OPPO is doing a great job in this 2020. We have it in the review of OPPO Find X2 Pro (1199 euros) and in that of OPPO Find X2 Neo (699 euros), two devices that are certainly among the best that we have tried in this first half of 2020. Now the time has come to drop further in price, reaching the 499 euros required to purchase OPPO Find X2 Lite, the minor variant of the Chinese company's new range of smartphones.
Minor so to speak: we are talking about a device that supports 5G and implements the same processor as its older brother Neo. Among other things, the availability in Italy of the latter and of Find X2 Lite is set from 22 May 2020 (i.e. the day of publication of this review) and who will purchase an OPPO Find X2 Lite by 30 June 2020 and will upload the proof of purchase by 10 July 2020 will receive free Enco W31 earphones, which we have had the opportunity to test these days and we will tell you in this review.
Design and unboxing
The sales package is the one we have come to know with the Find X2 range. The design is in fact very similar and the content as well: we find a 30W VOOC charger, the USB Type-C cable for charging and data transfer, a comfortable transparent cover, the pin for extracting the single nanoSIM compartment and various manuals. The only real difference with the Find X2 Neo packaging is the presence of headphones with jack cable and not USB Type-C. This already makes us understand how the Lite version points to another type of user than the Neo one. In any case, the equipment is very complete and OPPO certainly knows how to provide the right accessories to users.
The differences with the Neo model are immediately noticeable: as soon as you take the smartphone in hand, the weight of 180 grams it makes itself felt more than the 171 grams of the other model, but we are still on good values, considering that by now the market easily exceeds even 200 grams. For the rest, the dimensions are similar, although obviously higher than the Neo: 160.3 x 74.3 x 7.96 mm.
We are not in front of a compact device, but all in all we are average, both in terms of handling and grip. The writer appreciates much more solutions like the Neo, but obviously OPPO has had to compromise with the Lite variant and it's more than okay.
Constructive solidity is guaranteed by the aluminum body. On the other hand, OPPO has always shown itself to be very attentive to this aspect and to design in general. But we must say that the Moonlight Black coloring of the device we tested it seemed a little too anonymous. Fortunately, there is also the Pearl White variant, certainly able to make the backcover more lively and colorful.
The back of OPPO Find X2 Lite is very classic: the four photographic sensors arranged vertically peep out at the top left, while a little more on the right is the LED flash. The protrusion of the cameras is there but it is contained, so the smartphone does not "dance" too much when placed.
A very important difference with the older brother is found in the front of the device. In fact, Find X2 Lite abandons curved edges and hole for the camera in favor of a more classic one screen with "drop" notch. It is a solution that many people have now learned to appreciate and, in our view, it makes sense to also provide a model of this type, giving users a certain possibility of choice even at the design level.
The "wow" effect is certainly less pronounced than in the Find X2 Neo, but users will feel at home. Speaking of the unlocking methods, we find an in-display fingerprint sensor that has always proved to be precise and there is no lack of convenient facial recognition.
Analyzing the sides of the smartphone, at the bottom there are the speakers, the first microphone, the USB Type-C port and the 3.5mm audio jack for headphones. The latter could make Find X2 Lite interesting in the eyes of those who have many "old-fashioned" accessories (remember that Find X2 Neo does not have a jack). On the left we find the two buttons to raise / lower the volume and the trolley for the SIM (you can insert a single nanoSIM), while in the upper part there is only the second microphone. The power button (highlighted by a green line) is on the right.
Technical features
If you are thinking that the price difference with Find X2 Neo has led OPPO to make an underpowered smartphone, you are wrong. In fact, the device is powered by the same processor as its older brother: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G operating at a maximum frequency of 2.4 GHz (1 x 2.4 GHz + 1 x 2.2 GHz + 6 x 1.8 GHz), flanked by an Adreno 620 GPU and 8GB of RAM. In short, net of the least amount of memory, Find X2 Lite remains in all respects a medium / high-end smartphone when it comes to brute force.
This configuration is able to optimally run most of the applications that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. The internal memory in this case has been increased to 128GB UFS 2.1 (not expandable). In short, the available space is fine for most uses, despite having dropped compared to the 256GB of Find X2 Neo.
One aspect that has made itself felt in the transition from the older brother to this smartphone is the standard 60 Hz refresh rate. Once used to 90 Hz, going back can be complex. However, the lower price of this Find X2 Lite justifies the choice of OPPO.
