The right smartphone at the wrong time. Oppo's 2020 should have been marked by growth in Europe and in general outside of China. The phone market, with Huawei falling in the west due to Trump's ban, seemed to leave the field free for a rapid ascent and Oppo Find X2 Pro should have been the flagship of the 2020 range.
Unfortunately, the downglobal lock caused by the Coronavirus has gone sideways, so much so that the Find X2 Pro was first announced arriving in Italy for May 8, then postponed further to a date to be destined. A pity, because Oppo has created a phone with almost no compromises; we therefore hope to see it as soon as possible in Italy, perhaps in a context other than the current one and more suitable to support the launch of a product of this caliber.
Design: simplicity and detail
Making a smartphone unique is very difficult. On the front, the screen now occupies almost all the available surface, while on the back, photographic sensors are becoming increasingly important. To differentiate Oppo Find X2 Pro, the Chinese house has chosen a very simple but effective way, that is offer two colors that also differ in materials that go to make up the backcover. What you can see in the images is the black version, created using the ceramic instead of the classic glass. The particular micro texture that characterizes it is very pleasant to the touch, it does not increase the grip but the sensation it gives on the skin during use is truly unique. Alternatively there is the orange variant, with vegan leather backcover.
Two very different and unique models, almost as if we were facing two distinct phones. Unlike other brands, Oppo has used a vertically developed photographic module, when the current fashion plans to install the cameras in a square module.
In short, the Chinese house has managed to give distinctive signs to this Find X2 Pro, a task that is anything but simple, as can be seen from the front. The edges of the screen are thin and the small hole for the camera is at the top left, choices that go directly to the stylistic dictates of the moment. The design goes hand in hand with a high level construction quality, which also includes the IP68 certification for resistance to liquids and dust.
The power button is available on the right edge while the volume rocker is installed on the left edge. The slot for the single SIM card is at the bottom, next to the USB Type C connector and the main speaker. Stereo sound is offered by a second speaker installed at the top of the screen, which also functions as an ear capsule. No Dual SIM and no expansion for memory, but the 512 GB installed on the phone goes far beyond the real need for space.
The ergonomics are quite good, thanks to the generous dimensions but not even that much, considering some of the top of the range that arrived in the last period. The weight of 207 grams for this black version (200 for the leather one) is felt but it is all a matter of habit. Obviously the one-handed use is uncomfortable, especially for the length of the display, but it is a consideration that applies to almost all recently produced smartphones.
A display that amazes
We have already deepened the peculiarities of the Oppo Find X2 Pro display, and today after almost two months of use we can only confirm the excellent work done by the Chinese house. The screen is AMOLED type and has a diagonal of 6.7, resolution QHD +, 120 Hz refresh rate and aspect ratio of 19.9: 9. High peak brightness, which touches 500 nits in normal use conditions and rises to 800 Nit outdoors and in the sun. In the presence of HDR content, it can reach 1200 Nit, a very high value. Touches are detected quickly thanks to the sampling frequency of 240 Hz.
The technical specifications report the ability to reproduce up to 1.07 billion colors and 100% coverage of the P3 color space. There is also a technology similar to Apple's True Tone, able to adjust the color temperature and brightness based on the viewing environment, thus less straining the view.
Another peculiarity of this screen is the 01 Ultra Vision Engine image processor, which while watching video content (Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime are supported) applies motion compensation effects to increase fluidity, also optimizing HDR, where present, or converting a movie from SDR to HDR in real time . The Ultra Vision Engine can obviously be deactivated, but this is a plus for those who use motion compensation on their TV.
Generally, the screen of Oppo Find X2 Pro is one of the best we have seen on smartphones and directly rivals competitors like Samsung's S20 Ultra.
Lots of power, good fingerprint reader and excellent sound
Oppo Find X2 Pro has hardware with very few rivals. The processor is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, an Octa Core capable of reaching 2.84 GHz, with Adreno 650 GPU. Then there are 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal memory, of the UFS 3.0 type. A configuration that, paired with the 120 Hz display, makes using your smartphone very pleasant and responsive. It also completes connectivity, which includes 5G, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 6.
There is no unlocking by 3D face recognition seen in Oppo Find X but there is the 2D one, always comfortable but less secure, and the fingerprint reader under the display. This turned out faster and more accurate than average, so as to lead us to use it more than facial recognition.
