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This post is not to start a pointless "GNote is better than iPad" flame war. For what it intends to do, the iPad is an excellent product. Until I got my GNote, I was jealous of my wife's iPad 3 (maybe that's partially because I had a Thinkpad Tablet... fellow TPT owners will understand, ha ha).
I'm offering this against the myriad of scathingly bad reviews of the GNote, many of them from arguably pro-Apple sites. Consumer Reports prides itself on being an independent consumer research agency. As most of you probably know, they accept no promotional considerations for any product they test. Each review is based upon a unit/item which their staff bought 'off the shelf' at a local or online retailer, not a free unit from the vendor. And they do not sell ads, again to avoid any influence on their ratings.
So, if you want to reference a very good review for your GNote from an organization which has good credibility, here your are...
In their review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, Consumer Reports scores the GNote as an overall 83 points out of 100, the same as the iPad 3. It is the first tablet to equal the iPad in their reports.
In the overall scoring categories of portability, ease of use, versatility, touch response, and size, the GNote and iPad were rated equivalently as 'excellent' or 'very good' in each case. Only in display rating did the iPad best the GNote, with a mark of 'excellent' to the GNote's 'very good.'
The only con ("Low") they noted was that at $500, it is at the more expensive end of the scale.
Here is the URL for the review, but you may need to login as a subscriber to access the full review. I've pasted the text from the review below the link. I've also attached a screenshot of their side-by-side scoring of the GNote vs. the iPad.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...ung-galaxy-note-10-1-wi-fi-16-gb-99046807.htm
Consumer Reports members-restricted content said:
Reviews & Recommended - Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (Wi-Fi, 16 GB)
CR's Take
The Galaxy Note 10.1 is very innovative and fun to use. It comes with a stylus, recognizes handwriting, and can multitask, unlike other tablets. But because some of its most useful apps aren't very intuitive, expect to spend a good amount of time getting up to speed. Battery life was very long.
Highs
• 1.4 GHz 4-core processor
• Battery life longer than most
• Very good display quality
• Screen coating reduces fingerprints and makes cleaning easier.
• Voice-typing feature
• Keyboard can use "Swype" entry method
• Can be a remote control for TVs or other A-V devices
• GPS mapping
• 5-megapixel camera, higher resolution than most
• Screen uses high-durability "Gorilla glass"
• File manager preinstalled
• Full access to the Google app market
• Photos can fill entire screen height
Lows
• At $500, relatively expensive
Detailed test results
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (Wi-Fi, 16 GB) was easy to use for a wide variety of functions. It was easy to move from screen to screen using finger swipes, and to move app icons among screens. Samsung includes an enhanced user-interface. Home screens have useful custom widgets. The on-screen keyboard may be used in "Swype" mode to type by sliding between letters.
Photos can be displayed full height without interference from the navigation bar. Turning from portrait to landscape while reading a book worked well. A voice-typing feature lets you dictate emails and text documents. You can sync and transfer files to and from a PC using USB. A built-in file manager app makes it easy to transfer files from a memory card.
The display quality was very good overall. Colors were accurately reproduced, realistic, and natural-looking because they were undersaturated. The screen was among the brightest we've measured and readability in sunlight was good. Viewing angle was quite wide in landscape orientation, making it easy to view photos or video with another person. Viewing angle was quite wide in portrait orientation, making it easy to share the screen with another person.
Touch response was excellent. The capacitive touchscreen responds to a light finger touch, and allows multiple fingers to perform gesture actions. Moving objects and using finger gestures is easy and precise. Icons were easy to move and place precisely. A special coating on the screen resists fingerprints and makes cleaning easier.
This tablet has a very good set of useful features that make it convenient and versatile to use - see the "About" section for more details. There is full access to the Google app market, with a large and varied selection of apps. There is also access to a large media market through Google, for downloading movies, music and books. The tablet can send pictures, video and music to another "DLNA" (Digital Living Network Alliance) capable home entertainment device, such as a TV. You can program the tablet to act as a remote control for home entertainment products like TVs and receivers.
There are a variety of sensors to provide positional and environmental info to apps and games. These include a global positioning system (GPS) receiver to locate the user geographically and allow the use of navigation apps, an accelerometer to give motion feedback to apps, a gyroscope to give rotational feedback to apps, a magnetic compass to give directional feedback, and an ambient light sensor to reduce the screen brightness to extend battery time. There's a stylus included to enable handwriting, precise drawing, or using the tablet with gloves.
This is among the most portable tablets in the 9- to 12-inch category. Its battery life of 11.1 hours lets you use it all day without recharging. It's very slim and compact for its screen size, and at 1.3 pounds, it's a very lightweight tablet for its size.
About - Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (Wi-Fi, 16 GB)
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (Wi-Fi, 16 GB) is a larger tablet computer with a 10.1-inch screen. It has a screen resolution of 1280 x 800, which is typical for its size. The rectangular screen is a better shape for videos than for photos, and it utilizes toughened Gorilla Glass for durability.
The tablet has a 1.4 GHz Samsung Exynos processor with 4 cores. It runs on the Android 4 operating system. It has 2GB memory and is available with 16 or 32GB storage. You can add an Micro SD memory card for more storage.
There is a headphone jack with a volume control, a built-in microphone, and stereo speakers. Internet connectivity is via Wi-Fi. It has a 1.9-megapixel webcam, and a 5-megapixel camera with a flash.
The tablet measures 10.3 inches long by 7.1 inches wide by 0.37 inches thick, and weighs 1.3 pounds.
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jchammerpants said:
This post is not to start a pointless "GNote is better than iPad" flame war. For what it intends to do, the iPad is an excellent product. Until I got my GNote, I was jealous of my wife's iPad 3 (maybe that's partially because I had a Thinkpad Tablet... fellow TPT owners will understand, ha ha)....
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Click to collapse
Yes my dear fellow, I do understand you very well, me too .
Actually Samy should pay to Lenovo for encouraging us TPT owners (by bad Android implementation) to buy GNote 10.1. Or at least to make some "switch" advertising, would be very funny.
I love the SGN10.1 from a hardware standpoint; however, much of their software (S-Note I am looking at you), doesn't seem well-thought through and half-done. Hopefully the JB OTA will improve upon this.
I suppose my biggest issue is that the things which would make S-Note truly amazing are not revolutionary or dramatic. They simply need to implement features already found in competing products as well as a few new ideas.
jchammerpants said:
I'm offering this against the myriad of scathingly bad reviews of the GNote, many of them from arguably pro-Apple sites.
