OPPO Find X9 review: a well-balanced flagship

• By Marcia Sekhose
Published On: 16 December 2025 | 17:05 IST

We called the OPPO Find X8 a compact flagship last year, but that label doesn’t quite fit its successor, the OPPO Find X9. Yes, it still sports a relatively smaller 6.59-inch display, but with compact flagships becoming mainstream this year, thanks to devices like the OnePlus 13s and Vivo X200 FE, the Find X9 now sits somewhere in between. It’s neither truly compact nor outright large.

And that’s exactly what makes it appealing. The Find X9 strikes a near-perfect balance in size for users who want a flagship that does it all without feeling unwieldy or cramped. But its comfortable form factor isn’t the only thing that stood out during my time with the device. The cameras, the vibrant display, and the performance all left a strong impression. Let’s dive into each of these aspects in more detail.

Verdict

The OPPO Find X9 is a well-balanced flagship that focuses on everyday usability rather than extremes. Its comfortable size, vibrant display, strong performance, reliable cameras, and excellent thermal control make it a dependable primary driver. The battery ensures all-day usage, though screen-on time could have been better optimised, and the heavy app preloads remain a drawback.

Design: out with the old, in with the new

Like its sister brand OnePlus, OPPO has also moved away from the circular camera module for its flagship lineup. In its place is a smaller, square-shaped camera deco that lends the Find X9 a cleaner, more minimalist look. Personally, I feel the Find X8 had a more distinctive, unmistakably “flagship” design, while the Find X9 appears more subtle in comparison. That said, it still feels premium, thanks to its glass back and aluminium frame.

The Find X9 is available in just two colour options: Titanium Grey, Titanium Black, and Velvet Red. We had the grey variant, which may sound understated on paper, but it pleasantly surprised me with its refined, neutral tone. If your wardrobe leans towards muted or neutral colours, this finish will fit right in.

In everyday use, the phone feels comfortable and easy to handle, and it even fits into my jeans pockets, which says a lot, coming from a woman. The button placement is well thought out, too, with everything within easy reach, including the Snap Key positioned on the top-left side. The main speaker sits at the bottom, complemented by the earpiece on top, which doubles as a secondary speaker, albeit with lower output. Together, the speakers get impressively loud, something I genuinely appreciated. Even when holding the phone horizontally and naturally covering the speaker grilles, there’s no noticeable drop in volume.

Display: vibrant and bright

The OPPO Find X9 features largely the same display as its predecessor. This is a 6.59-inch FHD+ (2760 × 1256 pixels) with a 120Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass 7i protection. The two major differences are the peak brightness, which has been reduced from 4,500 nits to 3,600 nits, and slimmer bezels. Although a lower peak brightness level, the Find X9 still gets plenty bright, even outdoors, so there’s no clear difference. As for the bezels, they’re smaller on the Find X9, measuring only 1.15mm, as opposed to 1.45mm on the Find X8. The result is a bezel-less display, which is great simply for regular use, watching videos, and gaming as well.

Cameras: versatile and reliable

With the OPPO Find X9, you get a 50MP primary camera, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, and a 50MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and 6x lossless zoom. The Find X9 continues with the Hasselblad camera system with a dedicated Hasselblad mode for 50MP images, a Master mode with pro controls for ISO level, AF, and more, and the Xpan mode that lets you capture panoramic photos with a cinematic 65:24 aspect ratio. So, not just good camera sensors, the Find X9 also offers a wide range of features to play with, so if you’re a photography enthusiast, you’ll have a lot to experiment with the handset.

For a camera rookie like me, my priorities were getting the best photos in situations like going out with my friends, attending concerts, and snapping any cat I see. I might not have done justice to what the OPPO Find X9’s cameras truly offer, but I can vouch for its performance in more realistic situations, where you truly need your phone’s cameras to work. Take this Akon concert, for example, where, unfortunately, I wasn’t very close to the stage. Despite the distance, I still managed to capture very clear photos and videos, more importantly. The smartphone supports up to 120x AI zoom, and while that is helpful for long-range shots, the images can lose detail, as expected.

I particularly enjoyed the selfie camera, especially for low-light shots. OPPO also provides a set of AI tools that let you further enhance photos, edit them to fix facial expressions or remove unwanted objects. While these can be useful, I mostly used the AI Recompose feature, which fixes the photo’s framing and gives a nice set of filters that look appealing and do not spoil the overall image.

We also compared the OPPO Find X9’s cameras with the OnePlus 15 in different scenarios like daylight, portraits, low-light, and selfies. The OnePlus 15 is priced in the same segment, although slightly lower at Rs 72,999. This comparison gives us an idea of where each phone stands.

Daylight

Daylight shots highlight the strengths of each phone’s primary camera. At first glance, the OnePlus 15 delivers more accurate colour reproduction, while the Find X9’s images tend to carry a slight bluish tint that makes them look a bit dull. On closer inspection, the OnePlus 15 also retains better detail, colour consistency, and contrast. However, when it comes to dynamic range and exposure, the Find X9 proves to be the more reliable shooter.

OPPO Find X9

OnePlus 15

Portrait

Portrait shots reveal some interesting differences between the two phones. The OnePlus 15 captures skin tones more accurately, while the Find X9 does a better job with the colour accuracy of clothing. Both phones are nearly on par when it comes to detail, though the Find X9 applies slightly heavier smoothing, which can look a bit overprocessed. The OnePlus 15 also smoothens images, but the result appears more natural.

Edge detection is another area where the OnePlus 15 pulls ahead, delivering cleaner and more consistent background blur around the subject. It’s worth mentioning that the OnePlus 15 supports up to 3.5x optical zoom, giving it a slight advantage over the Find X9, which offers up to 3x.

