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Hi All
This supposed to be subjective comparison between OnePlus One and Honor 6 Plus. I will not get into too much of technical details as internet is full or such reviews already. It is written based on my usage style and you will clearly see what is important for me. I am open for debate but just in case of any fanboys from either camp would like to argue with me – let me stress it out – this MY and SUBJECTIVE opinion and you can have yours as well
It will concentrate on main aspects as:
1. Overall build quality;
2. Screen quality;
3. Speaker quality;
4. Overall subjective speed;
5. OS;
6. Battery life;
7. Camera quality;
There will be no summary saying that OPO or H6+ is better as there are different aspects each of us takes into account and I would prefer each of you get its own conclusion.
1. Overall build quality.
Honor 6 Plus
H6+ feels solid, it reminds me very much small brick my iPhone 4 was. In various reviews I read that silver band around edges was metal but I dare to doubt. In my opinion it is plastic imitating metal. But it does a good job. You don’t fear that H6+ will fall apart in your hand. Some of my previous Samsung devices had this fragile feeling (especially this flimsy battery cover bending under fingers). Here we have very solid build mobile.
Still quality is not ideal – in my case the black plastic lip between screen and silver band is not even. Not something you will notice but as I am freaking perfectionist I do (believe me) check construction quality with my nose almost touching the mobile under each angle. Some reviewers complained about large gap on the back of the phone between back glass and black plastic. On my phone this is not an issue and glass seems to be glued perfectly. As you see these are not major drawbacks and I believe that they are totally acceptable on the sub £300 mobile.
OnePlus One
Oh boy I love the feeling of this mobile – this may be a bit of fetishism but I love the black back feel it’s “like sand paper meets velvet” feeling. It has great grip and its silver frame around display adds this elegant look. I have been using OPO for around 8 months and it still looks as new. Really I can’t say a bad word about its construction quality.
Both phones are quite different in terms of design and really which one you prefer it’s down to your preferences.
2. Screen quality;
Both mobiles have the same screen resolution and as far as I understand both are IPS displays with Gorilla Glass on top. Having them side by side I noticed that my OPO has much colder colours (I know that different batches of OPO had different colour temperatures on their screens). Even setting coldest colours on H6+ they were still bit warmer than OPO screen. Personally I don’t mind either as if you don’t have reference next to screen you really will not mind this.
Viewing angles horizontally are very good and almost equal on both mobiles. Horizontal viewing angles seems to vary and on my units - H6+ had better viewing angle from top and OPO from bottom but this has been only visible at angles above around 150 degrees.
3. Speaker quality;
If you use mobile phones speakers for what they have been meant for (ring tonnes and loudspeaker) then both phones are suit for this purpose.
If you are a young sadist who loves to torture passengers on public transport with “bumbumbum” music from tiny mobile phone speakers – then both phones will also suit this purpose – I mean torture.
Let’s be honest these tiny speakers will not play quality music. They can make quite a noise but if you have any respect to your (and other passengers) ears you will use quality headphones.
Still I did check both of the speakers and I must say that in terms of volume H6+ seems to have linear scale and OPO logarithmic. This mean that both phones create similar noise at max volume but at 50% H6+ is much louder.
It terms of sound quality at 50% I much rather prefer H6+ which sound was cleared and less tin like but it ended up with larger distortion at the top of the range which sounds just like tones on both end of the scale have been cut. OPO still had this tin like sound but at the top volume it was reproducing larger spectrum than H6+.
Again personally there are no forces on Earth which can make me to listen music on mobile speaker and call this pleasure. Therefore as long as mobile phone has loud ring tonne which I can hear and I can understand the other side during conversation over the loudspeaker I say it’s OK and suits its purpose and from this perspective both phones pass.
In terms of front speaker I didn’t noticed any significant differences between them as I could hear the other person loud and clear even in noisy environment.
OPO has 3 microphones while H6+ has 2 - still people claimed that they could hear me slightly louder on H6+ than on OPO – this could be due to different noise cancellation algorithm or just due to their subjective judgment.
4. Overall subjective speed (no benchmarks here);
Both phones are working great and I didn’t suffer any shutters of freezes during normal use. Still some games i.e. GTA III plays better on OPO, Riptide GP2 crashes on H6+ when I try to turn shadows on, but other demanding games like Reckless Racing 3, Modern Combat 5 or Deus Ex are working like a charm on max settings therefore it is hard to judge if H6+ really lacks a bit of steam under the hood or it’s just an issue with games optimisation for Kirin processor.
I know that most of you will refer me back to benchmarks and charts stating that this is obvious as SD 801 is better (just a bit but still) than Kirin 925 but honestly how many apps in the play store uses your processors, graphics and memory in 100%? C’mon let’s stop this MPix, MB, MHz race and let’s check real life performance.
I have been using Tegra 4 and Tegra K1 devices and beside these few great exclusive titles like Half-life 2, Portal or recently released Doom 3 (which probable would work on other SoC’s as well) for the most of the time it was a steam in the whistle – there are no apps able to use this power.
5. OS;
Both mobiles runs custom ROMs – Cyanogen in case of OPO and EMUI in case of H6+ I will not concentrate on general descriptions on both of these releases as there are plenty discussion and debates about both of them. I would rather say a few words how they feel in day to day usage.
OnePlus One
As you would expect it is highly customisable and I did enjoy this. It is full of small add-ons and features that you find handy. Still it manages to keep this vanilla feeling of Android OS.
For me it was like using a Linux distro on PC you can do everything you want but you have to know what you want and where to look for the feature in the menu.
It provides best vanilla experience of Android I experienced and all its add-ons we actually useful – for me most frequently used options was equalizer which managed to convince me that I actually hear bass on my in-ear headphones
Honor 6 Plus
This is as much iOS on android as you can get. In a good way. I love power management, memory management system management it’s almost like heaven if you like me like to keep your system as clean as possible – this is first time I didn’t have to install my standard set of third party management apps as all of the settings are built in the ROM.
Lack of app drawer wasn’t any issue for me as I usually ended up with all the shortcuts in the folders on desktops either way. Possibly if you have just few icons on the desktop you may find this change annoying but its 100% subjective.
In terms of user friendliness I must say I do enjoy all those little tips the system is giving you like – “oy! this app is working in the background and is eating battery are you ok with this or you want to close it”? This is very useful if you experienced before “google services” battery issue before. Personally I found myself spending less time looking for functions and access to them seems to be quicker.
H6+ has micro SD slot (up to 128GB) and despite KK limitations it somehow manages to squeeze apps onto micro SD card. Currently my system shows more than 20GB free space (out of 25GB total available for the user out of the box) in the main memory having 14GB apps installed!
I was using 64GB version of OPO so I didn’t experience memory problem there either
Micro SD also doubles as second sim slot (nano SIM) and from what I understand from menu description is 2G only. You can fully control default actions like from which card phone calls or messages will be initiated by default as well as set independent ringtones for calls and messages – useful feature for some but I didn’t have the need to use it nor spare nano SIM with credit on it to test – therefore I will not be able to comment on this feature.
OPO comes as vanilla as it can really be without any rubbish on it. H6+ has some fermium apps on it BUT most of them are shortcuts not really installed on brand new phone (0B size) and the rest is not embedded into ROM and can be fully uninstalled not hidden!! I would love this solution on my Samsung tablet which not only has mere 16GB of storage but is packed with tonnes of crapware.
6. Battery life;
I am a heavy user – my typical scenario: wake up, unplug mobile, check weather forecast, browse news over my morning coffee while streaming music over LTE, commuting =more web browsing and music streaming over LTE to my BT headset, a lot more of this during work and commuting back, evening more browsing over WiFi. I would estimate that I browse internet 2h – 3h a day over LTE + 2h music streaming over LTE with BT on and another 3h-4h with BT off;
Monthly mobile data usage is between 10GB-16GB.
Using OPO I had to limit myself as battery was around 15% at 5-6PM with H6+ I still have around 40% at the same time. Recent H6+ record 8.00am to 1.00pm next day. Normal users will get more than one day from both phones.
7. Camera quality;
I will not get into technicalities here – as far as I know both OPO and H6+ uses Sony sensors – OPO 13Mpix and H6+ 2x8Mpix.
First if you are looking for high quality camcorder OPO is the phone you should look at. It doesn’t mean that video from H6+ is bad but OPO not only has Full HD video recording but it goes further up to 4k. Still since I have no device to play back 4k videos or memory to store them (and they are huge) it is not a very appealing feature. OPO also can record slow motion video at 120fps on 720p! This is the features I miss mostly on H6+.
Again I am really crappy cameraman and my videos looks like first person view from drunken fly flight so I don’t bother that much about those H6+ limitations (ok I will miss slow motion video a lot ).
Now, the feature most important to me – camera photo quality.
Comparing both cameras on auto mode I have noticed that H6+ has wider tonal range, photos are not overexposed. Shooting photo of the bright sky and the ground contrast differences are much more settle between them on H6+. OPO usually (like most cameras) chooses one or another (sky or ground) to set exposure on. End result is nice sky and black ground or nice grass and white sky.
Now looking at the photos with correct exposure and comparing them site by site 1:1 it seems that grain and noise is visible at similar levels – colours on the other hand are better handled by H6+ as they look more natural and bit more saturated. Photos from OPO are bit colder and have tiny blue hue. Nothing major and most photos look very good on OPO - unless you are shooting landscapes in full Sun. Of course this can be mitigated by using HDR on OPO but still H6+ does the job without using such improvements.
Now where H6+ shines is low light performance – as both OPO and H6+ lacks OIS it may be tricky to get perfectly steady shoot. Using auto mode I took photos with both cameras in the dark room without flash with only bit of light seeping through partially open doors. On photo from OPO you are able to recognise shapes but that’s it – colours are lost and noise level is extremely high. H6+ photo is much better shapes are much sharper, noise is definitely lower and there are even some colours on the photo.