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Click to collapse
The difference is that CR views things from a populist perspective. The tech media are snobs and think the masses make decisions based on CPU, GPU, and benchmarks. You'll notice CR used adjectives rather than benchmarks to describe performance. The Note's an all-around great tablet and the S-features provide a lot of real-world benefits and improve usability. When talking to non-techie's about which tablet to buy I say many of the same things to them CR wrote. And while not FHD, the Note's display is the best I've ever seen on a 10' tablet when it comes to color reproduction and accuracy. And that includes the TF700's higher res display.
I'm really getting tired of the price/value double standard that gets used by reviewers.
The cheapest current generation iPad is 16GB for $499. You can get last year's model for $399 - but you can also get a Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 for $399...
The Note 10.1 is $549 ($499 in Canada) and has 32GB of storage, which would cost $599.
Yet, for some reason, if any tablet OTHER than the iPad comes in at $500... it's too expensive. You never hear anyone call the iPad 'too expensive'.
Retina display? Fair enough - Note has Wacom digitiser.
In every other way the Note meets or exceeds the iPad's specs.
Simply put, the Note 10.1 is a better VALUE at a comparablet price than the iPad.
wolfindersteppe said:
Yes my dear fellow, I do understand you very well, me too .
Actually Samy should pay to Lenovo for encouraging us TPT owners (by bad Android implementation) to buy GNote 10.1. Or at least to make some "switch" advertising, would be very funny.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:laugh: So true.
Excerpt:
“The Galaxy S8 is the most innovative and high-performance Smartphone display that we have ever lab tested, earning DisplayMate’s highest ever A+ grade.”
What’s New;
The Galaxy S8 has the following major new display performance features and display functions, which we cover in detail throughout the article:
· A new larger 5.8 inch Full Screen Display that fills almost the entire front face of the Galaxy S8 from edge-to-edge. Its display is 18% larger in screen area than the Galaxy S7, with almost exactly the same width but 17% taller.
· The Home button and Navigations buttons are now incorporated within the touchscreen display.
· A new display form factor with a taller height to width Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9 = 2.05, which is larger than the 16 : 9 = 1.78 on the Galaxy S7 (and widescreen TVs) because the display now has the same overall shape as the entire phone.
· It is taller in Portrait mode and wider in Landscape mode. This provides extra space for Notifications and for displaying multiple windows and content.
· A new 3K Higher Resolution 2960 x 1440 Quad HD+ display with 570 pixels per inch.
· Support for 4 Screen Modes and 3 Standard Color Gamuts with High Absolute Color Accuracy based on our extensive lab measurements.
· A new full 100% DCI-P3 Color Gamut and Digital Cinema mode that is also used for 4K Ultra HD TVs, so the Galaxy S8 can display the latest high-end 4K video content.
· The DCI-P3 Gamut is 26 percent larger than the Rec.709 Gamut that is used in 2K Full HD TVs.
· The Galaxy S8 is the first Smartphone to be certified by the UHD Alliance for Mobile HDR Premium, which allows it to play all of the same 4K High Dynamic Range content produced for 4K UHD Premium TVs.
· A new Video Enhancer that provides HDR-like Expanded Dynamic Range for photos and videos that don’t have HDR coding.
· A new record high Peak Brightness with over 1,000 nits, which improves screen visibility in very high Ambient Light, and provides the high screen Brightness needed for HDR.
· A new user adjustable White Point with RGB Color Balance slider controls that can change the Color of White for the Adaptive Display screen mode.
· New front and back Dual Ambient Light Sensors for significantly improved Automatic Brightness settings.
· A new Night Mode with a Blue Light Filter that allows the user to adjust and reduce the amount of blue light from the display for better night viewing and improved sleep.
What’s Improved;
The Galaxy S8 also has the following improved display performance features and display functions, which we cover in detail throughout the article:
· Higher Screen Brightness from 5% to 19%.
· Larger Native Color Gamut with 113% DCI-P3 for better displayed Colors in High Ambient Light.
· Improved Absolute Color Accuracy.
· Improved Viewing Angle performance.
· Enhanced configurable Edge Display for the curved side screens.
· Enhanced Always On Display mode operated with IC hardware rather than App software.
· Enhanced Personalized Auto Brightness Control.
· Enhanced Image Processor for Adaptive Dynamic Brightness and Contrast Range Expansion.
· Enhanced Performance Modes and Power Saving Modes.
· Stronger curved Gorilla Glass 5 protecting the display.
Galaxy S8 OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out!
-------
Can't wait for the Note 8 "Great" (a.k.a. 옹호) to show up and show off its display along with other expected innovations!
Great to get a better perspective on the changes made, undoubtedly the best screen to grace a smartphone.
Very much looking forward to shipment day......?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Even though I'm looking very much at the GS8+ because of availability, the article doesn't even compare to other competitors especially being the Xperia XZ Premium. The XZ Premium is literally built with a 4K HDR screen and it's one of the most well renowned top flagship features. For DisplayMate to not even mention it kind of discredits what it grades any way if it does not compare other flagships.
GigaSPX said:
Even though I'm looking very much at the GS8+ because of availability, the article doesn't even compare to other competitors especially being the Xperia XZ Premium. The XZ Premium is literally built with a 4K HDR screen and it's one of the most well renowned top flagship features. For DisplayMate to not even mention it kind of discredits what it grades any way if it does not compare other flagships.
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They are comparing it to their previous model, that's what most people care about as Samsung panels have been the best for quite some time. It's to show improvements over the last gen screens. You can always compare the review score between different devices yourself. The S8 is the highest rated mobile screen they have tested. Sony and LG etc are not really competitors, they don't sell enough phones. Apple is Samsung's major competition as they are both on top, by a huge margin. Most are losing money not making it. So they are doing the review for the largest number of potential consumers.
4k screens on a phone are very good for one thing, VR. Outside of that there isn't much difference at all, other than loss of performance and battery life. I would appreciate the higher res as an option myself though because I enjoy VR.
4k is wasted on smaller sized TV's even, unless you're sitting a few inches away from it. It's best for 50 inch and above screens. Over 60 is preferable if sitting a reasonable distance away.
If another phone takes top spot this year then they will probably compare that to the Samsung...
Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Huawei Mate 30 Pro is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I'd like to love it
But I don't know if its worth buying yet? I really would like gmail
I've had my M30P imported from China for just under a week now at the time of writing this. Before that, I was using a P30P for 6 months.
My overall experience and feelings for it is very positive. It's my most favorite Huawei smartphone to date and I don't have too many complaints about it so I'll just be honest and upfront about everything I've personally liked and disliked.
