design and display

Typically, Find X smartphones boast a large footprint, and the story remains the same this year. At first glance, the Find X8 Pro’s size can appear intimidating to those who aren’t particularly fans of large smartphones. I find this perfect for my grip or watching movies on the device.

I reviewed the white variant – my favourite among the two options. It would’ve been nicer to see more colour options, as what Apple and Google offer for their flagships.

Notably, the Find X8 Pro shares many similarities with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, such as a large circular camera module, quad-curved display, and marble-like rear panel. However, OPPO takes a more practical approach to the phone’s design in several small but meaningful ways. The Find X8 Pro is noticeably thinner and lighter and offers superior durability against dust and water.

Other thoughtful additions include the Alert Slider from the OnePlus flagships and a Quick Button akin to the iPhone 16 series’ Capture button. Double-tapping the Quick Button launches the Camera app, and its functionality cannot be customised. While it’s not my first choice for managing camera zoom or capturing images, it’s undeniably handy for quickly accessing the camera in spontaneous, picture-worthy moments.

Apart from that, we get the usual mix of ports and buttons. The phone also incorporates metal and glass materials, justifying its high price tag.

As mentioned, its size may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoyed the vast 120Hz 6.78-inch AMOLED display, which offers a 2,780 x 1,264 pixel resolution. The viewing experience is punchy, complemented by the extremely loud stereo speakers and slim bezels. I also watched several shows and movies during a recent 7-hour-long flight, and the HDR support and Dolby Vision enhanced the movie experience on Netflix.

In our display tests, the Find X8 Pro stood out against its competitors, offering a brighter output (HDR and typical viewing conditions) than the Pixel 9 Pro. The display features a standard punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera, but OPPO has added a playful twist inspired by Apple’s Dynamic Island interface. It’s not as versatile or functional as Apple’s implementation, though it brings an element to the user experience.

Cameras

With the large circular module on the back housing the quad 50MP sensors, it’s clear the Find X8 Pro aims to attract camera enthusiasts. There’s also the Hasselblad partnership for a distinct colour tuning, which is evident in most photos. The front panel houses a 32MP selfie camera.

By default, the OPPO Find X8 Pro leans toward warm tones with a subtle vignette effect. The warm tones can occasionally feel a bit intense (in a good way), particularly in shots involving human subjects. Most images capture an impressive level of detail without over-smoothing or introducing an oil-painting effect. The dynamic range and contrast are well-balanced, maintaining harmony between the subject and the background. This same colour science extends to low-light images, which results in stunning, detailed shots with excellent depth and brightness

The main highlight of Find X8 Pro’s camera system is the dual telephoto sensors with optical image stabilisation (OIS) support. OPPO has devised a “triple prism” design for the 3x telephoto lens (73mm), which helps keep the camera module thin without impacting the image quality. On the other hand, the secondary telephoto sensor allows for more lossless zooming (135mm) while maintaining similar colour science and detail levels as the other 3x telephoto shooter.

Purely based on performance, portrait shots appear crisp with loads of details in well-lit and dim conditions. Even photos shot with over 10x zoom look sharp and clear. As mentioned, the white balance leans towards warmer tones, though the result looks dramatic and perfect for social media. The Find X8 Pro also provides AI-backed editing tools to enhance and sharpen images.

We tested its camera performance against the Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro, and here’s what we found:

Daylight

While we couldn’t test the cameras in ideal daylight conditions due to the pollution in Delhi, there’s a significant difference between the photo taken by the OPPO Find X8 Pro and its rivals.

As you will notice the Find X8 Pro does a superior job of de-hazing the smog than the Pixel 9 Pro. The former’s image also features more brightness for a more pleasing look.

The iPhone 16 Pro prioritises an accurate depiction of the scene.

All three smartphones offer similar colour mapping with the ultra-wide camera, but the Find X8 Pro again shines brighter based on aesthetics.

Notably, OPPO also offers the most readable signs in the background compared to its rivals.

You can also notice the Find X8 Pro’s telephoto camera mimics the warm colour tones even with 25x zoom.

Its image is far superior to the one shot with Pixel 9 Pro.

Portrait and selfies

In terms of edge detection and bokeh, the Find X8 Pro is slightly ahead of its rivals, while the Pixel 9 Pro detects the subject’s skin tone most accurately.

The iPhone 16 Pro continues to favour a natural finish in its photos, but it occasionally struggles with edge detection, leading to an uneven separation between the subject and the background.

Similarly, for selfies, the Pixel 9 Pro continues to offer the best result, though OPPO’s output may look slightly pleasing due to its high brightness and saturation.

The iPhone 16 Pro consistently captures a genuine representation of real-life scenes, which may not always look aesthetically pleasing.

Low light

Even in dim conditions, you will notice a familiar warm layer over Find X8 Pro’s image. The Pixel 9 Pro, on the other hand, does a fair job of preserving detail, though it couldn’t de-haze the smog. As a result, its image looks a little washed out.