OK this was quite an extreme shot and probably compact camera wouldn’t produce much better (if at all) results.
Therefore I moved to something more subtle – lets simulate “party shoot” – rather dim light indoor in the evening – photos taken free hand without flash – oh boy this where you can see true benefit of dual camera setup – let’s be honest there still is bit of noise on H6+ photos and this is not an DSLR quality but for sure this is the best quality I saw on mobiles I owned (and it was quite a number). Comparing quality between OPO and H6+ you can see much more details on the latter, photo has significant less noise and photos are much sharper.
There is super-night setup on H6+ but really you will need tripod to use it as it set’s lower ISO and increase exposure time.
Good news is that on both mobiles you can gain full access to manual settings via my favourite app Camera FV-5. On H6+ you can change ISO setting and WB within standard camera app but since these functions are hidden on the bottom of settings menu I prefer to use Camera FV-5 as it not only brings these functions on the main screen but additionally allows to manually control exposure time and EV compensation.
It’s worth noted that OPO has ability to save files in RAW format which is missing in H6+
Wide aperture mode – it’s nice function/gadget, something you saw on HTC M8 and also mimiced by few apps on app store (i.e. google camera) – my advice – don’t buy H6+ solely for this feature.
It does work but it has serious limitations and end result is not always perfect. I haven’t tested M8 to confirm but from what I heard this function is working much better on H6+ than on M8 (M8 had to be disaster then ). To get decent results on H6+ make sure that your object is at least 2m from camera and background is fair distance away from main subject of the photo – this way you have the best chances that algorithm will “understand” photo depth correctly. Otherwise you may end up with some errors on the blur edges. Also don’t take photos of the objects with holes in them as blur will be applied outside the objects but not on “see through” parts.
As you see there are some serious limitations and don’t let anybody to tell you that you can leave your DSLR at home – still saying this I have quite a fun with this function. As long as you are aware of these limitations and have in mind “do’s” and “Do not’s” you will have as much fun as I do.
8. Summary
I hope you found this useful and if you considering any of these mobiles hopefully this will help.
Both have its strengths and weaknesses and as always there are no perfect devices the key is to find one perfect for you
Personally I like both mobiles very much – I chose to use H6+ as a main phone because of camera quality, speed and low light performance. From this perspective it serves me very well in deed.
Of course if you have different priorities you may chose differently.
I have planned to do some further comparison between OPO and H6+ cameras in full manual mode but as it will take quite a bit of my time I will do it only if there will be such interest.
Mean time if you have any specific questions please ask I will do my best to answer them.
Can anyone name an #AndroidWear Smartwatch that you can swim with and has a continuous heartrate monitor?
(Not the ugly Polar M600 which isn't continuous unlike other watches.)
Thanks!!
A smartwatch that you can swim with... Good luck finding one. I was waiting 3 years until something like M600 appeared. As it the closest to a training watch + smartwatch.. Because until then I had to use 2 watches (was using polar ft80 for training + gear live for everyday use).
At the moment I'm using M600 and yes it's bulk watch but this is a watch to train with not to fashion with it.. I still wear it everyday with suit and I personally dont care of it looks good or bad. I have classic watches if I want to wear fancy.
I'm not quite getting the heart rate continuous you mean... M600 on training mode has obviously continuos hear rate measurement. You dont have any watch in the market that makes continuous heart rate measurement during all day long.. That Would be unbearable battery wise. You have app however that provide periodic heart rate measurement for all day in 1h to 6h intervals hear rate measurement and they work well. Inalso use this apps.
I already send my feedback to polar dev team for that periodic heart rate measurement and they looked like they heard my feedback for future dev.
Also m600 pairs too with the sleep for Android accelerometer and barely spends battery (10% overnight)
Honestly I'm happy with m600. I use screen off and no tilt, and on average watch need a recharge each 3 days (with 4 training session week and wearing it 24h)
Maybe the Nixon watch?
prking07 said:
Maybe the Nixon watch?
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Click to collapse
This doesn't have a heart sensor. However the new LG Watch Sport will satisfy the requirements thankfully.
Thanks!!
CJSnet said:
This doesn't have a heart sensor. However the new LG Watch Sport will satisfy the requirements thankfully.
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it would work but the Sport is IP68 rated. Not necessarily meant for swimming. The manual for the Sport says "do not swim while wearing this product". http://www.androidauthority.com/lg-watch-sport-style-user-manuals-747718/
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 Sony Xperia 5 II, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Sony Xperia 5 II is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I don't love inanimate objects and I don't sleep with my phone next to me. I turn it off when I go to bed. But, by listing what I don't like you can see how much I like.
The Xperia 5 ii is far too slippery and difficult to hold without a case. I haven't found a case that protects the phone but still allows the shutter button to operate smoothly. The fingerprint reader works fine for me but I would prefer one mounted on the back of the phone like the old Pixels.
One surprise I really like is the option to charge up to 80% and then automatically shut off.
What I really miss is more instructions on using the pro app.
Rather than love, I would consider the fun factor. I'm having a lot of fun taking photos with the Sony Xperia 5 ii. Of course, reading the news is depressing but I go take photos and feel better.
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x5ii quick story
having had last flagship for already 4 long months, evaluated available flagships in a big theoretical matrix, and this phone won along with 8Pro which i already have. X1ii is a flop thanks to shocking 60hz screen and rated way worse. Hoping to get the light phone, without notch and with all the classic features i bought it. Returned after 1 day:
21:9 makes display small, eyes suffered straight away, also the brightness isn't great..i can reduce font and display size to minimum on 1+ and still see better than X5ii with increased font
size 6.1" is on par with Galaxy S7/8/9 cubic meter wise, e.g. S10 would have much bigger display
ultra slippery hard to pick hard to hold body.. absolutely unusable without fat ugly case.. maybe maybe X1ii flat frame is better?
unwanted keypresses thanks to buttons spread everywhere and unwanted unlocks thanks to fingerprint acting after touch
almost impossible to swipe from the edge was the major showstopper, also triggering SideSense was super difficult...i've spent hours testing this to no avail and it was the return reason
very bland OS feels vanilla on one side, but also feels cheap and sad..Win app exists but can't backup no more.. so no extras.. no Dex, phone to PC sync or something
very weird selfie pics
no wireless charging was very difficult to abandon
what was cool:
no gray backbleeding like on every Samsung/Oneplus OLED, say what!
cam trigger...special button will not only launch camera but also start shooting.. it also acts like focus because it intercepts half press
Sony variant of Samsung SmartStay is fantastic. keeps phone unlocked while you look at it and this time it works because using sensors.. Never heard of it but it's super cool
SideSense is a good improvement as it brings multiwindow back..but the requirement is to activate is easily and that doesn't happen because of display edges on a flat phone
fingerprint unlock was perfect if it was easier to locate.. maybe black version doesn't help it, or you need a case with contrasting color
massive code support unlike Samsung, counted 4* AptX for example
tiniest status bar ever saw, notchless.. gives extra space
what a lesson.. despite hoping to prove otherwise i learned punchhole isn't that bad, fingerprint under display isn't worse, big display is beneficial despite weight (crying), and curved display is also great. and Oneplus has the best flagship even one year later, easily dwarfing all those Ultras.
doggydog2 said:
x5ii quick story
having had last flagship for already 4 long months, evaluated available flagships in a big theoretical matrix, and this phone won along with 8Pro which i already have. X1ii is a flop thanks to shocking 60hz screen and rated way worse. Hoping to get the light phone, without notch and with all the classic features i bought it. Returned after 1 day:
21:9 makes display small, eyes suffered straight away, also the brightness isn't great..i can reduce font and display size to minimum on 1+ and still see better than X5ii with increased font
size 6.1" is on par with Galaxy S7/8/9 cubic meter wise, e.g. S10 would have much bigger display
ultra slippery hard to pick hard to hold body.. absolutely unusable without fat ugly case.. maybe maybe X1ii flat frame is better?
unwanted keypresses thanks to buttons spread everywhere and unwanted unlocks thanks to fingerprint acting after touch
almost impossible to swipe from the edge was the major showstopper, also triggering SideSense was super difficult...i've spent hours testing this to no avail and it was the return reason
very bland OS feels vanilla on one side, but also feels cheap and sad..Win app exists but can't backup no more.. so no extras.. no Dex, phone to PC sync or something
very weird selfie pics
no wireless charging was very difficult to abandon
what was cool:
no gray backbleeding like on every Samsung/Oneplus OLED, say what!
cam trigger...special button will not only launch camera but also start shooting.. it also acts like focus because it intercepts half press
Sony variant of Samsung SmartStay is fantastic. keeps phone unlocked while you look at it and this time it works because using sensors.. Never heard of it but it's super cool
SideSense is a good improvement as it brings multiwindow back..but the requirement is to activate is easily and that doesn't happen because of display edges on a flat phone
fingerprint unlock was perfect if it was easier to locate.. maybe black version doesn't help it, or you need a case with contrasting color
massive code support unlike Samsung, counted 4* AptX for example
tiniest status bar ever saw, notchless.. gives extra space
what a lesson.. despite hoping to prove otherwise i learned punchhole isn't that bad, fingerprint under display isn't worse, big display is beneficial despite weight (crying), and curved display is also great. and Oneplus has the best flagship even one year later, easily dwarfing all those Ultras.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had similar, rather unfortunate experience with Xperia 5 II. My biggest hope was impressive camera system performance which appeared to be impossible to satisfy with. I gave good 4 weeks run to this phone but unfortunately it didn't deliver what I wanted.