There wasn't anything wrong with my P30P from before and I loved most things about the phone (which you'll see me reference it a lot in some of the points below) but the Chinese prices on the M30P and to be first in line for the latest updates for once just tempted me too much - I paid 5800¥ (which is about $820/€736/£634. I'll be basing most of my experiences and comparisons on the P30P as a result since it's the only other, closest rival phone I can match it against and I suspect a lot of people will want to know how they both stack up anyway
Display and Build Quality:
+ Display appears slightly brighter than the P30P with very punchy colours, contrast, deep blacks and decent sunlight readability. The panel isn't quite up there with the Note 10+ but it's still really good and you won't be disappointed.
+ No bezels or even much of a chin as the gorgeous looking waterfall display that spills on to the edges.
+ IP68 rated + equipped with Gorilla Glass 6 whereas the P30P didn't have any form of Gorilla Glass Protection, and the M20P had v5 (still worth putting a screen protector on though!)
+ I am a big fan of the (innovative?) virtual volume buttons that trigger when you double tap on the top left or right edges of the display
+ Supports *AOD* after a recent software update!
- Has a notch even though it's smaller than most other notches, including the iPhone 11, Pixel 4 (if you can count its giant forehead), as well as last year's M20P
- Doesn't have 90hz refresh rate despite some of the strong rumors and leaks that had been circulating around beforehand
Camera:
+ Consistently handles noise, artifacts and retains small details better than P30P in both daylight and night shots - this is due to the newer, improved ISP on a hardware level and camera tweaks on a software level.
+ Industry-leading best in class wide angle lens. It's huge f/1.8 aperture and the sensor size of 1/1.54" that really shows its prowess in both day time and night shots that no other competitor can currently go against at the moment. Let's not forget it defaults to pixel binning since it's actually outputting 10mp shots and the new ISP further enhances it (namely in dealing with noise). All in all, you get more preserved details in both the shadows and highlights, better colour balance, nicer dynamic range and the hardware front here really delivers in all aspects of the shooting conditions. I compared it with an iPhone 11 and a Note 10+ at my local Samsung and Apple stores respectively and the M30P's wide angle is just miles ahead better and I can't see other brands having a superior wide angle lens anytime soon.
+ Sometimes, in ideal lighting and certain scenarios, I will get even BETTER daytime shots on the wide angle than the main sensor as it's not RYYB and the fact that it's got an even bigger sensor size than that actually gives it some advantages to the main lens and compared to generally most other wide angle lens from other phones.
+ Video recording seem better stabilized, with less choppiness when panning around the scene and it can finally record 4k in 60FPS too due to the newer ISP. Wide angle video capture is miles better than the P30P's one due to the significantly superior hardware, especially in low light.
+ I love its quad rear camera design and its shiny ring more than similar rivals' implementations by the iPhone 11, Pixel 4 and even the M20P - just feel like saying it as I've grown to like it now!
+ ToF sensor feels slightly better than the one found in the P30P - my portrait mode shots and bokeh effects tend to be more precise with less clipping and better edge detection around subjects
+ 7680FPS video recording isn't just a stunt as it does work and is fun to use when you want to show off something cool and playful with it. No other smartphone in the industry comes close.
+ Night Mode shots with both the primary and wide angle lens has been improved further against the P30P which was already the king of low light - it captures the smaller details better (mainly only noticed when you zoom or crop in), has less noise and better colour balance in almost every shot I took in low light.
- Occasionally renders warm, red tinges to my photos when shooting with the primary main sensor, but rarely ever happens in all circumstances when using the wide angle sensor (most likely because it's not RYYB). Hopefully resolved with future software updates.
- No periscope 5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom capability. You now get 3x optical and 3x digital instead which isn't entirely a dealbreaker as most people won't be using this all the time but I feel it needs to be said anyway.
- I've seen some minor lens flare that I did not ever seem to get on the P30P, or on any other phone I've owned to date.
- Front selfie camera has improved a bit from the P30P but it still applies a lot of digital make-up to my face and smooths out my skin a bit too much for my liking, and that's even with the beauty level set to the lowest in the UI. It's once again still not on the same league as the iPhone 11 or Note 10's front cameras.
- No super macro-mode for close up shots of up to 2.5cm from the subject which used to be found on the P30P - I understand this is due to the new sensors that no longer allow it
- Still lacks an automatic HDR toggle - you need to enable it manually each time under "More" in the camera settings
Battery life and Charging
+ Lasts really long due to the combination of the Kirin 990 on the newest 7nm+ EUV node, a massive 4500mAh battery which Huawei claim also uses "AI" to understand your usage patterns and potentially even being based on Android 10's behind-the-scenes battery optimizations/algorithms (I got more SOT than my P30P)
+ For me, the lack of GMS/Google Play Services definitely improved my battery life too
+ 40w supercharge which tops up the battery incredibly quick without overheating my phone (about 0-70% in 30mins just like before). I've also got a 40w Huawei SuperCharge power bank which is compatible with the M30P.
+ 27w wireless charging - I don't have a wireless charger to test but this makes it vastly superior to most wired charging speeds from other brands.
- "3x faster reverse wireless charging" is still largely a gimmick as it's not that much of an improvement from the previous gen (from 2.5W to 7.5w now) in every day practical use but I can see how it can be useful in emergency situations where even a few % can be useful for a friend if he/she doesn't have a portable charger
Performance and Software
+ Android 10 + UFS 3.0 (being used for the first time by Huawei) + 8GB of RAM = an extremely fluid, snappy and responsive system all-round with no lag!
+ I can still use most of my essential daily apps without Google Play Services by sideloading them, including Brave (which I prefer over Chrome anyway), Google Maps, Google Keyboard, Gmail (via the native Huawei mail handler), Instagram and WhatsApp
+ GPS accuracy in apps such as Google Maps, Cellular strength and mobile data speeds equally as fast and reliable as my P30P or if not slightly better from what I've noticed
+ Kirin 990 chipset performs well despite not using ARM's newest Cortex A77 cores, and shines in the battery life department and in games due to the optimizations to both the CPU +GPU
+ First in line to get the latest software updates if you purchase the Chinese LIO-AL00 model - I've already had 4 in less than a week and most were at least 1GB in size so they weren't all minor patches
- No Google Play Services out of the box, so you'll need to somehow restore your phone using HiSuite with a known working backup that has it or find alternative apps that don't rely on it
- My CN LIO-AL00 had a lot of bloatware that I couldn't easily uninstall and disable under the Settings, so I had to remove a lot of them via adb on my Desktop which took up a lot of time
- I still would've preferred the Kirin 990 to feature the newest A77 cores, as the upcoming Snapdragon 865 is guaranteed to have them (nonetheless the optimized A76s for power efficiency easily match and beat the 855+ in most areas
Audio quality
+ Phone call and speaker sound quality (especially at mid to higher volumes) feels a fair bit louder, fuller, clearer, richer and better balanced than the P30P
+ Audio capture when recording videos seems to be improved by a minor amount over the P30P
- Still has a single downwards firing speaker. Where's the dual stereo nowadays?