For the rest, we are talking about a panel 6.4-inch AMOLED with Full HD + resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels), 90.8% screen-to-body ratio and "drop" notch. It is a concrete panel, which has a maximum brightness that does not disappoint and guarantees a good color balance. We have never had a problem with automatic brightness.
The smartphone already comes with a pre-applied film, which as always we removed after a few days in order to take full advantage of the quality of the panel. Always-on mode is present and more experienced users can also adjust the color temperature and other interesting settings.
Coming to the chapter of software optimization, now the "drop" notch is widespread and therefore many developers have updated their apps so that they are displayed in full screen. In case some software doesn't want to know, you can also try to "force" it through a functionality implemented by OPPO.
Also present i DRM Widevine L1therefore, viewing HD content on streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video is ensured. Watching multimedia content on this display is a pleasure and we are sure that most users will appreciate the panel. The most demanding will notice shortcomings such as the 90 Hz refresh rate, but the Chinese company has done an excellent job for the price range in which this Find X2 Lite is contextualized.
Not bad the photographic sector, where we find a 32MP front sensor (f / 2.0) and one quadruple rear camera 48MP (f / 1.7, Sony IMX586, EIS) + 8MP (f / 2.2, wide angle, 119 degrees) + 2MP (f / 2.4, mono) + 2MP (f / 2.4, vintage portraits). The four rear sensors can record videos in 4K at 30fps, while the front one reaches Full HD / 30fps.
The features offered by the Camera app are the classic ones: Night, Portrait, Expert, Sticker, Pan, Time-lapse and Slow motion (1080p). Also present are artificial intelligence, HDR, Google Lens and Macro mode.
The quadruple rear camera takes excellent photos in contexts with good light, while at night we find the appropriate mode, able to exploit the AI properly. In short, the rear sensors are convincing for the price range. Obviously, we are not talking about a perfect sector: the noise in some particularly dark scenes stands out and the maximum digital zoom is 10x. Up to 2x the photos can still be used for social media, but already moving to 5x even less experienced users will begin to notice the compromises that OPPO had to go down to lower the price. In any case, the color balance is done properly and the help of artificial intelligence and HDR makes itself feel positive.
The front camera is not bad and takes good photos, but we have seen it do better and we do not feel like promoting it entirely. Don't get us wrong: the quality is there and certainly many users will be satisfied, but from a range like Find X2, which has proven to be able to do at the level of cameras, we would have expected even more. Arriving at the video field, the Ultra Steady mode it allows you to stabilize the final result properly and you cannot complain from this point of view. But forget about 4K with the Ultra Steady active, since it drops to 1080p.
Summing up, Find X2 Lite convinces on a photographic level, despite the compromises we have highlighted above. If you want to get an idea firsthand, we recommend that you take a look at the uncompressed photos in our Drive folder dedicated to OPPO Find X2 Lite.
OPPO Find X2 Lite present a 4025 mAh battery, which has the same capacity as that of Find X2 Neo. The results are quite similar to those of the older brother: we often arrived in the evening with about 25% of residual charge. On the most stressful days this value is reduced, but in general we have always taken the classic working day home. Getting two days is not so obvious and we have seen better results, but Find X2 Lite is doing very well in this area.
In addition, we must not forget the 30W VOOC 4.0 fast charging support, which allows a full charge in about an hour (or slightly less). One of the major strengths of the smartphone is certainly the complete connectivity department, where we find everything the user can request, from 5G to 4G LTE, passing through dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, to NFC, to Bluetooth 5.1 and the 3.5mm audio jack for headphones. In short, there is practically nothing to complain about, if not the usual two shortcomings: waterproofness and wireless charging.
Instead, it is worth talking about the possibility of inserting a single SIM: this is a highly discussed aspect among enthusiasts, but in reality we are seeing many 5G smartphone manufacturers adopt this solution.
Not bad the audio sector, which has support for Dolby Atmos (Smart presets, Movies, Games and Music) and guarantees a good maximum volume (our tests showed 83.3 dBA).
Summing up, OPPO Find X2 Lite has a data sheet that seems to want to target those who used to buy the "flagship killer" of a few years ago, devices capable of competing with the top of the range in certain aspects. Of course, the waivers are there, as we have seen, but the spirit seems to be that.
Software
Oppo's software has always been one of the most criticized, at least until this year. ColorOS was considered a bit too "oriental" in terms of design. However, the arrival of the ColorOS 7 based on Android 10 managed to relieve the situation and introduce some very interesting new features. Among the possibilities most appreciated by users there is certainly the dark theme, which can save battery and at the same time allow the user to "rest" his eyes a little.