I mean Photo Pro camera app is really cool and hardware specs are more than sufficient to have outstanding photos but in reality the camera experience is rather hit or miss especially in not ideal light conditions. In other words, I didn't see highest quality photos whatever hard I tried. Tinkering with Lightroom (manual photo editing) is rather waste of time when it comes to smartphones camera. Absence of AI is a big omission regardless of opinion of Sony fanboys.
Other things I disliked in this phone where mentioned already are as follows:
- I expected much better battery life from it compared to my Pixel 4. In reality it's just not that great at all,
- accidental buttons triggering in the pocket (I was pissed off with it to be honest),
- missing Wireless charging and 3D Face unlock,
- not good enough selfie camera and still subbar camera performance overall (old Pixel 4 with outdated hardware does better job),
- low screen brightness at sunny day outdoor conditions.
So sorry Sony but please try harder next time when you're about to release $1000 or so phone.
WarVic said:
I had similar, rather unfortunate experience with Xperia 5 II. My biggest hope was impressive camera system performance which appeared to be impossible to satisfy with. I gave good 4 weeks run to this phone but unfortunately it didn't deliver what I wanted.
I mean Photo Pro camera app is really cool and hardware specs are more than sufficient to have outstanding photos but in reality the camera experience is rather hit or miss especially in not ideal light conditions. In other words, I didn't see highest quality photos whatever hard I tried. Tinkering with Lightroom (manual photo editing) is rather waste of time when it comes to smartphones camera. Absence of AI is a big omission regardless of opinion of Sony fanboys.
Other things I disliked in this phone where mentioned already are as follows:
- I expected much better battery life from it compared to my Pixel 4. In reality it's just not that great at all,
- accidental buttons triggering in the pocket (I was pissed off with it to be honest),
- missing Wireless charging and 3D Face unlock,
- not good enough selfie camera and still subbar camera performance overall (old Pixel 4 with outdated hardware does better job),
- low screen brightness at sunny day outdoor conditions.
So sorry Sony but please try harder next time when you're about to release $1000 or so phone.
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Click to collapse
I am irritated when someone knows their comments are flawed so the insult anyone who comments in advance. The Sony Xperia 5 II is the first Sony phone--or camera--I've ever bought. I had the Huawei P40 pro which is sitting on a shelf.
I recognize that the Huawei is a "computational photography" force and the Xperia is, by choice, not. I also recognize that many, perhaps most people, need and enjoy an automatic camera. Life is better for them when the device has AI and computational photography and their skills and abilities are limited. So, I value both as devices meeting a need.
Now, specifics.
---Battery life. I set my phone with the charging option of stopping charging at 80%. I usually end the day with at least 50% left. I'm very happy with the speed of recharging.
---Accidental triggering in pocket. I really can't comment since I don't carry the phone loose in my pocket. I have my phone in a holster on my belt. This is mostly because I have my wallet, money clip, coins, pocket knife and the dark a small flashlight in my pockets.
---Missing wireless. I'm not someone who misses it.
---Face unlock. I would like face unlock if it worked well but I detest fingerprint readers under the screen. I got used to the side-mounted print reader and don't find it a problem.
---Selfies. I don't do "selfies" enough to matter. I'm older than most trees and never was a narcissist.
----Screen Brightness. I agree. I strong overhead sunlight it's horrible.
I thoroughly enjoy their Pro Photo App but I understand why many prefer computational photography. With self-driving cars and self-cleaning underwear, it's a trend.
141ptkelly said:
I am irritated when someone knows their comments are flawed so the insult anyone who comments in advance. The Sony Xperia 5 II is the first Sony phone--or camera--I've ever bought. I had the Huawei P40 pro which is sitting on a shelf.
I recognize that the Huawei is a "computational photography" force and the Xperia is, by choice, not. I also recognize that many, perhaps most people, need and enjoy an automatic camera. Life is better for them when the device has AI and computational photography and their skills and abilities are limited. So, I value both as devices meeting a need.
Now, specifics.
---Battery life. I set my phone with the charging option of stopping charging at 80%. I usually end the day with at least 50% left. I'm very happy with the speed of recharging.
---Accidental triggering in pocket. I really can't comment since I don't carry the phone loose in my pocket. I have my phone in a holster on my belt. This is mostly because I have my wallet, money clip, coins, pocket knife and the dark a small flashlight in my pockets.
---Missing wireless. I'm not someone who misses it.
---Face unlock. I would like face unlock if it worked well but I detest fingerprint readers under the screen. I got used to the side-mounted print reader and don't find it a problem.
---Selfies. I don't do "selfies" enough to matter. I'm older than most trees and never was a narcissist.
----Screen Brightness. I agree. I strong overhead sunlight it's horrible.
I thoroughly enjoy their Pro Photo App but I understand why many prefer computational photography. With self-driving cars and self-cleaning underwear, it's a trend.View attachment 5254351
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I'm irritated with someone who does not understand what computational photography is about. Some people (aka super Pro guys) are thinking that it's just for lazy, ordinary people with lack of photography skills. Surprise! It's not about it at all. No one camera it the world can reproduce exactly what human eye can see (I'm not talking about "Night Vision" photography). This problem as well as limitations of mobile cameras (mainly tiny size of lenses) is addressed by AI and computational photography. Trust me, we see the world in advanced HDR and depth of field of human eye is much better than on any camera.
So summarize what I said above, Xperia 1 II / 5 II photos are weak and not true-to-life at all. I can't remember any flagship smartphone delivering so many unusable photos - misfocused, blurred parts of the image further from the centre, horriblee distortion, chromatic abberation, blown out highlights, ridiculous amount of lens flares (T* marking on the lens glass is a bad joke!) etc. Having great selfie camera is not about narcissism, you know. It's just something that near $1000 modern smartphone must have!
All other Xperia 5 II flaws I mentioned before are valid and quite critical for such expensive device. I won't say a word of complain if Xperia 5 II price was about $350. Perhaps, even this price tag is too high and generous for it. Just because I came back to Pixel 4 which costed me $250. And I'm not a fan of Google phones at all. It just never let me down.
141ptkelly said:
I don't love inanimate objects and I don't sleep with my phone next to me. I turn it off when I go to bed. But, by listing what I don't like you can see how much I like.
The Xperia 5 ii is far too slippery and difficult to hold without a case. I haven't found a case that protects the phone but still allows the shutter button to operate smoothly. The fingerprint reader works fine for me but I would prefer one mounted on the back of the phone like the old Pixels.
One surprise I really like is the option to charge up to 80% and then automatically shut off.
What I really miss is more instructions on using the pro app.
Rather than love, I would consider the fun factor. I'm having a lot of fun taking photos with the Sony Xperia 5 ii. Of course, reading the news is depressing but I go take photos and feel better.
View attachment 5218585
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Sorry buddy, but the photo example you've uploaded is quite bad. I understand you're having fun with Xperia 5 II Camera app as I did though. Perhaps your photo perfectly represents my experience with Xperia 5 II .
I'm also coming from P30 pro and I'm a little bit disappointed with the camera quality of Xperia 5 ii....The only thing that I like about this phone it's the 120hz and its speed, otherwise, it's not a device that it's worth the 1000$ price tag...Lucky me that I got it for 400$ second hand and I didn't spend a fortune on it.. I regret that I sold my P30 pro for this joke of a phone
robi101012981 said:
I'm also coming from P30 pro and I'm a little bit disappointed with the camera quality of Xperia 5 ii....The only thing that I like about this phone it's the 120hz and its speed, otherwise, it's not a device that it's worth the 1000$ price tag...Lucky me that I got it for 400$ second hand and I didn't spend a fortune on it.. I regret that I sold my P30 pro for this joke of a phone
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I disagree with "this joke of a phone" comment!
There is definitely learning curve for using Pro Camera app but I noticed Normal Camera app improved after A11 update:
Attached are few point and shoot photos near Palouse falls, WA, US from Normal Camera App.
doggydog2 said:
what was cool:
no gray backbleeding like on every Samsung/Oneplus OLED, say what!
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Click to collapse
Please explain. There is no gray "blacklighting" bled on the Note 10+. It's contrast ratio is near perfect as any display out there and the borders are laser sharp... unless I'm missing something.
I really hope Sony gives Samsung some stiff competition and picks up the ball where Samsung is dropping it. Even if you're not a Sony user, good competition helps catalyze competitors to produce better products.
A win-win for the consumer.
Good for you then. Winning in backbleeding lottery feels good. I test backbleeding as it's accentuated at night which is when I use phone, and in dark mode. Xperia 5ii was very good. Note20U, S10 is fairly good. Don't know about Note10. one pluses 6 7 8 were below average. Samsung tablets are the worst, for the record. Horrid.
doggydog2 said:
Good for you then. Winning in backbleeding lottery feels good. I test backbleeding as it's accentuated at night which is when I use phone, and in dark mode. Xperia 5ii was very good. Note20U, S10 is fairly good. Don't know about Note10. one pluses 6 7 8 were below average. Samsung tablets are the worst, for the record. Horrid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OLEDs* are incapable of IPS backlighting bled because there is no backlight.
The OLED pixels need power to illuminate otherwise they are black.
Apparently this is a firmware or driver glitch.
It's possible that that if not properly back shielded the OLED pixels could reflect light from behind the pixels. Have to know more about the display's physical construction to comment on that. If it were to occur it be a design or manufacturing defect rather than a typical OLED display characteristic.
My display when tested with Screen Test with black, full brightness is completely black. In fact there are no flaws visible whatever color or intensity across the whole screen including the curved portions. It's drop dead gorgeous.
The high refresh rate OLED displays of all Android makes are having various issues usually at very low light levels but not always.
Tinting is a common problem.