OPPO Find X9

OnePlus 15

Selfies

While both phones deliver pleasing selfies, the OnePlus 15 has a slight edge in rendering skin tones and the colours of clothing. In terms of detail and dynamic range, however, the two phones perform largely on par.

OPPO Find X9

OnePlus 15

Ultra-wide

The ultra-wide results are quite contrasting (pun intended), with the OPPO Find X9 taking a clear lead. Unlike the primary camera’s daylight shots, the Find X9 delivers noticeably better colour accuracy here, along with stronger detail retention. While some distortion is visible on both phones, as expected from ultra-wide lenses, the Find X9 manages it far more effectively.

OPPO Find X9

OnePlus 15

Low-light

Low-light performance is largely similar on both phones, with differences showing up in specific areas. The OnePlus 15 offers better control over light flares and exposure. While it maintains good detail, the Find X9 is more consistent overall, as the OnePlus 15 tends to prioritise the centre and lose detail in other areas. Colour accuracy is mostly comparable between the two, though the Find X9 shows a slight gradient tint, making the OnePlus 15’s output look closer to reality.

OPPO Find X9

OnePlus 15

Night mode

With Night mode enabled, the OPPO Find X9 shows a noticeable improvement, while the OnePlus 15 remains largely unchanged. The Find X9 delivers a clear boost in detail and produces cleaner images with reduced noise. However, the OnePlus 15 continues to offer more accurate colours, as the Find X9 tends to push colour saturation a bit too far.

OPPO Find X9

OnePlus 15

Performance: impressive, as expected

The OPPO Find X9’s MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chipset may raise eyebrows for some, especially when stacked against Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5–powered rivals. That said, benchmark numbers suggest there’s little to worry about. In our in-house AnTuTu testing, the Find X9 posted an impressive score of 35,68,720, placing it just a notch below the OnePlus 15’s 36,15,565.

The handset also matches the performance of the pricier Vivo X300 Pro. Of course, benchmarks only tell part of the story, and at this level, real-world performance across flagship phones is largely similar, with differences surfacing mainly in specific workloads like sustained gaming or thermal management.

In everyday use, the Find X9 feels predictably smooth, which is exactly what you’d expect at this price point. Gaming performance is equally strong. Titles like Mobile Legends, a graphically demanding MOBA, ran seamlessly with rich visuals and consistently fast gameplay. Compared to other flagships, the Find X9 ranks just behind the performance-focused OnePlus 15, iQOO 15, and Realme GT 8 Pro, placing it fourth overall. Thermal control is a particular highlight as the phone stayed cool during extended sessions, thanks in part to its large vapour chamber cooling system, even though OPPO hasn’t disclosed its exact size.

Battery: not as expected

The OPPO Find X9 is backed by a massive 7,025mAh battery, a substantial jump from the Find X8’s 5,630mAh unit and easily one of the largest batteries you’ll find in a flagship smartphone. In our PCMark battery test, which simulates real-world usage, the Find X9 delivered an impressive 16 hours of runtime. While that’s among the best scores we’ve recorded, it’s worth noting that the Vivo X300 Pro matches this figure despite having a smaller 6,510mAh battery, indicating more efficient battery optimisation on Vivo’s part.

In real-world use, the Find X9 comfortably lasts a full day, often ending with around 30 percent battery remaining under heavy usage. This was with the Always-On Display enabled throughout, alongside continuous video streaming, heavy Reels consumption, gaming, and everyday tasks like WhatsApp and browsing. That said, we averaged around six hours of screen time, which is slightly lower than expected given the battery’s sheer capacity. With moderate usage, the phone can still get through an entire day with ease, but more intensive use may require a top-up by the end of the day.

Software: clean, smooth, and fast

The OPPO Find X9 ships with ColorOS 16 based on Android 15. The handset is promised five major OS upgrades and six years of software updates. The new UI is designed to feel smoother and faster, with noticeable improvements to performance, scrolling, and app switching.

There is also a new Touch to Share feature that allows you to share photos and videos by simply tapping the top panel of another compatible phone. ColorOS 16 introduces Flux Themes as well, which add more depth to customisation through layered wallpapers, captions, and live wallpapers with seamless transitions. You can tweak themes extensively, including icons, colours, and text styles.

That said, the Find X9 comes with some third-party apps, most of which can be uninstalled. Aside from this drawback, the UI remains fast, smooth, and highly customisable.

Final Verdict

The OPPO Find X9 is well-suited for users who want a premium Android phone that balances size, performance, cameras, and battery life without feeling bulky. Its cameras are versatile and dependable, with a strong ultra-wide lens and reliable Night mode, while Hasselblad modes and AI tools add flexibility for photography enthusiasts. The Dimensity 9500 SoC delivers solid performance for heavy use and gaming, and the battery comfortably lasts a full day, though screen-on time could have been better.

That said, there’s room for improvement. Battery endurance feels underwhelming for the hardware on offer, and users focused purely on photography may find better value in alternatives like the Vivo X300 (review). For those prioritising peak performance or gaming-centric features, options such as the OnePlus 15 (review) or Realme GT 8 Pro (review) make more sense.

Overall, the Find X9 is best suited for users who value a comfortable in-hand feel, a strong multimedia experience, and consistently reliable cameras across scenarios. The handset is priced in India starting at Rs 74,999.

Editor’s rating: 8.1/10

Reasons to buy:

• The Find X9 offers a versatile and reliable camera setup for different scenarios.
• The Dimensity 9500 provides a strong, consistent performance with impressive thermals
• The display is bright and vibrant, making it very appealing for everyday use.
• ColorOS 16 is smoother and more fluid, with long-term software support

Reasons to skip:

• Although a large battery, optimisation can be improved.
• Colours can be slightly boosted in certain scenarios.
• The Find X9 has one of the highest numbers of pre-installed third-party apps