Other final thoughts:
+ Under display fingerprint sensor is incredibly fast and responsive - definitely ahead of the one in the P30P
+ Excellent build quality which is to be expected from another Huawei flagship - the whole device feels very premium and screams quality in the hands
+ Battery life is even better than the P30P which was already the Android battery champ!
+ Great price if you can somehow import it over from China - I paid 5800¥ for the 128GB model to a friend who brought it to me (approximately $820/€736/£634)
I hope people will find my well-balanced comparison helpful between the M30P and my P30P!
thanks you for your writing. i remember huawei advirtised is 2.5 cm close shoting super macro. which is very dissappointing for me. i like macro shots. And some reviewers in my country told that night photos are very bright and it makes the sceen very unrealist. Hope they fix this.
ssregitoss said:
thanks you for your writing. i remember huawei advirtised is 2.5 cm close shoting super macro. which is very dissappointing for me. i like macro shots. And some reviewers in my country told that night photos are very bright and it makes the sceen very unrealist. Hope they fix this.
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Click to collapse
Night mode are just amazing and not much unrealistic for me
But yeah, super macro mode is msising and it's not a good move from huawei...
Does the M30P have an improved haptic vibration motor?
This is something that Samsung improved with the Note 10 series and it definitely makes a difference to the user experience.
Excellent screen, sound, battery and performance
I never was pleased this much with any phone everything is superb specially the camera! has anyone found a way to make google assistance s default or get rid of default home launcher ?
Ggffdd
Byte_76 said:
Does the M30P have an improved haptic vibration motor?
This is something that Samsung improved with the Note 10 series and it definitely makes a difference to the user experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from the following phones I've owned in the past years, I've noticed a slight improvement over all of them. It's definitely not a weak motor.
P30 Pro
Mate 20 Pro
Pixel 2 XL
Galaxy S8
Galaxy S6
Any chance you could give me a list of the bloat you removed?? don't want to take the wrong thing out with ADB and brick it.. Only thing I miss is having to keep pressing Google to voice activate, no big issue, and Google pay, now I have to carry a bank card everywhere
Those two little niggles aside its superb!
Cheers mate!
Great article btw!!
kyero985 said:
I've had my M30P imported from China for just under a week now at the time of writing this. Before that, I was using a P30P for 6 months.
My overall experience and feelings for it is very positive. It's my most favorite Huawei smartphone to date and I don't have too many complaints about it so I'll just be honest and upfront about everything I've personally liked and disliked.
There wasn't anything wrong with my P30P from before and I loved most things about the phone (which you'll see me reference it a lot in some of the points below) but the Chinese prices on the M30P and to be first in line for the latest updates for once just tempted me too much - I paid 5800¥ (which is about $820/€736/£634. I'll be basing most of my experiences and comparisons on the P30P as a result since it's the only other, closest rival phone I can match it against and I suspect a lot of people will want to know how they both stack up anyway
Display and Build Quality:
+ Display appears slightly brighter than the P30P with very punchy colours, contrast, deep blacks and decent sunlight readability. The panel isn't quite up there with the Note 10+ but it's still really good and you won't be disappointed.
+ No bezels or even much of a chin as the gorgeous looking waterfall display that spills on to the edges.
+ IP68 rated + equipped with Gorilla Glass 6 whereas the P30P didn't have any form of Gorilla Glass Protection, and the M20P had v5 (still worth putting a screen protector on though!)
+ I am a big fan of the (innovative?) virtual volume buttons that trigger when you double tap on the top left or right edges of the display
+ Supports *AOD* after a recent software update!
- Has a notch even though it's smaller than most other notches, including the iPhone 11, Pixel 4 (if you can count its giant forehead), as well as last year's M20P
- Doesn't have 90hz refresh rate despite some of the strong rumors and leaks that had been circulating around beforehand
Camera:
+ Consistently handles noise, artifacts and retains small details better than P30P in both daylight and night shots - this is due to the newer, improved ISP on a hardware level and camera tweaks on a software level.
+ Industry-leading best in class wide angle lens. It's huge f/1.8 aperture and the sensor size of 1/1.54" that really shows its prowess in both day time and night shots that no other competitor can currently go against at the moment. Let's not forget it defaults to pixel binning since it's actually outputting 10mp shots and the new ISP further enhances it (namely in dealing with noise). All in all, you get more preserved details in both the shadows and highlights, better colour balance, nicer dynamic range and the hardware front here really delivers in all aspects of the shooting conditions. I compared it with an iPhone 11 and a Note 10+ at my local Samsung and Apple stores respectively and the M30P's wide angle is just miles ahead better and I can't see other brands having a superior wide angle lens anytime soon.
+ Sometimes, in ideal lighting and certain scenarios, I will get even BETTER daytime shots on the wide angle than the main sensor as it's not RYYB and the fact that it's got an even bigger sensor size than that actually gives it some advantages to the main lens and compared to generally most other wide angle lens from other phones.
+ Video recording seem better stabilized, with less choppiness when panning around the scene and it can finally record 4k in 60FPS too due to the newer ISP. Wide angle video capture is miles better than the P30P's one due to the significantly superior hardware, especially in low light.
+ I love its quad rear camera design and its shiny ring more than similar rivals' implementations by the iPhone 11, Pixel 4 and even the M20P - just feel like saying it as I've grown to like it now!
+ ToF sensor feels slightly better than the one found in the P30P - my portrait mode shots and bokeh effects tend to be more precise with less clipping and better edge detection around subjects
+ 7680FPS video recording isn't just a stunt as it does work and is fun to use when you want to show off something cool and playful with it. No other smartphone in the industry comes close.
+ Night Mode shots with both the primary and wide angle lens has been improved further against the P30P which was already the king of low light - it captures the smaller details better (mainly only noticed when you zoom or crop in), has less noise and better colour balance in almost every shot I took in low light.
- Occasionally renders warm, red tinges to my photos when shooting with the primary main sensor, but rarely ever happens in all circumstances when using the wide angle sensor (most likely because it's not RYYB). Hopefully resolved with future software updates.
- No periscope 5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom capability. You now get 3x optical and 3x digital instead which isn't entirely a dealbreaker as most people won't be using this all the time but I feel it needs to be said anyway.
- I've seen some minor lens flare that I did not ever seem to get on the P30P, or on any other phone I've owned to date.
- Front selfie camera has improved a bit from the P30P but it still applies a lot of digital make-up to my face and smooths out my skin a bit too much for my liking, and that's even with the beauty level set to the lowest in the UI. It's once again still not on the same league as the iPhone 11 or Note 10's front cameras.