I'm actually glad now to be at a measily 60hz with none of these issues.
*AMOLEDs in most cases now.
PPGX5II said:
I disagree with "this joke of a phone" comment!
There is definitely learning curve for using Pro Camera app but I noticed Normal Camera app improved after A11 update:
Attached are few point and shoot photos near Palouse falls, WA, US from Normal Camera App.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Photos are good, no doudts, but I see nothing that can't be achieved by 3 times cheaper or much older phone. Trust me, old dinky dirt cheap Pixel 2 can do the same or even better. I can give you dozens of really bad quality shots from Xperia 5 II I've got. Never had such experience with any other flagship phone, especially in bad light conditions. Finally, I've just reviewed my photos from older Xperia 5 and found that ... it was better which is unbelievable. Certainly Xperia 5 II is a waste, missing opportunity for Sony. I really hope that they will learn on own mistakes, look at what other companies do and finally come up with some great thing. Not sure that it will be Xperia 1 III / 5 III. Not enough time for Sony and a quality bar is too damn high - latest Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, iPhone, OnePlus are hard to beat indeed.
WarVic said:
Photos are good, no doudts, but I see nothing that can't be achieved by 3 times cheaper or much older phone. Trust me, old dinky dirt cheap Pixel 2 can do the same or even better. I can give you dozens of really bad quality shots from Xperia 5 II I've got. Never had such experience with any other flagship phone, especially in bad light conditions. Finally, I've just reviewed my photos from older Xperia 5 and found that ... it was better which is unbelievable. Certainly Xperia 5 II is a waste, missing opportunity for Sony. I really hope that they will learn on own mistakes, look at what other companies do and finally come up with some great thing. Not sure that it will be Xperia 1 III / 5 III. Not enough time for Sony and a quality bar is too damn high - latest Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, iPhone, OnePlus are hard to beat indeed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to switch to oppo find x2 pro, but i m not sure its a good option...
robi101012981 said:
I would like to switch to oppo find x2 pro, but i m not sure its a good option...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't switch to older devices unless you had a very good experience with them before or they're dirt cheap. Oppo Find X3 Pro came into play. That one would be interesting to play with or at least to entertain the kids with microscopic camera.
WarVic said:
Don't switch to older devices unless you had a very good experience with them before or they're dirt cheap. Oppo Find X3 Pro came into play. That one would be interesting to play with or at least to entertain the kids with microscopic camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's a little bit too expensive for what s offering...I've bought this Xperia 5 II for only 400$, so I think it was a good deal... About that device, I'll exchange it with my 5 II, so no cost will be involved, so idk what to say...
WarVic said:
Photos are good, no doudts, but I see nothing that can't be achieved by 3 times cheaper or much older phone. Trust me, old dinky dirt cheap Pixel 2 can do the same or even better. I can give you dozens of really bad quality shots from Xperia 5 II I've got. Never had such experience with any other flagship phone, especially in bad light conditions. Finally, I've just reviewed my photos from older Xperia 5 and found that ... it was better which is unbelievable. Certainly Xperia 5 II is a waste, missing opportunity for Sony. I really hope that they will learn on own mistakes, look at what other companies do and finally come up with some great thing. Not sure that it will be Xperia 1 III / 5 III. Not enough time for Sony and a quality bar is too damn high - latest Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, iPhone, OnePlus are hard to beat indeed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's interesting more Japanese companies aren't in the fray.
Conservative digital optical giant Canon maybe thinking of making a grab. Canon spends a huge percentage of their profit on research to help advance their product lines. They have offer excellent tech support as well; a good egg.
Redirect Notice
www.google.com
WarVic said:
Photos are good, no doudts, but I see nothing that can't be achieved by 3 times cheaper or much older phone. Trust me, old dinky dirt cheap Pixel 2 can do the same or even better. I can give you dozens of really bad quality shots from Xperia 5 II I've got. Never had such experience with any other flagship phone, especially in bad light conditions. Finally, I've just reviewed my photos from older Xperia 5 and found that ... it was better which is unbelievable. Certainly Xperia 5 II is a waste, missing opportunity for Sony. I really hope that they will learn on own mistakes, look at what other companies do and finally come up with some great thing. Not sure that it will be Xperia 1 III / 5 III. Not enough time for Sony and a quality bar is too damn high - latest Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, iPhone, OnePlus are hard to beat indeed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Computational Photography is where Sony lacks in Normal Camera App and $950 price tag (now at $850 and I bough for around $1050 including tax) is bit high (I would say around $800 at launch would be killer) but there are some feature which you will not find in other Flagships like Animal Eye focus and 4K 120fps video etc (Just to mention few there are other features too). Also Photo Pro gives you that extra control you need in certain situations. I was in dilemma whether to go for Xperia 5 II or Pixel 4a 5G but eventually I went for 5II and I don't regret it at all (my wife has 4a 5G) and if you look at hardware (except front facing camera, lack of 5G and extra google assistant button for some ppl) everything is just perfect.
Those brands you mentioned mostly use Sony sensor and quality which you mentioned is due to Computational Photography and not because of actual hardware. I would prefer good hardware than not so good hardware with some software magic to make it look good.
blackhawk said:
OLEDs* are incapable of IPS backlighting bled because there is no backlight.
The OLED pixels need power to illuminate otherwise they are black.
Apparently this is a firmware or driver glitch.
It's possible that that if not properly back shielded the OLED pixels could reflect light from behind the pixels. Have to know more about the display's physical construction to comment on that. If it were to occur it be a design or manufacturing defect rather than a typical OLED display characteristic.
My display when tested with Screen Test with black, full brightness is completely black. In fact there are no flaws visible whatever color or intensity across the whole screen including the curved portions. It's drop dead gorgeous.
The high refresh rate OLED displays of all Android makes are having various issues usually at very low light levels but not always.
Tinting is a common problem.
I'm actually glad now to be at a measily 60hz with none of these issues.
*AMOLEDs in most cases now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i wouldn't be happy on 60Hz - it hurts eyes as they constantly refocus during scrolling. But the backbleeding happens on 60Hz OLEDs equally. It's just different than IPS, not caused by obvious backlight, but by voltages and near impossibility to tune it well. OLED backbleeding (some can refer to it as lack of uniformity, glowing, banding) looks very similar as on IPS but it's less uniform. Looks like huge ghosts in various shapes on your screen or bands.
So I didn't mean pure black levels (unrealistic in most media content), i talk about low RGB levels / low brightness. That's where massive backbleeding comes to OLEDs. I rated some also here. Look at the pictures in this thread, hope you ate your breakfast already Since noone really keeps the screen turned on with RGB (0,0,0) for most pixels, the ultimate blacks are good only for one scenario: AOD. But make a microscopic step higher from (0,0,0) and you immediatelly lose this benefit of OLED.
We use IPS panels for work for hundreds of people, surprise. Now that the market races for top brightness, at the cost of eye health, glad that the high frequencies came at least. But still, this OLED technology should not exist in 2021. It's flickering, agressive to eyes, excessive blue, nauseating to some. My cheap 7year old IPS tablet is still pleasure to look at compared to nowadays OLED junk. Can't watch horrors on my state of the art OLED TV thanks to this. Bigger panel - more backbleeding. You can't pay enough to get rid of it. The death of *OLED is inevitable, let's celebrate a new technology soon!! We will laugh at OLED in future like we do at CRT, that's for sure.
doggydog2 said:
i wouldn't be happy on 60Hz - it hurts eyes as they constantly refocus during scrolling. But the backbleeding happens on 60Hz OLEDs equally. It's just different than IPS, not caused by obvious backlight, but by voltages and near impossibility to tune it well. OLED backbleeding (some can refer to it as lack of uniformity, glowing, banding) looks very similar as on IPS but it's less uniform. Looks like huge ghosts in various shapes on your screen or bands.
So I didn't mean pure black levels (unrealistic in most media content), i talk about low RGB levels / low brightness. That's where massive backbleeding comes to OLEDs. I rated some also here. Look at the pictures in this thread, hope you ate your breakfast already Since noone really keeps the screen turned on with RGB (0,0,0) for most pixels, the ultimate blacks are good only for one scenario: AOD. But make a microscopic step higher from (0,0,0) and you immediatelly lose this benefit of OLED.
We use IPS panels for work for hundreds of people, surprise. Now that the market races for top brightness, at the cost of eye health, glad that the high frequencies came at least. But still, this OLED technology should not exist in 2021. It's flickering, agressive to eyes, excessive blue, nauseating to some. My cheap 7year old IPS tablet is still pleasure to look at compared to nowadays OLED junk. Can't watch horrors on my state of the art OLED TV thanks to this. Bigger panel - more backbleeding. You can't pay enough to get rid of it. The death of *OLED is inevitable, let's celebrate a new technology soon!! We will laugh at OLED in future like we do at CRT, that's for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's banding or at least what I call it.
Never seen that on my 10+
May be firmware or a defect in the active matrix drivers.
Either way it's completely unacceptable!
I like high end CRTs, their silky transition smoothness is hard (impossible?) to replicate.
Here's my review after owning for 10 days. I am not an Oppo ambassador so therefore these thoughts are not biased in any way. I could have gotten a Samsung S22 Ultra for around the same monthly price (maybe it was £5 more) but the lack of charger in the box put me off. The Oppo gift incentive also swung me over.
I'm sure everyone knows about the features and specs of the phone so far so I won't bother with those.
What I like:
- The build quality and design are exceptional, without a case the phone feels great in the hand, although it's very slippery if you have cold hands and there is no clammyness from your fingers to provide grip. The ceramic feels better than glass and I haven't seen any scratches yet. It also feels very slim so one handed use is possible.