Excellent work done on audio, the two speakers are compatible with Dolby Atmos and have a high maximum volume. Even the positioning of the sounds, net of the intrinsic limitations of the speakers, is well done, difficult to find better, in this respect we are at the level of Galaxy S20 Ultra and iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Good autonomy and software finally up to par
One of the limits that we found in the first top of the Android range of 2020 is autonomy. 120 Hz screens are increasingly popular but their impact on the battery is significant, compared to a clearly higher fluidity of use. Oppo opted for one 4260 mAh battery to power the Find X2 Pro, with SuperVooc 2.0 quick charge. In the sales package there is a 65 W charger, which manages to complete the full over the phone in about 35 minutes. An incredible result, especially if it is related to autonomy. We used the dynamic refresh rate during the test, which adapts the refresh rate to the content displayed on the screen. If these are static, the frequency drops, in the presence of dynamic content, such as games or the simple web browser, rises to 120 Hz.
The optimization of the display and the operating system has allowed Oppo to create a phone that manages to arrive in the evening even on the most demanding days, going up to a day and a half of use if used more sparingly. When the battery runs out, it takes about twenty minutes to reach over 60% charge.
At a time when technology has not yet managed to create high-capacity, thin and light batteries, Oppo has simply taken an alternative route to solving the problem. The good autonomy, combined with rapid charging, allows you to never run out of energy. The only drawback is theabsence of wireless charging, which is not supported by the phone.
Oppo has also worked hard on the software front, going to correct many of the defects of ColorOS, now in version 7.1, which goes to customize Android 10. The interface is simple and clean, vaguely reminiscent of Android stock but has many more options to offer. A variety that does not go to weigh it down and make it chaotic, but that offers much more than the most basic versions of Android. On the graphic front, personalization is maximum, it is possible to choose three different designs for the icons, from the rectangular to the rounded one, passing through the more traditional Material Design. Excellent dark mode, increasingly used even during the day, still in beta but fully functional. There is also the ever on display, with which to view a clock and the notifications with the screen off.
Seen the hardware available we have not detected any fluidity or lag problems, the 120 Hz screen makes the user experience rewarding and very quick. There are no limits with Oppo Find X2 Pro in gaming, the Snapdragon 865 is the most powerful processor available today, even too much for the games on the Play Store today.
A real guarantee, in short: any game that goes out, you can be sure that with this phone you can enjoy it to the fullest. This is also confirmed by our benchmarks, which have seen Oppo Find X2 Pro detach in the scores both Galaxy S20 Ultra and Huawei P40 Pro.
Camera
Fortunately, we were able to test the Oppo Find X2 Pro cameras before the quarantine, thus taking advantage of all the sensors made available by the phone. The photo module houses a triple camera with Sony IMX689 48 Megapixel main sensor, optically stabilized and with f / 1.7 aperture, which makes its debut on the Find X2 Pro. The performance of this sensor is excellent in all conditions, it is really difficult to put it in difficulty, even at night. Thanks to the Omni-Directional Phase Detection Autofocus technology all the pixels on the sensor, divided into groups of 4, are able to focus on the subject, this allows the Find X2 Pro to perform this operation with precision and very quickly.
Another strong point of the phone is the wide angle cam, managed by a camera from 48 Megapixel with IMX586 sensor, f / 2.2 aperture and optical stabilization.
It is a sensor used until last year as the main camera by many smartphones and here capable of shooting with a field of view of 120 degrees. Finally the third sensor, with periscope optics, is from 13 megapixels, has an aperture of f / 3.0 and allows zooming up to 10x hybrid.
No enlargement
2X zoom
5X zoom
10X zoom
As we have anticipated, the main sensor is a real security, it is difficult to make mistakes when aiming the lens at the subject, whether it is day or night. Zooming proves to be an extra weapon for shooting from a distance, exceeding 10x, however, the loss of quality begins to become important, the digital zoom performance is not the best.
The wide angle is perfect for daytime shots but a little less at night, in this case it is always better to focus on the main cam, which captures more light and has a greater level of detail. As for videos, stabilization is excellent up to 1080p at 60 fps, you can also activate an even more stable mode but sacrificing the level of detail and the light captured. In 4K at 30 fps the stabilization is discreet but it loses a little bit, with a level of detail that lives up to expectations. The 32 Megapixel front camera also performed well, which does its job without distinguishing itself too much from the crowd.
