Oppo’s Find X5 Pro is a ceramic-backed camera powerhouse

True to its word, Oppo is finally showing off its new flagship Android phones, the Find X5 Pro and Find X5. Both devices feature the company’s first custom neural processing unit, MariSilicon X, which promises to improve camera performance in major ways.

Oppo took a big step into the foldable category last year with the Find N 5G, but with the Find X5 series, it’s sticking to basics and trying to keep up with Apple, Google, and Samsung’s efforts to push computational photography to its limits.

Find X5 Pro features — Like all of the leaks suggested, the Find X5 Pro is a big phone. There’s a curved 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED LTPO display, a ceramic back in either white or black, and a camera array that rises smoothly out of the phone like it’s swimming out of a pool of thick milk. Trust me, it’s more elegant than it sounds and Oppo claims ceramic is far better at absorbing and dissipating heat than a material like glass. Great for a phone that’s bound to cook up some computational heat.

Inside, Oppo opted for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and its new MariSilicon X NPU chip. Combined with the cameras, the two silicons are supposed to bring a host of improvements, particularly for night photos and videos — a focus that’s also shared with Samsung’s Galaxy S22 devices like the Galaxy S22+ we just reviewed. The phone’s battery has also been boosted to 5,000 mAh with support for 80W SUPERVOOC “Flash-charging” technology and 50W AIRVOOC for wireless charging.

The Find X5 Pro has a 50-megapixel wide, 50-megapixel ultrawide, and 13-megapixel telephoto with a 5x hybrid zoom. Oppo says its MariSilicon X helps the Find X5 Pro shoot dramatically better at night with a higher video resolution, less grain overall, and better color reproduction. The Find X5 Pro is also able to intelligently widen the frame for group selfies with the 32-megapixel selfie camera.

Find X5 specs — The entry-level Find X5 uses a matte glass back in black or white rather than ceramic and a slightly smaller 6.5-inch 120Hz OLED display. Otherwise, the Find X5 carries over a lot of the new parts of the Find X5 Pro. The same cameras are there and MariSilicon X is in tow to help try and improve overall performance.

Impressions — I’ve had a white Find X5 Pro for the last few weeks and plan on putting it through its photo and video paces soon, but first impressions are definitely positive. I’m not in love with what Oppo is doing with ColorOS 12.1 (the Android skin both Find X5 models run out of the box) but the ceramic back is really nice, even if it seems to pick up a ton of fingerprints and smudges.

The few photos I’ve taken with the Find X5 Pro’s new camera system are also super promising. I haven’t gotten a chance to dive deep into some night photos or videos, but it’s taken some really beautiful and crisp shots so far.

Pricing and release are TBD, but expect top dollar for the premium Find X5 and X5 Pro. More soon in a full review.