- No super macro-mode for close up shots of up to 2.5cm from the subject which used to be found on the P30P - I understand this is due to the new sensors that no longer allow it
- Still lacks an automatic HDR toggle - you need to enable it manually each time under "More" in the camera settings
Battery life and Charging
+ Lasts really long due to the combination of the Kirin 990 on the newest 7nm+ EUV node, a massive 4500mAh battery which Huawei claim also uses "AI" to understand your usage patterns and potentially even being based on Android 10's behind-the-scenes battery optimizations/algorithms (I got more SOT than my P30P)
+ For me, the lack of GMS/Google Play Services definitely improved my battery life too
+ 40w supercharge which tops up the battery incredibly quick without overheating my phone (about 0-70% in 30mins just like before). I've also got a 40w Huawei SuperCharge power bank which is compatible with the M30P.
+ 27w wireless charging - I don't have a wireless charger to test but this makes it vastly superior to most wired charging speeds from other brands.
- "3x faster reverse wireless charging" is still largely a gimmick as it's not that much of an improvement from the previous gen (from 2.5W to 7.5w now) in every day practical use but I can see how it can be useful in emergency situations where even a few % can be useful for a friend if he/she doesn't have a portable charger
Performance and Software
+ Android 10 + UFS 3.0 (being used for the first time by Huawei) + 8GB of RAM = an extremely fluid, snappy and responsive system all-round with no lag!
+ I can still use most of my essential daily apps without Google Play Services by sideloading them, including Brave (which I prefer over Chrome anyway), Google Maps, Google Keyboard, Gmail (via the native Huawei mail handler), Instagram and WhatsApp
+ GPS accuracy in apps such as Google Maps, Cellular strength and mobile data speeds equally as fast and reliable as my P30P or if not slightly better from what I've noticed
+ Kirin 990 chipset performs well despite not using ARM's newest Cortex A77 cores, and shines in the battery life department and in games due to the optimizations to both the CPU +GPU
+ First in line to get the latest software updates if you purchase the Chinese LIO-AL00 model - I've already had 4 in less than a week and most were at least 1GB in size so they weren't all minor patches
- No Google Play Services out of the box, so you'll need to somehow restore your phone using HiSuite with a known working backup that has it or find alternative apps that don't rely on it
- My CN LIO-AL00 had a lot of bloatware that I couldn't easily uninstall and disable under the Settings, so I had to remove a lot of them via adb on my Desktop which took up a lot of time
- I still would've preferred the Kirin 990 to feature the newest A77 cores, as the upcoming Snapdragon 865 is guaranteed to have them (nonetheless the optimized A76s for power efficiency easily match and beat the 855+ in most areas
Audio quality
+ Phone call and speaker sound quality (especially at mid to higher volumes) feels a fair bit louder, fuller, clearer, richer and better balanced than the P30P
+ Audio capture when recording videos seems to be improved by a minor amount over the P30P
- Still has a single downwards firing speaker. Where's the dual stereo nowadays?
Other final thoughts:
+ Under display fingerprint sensor is incredibly fast and responsive - definitely ahead of the one in the P30P
+ Excellent build quality which is to be expected from another Huawei flagship - the whole device feels very premium and screams quality in the hands
+ Battery life is even better than the P30P which was already the Android battery champ!
+ Great price if you can somehow import it over from China - I paid 5800¥ for the 128GB model to a friend who brought it to me (approximately $820/€736/£634)
I hope people will find my well-balanced comparison helpful between the M30P and my P30P!
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ssregitoss said:
thanks you for your writing. i remember huawei advirtised is 2.5 cm close shoting super macro. which is very dissappointing for me. i like macro shots. And some reviewers in my country told that night photos are very bright and it makes the sceen very unrealist. Hope they fix this.
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MACRO mode works wonderful but it is only available for the M30
The M30 Pro lacks this feature due to different camera setup - I had both models so I can testify this from my own experience,
Pretty much best hardware best camera one of the best battery life out now, bar none
alon3232 said:
MACRO mode works wonderful but it is only available for the M30
The M30 Pro lacks this feature due to different camera setup - I had both models so I can testify this from my own experience,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gosh... Personally I would expect m30pro to support super macro. I was expecting a software update will fix this.
Sent from my LIO-L29 using Tapatalk
I bought my Mate 30 Pro on February 1th 2020, when it was launched in Romania. Since I preordered it, I received the phone bundled with the Freebuds 3, which are surprisingly good and I'm a music producer, hence I care about the sound I have, even though I'm only listening music on it occasionally. I have also received a $210 coupon discount which turned this 256 Gb version of the phone into a total no brainer. No macro shots hurts, true, but besides that, after a month of usage I can still say I'm very happy with it!
A worthy successor to the Mate 20 Pro
I like it. But what about love...I don't know. I am not quite sure about my feelings yet))
hello
have a nice day
alon3232 said:
MACRO mode works wonderful but it is only available for the M30
The M30 Pro lacks this feature due to different camera setup - I had both models so I can testify this from my own experience,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know its being a year already lol....but how much camera quality differs between the vanilla & pro version?
I was selected as an OPPO Product Ambassador and received the OPPO Find X5 Pro Ceramic White!
Summary
The OPPO Find X5 Pro is a smartphone with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Android 12.
The back is ceramic, giving it a smooth and beautiful appearance.
It is equipped with OPPO's first proprietary imaging NPU "MariSilicon X", which is said to have improved night photography performance.
This review is done with version CPH2305_11_A.16, 12GB+256GB.
Pros:
AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate support
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 + LPDDR5 + UFS 3.1
Fast night shot
5000mAh battery with 80W support
50W wireless charging support
eSIM support
IP68 waterproof and dustproof
Cons:
Slightly heavy
Back tends to get hot when gaming
Not so good cost performance
Can't change camera while shooting video
OPPO Find X5 Pro CPH2305OSAndroid 12RAM12GB LPDDR5Storage256GB UFS 3.1SoCQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1Display6.7" QHD+ 120Hz AMOLEDSize163.7 x 73.9 x 8.5mmWeight218gSIMnano SIM + nano SIM (or nano SIM + eSIM)Rear Camera50MP (SONY IMX766)
+ 50MP (Ultra-wide SONY IMX766)
+ 13MP (Telephoto Samsung s5k3m5)Front Camera32MP (Samsung s5kjd1sp)Battery5000mAhUSB PortUSB Type-C (USB 3.1 Gen 1)Mobile2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: UMTS(WCDMA) bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
4G: TD-LTE bands 34/38/39/40/41/42
4G: LTE FDD bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/32/66(70MHz)
5G SA: n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n13/n18/n20/n25/n26/n28/n38/n40/n41/n66(70MHz)/n77/n78/n79
5G NSA: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28/n38/n40/n41/n66(70MHz)/n77/n78/n79
I entered "MariO" for the nickname of MariSilicon X, and it became official!
