Even earlier than unboxing the Find X8 Pro — not to mention utilizing it, I knew Oppo wished AI to be this telephone’s principal attraction. It was apparent: The phrases Oppo AI Phone had been conspicuously emblazoned on the facet of the machine’s field, and the corporate had been taking part in up the options on the machine forward of its launch.
After all, the Find X8 Pro is Oppo’s prime flagship telephone geared toward Samsung’s Galaxy S24 lineup and Apple’s iPhone 16 line — each of which boast their fair proportion of helpful AI options. The Galaxy S24’s AI options embody dwell translation on telephone calls and generative picture options like Sketch to Image. Meanwhile, the iPhone 16’s options embody a revamped Siri in addition to time-saving message summaries. The Chinese firm’s ambitions are hardly shocking given the continued buzz and gen AI product releases within the smartphone and broader client tech area.
For its half, the Find X8 Pro delivers on its promise. It’s the corporate’s first “AI telephone” that provides a slew of options referring to productiveness and photograph enhancing, in addition to AI suggestions which might be designed to make the expertise extra intuitive.
But it is the pair of 50-megapixel periscope-style telephoto cameras on the machine that stood out to me throughout my day testing this telephone. Those cameras had been among the many most spectacular zoom cameras I’ve ever examined because of their crisp pictures of faraway objects, together with the sheer versatility and inventive freedom they enabled.
Beyond the cameras, the Oppo Find X8 Pro has a bevvy of flagship-level options going for it. It options an impossibly vivid and crystalline show, runs on a big silicon-carbon battery backed up by ultra-fast wired and wi-fi charging, and boasts spectacular sturdiness credentials of IP68 and IP69. The latter means the machine can face up to jet sprays of water, even at scorching temperatures of 80 levels Celsius (176 levels Fahrenheit).
However, it is not good. The Find X8 Pro receives a barely shorter period of software program updates than another rival Android telephones. It will get 5 years of Android OS updates and 6 years of safety patches, which is lower than the seven years provided by Samsung’s Galaxy S24 sequence and Google’s Pixel 9 lineup.
Oppo additionally unapologetically mimics Apple’s options. The Find X8 Pro’s so-called Quick Control buttons copies the iPhone 16’s digicam management button, which is a {hardware} function designed to supply customers handy entry to the digicam, at the least for now. Oppo has had a historical past of borrowing Apple’s designs, working example: the Oppo Watch from 2020.
Lastly, the Find X8 Pro is not receiving a US launch. However, it is the primary time since 2022 that Oppo is releasing its flagship Find X sequence internationally. At the time of writing, Oppo hasn’t shared pricing info.
The Find X8 Pro’s duo of telescope cameras
The headline function of the Find X8 Pro’s digicam module is the duo of periscope-style telephoto cameras. There are two 50-megapixel telephoto cameras able to 3x and 6x optical zoom.
Unlike digital zoom, which partially achieves a more in-depth shot by cropping into a picture, optical zoom is taken into account to be a real zoom as a result of it makes use of the digicam’s lens to amplify the picture with out dropping picture high quality. However, Oppo does have an AI Telescope Zoom function that enhances the photographs taken utilizing digital zoom. It’s mechanically activated at 10x, simply past the vary of the optical zoom, and takes crisp pictures in numerous lighting situations, together with low-light environments.
Plus, because of its periscope-style cameras, the Find X8 Pro gives a flexible vary of focal lengths to select from, which allowed for extra artistic freedom. It was simply enjoyable, and I felt I may belief the digicam to ship detailed pictures with out attempting too arduous. Telephoto lenses are already a coveted premium function on smartphones, and this periscope-style telephoto is a fair greater step up with regards to zoom high quality.
This was taken utilizing the telephone’s ultra-wide digicam. The subsequent picture will zoom into the encircled buildings utilizing 50x zoom. The digicam maxes out at 120x zoom.
Oppo’s AI telescope zoom is in motion right here. The machine additionally sharpened the picture utilizing AI to reach at this image.