- The screen is very good, even in 1080p it's hard to see the pixels compared to other 1080p phones.
- Main camera and ultrawide very good, in the right lighting conditions they provide excellent shots with plenty of detail.
- Fast and very few stutters in the OS. I haven't encountered any bugs yet.
- Charging is insanely quick and phone doesn't really get hot when charging.
- XPAN is cool and interesting.
- Vibration motor is much better than previous phones I've used. On the strongest setting I won't be missing any calls.
- Battery life is reasonable in terms of SOT. I consistently get 6-7 hours under heavy use.
- Wireless Android Auto works flawlessly.
What I don't like:
Camera
- You cannot zoom or switch between cameras when shooting 4k60 video.
- Some shots on the main and ultrawide cameras can be over exposed, it sometimes takes a few shots in the same light to get a good one. Hopefully they can fix this in a future update.
- Some indoor daytime shots of moving subjects are always blurry.
- Selfies are often, in my experience, over exposed, and not on par with what I've seen from P40 Pro.
- Videos taken in 1080p do not send well over Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. It could be to do with the compression used in this format, but once uploaded to these sites, the videos are very choppy, colours are crushed, and the videos are in general pretty unusable. Only videos sent in 4K look ok. This was an issue with the Find X3 Pro, and I am not sure why Oppo have not addressed this yet.
- There's no getting around the fact that this phone lacks any reasonable camera zoom at all. 2X is not zoom in my opinion.
- Forget nighttime shots of moving subjects, night photo takes 2s to process (although quicker than other phones).
- I feel like the MarisiliconX thing is mostly a marketing gimmick.
Screen
- The AlwaysOnDisplay is very dim and there's no way to change it. Also the coloured icons are very hard to distinguish at a glance. If the display is dim, then greyscale icons would be easier to see.
- 120Hz doesn't seem to be active in a lot of apps, so I had to manually force it using an app from youtube video.
Software/OS
- Cannot increase grid size in ColorOS launcher any more than 5 x 6. Please give option for up to 9 x 6 like Nova? Otherwise launcher is perfect!
- There is no desktop mode when plugged into a usb-c monitor like Samsung Dex or Huawei EMUI Desktop. You can indeed enable desktop mode in developer settings but it's not the same experience.
- When using a 3rd party launcher (I always use Nova), there are some bugs when going back to home screen, e.g. the recent apps screen flashes up for a split second when it shouldn't. Because of this I forced myself to get used to ColourOS launcher.
- There is no button to turn off/on 5G in the notifications quick settings menu.
- "Hey google" only works in Android Auto & Google Maps if you have the global "Hey Google" listening setting enabled. Not sure if this is an android 12 bug or just Oppo bug.
- Oppo PC Connect is only available on PC, not Mac or Linux.
Battery/Charging
- Standby battery life could be better. It drains about 5-7% overnight when my Huawei P40 Pro only drained 2%. If I barely use the phone during the day (only check/reply to messages etc and use around 1.5h SOT), then the battery is still below 40% when I go to bed. My P40 Pro barely drained when not used heavily. Of course Huawei do much more aggressive battery/memory management and if I enabled optimisation for all apps in the Oppo's settings then maybe I could get similar but I don't want to mess with notifications.
- Wireless charging with a non-oppo wireless charger seems very slow. I have a 5W charger in my Lexus and when charging using it, the phone still loses battery when using wireless android auto.
All in all, I actually preferred using my old Huawei P40 Pro as the camera was superior in most situations as well as better standby battery but the hacked google services installed just put me off. Android auto was very temperamental, hence I can't stick with it.
Interesting review.
I agree. The Marisilicon thing is a slight gimmick. Its not as good as Google Pixel image processors. My Pixel 3 still takes better images.
Build quality is good but heavyish for me. I had an OP8 and I'm finding the camera bump a little odd even after 2 weeks.
I hate that I'm being forced to power down using power button and volume up. Had to download a 3rd party app to make this process more convenient. Also download a lockdown app which is missing from here.
Also have a weird YouTube Bluetooth issue. When I'm listening to YouTube in the car and someone calls, the YouTube still plays in the background through the speakers as well as the conversation!?
Sometimes the apps get stuck and you need to kill the app. The comments section on the YouTube app also sticks and you need to press home and return to the YouTube app. Minor bugs which I expect and hope Oppo fix through software updates.
I too was swung by the gift pack. I was originally planning to get the OP10 Pro but EE do not offer this handset and I get 30pc friends and family so this was a no brainer.
Happy with the phone. At over a thousand quid should be perfect.
OnePlus2Oppo said:
Interesting review.
I agree. The Marisilicon thing is a slight gimmick. Its not as good as Google Pixel image processors. My Pixel 3 still takes better images.
Build quality is good but heavyish for me. I had an OP8 and I'm finding the camera bump a little odd even after 2 weeks.
I hate that I'm being forced to power down using power button and volume up. Had to download a 3rd party app to make this process more convenient. Also download a lockdown app which is missing from here.
Also have a weird YouTube Bluetooth issue. When I'm listening to YouTube in the car and someone calls, the YouTube still plays in the background through the speakers as well as the conversation!?
Sometimes the apps get stuck and you need to kill the app. The comments section on the YouTube app also sticks and you need to press home and return to the YouTube app. Minor bugs which I expect and hope Oppo fix through software updates.
I too was swung by the gift pack. I was originally planning to get the OP10 Pro but EE do not offer this handset and I get 30pc friends and family so this was a no brainer.
Happy with the phone. At over a thousand quid should be perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like your thinking, I am also on EE with the 30pc f&f discount :'D I went for the smart plan so I can hand the phone back with no upgrade charge after 12 months if something better comes along.
I used to work for them years ago and had the discount ever since. It makes the RRP of the phone over 24 months much less (if I factor-in the price i'd pay for sim only anyway).
For your youtube issue, have you tried giving the youtube app permission to Phone? I've had some other apps ask me to set Phone permissions (such as Tidal) in order to pause during a call. I guess YouTube might need that permission so that it can see that the Phone is in use?
It is a little heavy compared to other phones i've used. I have been checking Youtube nearly every day to see if anyone has done a drop test lol.
For me the power button thing isn't a big issue as I rarely power it off.
I agree though, at the price, the phone should be perfect. This is what is kind of putting me off compared to the Huawei I paid only £300 for in Grade A condition from CeX.
Thanks. I've just set the permission on YouTube as per your suggestion. I've never had to do that ever before so just another tedious quirk!
Won't say it too loudly but surprised the F&F is applied to the handset and not just the line rental but I'm not complaining.
Keep me posted to any other bugs/fixes. I'll do likewise
OnePlus2Oppo said:
Thanks. I've just set the permission on YouTube as per your suggestion. I've never had to do that ever before so just another tedious quirk!
Won't say it too loudly but surprised the F&F is applied to the handset and not just the line rental but I'm not complaining.
Keep me posted to any other bugs/fixes. I'll do likewise
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is the line rental, I mean if you add up 24 months of line rental and subtract the price of a sim only (that you'd need to pay anyway, usually around £15pm) then that's your effective handset price.
mcall_r said:
It is the line rental, I mean if you add up 24 months of line rental and subtract the price of a sim only (that you'd need to pay anyway, usually around £15pm) then that's your effective handset price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...so the YouTube permission didn't work. I can't figure out what's going on!?!
mcall_r said:
What I like:
- The build quality and design are exceptional, without a case the phone feels great in the hand, although it's very slippery if you have cold hands and there is no clammyness from your fingers to provide grip. The ceramic feels better than glass and I haven't seen any scratches yet. It also feels very slim so one handed use is possible.
- The screen is very good, even in 1080p it's hard to see the pixels compared to other 1080p phones.
- Main camera and ultrawide very good, in the right lighting conditions they provide excellent shots with plenty of detail.
- Fast and very few stutters in the OS. I haven't encountered any bugs yet.
- Charging is insanely quick and phone doesn't really get hot when charging.
- XPAN is cool and interesting.
- Vibration motor is much better than previous phones I've used. On the strongest setting I won't be missing any calls.
- Battery life is reasonable in terms of SOT. I consistently get 6-7 hours under heavy use.
- Wireless Android Auto works flawlessly.
What I don't like:
Camera
- You cannot zoom or switch between cameras when shooting 4k60 video.
- Some shots on the main and ultrawide cameras can be over exposed, it sometimes takes a few shots in the same light to get a good one. Hopefully they can fix this in a future update.
- Some indoor daytime shots of moving subjects are always blurry.
- Selfies are often, in my experience, over exposed, and not on par with what I've seen from P40 Pro.
- Videos taken in 1080p do not send well over Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. It could be to do with the compression used in this format, but once uploaded to these sites, the videos are very choppy, colours are crushed, and the videos are in general pretty unusable. Only videos sent in 4K look ok. This was an issue with the Find X3 Pro, and I am not sure why Oppo have not addressed this yet.
- There's no getting around the fact that this phone lacks any reasonable camera zoom at all. 2X is not zoom in my opinion.
- Forget nighttime shots of moving subjects, night photo takes 2s to process (although quicker than other phones).
- I feel like the MarisiliconX thing is mostly a marketing gimmick.
Screen
- The AlwaysOnDisplay is very dim and there's no way to change it. Also the coloured icons are very hard to distinguish at a glance. If the display is dim, then greyscale icons would be easier to see.
- 120Hz doesn't seem to be active in a lot of apps, so I had to manually force it using an app from youtube video.
Software/OS
- Cannot increase grid size in ColorOS launcher any more than 5 x 6. Please give option for up to 9 x 6 like Nova? Otherwise launcher is perfect!
- There is no desktop mode when plugged into a usb-c monitor like Samsung Dex or Huawei EMUI Desktop. You can indeed enable desktop mode in developer settings but it's not the same experience.