At 6x zoom, the Find X8 Pro’s image continues to look more aesthetically pleasing.

Videos

Overall, the Find X8 Pro’s video performance is good, if not the best in the segment. It offers 4K60fps recording with ultra-stability mode, which will please many content creators. The video quality during my test was mostly sharp, though I am not always pleased by the pre-applied warm layer. Moreover, I occasionally noticed some frame drops at 4K60fps, likely caused by a software bug.

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro hold a slight edge with their native voice-enhancing features, which can be particularly useful for professional creators.

AI camera features

Apart from the basic camera controls, OPPO has added loads of AI-backed editing tools, which can be useful in tricky situations. My favourite is the AI-backed “Enhance Clarity”, similar to Google Pixel’s Unblur tool, but with a deep focus on improving sharpness. There’s also a “remove reflections” option, which can be a hit-and-miss.

Overall, these editing tools make the camera experience fun, though I’ve seen a better implementation of Gen AI on Pixel 9 and Galaxy S24 smartphones. Google’s “reimagine” and Samsung’s “sketch to draw” can offer jaw-dropping results, which have yet to reach OPPO smartphones.

Performance and software

The OPPO Find X8 Pro is the first smartphone to ship with MediaTek’s flagship Dimensity 9400 SoC and Android 15-based ColorOS 15 out of the box. OPPO continues to offer Gen AI features, like AI summary and write, which I’ve already tested (and loved) on the Reno 12 Pro.

The Find X8 Pro, similar to existing OPPO Reno phones, does not offer the cleanest UI, but the ColourOS 15 feels snappier with improved animations. Finally, Circle to Search has arrived on a non-Google and Samsung smartphone, which can be extremely handy for serial online shoppers.Other features include the AI Studio to let you create fun avatars and AI Link Boost to improve data speeds. I am also eagerly waiting for OEMs to roll out a dedicated AI-backed Screenshot app, which Google introduced on the latest Pixel smartphones. Based on the numbers, the Dimensity 9400 SoC offers big leaps over previous-gen SoCs like the Dimensity 9300 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It stands shoulder to shoulder against the Apple A18 Pro SoC, at least in Geekbench.

While the Find X8 Pro isn’t specifically targeted at gamers, it performs remarkably well in managing battery and thermals during intense gaming sessions. I’m not a hardcore mobile gamer, but playing BGMI on the large screen was enjoyable nonetheless. With Ultra HDR graphics and Ultra frame rates, the phone achieved an average FPS of 39 – a respectable score for a productivity-leaning smartphone.

Battery and charging

If long battery backup and fast charging are your top priorities on a smartphone, the OPPO Find X8 Pro ticks all the boxes. OPPO has successfully incorporated a 5,910mAh battery without impacting the phone’s thickness and weight. It also uses the “silicon carbon” tech, which prevents the battery from overheating, therefore extending its longevity.

During my review, the OPPO Find X8 Pro comfortably lasted over a day on the default balanced performance mode. Switching to high-performance mode should still provide approximately a full day of usage. Naturally, the battery backup will likely extend even further with more modest usage patterns, making it a reliable choice for everyday tasks.In our PCMark battery test, Find X8 Pro performed much better than its rivals in the segment, lasting over 12 hours.

The 80W charging support is also much faster than what several flagships offer. With the bundled charger, the phone took 49 minutes to go from 20 to 100 percent. There’s also 50W AirVOOC wireless charging, which we couldn’t test.

Final verdict

The OPPO Find X8 Pro checks almost all the boxes you’d expect from a flagship smartphone. The phone offers a stunning display, reliable cameras, and long battery life – all the three important qualities that matter to most customers. The Dimensity 9400 SoC onboard also provides a smooth and snappy performance.

As mentioned, its large footprint may not appeal to all customers, and in that case, the Google Pixel 9 Pro is a good option to consider, mainly for the cameras and clean Android UI. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is another decent alternative, which might get additional deals and offers in the coming weeks.

At present, the OPPO Find X8 Pro holds a slight edge over rivals like Xiaomi and Vivo thanks to its productivity and camera-linked AI features. It’s an easy recommendation for photography enthusiasts, though it will be interesting to see how OPPO navigates the competition as other OEMs gear up for the next phase of their flagship offerings.

Editor’s rating: 8 / 10

Reasons to buy:

• The OPPO Find X8 Pro features a stunning display with bright out.
• The phone also offers reliable quad 50MP cameras with Hasselblad tuning.
• The Find X8 Pro easily lasts over a day with moderate usage.
• It is among the rarest smartphones to have IP68 and IP69 certifications for improved durability.

Reasons to not buy:

• The Find X8 Pro includes a couple of third-party pre-installed apps.
• Its colour options are limited.