Taken indoors utilizing portrait mode.
6x optical zoom instance in dimmer indoor situations through the day.
Taken on default settings. Keep scrolling to see how the digicam captures the boat and environment at numerous focal lengths because it zooms in.
This is the picture the digicam creates maxed out at 120x zoom. It positively appears to be like artificially sharpened, however on the similar time provides you a greater thought of what the ship appears to be like like.
Portrait mode instance of my canine, Rocky
AI goodies on Find X8 Pro
I did not get to make use of the complete extent of the AI options on the Find X8 Pro since Hong Kong is uniquely deprived within the AI chatbot area — most Western tech giants do not lengthen their providers to this metropolis.
For occasion, I could not use the Google Gemini app, which is natively put in on the Find X8 Pro. Additionally, the AI Toolbox did not appear to activate mechanically, as I did not obtain really helpful instruments based mostly on the lively app.
A preview of a few of the AI instruments on the Find X8 Pro
Most of the AI options obtainable on the Find X8 Pro are already current on competing telephones. These embody Circle to Search, a brand new recorder app powered by Gemini 1.5 Pro and a text-generating device referred to as AI Writer. Despite this, I completely appreciated having generative AI options neatly built-in into apps like Oppo’s Notes app, which helped generate textual content. The AI abstract device on the recorder app was supremely helpful to me as a journalist who’s usually utilizing a voice recorder for tales. Those options labored properly sufficient for them be go-to options in my productiveness device equipment.
However, I might like to see extra action-oriented options that an AI agent can ship. For instance, fellow Chinese rival Honor has carried out such options with the Magic V3 in mainland China. It helps customers order espresso or groceries by studying their preferences and habits over time.
Find X8 Pro’s fast button
The Find X8 Pro additionally has a brand new {hardware} button, much like iPhone 16’s Camera Control button. The Quick Button — as Oppo has dubbed it — is pressure-sensitive and means that you can take images, zoom out and in of photographs and take a burst of images. It does not have as many supported options because the iPhone 16’s digicam button, comparable to adjusting the aperture and even taking movies, however I doubt I’d even need it to.
In my quick time with the Find X8 Pro, I did not find yourself naturally utilizing the Quick Button a lot as a result of it is merely not a behavior. I do not count on to make use of it a lot within the long-run both and would favor to take photos the common manner. But once I did attempt Quick Control, I discovered it intuitive when it comes to determining methods to use it, though I have not developed the behavior of taking photos that manner. Still I discovered myself questioning whether or not Oppo would possibly replace this function to tackle extra capabilities that I might use.
Battery and efficiency
Oppo has hopped on the silicon-carbon battery bandwagon, which fellow Chinese telephone maker and rival Honor pioneered in smartphones, taking a web page from the electrical autos trade. I have not spent sufficient time with the machine to check the battery life, however there are potential benefits to this rising development over lithium-ion batteries.
Those embody a decrease environmental affect and lowered threat of overheating. The long-term reliability of silicon carbon batteries remains to be being researched, and adoption within the smartphone trade remains to be in its early levels. But the truth that extra smartphone makers are switching over from lithium-iron is an encouraging signal.
The Find X8 Pro run on Mediatek’s Dimensity 9400 chipset, which helps superior AI capabilities on premium Android telephones together with guarantees of efficiency enhancements.
Initial ideas on Find X8 Pro
The Oppo Find X8 Pro is a promising telephone with all the trimmings of a high-end 2024 telephone, from its sturdy and smooth design to its spectacular digicam system and that silicon-carbon battery. While these periscope model cameras will stay a spotlight from my early impressions of this telephone, I’m nonetheless fascinated with the potential of Oppo’s AI options. Even although my restricted entry to those options means I have not totally explored them, I did love having the writing function on the Notes app and the AI abstract device on the recorder app. However, if Oppo actually desires to take issues to the following degree, an AI agent would assist flip this machine into a real assistant.
Watch this: Oppo Find X5 Pro: 5 Things I Like About This Flagship Android Phone