The one I received is the global version (for Malaysia).
Unfortunately, included charger has USB Type-A port only and support the proprietary SuperVOOC.
Variable PPS is becoming more widespread, and I think it is time to make it compatible with USB Type-C / USB PD like OnePlus did it on OnePlus 8T....
Instructions and warranty card are also included.
A translucent protective case is also included, and the screen side has four protruding corners to prevent the screen from hitting the ground when turned over.
Smooth and brilliant AMOLED display
The OPPO Find X5 Pro features a 6.7-inch QHD+ resolution AMOLED display.
It is bright enough to be used outdoors, and is vivid enough that you don't need to modify color settings.
It is an edge display and the protective film is applied from the beginning.
Battery consumption is sufficient for a full day of use even when using 120Hz refresh rate since it uses LTPO and dynamic refresh rate, and thanks to fast charging, it can be recharged quickly even if it runs low.
The panel is a diamond array made by Samsung.
The OPPO Find X5 Pro is Widevine L1 and it allows streaming in HD quality on Amazon Prime Video (beta) and others.
Beautiful back with ceramic
The back of the OPPO Find X5 Pro is made of ceramic, which is different from glass in terms of smoothness and beauty.
The OPPO Find X3 has a nice design, but the OPPO Find X5 Pro seems even more refined.
It's fingerprints resistant, so the beauty of the phone is maintained even after continued use.
Build quality is great.
The area around the camera is smoothly raised, giving it a unique design.
I put a protective film on it to take good care of it
High speed shooting even in night scenes
The OPPO Find X5 Pro is equipped with a triple camera: 50MP (SONY IMX766) + 50MP (ultra-wide SONY IMX766) + 13MP (telephoto Samsung s5k3m5).
The photos taken are saved here.
The OPPO Find X5 Pro's Night shot mode allows you to take bright pictures even in areas that are nearly pitch-black to the naked eye.
By selecting "movie" mode from "MORE" menu, you can shoot HDR movies and LOG movies with 3840 x 1644 resolution.
This mode allows you to shoot more vivid movies than the normal movie mode.
The effect of MariSilicon X is easily felt in the "time it takes to process a night scene shot," which with the OPPO Find X3 takes about 8 seconds, but with the OPPO Find X5 Pro, the process is completed in about 4 seconds.
It is easy to take a series of pictures, and it is also easy to shorten the time to fix and hold the camera.
I was able to finish shooting quickly even while moving in a dark aisle.
The OPPO Find X5 Pro's photo is brighter and has less noise in low-light environments where there is only the light of the phone's screen.
Although beautiful enough in backlit conditions, the townscape in the background was whitish.
It's a matter of which is more important, so I think that's OK.
It can zoom optically up to 2x and digitally up to 20x with the hybrid zoom.
Although it loses out to optical zoom, it is still able to capture even the smallest of details, such as the whiskers of a cat in a dark place.
When zooming, an overall view is displayed in the upper left corner, making it easy to see where you are zooming.
I tried shooting at 1x, 0.6x, and 2x respectively.
The vividness is a little better at 1x, but there is not much difference, and the image can be taken beautifully in any mode.
Unfortunately, it was cloudy, but the memories will remain vivid.
Even in a dark place, the 2x zoom can capture relatively beautiful images, and the light of the Piranha Plant is captured without any white out of the pattern.
The top is normal and the bottom is ultra-wide angle, and distortion in ultra-wide is minimal.
The XPan mode, which recreates the panoramic photos of Hasselblad's film camera days, allows users to take photos with an aspect ratio of 65:21.
Video stabilization is also quite good, and shaking is not noticeable even when shooting while walking on bumpy roads.
However, once you start shooting, you cannot change the camera lens.
For example, it is not possible to start shooting at 2x zoom and then seamlessly change to 1x.
Supports wired 80W and wireless 50W charging
The OPPO Find X5 Pro supports wired charging, including 80W SuperVOOC and USB PD 9V/2A, as well as 50W AIRVOOC wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging.
With 80W SuperVOOC charging, the battery could charge from 10% to 100% in 41 minutes, and the temperature only rose to a maximum of 34°C.
It's great since it can be recharged immediately even if you forget to charge it at night.
Wireless Charging is also fast and can be charged with the cover on.
It is quiet and can be set to silent while sleeping.
It's easy to charge quickly just by putting it down.
Video output supported USB 3.1 Gen 1 port
As befits a flagship, the OPPO Find X5 Pro features a USB Type-C port with USB 3.1 Gen 1.
Video and audio output in DisplayPort Alt Mode is also available for display mirroring.
This is useful when you want to enjoy games / videos on a large screen without a lag.
Stereo speakers
The OPPO Find X5 Pro has stereo speakers, with the upper part doubling as a speaker for calls.
Dolby Atmos is supported and cannot be turned off for the speakers.
Both bass and treble were nicely balanced and sounded beautifully, and there was no scuffling.
Smaller treble choruses, for example, were sometimes a bit hard to hear.
Compared to the Pixel 6 Pro, it seemed to emphasize vocals in particular.
The frequency response measured with the miniDSP UMIK-1 from a distance of about 30 cm, surrounded by sound-absorbing mats, is shown below.
eSIM gives you more choices of carriers
In addition to dual nano SIM, eSIM can also be used.
Unfortunately, you can only use either nano SIM + nano SIM or nano SIM + eSIM instead of triple SIM, but since eSIM is now available from various other carriers, it's good to have more options.
Long press of power button activates Google Assistant
The OPPO Find X5 Pro has a power button on the right side that can be pressed and held to activate Google Assistant.
You can also turn it off in the settings... but in that case, a long press does not bring up the power menu, and you have to press and hold on the power button and the volume button at the same time to bring up the power menu.
I would like to be able to get the power menu with a long press of the power button only, like the Pixel 6 Pro, etc.
The volume buttons are located on the left side.
Play the highest quality Genshin at an average of 54.5 FPS
The OPPO Find X5 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which seems to be tuned a bit more modestly to reduce heat generation during gaming.
In the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, the score was 9770, with a temperature increase from 21°C to 42°C (21°C increase) and 24-73 FPS.
PCMark Work 3.0, which measures performance in everyday use such as document manipulation, scored 14357.
In Geekbench 5, it scores single-core 981 and multi-core 3538.