- When using a 3rd party launcher (I always use Nova), there are some bugs when going back to home screen, e.g. the recent apps screen flashes up for a split second when it shouldn't. Because of this I forced myself to get used to ColourOS launcher.
- There is no button to turn off/on 5G in the notifications quick settings menu.
- "Hey google" only works in Android Auto & Google Maps if you have the global "Hey Google" listening setting enabled. Not sure if this is an android 12 bug or just Oppo bug.
- Oppo PC Connect is only available on PC, not Mac or Linux.
Battery/Charging
- Standby battery life could be better. It drains about 5-7% overnight when my Huawei P40 Pro only drained 2%. If I barely use the phone during the day (only check/reply to messages etc and use around 1.5h SOT), then the battery is still below 40% when I go to bed. My P40 Pro barely drained when not used heavily. Of course Huawei do much more aggressive battery/memory management and if I enabled optimisation for all apps in the Oppo's settings then maybe I could get similar but I don't want to mess with notifications.
- Wireless charging with a non-oppo wireless charger seems very slow. I have a 5W charger in my Lexus and when charging using it, the phone still loses battery when using wireless android auto.
All in all, I actually preferred using my old Huawei P40 Pro as the camera was superior in most situations as well as better standby battery but the hacked google services installed just put me off. Android auto was very temperamental, hence I can't stick with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree re the in-hand feel, I am a fan of ceramic and yes on paper it is not much smaller than other phones but does feel more manageable.
- The AlwaysOnDisplay is very dim and there's no way to change it. Also the coloured icons are very hard to distinguish at a glance. If the display is dim, then greyscale icons would be easier to see.
I'd agree wth this, they are tiny
Re the blurry photos, I still think it is better than a Samsung, maybe only the Pixel or iPhone is better in this regard?
I think I prefer my S22U overall especially the more reliable fingerprint sensor but prefer the size and in-hand feel of the Oppo.
arsenal74 said:
I agree re the in-hand feel, I am a fan of ceramic and yes on paper it is not much smaller than other phones but does feel more manageable.
- The AlwaysOnDisplay is very dim and there's no way to change it. Also the coloured icons are very hard to distinguish at a glance. If the display is dim, then greyscale icons would be easier to see.
I'd agree wth this, they are tiny
Re the blurry photos, I still thnk it is better than a Samsung, maybe only the Pixel or iPhone is better in this regard?
I think overall I prefer my S22U overall especially the more reliable fingerprint sensor but prefer the size and in-hand feel of the Oppo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have any issues whatsoever with the fingerprint sensor, it seems faster than on my huawei - are you using a screen protector?
I contemplated returning to get S22U but today is the last day of my return window so I think I will just keep it. Samsung is slightly more expensive and I still need to buy seperate charger.
I can trade-in in 12 months anyway and get something else on my contract so maybe Oppo will have released a Samsung beating phone by then.
There is nothing wrong with the FPS, just think the S22U is better. I have had the Pixel 6 and it is way better than that. I just think the ultrasonic sensor is more reliable, less prone to issues if your hands are wet etc
arsenal74 said:
There is nothing wrong with the FPS, just think the S22U is better. I have had the Pixel 6 and it is way better than that. I just think the ultrasonic sensor is more reliable, less prone to issues if your hands are wet etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah I see, having had both Oppo and S22U (exynos?), is samsung better in every department?
mcall_r said:
Ah I see, having had both Oppo and S22U (exynos?), is samsung better in every department?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the Oppo camera is better indoors but that is anecdotal, actually other than zoom reach the Oppo camera is slightly better overall I think (for stills) I also think the Oppo battery is better at least standby wise. Other than your personal preference re size and design I think the S22U is better for most other things
INTRODUCTION
As some of you will be aware, my name is Glenn, more commonly (around here) known as LennyUK. I was chosen to be an OPPO Ambassador and have been playing around with the OPPO Find X5 Pro for a few weeks now.
Before I dive into this review I want to make clear that I have a pretty extensive history of reviewing devices and software, I have written for many Android websites over the years and have been a very long term member of XDA Developers and was once a recognised Developer. On top of all this I have owned an awful lot of devices right from the beginning of Android.
Why am I reminding you of this? Well, there appears to be an apprehension from some people to the Ambassador programme, thinking we have been told what we have to say, and will be inherently bias as a result of having use of the phone for free - all I can say is that everything I say will be my own honest, unfiltered opinion on this device and its software.
So let's get into it - The device I have been using is the OPPO Find X5 Pro. The colour I have is Ceramic White. It has 256GB of onboard storage with 12GB RAM. This is a UK build and I can tell you already (SPOILER ALERT!) some features do differ from the devices available elsewhere including mainland Europe.
https://imgur.com/OfCER3k
I also own the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, so I have a current generation, arguably the pinnacle of Android devices to compare this OPPO Find X5 Pro with.
PROS
Aesthetically this device looks stunning, I am struggling to think of a nicer looking device, comfortable to hold too.
Very smooth performance for normal use and gaming
ColorOS functions and apps are largely useful and well made
SuperVOOC charging is a game changer
The camera is very good especially in low light or night scenes with decent features for pro photographers but its telephoto options are not quite as good as some competitor devices
CONS
Beauty of the device is mostly lost when using a case, which most people will want to (and one is even provided for you)
In indoor settings/shade the display loses a lot of its magic, unless you choose to substantially increase the brightness level
Accessing the devices power menu is clunky and unintuitive
Audio Speakers are not great at louder volumes
Battery life is good but not exceptional
CONTENTS
UNBOXING - Post #2
SETUP - Post #2
BUILD QUALITY/DESIGN - Post #2
DISPLAY - Post #3
SOFTWARE (ColorOS) - Post #3
CAMERA - POST #4
PERFORMANCE/GAMING - POST #4
AUDIO - POST #4
ANDROID AUTO - POST #4
BATTERY - POST #5
CONCLUSION - POST #5
UNBOXING
I won’t go into too much detail here as I have already published an unboxing video that you can find on my YouTube channel (LennyUK TV).
The key points to note is the box includes the phone, a Super VOOC 80W charger, a USB lead (USB A to USB C) and a soft touch phone case.
SETUP
Setup was a breeze. I used OPPO’s clone app to move my data from my S22 Ultra to the Find X5 Pro and whilst it took some time to do, it worked on my first attempt and without issue.
BUILD QUALITY/DESIGN
As stated above, the device I have been provided is the “Ceramic White” colour variant. It is also available in “Glaze Black” - is the rear of the device that is coloured with the front being a full edge to edge screen design that we have come to expect from any half decent or higher smartphone these days.
I have owned white devices previously, but not all too often, with the vast majority (which I am sure you can all agree) have been black, or at a push, silver. White is a nice refreshing colour to have, however, you lose most of the impact when you use a case, which many people choose to do, especially with flagship devices, as these are not cheap!
https://imgur.com/MMX2Txs
The back of the phone looks stunning, the white really pops and it is silky smooth - maybe too smooth (refer back to needing a case…) but in terms of looks this phone has something that many others do not - the Samsung S22 Ultra as a comparison is a big rectangular shape that has certainly been designed from a functional perspective rather than considering aesthetics at all. This was certainly not the case with the OPPO Find X5 Pro, it is clear a lot of thought has gone into its design (as well as its functions).
The back is made of ceramic (yes, the name of the colour gave that away), which you might find an unusual choice, but it works, really well - probably due to the very high quality polished finish and the subtle 75 degree slope, which OPPO claim is the “optimal curve for illuminating the body in sunlight or shadow” - which is great, if you are not using a case…
Aside from the colour, the device has a simple but modern OPPO and Hasselblad (the famous camera brand that has helped co-create the camera on this phone, more on that later) logo in the lower right hand edge with the camera cluster in the top left hand corner.
The camera cluster sits slightly raised from the device and contains 3 lenses and a flash/LED (I will go into more details on the camera further below) with the words “Powered by MariSillicon” sitting between two of the three lenses.
https://imgur.com/HYTMWtl
Having a raised camera cluster isn’t uncommon these days, with devices trying to be as thin as can be, but also trying to include powerful camera lenses that even pros could consider using from time to time but it does mean that the device can’t sit flat on a desk and the OPPO Find X5 Pro is no exception - without a case, if you use the device resting flat on a desk you will notice it wobble - it is at its worst if you try to use the top left hand area. However this is easily solved by the use of a case, including the case that is provided in the box with this device.
More on that case now - it is a matt black colour with a very soft touch texture on the external facing sides, the internal side is more textured, presumably to aid in gripping to the device - it fits perfectly, which I of course expected it to.
Back to the OPPO Find X5 Pro, the front is dominated by the 6.7” screen that for specs nerds, has a 92.7% ratio and a QHD+ (3216x1440) resolution. It has a hole punch selfie cam in the top left hand corner and a speaker very well hidden at the top (the earpiece speaker). Both the left and right hand edges curve slightly which is likely to cause issues for those of you who prefer tempered glass screen protectors, but there are many alternative options today that work great on curved screens - and I best not forget to mention, one does come pre-fitted on this device anyway.
The right hand edge contains the power button, which seems a bit silly to call a power button as its primary function, at least when the device is powered on is to do other actions (more on this later), but I suppose the name holds true when the device is off, that is the button that powers it on.
The left hand edge contains the volume up and down keys.
All three of these keys are well made, they are not wobbly or loose fitting like other devices can have, they click well and I cannot see them being a point of weakness even after long use.
The bottom edge of the device contains a centralised USB C port with a speaker grill to its right and a mic to its left. Further to the left is the SIM Card tray (the device also supports E-Sim).
https://imgur.com/HtDTOMc
The top edge contains the noise cancelling microphone on the right hand corner.