There is also an experimental feature, which allows you to "force" Dark Mode on applications such as Facebook. The result is not perfect, but very interesting for a certain type of user. As of this writing, the security patches are those of April 2020.
For the rest, the ColorOS 7 is the one we have come to know with Find X2 Neo, from the quick bar (accessible with a swipe from right to left) to the duplication of the apps, passing through the excellent system fluidity. If you want to deepen the topic, we invite you to take a look at our insights on ColorOS 7.1 and the main differences with the Realme UI.
Performance and benchmarks
Find X2 Lite offers good performance in terms of brute force, despite not being the most powerful smartphone on the market. The device performs well in everyday life and manages to achieve the performance of many other devices in this price range.
For those who appreciate benchmarks, Find X2 Lite has achieved 321317 points on AnTuTu Benchmark. On Geekbench, on the other hand, it reached 620 points in single-core and 1838 points in multi-core.
To give you concrete examples, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite, which is now sold at a similar price, reached 332528 points on AnTuTu during our tests. A result very close to the one scored by Find X2 Lite.
For the rest, there are obviously more performing solutions available on the market, such as Realme X2 Pro, which during our test scored 484390 points on AnTuTu. In short, OPPO did not focus entirely on brute force with Find X2 Lite and with its older brother Neo, but it still managed to create good solutions.
In fact, going beyond the benchmarks, Find X2 Lite runs well in all contexts, thanks also to the presence of 8GB of RAM. Too bad only for the lack of a display with a high refresh rate.
Gaming
To test the Lite model of the Find X2 gaming side, we have chosen to use the classic Call of Duty Mobile, ARK: Survival Evolved and Asphalt 9. In reality, as you can imagine, the results are very similar to those recorded by Find X2 Neo, since the processor used is the same.
We make it, therefore, very short: Call of Duty Mobile runs well with details and FPS set to "Very high", Asphalt 9 does not have any problems even with "High quality" presets and ARK: Survival Evolved discreetly runs only at "Low", but we are talking about a particularly "heavy" title, able to put a strain on a hardware sector of this type.
There is also the gaming mode called Spazio Gioco and the 360-degree antennas also remain, able to guarantee excellent signal reception even in landscape, useful for gaming sessions.
Enco W31
We close the review with a chapter dedicated to True Wireless Enco W31 earphones, which, as we said at the beginning, are among the gifts provided by the Find X2 Lite launch promotion. OPPO provided us with this product in the middle of the test, so we tested the smartphone with both the "standard" headphones contained in the sales package and with the Enco W31. It's another world: earphones have 7mm driver, a frequency response of 20 Hz / 20 KHz and a battery of 25 mAh each. They are supplied together with a circular charging box with a 350 mAh battery, which is recharged via the USB Type-C cable supplied. The charging time is approximately two and a half hours, while the autonomy of the earphones reaches three and a half hours (a total of fifteen hours if we also consider the refills that can be done with the box).
The Bluetooth version supported is 5.0, therefore the covered range is approximately 10 meters. There is also an integrated double microphone (located on the back): we have never had problems during calls and the interlocutor has always heard our voice "limpid". For the rest, there is the IP54 certification and replacement silicone rubber for the earphones.
By opening the box, where the earbuds are magnetically attached, we find an LED that indicates the remaining charge through three colors (red, yellow and green). If the earphones are positioned inside the box, the LED indicates their charging status, otherwise it shows that of the base. There is also a function button, through which it is possible to reset to the factory settings.
The Enco W31 have some very interesting features. First, they detect when you're wearing them and pause the audio when you take them off. We have tried this functionality in multiple contexts and found it very convenient. Another very interesting aspect is the possibility of performing actions with a double tap on the earphones. Touching the right one goes to the next track, while double-tapping the left one changes the audio effects.
In particular, two modes are available: a balanced one, which points to all frequencies, and one that makes the bass more powerful, rich and fluid. The low and high frequencies surprised us (switching from one mode to another), while the medium frequencies are somewhat put in the background. However, the overall quality isn't bad at all, especially if we contextualize the headphones in the launch promotion.
There is also the possibility to activate Google Assistant through a triple tap on any headset. Small gem: when you open the box while you are close to the smartphone, a screen appears on the display that shows the user the remaining charge of the box and earphones and introduces him to the available features. Closing the box, the screen disappears.