Even the version with the package name disguised as Genshin scores single-core 982 and multi-core 3535, so I think they aren't doing so-called benchmark boosting not like Samsung and Xiaomi.
Great!
Storage has relatively high write performance.
The OPPO Find X5 Pro includes a frame rate stabilizer called AI Frame Rate Stabilizer, which is a feature that stabilizes the frame rate and
Genshin Impact
LOLM
MOBILE LEGEND
FREE FIRE
PUBG
SUBWAY SURFERS
CODM
are supported.
However, there is no such thing in the game menu, and "Pro Gamer mode" (available for all games) can only be selected in the performance settings.
It may be automatically turned on for supported games.
There is also an option to overlay FPS and CPU/GPU utilization.
When measured with WeTest PerfDog running Genshin Impact at the highest quality and 60FPS setting, the average FPS was 54.5 FPS.
While Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered devices tend to generate a lot of heat, causing the average FPS to drop, this result was higher than the 51FPS of Redmi K50G, a gaming smartphone.
The battery temperature rose to a maximum of about 39.5°C, which is not so high, but the heat was transferred to the back of the device and it felt a little hot.
Multifunctional OS
ColorOS 12.1, which OPPO Find X5 Pro comes equipped with, has a variety of useful features.
Gesture operations are quite abundant, and you can set up gestures such as double-tapping to turn on the screen, writing letters such as O and V to launch the camera, etc., and sliding up, down, left, and right to launch your favorite apps.
Since you can quickly launch your favorite apps from when the screen is off, it can be quite convenient if you customize it to your liking.
There is also a feature called Air Gestures that allows users to scroll without touching the screen.
However, it is only supported by some apps such as YouTube, and it is quite difficult to operate. It seems to be useful if you can master it...
The keyboard position can also be moved up slightly so as not to interfere with gesture operations.
It's a small thing, but it greatly improves convenience.
Memory (RAM) expansion is also available (3 to 7 GB).
It has a vibration feature called O-HAPTICS, which allows the user to fine-tune the intensity and feel of the vibrations.
The Personalization menu allows fine-tuning of AODs, themes, animations, etc.
You can change the font without root to suit your taste and mood.
There are a lot of fonts and I'm distributing a custom font Mejiro for Japanese, too.
The Android 12 base provides a privacy dashboard and camera/mic toggle, which is good for those concerned about privacy.
Apps can be cloned and locked, and even apps that only allow one account to be used can be operated with multiple accounts.
O Relax prepares you for time without using your phone by playing relaxing music.
Bootloader is not unlockable
Since this is xda, I would have to mention bootloader unlocking as well.
Unfortunately, the OPPO Find X5 Pro doesn't support unlocking bootloader for now.
To unlock bootloader of OPPO phone, we need to use "Deep Testing" apk to request approval from OPPO, but there's no such apk for Find X5 Pro yet and may not be released.
I wish they would improve it so that it can be unlocked at any time like OnePlus (also comply with the GPL)!
ConclusionPros:
AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate support
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 + LPDDR5 + UFS 3.1
Fast night shot
5000mAh battery with 80W support
50W wireless charging support
eSIM support
IP68 waterproof and dustproof
Cons:
Slightly heavy
Back tends to get hot when gaming
Not so good cost performance
Can't change camera while shooting video
OPPO Find X5 Pro is quite beautiful on the outside thanks to its ceramic body, and it has a unique design with a smoothly raised camera area.
Taking advantage of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 performance, Genshin runs smoothly at an average of 54 FPS, and night shots are quick thanks to the MariSilicon X.
However, the global version is quite expensive (at the level that you could buy a foldable OPPO Find N), so in terms of cost performance, it is hard to beat the competition.
It is good because it has a high-end feel that is commensurate with the price, but it would be easier to pick up if it were cheaper.
@AndroPlus Great Job Ryo seriously well reviewed Impressed with each and every details of this review, Specially as a photographer I enjoyed the photography in all lighting conditions. Its Dope. Wish I could have this power to mare this much detailed threads.
Very detailed review, thanks!
I wonder if you caught the limitation with the camera when filming in 4k60? It doesn't let you switch between the rear lenses.
Is this something you could ask oppo about?
mcall_r said:
Very detailed review, thanks!
I wonder if you caught the limitation with the camera when filming in 4k60? It doesn't let you switch between the rear lenses.
Is this something you could ask oppo about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I confirmed the limitation now...
I'll ask them.
What's the over-sharpening like? I mostly love the photos from my Find X3 Pro - the colors are better than the Huawei P40 I had before - but the over-sharpening is too intense. I wish it could be turned down. For example, any photos black wires in them look nasty with over-sharpened halos around the wires. Any improvement in the X5?
awojtas said:
What's the over-sharpening like? I mostly love the photos from my Find X3 Pro - the colors are better than the Huawei P40 I had before - but the over-sharpening is too intense. I wish it could be turned down. For example, any photos black wires in them look nasty with over-sharpened halos around the wires. Any improvement in the X5?
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I tried to shoot with Find X3 and X5 Pro. X5 Pro is slightly improved, but not perfect...
#SaveTheNight #OPPOAmbassadors #OPPOFindX5Series
Stories from Varied Perspectives #OPPOAmbassadors #OPPOFindX5Series
Hello Folks Myself Jozef Clifford Behr From London, UK. I Want To Share The best review of Oppo Find X5 Pro -
OPPO FIND X5 PRO With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, triple Hasselblad cameras and 80W fast charging, the Oppo Find X5 Pro.
Like its predecessor, there’s no doubt that the Find X5 Pro leaves a spectacular first impression. Two questions remain, however: does it stand a chance of becoming a mainstay of flagship design and might it be the first flagship to push Oppo firmly into the limelight?
Oppo Find X5 Pro review: What you need to know
My headline says it all really. The Find X5 Pro is a stunning handset, and there’s really nothing else quite like it when it comes to aesthetics. I’ll go into more detail as we dig deeper into this review, but the good news is that elsewhere the Find X5 Pro is just as exciting.
You might be paying quite a lot for the privilege, but there’s no doubt you’re getting top-shelf componentry for your money here. Inside, you’ll find Qualcomm’s brand-spanking-new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, which is so young that this is the first phone we’ve reviewed with one of these flagship mobile chipsets inside. This works alongside 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.
There’s a bigger 5,000mAh battery, too, which now supports lightning-quick 80W charging. A 6.7in QHD+ AMOLED display sits on the front, with a variable refresh rate of 120Hz, and there are a total of three Hasselblad cameras on the phone’s rear: a 50MP (f/1.7) main sensor, 13MP (f/2.4) 2x zoom and a 50MP (f/2.2) 110-degree ultrawide.