The OPPO Find X5 Pro is very nice in the hand, at least in mine, but I do have large hands so you may need to see for yourself - it certainly doesn’t feel too big for it’s screen size though and is comfortable to hold and use.
Its height measures in just shy of 16.5cm and is about 7.4cm wide and is less than 1cm thick (8.5mm) weighing around 218g. The weight is surprising, as it weighs a fair bit more than the S22 Plus but around 10g less than the S22 Ultra, but you really can’t tell - if I was to use just my muscle memory of the two devices I would have bet a lot of money (and lost!) that the S22 Plus was the heavier device. This is where the aesthetics of the OPPO Find X5 Pro really help to keep its size and weight both comfortable and manageable.
The OPPO Find X5 Pro also comes with IP68 water and dust resistance, which is what you really expect from a flagship device.
DISPLAY
As stated above the device has a 6.7” QHD+ display with a 3216x1440 resolution on an AMOLED panel covered in Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, currently Corning's top Gorilla Glass product. The S22 Ultra also has very similar display specs and the same Gorilla Glass.
The OPPO Find X5 Pro has a full 10bit colour depth so you can utilise HDR and has a 120hz dynamic display - keeping up with the other flagships out there at the moment (although not all of those rivals are performing as well as it should be in this department) - the “dynamic” part, should see the display going down as low as 10hz when a faster refresh rate is not required, which ultimately helps conserve some power.
In my day to day use I have not noticed any lag or issues with the dynamic functionality of the refresh rate - I cannot say the same about the S22 Ultra where on occasions, especially when the battery gets lower, you can visibly see the refresh rate slowing or speeding up, rather than it being ready on demand. The S22 Ultra also (at the time of writing this) fails to drop the refresh rate often, or very low and certainly doesn’t get close to the 1hz Samsung claimed it could - the OPPO Find X5 Pro doesn’t have the same issues.
It is worth noting however that firmware updates could likely fix the issues with the S22 Ultra over time.
But that is enough of specs, what you really want to know is how does it look? Well my honest answer is good, but not quite as good as my S22 Ultra, at least not unless I really up the brightness level on the OPPO, something you don’t need to do to get the colours to really pop on the Samsung - and upping the brightness obviously then impacts your battery life - however, in a bright environment the OPPO can hold its own the display is clear and looks great.
Colours almost look washed out (set to Vivid mode at default colour temperature) in those dimmer settings (with auto brightness set as you would expect) which is a real shame, but this is based on a direct comparison, for most users you will be using this device in isolation and it is by no means bad and should not really be something that puts you off the device.
https://imgur.com/yWRK0jJ
Some quick notes on the display software settings:
You get choice of light and dark mode (as you would expect, it is an android device)
Choice of 3 screen colour modes (Vivid, Natural, Pro) and 3 colour temperatures on a slider (Cool, default, and warm)
Eye comfort mode to remove blue light
Choice of resolution (auto, FHD+, QHD+)
Choice of max refresh rate (High 120Hz or Standard 60hz) - both work dynamically
You can choose to “hide” the holepunch camera (basically makes the notification bar solid black)
SOFTWARE (ColorOS)
At the time of writing this review the OPPO Find X5 Pro is running Android 12 with a March 2022 security update - a couple of OTA’s have already been pushed out in the few weeks the device has been released.
ColourOS (what OPPO call their “skin” of Android) is version 12.1 and the devices software version is currently CPH2305_11_A.17
It has a full Google/Android experience (GAPPS) so you have full use of Google Apps including the Play Store.
The device does come with some bloatware pre-installed, but almost all do these days - but you can easily remove what you don’t want.
The device has various apps and other features as part of the ColourOS experience including an OPPO Store, an E-SIM app designed for roaming called ORoaming and a meditation/mindfulness app called O Relax.
I have a very stressful life - I am a lawyer by day with a very very high case load, managing a department and also one of the directors of my firm - when I get home, I have a 4 and a 1 year old and 2 cats (and a wife) - all this leaves me with very little time to truly chill out and as a result I am constantly on that threshold of bubbling over into chaos from all the stress - but that is where I tend to thrive and is certainly my choice, so this is not a complaint merely just a long winded way of saying a mindfulness app is something that is very useful to someone like me.
https://imgur.com/a/5BA9o5s
O Relax on first glance has a selection of Ambient Sounds, Music and “coloured noises” (aka white noise etc) as well as some other sounds created in collaboration with Bang & Olufsen and Jo Malone London - you can set a timer and just chill out.
If you swipe to the left you get three options: “Listen”, which is the default tab, “Unwind” and “Explore”. Unwind hosts a selection of stress-relief games like bubble popping, deep breathing, colour manipulation or picture rubbing all with their own soothing sounds and colours. Explore lets you pick an environment such as various cities around the world and here sounds from ears of those cities, that background noise that helps you zone out. You can adjust how “active” those noises are. If real cities are not for you then you can also explore sounds of an alien world (yes really!) - which is a full Dolby Atmos audio production.
https://imgur.com/HbhP2zU
The device also features a privacy dashboard, accessible through the settings menu that enables you to control things like access to microphone or camera (globally, as it stops all apps from using them) as well as control permissions and other things like locking or hiding applications. You can also choose to have a toast popup that tells you when apps read your clipboard. The dashboard itself notifies you on how often location, camera and microphone have been accused in the past 24 hours, giving you details of when they were accessed and by what applications - you can also access the same data for other permissions if you wish.
You will also see notification icons for when the camera and microphone are in use, so applications shouldn’t be able to sneakily record you without at least giving you the chance to see that it is.
https://imgur.com/a/z05lh90
One feature the device has in the UK that it doesn’t appear to have (based on my discussions with those who have the devices elsewhere) in mainland Europe (or further afield) is Omoji - this is OPPOs version of animated emoji - here you can design a face and then manipulate it in real time via the selfie camera and your own face and take pictures in various poses which can then be used as your own emojis (via insert picture or video into your various apps).
There are of course many other features of ColorOS 12, more than I can talk about in this one review, but to name a few others you have Air Gestures (a way of controlling the device without touching it, imagine if you are baking and your hands are covered in flour), always on display etc
One final feature I will mention is the flexible windows - accessed via a hidden sidebar, not uncommon to find on many devices at the moment - is a quick way to access those important apps you use often, 2-factor authentication, or password manages are two good examples - they open as a floating window you can move around, or maximise, or close - this is much more useful than multitasking where it splits your screen, its quicker and far less disruptive enabling you to quickly do what you need to do then close out back to where you were - this is definitely a function I will miss when going back to other devices as whilst they may have similar functionality it just doesn’t work the same.
As an extra, I know some of you wanted to know - yes the phone does have a native call recording function.
It’s at this stage I get to talk about one annoying factor - and I know OPPO are not alone in trying to “mix up” the norm when it comes to this, what is it? Powering off the device… As I alluded to earlier, the phone has a power button, the button functions to turn the phone on when it’s off, or to turn the screen on and off when powered up, but it does not (in itself) control the switching off or rebooting of the device. Long pressing it does not bring up a power menu (it can be programmed to do other things) - instead, and no where in the documentation that came with the phone or on the device itself (at least obviously) does it tell you this - you have to hold both power and volume up to get access to this menu. You also have to hold it for a length of time that is longer than you would expect, just as you reach the point of thinking it's not going to work, then it does.
Yes, I can see the advantages of gaining a programmable hard key for other uses…but not at the loss of making switching off or rebooting the device ridiculously difficult to understand - your average user will simply not know how to do this.
CAMERA
I enjoy photography. I am not a pro by any means and have never had any formal training, but I do spend a lot of time taking photos with my DSLR, or mobile devices, and editing them - I am not amazing, but I am more than capable of getting some magic shots if everything falls together for me (one of the other Ambassadors is an actual photographer and his work is brilliant).
I know my way around a camera and had some things planned for this review, but unfortunately due to brexit delivery of my phone was delayed and the opportunity for some great night and low light photos was missed (I had a trip to the O2 Arena, London, to see Hanz Zimmer live, would have been great shots of the gig itself but also London at night) - since then I have been very busy with my day job and battling illness so opportunities to get great shots have been extremely limited, but I have still had a play with the camera, enough to give you some thoughts and a rundown.
Anyway, the juicy bits - the OPPO Find X5 Pro boasts three lenses and has been co-developed with leading manufacturer of middle format cameras, Hasseblad, if you have never heard of them before, shame on you! It has a 50MP Wide Angle Camera, a 50MP Ultra Wide Angle Camera and 13MP Telephoto Lens capable of 5x hybrid optical zoom (2x proper optical zoom) and 20x digital zoom.
The Wide Angle camera has a 5 Axis mechanical stabilisation system that really helps with mobile photography and can get you an aperture of f/1.7 which for a mobile device is extremely low - for those of you not camera nerds, the lower this number the blurrier the background of an image becomes, what is known as “bokeh” - perfect for portrait photos.
The Ultra Wide has a 110.3 degree field of view and an aperture of f/2.2 which gives you great options when shooting landscapes, or city scenes.
Both of those lenses use sensors from Sony - my preferred camera sensor manufacturer.
Then what really makes this camera stand out from the crowd is the MariSillicon X NPU (Neural Processing Unit) think of it as a form of hardware acceleration enabling the camera’s software to work brilliantly and do things it couldn’t otherwise do and all without impacting the on the devices CPU or GPU functionality.
https://imgur.com/0XbxqAr
Specifically this NPU enables the device to offer something truly unique when it comes to low light or night photography. You will notice that you can still truly see the colours and other details which most mobile cameras will lose without the images looking faked or over processed or without it looking like a daytime shot - because that isn’t the point - you want a night shot to be a night shot - you want the viewer to know it was taken at night, but without losing any of those important details and that is what the cameras on the Find X5 Pro and the MariSillicon X NPU allow for.
When you open the camera you are greeted with the standard “photo” mode, the click and shoot mode, moving that bar left or right lets you pick other modes including “Night”, “Video”, “Portrait” or “More” - in More you will find access to the Hasselblad Pro mode, a Hi-Res mode, Panorama, Film, Slow-Mo, Time-Lapse, Long Exposure, Dual Video, Sticker, Text Scanner and “X-Pan”, another Hasselblad feature.
Pro mode offers features such as a histogram and focus peaking and the ability to shoot in RAW.
If you are after a device that can take very nice photos in almost all conditions then you can’t go far wrong with the Find X5 Pro. The S22 Ultra also has very good camera options and the Find X5 Pro matches or beats it at almost every step, except one, which is the telephoto option - the S22 Ultra is very very good at 30x zoom and is somewhat good beyond that too, this device can’t go that far, but honestly, how often on a day-to-day basis do you need to zoom in that far?
Using the camera is a very enjoyable experience and it’s pro mode is one of the nicest on a mobile device I have used (Sony offers a very nice Pro mode on their devices, but it is still missing some key features that it’s own cameras or the Find X5 Pro have, such as focus peaking). It’s certainly a solid offering and highly competitive.
https://imgur.com/a/LtsgZSJ
PERFORAMNCE/GAMING
One thing that really impressed me, especially after coming from the Samsung S22 Ultra which you would expect to be the best you can get at the moment, is how smooth this device is to use - there is no UI lag, no missed frames, freezes or delay - it simply reacts to your input how you would expect it to do - you might think this should be standard especially in such a top spec device, but anyone who has used a S22 Ultra should know performance isn’t guaranteed…
The Find X5 Pro has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU with 8 cores and the Adreno 730 GPU clocked to 818MHz - both pretty much as good as you can get at the moment and it shows in the devices performance levels.
I won’t be benchmarking or discussing those in this review, they are largely meaningless and often manipulated (yes I am looking at you Samsung!), so I am focusing on real world usage experience, my usage experience.
Anyone who knows me (or looked me up) will know that one thing I do like to do in my spare time, when I have any, is game, be that on a Console, PC or a mobile device - my current mobile vices include games by Supercell (Clash of Clans and Clash Royale), detective/escape room type games (e.g. Tiny Room) and mobile versions of battle royales (like Bullet Echo).
All the games I play have been smooth and responsive much like the rest of the performance of this device, however, no game, even those that say they can, goes beyond 60fps - however, the same can be said about the S22 Ultra, so it might be a game development issue - but that the end of the world when you know the games are not lagging otherwise - it is certainly far less frustrating gaming on the OPPO Find X5 Pro than the Samsung S2 Ultra.
AUDIO
I spend an awful lot of time listening to YouTube Music or Audible on my devices, including via headphones (Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, which work perfectly on this device with the Samsung Wearable App installed, I have not used the OPPO Headphones to compare) and on the device's speaker.
Whilst certainly not terrible, the speaker performance certainly isn’t as good as other devices out there - the louder the volume gets the more tinny it sounds, regardless of your EQ settings.
Audio performance (like displays) is something Samsung have got near perfect so I know I am judging the Find X5 Pro on a very high standard, but all I can say is, if using the speaker is your main device use, then perhaps this isn’t the device for you (but certainly weigh your decision with the Find X5 Pros other features).
ANDROID AUTO
This might not be your use case, but is it mine - I rely on Android Auto a lot when driving, for Google Maps, YouTube Music, Audible and various EV (Electric Vehicle) apps for route planning with charging locations etc.
I had some issues using android auto on this device, although I have since found a reliable workaround - when the device is plugged in to the car, it sees the car like a PC and gives you the choice to select if you want to “charge only” or “transfer data” - selecting the latter then ensures a reliable connection to the car - selecting the former might work, but could then drop out at random times.
BATTERY
The Find X5 Pro comes with a 5000mAh battery - this is achieved through 2 cells of around 2500mAh each. This is the same size battery that is in the Samsung S22 Ultra so I am able to offer a direct comparison given I have the same apps and same use case on each device.
Before I talk about its performance level, I want to talk about charging. OPPO have developed their own fast charging system known as SuperVOOC - for this you can forget about what you think about fast charging as you are about to experience something truly special. The SuperVOOC charger supplied with the device delivers 80w of electrical energy capable of charging from 0-50% in 12 minutes.
I was able to test this, as when I received my device it was completely flat - so I had no choice - and it really was amazing watching it charge up - the numbers just climb really fast whilst watching - it’s no longer like watching paint dry - and what's more, it’s real power - the device didn’t discharge any faster than it would had it been (super slowly) charged via a USB port on a PC. This is a game changer truly enabling you to have that rapid charge to top up a bit before heading out meaning you should never be without power (if you have your SuperVOOC charger nearby).
If you like to wirelessly charge, then you can purchase the AIRVOOC Charger (or if you pre-ordered the device you may have received one free) - this delivers 50W of charging power giving you a full charge in just 47 minutes which is very good for wirelessly charging.
OPPO Claim that the Find X5 Pro battery will remain at peak levels for up to 1,600 charging cycles, which is around double what you would normally expect to see - a very good claim, but obviously not something I have been able to test out, so I will have to take their word for it.
Now, personally I have always found battery reviews a bit useless - not because what is written is untrue, but because it is so hard to compare that with your own use case, because we all use devices very differently and in the end the only real test is comparing it from one device you own to another.
But we all expect to read about battery life, so here are some ground rules to help you out a bit. I am a fairly heavy user, I have a bit of a problem and use my phone little and very often throughout the day, constantly checking for new messages or the millions of emails I receive (both work and personal), it is my contact list, my calendar, my contact with my friends and wife and kids when at work (and not in meetings). I game on my breaks, I listen to a lot of audio, I have a smart controlled house and the phone acts as the UI hub. Basically it controls me… but that is a story for a therapy session.
What I am getting at is I have never been someone who can boast that I can get 8 hours screen on time from any device, it doesn’t matter what I am using how big its battery is or how new the phone is - I always struggle to get more than say 2 hours of screen on time and the Find X5 Pro is no exception, but I didn’t expect it to be - so don’t base your decision to buy this device on what I am about to say entirely - on paper this is a top spec battery and as I said above, the SuperVOOC charging really is something else and largely negates the negatives I am about to say.
I can make it through a full day of my use on this device, but only just - I am down to the last few percentages before bed, when I charge up overnight - sometimes even with a small USB (car or PC) top up throughout the day.
The battery is by no means a struggle and I am yet to find myself needing to utilise the battery saving software - so I could easily stretch it much further if I needed.
But does it perform as well as my S22 Ultra, the short answer is no - I am not sure what software wizardry Samsung have put into the device, despite its major performance flaws, draining its battery takes is a real effort.
I would say that the Find X5 Pro is probably up there in terms of Android battery performance at the moment, I have not tried enough of the latest devices to be able to say that it sits in second place, but it might well do, behind the S22 Ultra - but… we have to remember that no Android currently gives better battery life than the flagship Apple devices - we will have to wait and see if Android 13 can help that at all.
CONCLUSION
This is a very solid, usable device which is lovely to look at (if you don’t use a case) and hold. It performs very well but battery life is perhaps a little shorter than I would have liked.
It outperforms the Samsung S22 Ultra in day to day use in terms of performance and is a much nicer device to use generally as a result. The Samsung does have a few better areas however, but that doesn’t make the Find X5 Pro a bad choice, it just means it doesn’t quite match up to the top level of Samsung doing what it is literally the best in the world at - making displays and producing good audio.
Would I recommend purchasing this device? Certainly, if you are after something that looks great, is comfortable to use and just works well and its within your budget options then go for it, there is unlikely to be anything better at the moment.
Some of its other features are nice and useful but maybe not game changers but a few areas are:
The SuperVOOC Charger really is impressive, you have to see it to believe it (and I am very very tempted to put up a boring YouTube video of the device charging from 0-50%!)
Also if you are a night time/low light photographer, or a fan of Hasselblad cameras then this is certainly the device for you - whilst other devices have all improved recently on night photography and videography the MariSillicon X NPU that OPPO have developed really gives this device a proper USP.
Nice review. I'm presuming you are in UK by your nom de plume? Not sure where your unit is from, but certainly the one I received from EE UK doesn't have native call recording. Also, can't find Oppostore or ORoaming apps.
BlueMeany68 said:
Nice review. I'm presuming you are in UK by your nom de plume? Not sure where your unit is from, but certainly the one I received from EE UK doesn't have native call recording. Also, can't find Oppostore or ORoaming apps.
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Interesting, it's a UK unlocked device - I can only presume EE had those other bits removed?
Lennyuk said:
Interesting, it's a UK unlocked device - I can only presume EE had those other bits removed?
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Does yours have the regulatory stamps etched I to the back too? I'm on EE and that's what I got.
Luckily I have the white version which has the labels etched which is only visible in some light.
My wife has the black one and it looks awful with all the regulatory labels printed in white underneath the lacquer, the same colour as the oppo and hasselblad logos. She does use a case though but it totally spoils the aesthetic if not using a case.
mcall_r said:
Does yours have the regulatory stamps etched I to the back too? I'm on EE and that's what I got.
Luckily I have the white version which has the labels etched which is only visible in some light.
My wife has the black one and it looks awful with all the regulatory labels printed in white underneath the lacquer, the same colour as the oppo and hasselblad logos. She does use a case though but it totally spoils the aesthetic if not using a case.
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The CE, Recycling and UKCA symbols? Yeah, unfortunately it does.