Oppo Find X5 Pro review: Price and competition
Like I said earlier, all this stuff doesn’t come cheap, but it’s not quite as expensive as its rivals. Arriving in the UK at the end of March, the Oppo Find X5 Pro is priced at £1,049.
Oppo Find X5 Pro review: Design and key features
Like 2021’s Find X3 Pro, this year’s model is an especially formidable flagship. Overflowing with features, the Find X5 Pro – Oppo skipped the Find X4 – also happens to be the sort of phone that draws admiring glances when you pull it out of your pocket on your daily commute.
The Oppo Find X5 Pro’s design really is one of a kind. The unibody form factor returns, albeit with subtle tweaks to the overall construction. A ceramic sheet seamlessly wraps around the rear camera housing, replacing the glass panel of the previous model. Blending in nicely with the rest of the handset, this makes for a phone that looks just as lavish as its four-figure price suggests.
Another slight change is that the angle of the bottom edge of the camera housing is now ergonomically grooved to fit your index finger when you’re holding the phone. This not only makes the phone more comfortable to hold in one hand, but it also helps to alleviate potential finger smudges on the rear camera lenses. Not to mention that it gives the Find X5 Pro an extra bit of visual panache.
The Find X5 Pro comes in a choice of two colours: Glaze Black and Ceramic White. I was sent the black model for testing, and while its mirrored finish left a good impression, it was a bit of a fingerprint magnet. As you can probably tell, I lost the battle with trying to take smudge-free pictures of the phone for this review.
As you’d expect for a phone that costs as much as this, the Oppo Find X5 Pro is IP68-rated against dust and water ingress and, unlike the equally expensive Huawei P50 Pro, it can also connect to the 5G network in the UK. A fingerprint scanner is embedded under the screen, but it also supports face unlocks. The circumference of the selfie camera lights up whenever it tries to scan your face, too, which is a nice touch.
Oppo Find X5 Pro review: Display
The phone’s screen is a 6.7in AMOLED affair, with a QHD+ resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. This display supports 10-bit colours, HDR10+ playback and has a 1,000Hz touch-sampling rate. And, like the S22 Ultra, the minimum refresh rate has also dropped to 1Hz, which should help boost battery life when performing simple actions such as reading an ebook.
As for the actual quality of the screen, everything is above board. With four colour modes to choose from, I found the Natural setting to be the most colour-accurate, with an sRGB gamut coverage of 94%, a total volume of 96% and an average Delta E of 1.31. Aside from the slightly boosted saturation in some red tones, every colour looked as good as can be.
It’s as vibrant as the best AMOLED screens around, too, with a measured peak brightness of 483cd/m2 and perfect contrast. HDR brightness was a bit on the low side, however, peaking at around 725cd/m2 – for reference, the iPhone 13 Pro Max reaches an eyeball-searing 1,176cd/m2.
Oppo Find X5 Pro review: Software
Like its predecessor, Android is at the heart of the Find X5 Pro, with Oppo’s ColorOS skin placed on top. New additions to ColorOS 12.1 include a host of productivity features, such as a new one-handed mode and floating windows – essentially the option to place apps on top of other apps.
One thing I don’t like is the amount of bloatware that comes preinstalled. The usual culprits – Facebook, Amazon Shopping, TikTok and PUBG Mobile, among others – are already installed on the phone when you boot it up for the first time, with AliExpress strangely making an appearance as well. Thankfully, these apps can all be deleted without much fuss.
In lighter news, Oppo guarantees three years of Android updates, which should bring the Find X5 Pro all the way to Android 15. You should also get four years of regular security updates.
Oppo Find X5 Pro review: Cameras
A big chunk of the phone’s launch event was reserved for the Oppo Find X5 Pro’s cameras, and for good reason. There are three cameras on the rear of the handset this year, consisting of a main 50MP (f/1.7) sensor, a 50MP (f/2.2) 110-degree ultrawide and a 13MP (f/2.4) 2x telephoto zoom.
A single 32MP (f/2.4) selfie camera sits on the front of the handset, located in a hole-punch notch in the top-left corner of the display. This uses a new “Intelligent FoV” system, which can switch between 80 and 90-degrees, depending on how many people are in the frame, and it works rather well.
Oppo’s brand-new dedicated imaging NPU, MariSilicion X, sits separately from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 on the motherboard, and this handles all of the image processing. According to Oppo, in diverting computing power away from the phone’s main Qualcomm chipset, this new NPU allows for a new feature called 4K Ultra Night Video, which can shoot in lighting conditions as low as 5 lux, with better colour distribution, higher dynamic range, increased detail and less visual noise.
The main camera also uses a five-axis optical image stabilisation system, which consists of a three-axis sensor shift and a two-axis lens shift. What this means is that video should look rock-steady, and it allows for longer exposures without blurry images. The new RGBW sensor can also gather 60% more light than the previous version, supposedly with increased detail capture.
That Hasselblad partnership is purely on a software level. The Find X5 Pro launches with three “Hasselblad Master Styles”, which are essentially different camera filters created in partnership with three different Hasselblad photographers. The new Hasselblad XPAN mode allows you to shoot in a vintage “letterbox style” aspect ratio of 65:24, and the UI is similar to Hasselblad’s full-frame camera interface.
In testing, the cameras performed rather well, despite the fact that they didn’t quite live up to Oppo’s lofty claims. Image clarity was nice and sharp, with plenty of vibrancy and well-judged exposure levels in most well-lit instances, although the main sensor did struggle a bit with some of the finer details – such as the fur on a local goat – especially when the subject was moving around quite a bit.
I was impressed with the Night mode, too. Just make sure to use the main sensor when capturing low-light images, since some of the nighttime shots looked quite soft when using the zoom and ultrawide cameras. Video capture was also very good, topping out at 4K 60fps, fully stabilised.
Oppo Find X5 Pro specificationsProcessorOcta-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (1x3GHz, 3x2.5GHz, 4x1.8GHz)RAM12GBScreen size6.7inScreen resolution3,216 x 1,440Pixel density525ppiScreen typeAMOLEDScreen refresh rate120HzFront camera32MP (f/2.4)Rear camera50MP (f/1.7), 13MP (f/2.4) 2x zoom, 50MP (f/2.2) ultrawideFlashLEDDust and water resistanceIP683.5mm headphone jackNoWireless chargingYes (50W)USB connection typeUSB-C (80W)Storage options128GBMemory card slot (supplied)NoWi-FiWi-Fi 6eBluetooth5.2NFCYesCellular data5G, 4GDual SIMYesDimensions (WDH)164 x 74 x 8.5mmWeight218gOperating systemAndroid 12 (ColorOS 12.1)Battery size5,000mAh
Bit late to the party with this review??