Oppo Find X7 Ultra Rreview: The best phone you can’t have

Value When Reviewed

Approx $1,000 imported

Greatest Costs At the moment: Oppo Discover X7 Extremely

The Discover X7 Extremely is Oppo’s top-of-the-line flagship smartphone for 2024, standing out with a beastly digicam system and a putting design. It launched in early January but it surely’s at the moment solely on sale in China, and in the mean time, plainly’s the place it’s destined to remain. Oppo is the dad or mum firm of OnePlus, and if a OnePlus 12 Extremely had been to exist, it could in all probability look similar to this.

With such a stacked spec sheet, you would possibly think about importing this telephone. Be warned, although, that doing so comes with some frustrations. There are many system parts which might be untranslated and there are some settings to tweak to get Google providers enabled.

That mentioned, I used to be very excited to see if it’d be well worth the trouble. It’s the primary telephone to come back with twin periscope telephoto lenses, and by all accounts, it ought to give camera-focused flagships just like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely and Vivo X100 Professional a run for his or her cash. After dwelling with the Discover X7 Extremely in my pocket for per week, right here’s what I realized.

Design & Construct

• Lovely two-tone end
• Curved edges back and front
• IP68 licensed

The Oppo Discover X7 Extremely has a singular two-tone end, and I completely love the way in which it appears. I used to be despatched the Ocean Blue possibility for testing, which has navy blue vegan leather-based protecting the decrease portion of the rear, and a contrasting high-gloss white end on the highest.

The digicam module and the body are available a shiny metallic silver end, it’s very elegant and a bit nautical. It’s the proper telephone to whip out on the Yacht membership, not that I’ve ever been anyplace close to a kind of.

Luke Baker

Should you choose one thing extra refined, there’s additionally a Tailor-made Black colourway, which shifts every little thing to a monochromatic black and darkish gray tone. Or, there’s Sepia Brown, which is basically the identical because the Ocean Blue possibility, however the leather-effect materials is brown.

There’s no denying that the digicam bump is verging on ridiculous, however personally, I feel it appears fairly cool. The sting of the huge round digicam housing additionally serves as a cushty place to relaxation your forefinger when utilizing the telephone one-handed.

It’s fairly a big telephone and it’s not particularly mild both, weighing 221g. Regardless of its measurement, although, it’s very comfy to carry, because of a curved edge show and matching curves on the rear panel. The result’s a telephone that feels slimmer than it really is.

Luke Baker

With a vegan leather-based rear, the telephone could be very grippy and immune to fingerprint smudges. So, if you happen to’re courageous sufficient, you may fortunately use it with out a case. Nevertheless, you don’t have to, as there’s a matte navy blue TPU case included within the field. It’s nothing too particular, but it surely protects the telephone nicely and appears lots higher than the clear ones that you just normally see.

There’s a three-position alert slider on the left-hand facet, very similar to the one on the OnePlus 12. This lets you shortly swap between silent, noisy and VIP modes. The latter disables the digicam and microphone to make sure privateness, which isn’t one thing I’ve ever felt that I wanted, however might be helpful for individuals who do one thing extra secretive than writing about telephones all day.

Luke Baker

The haptic suggestions is spectacular, and it appears like there’s a real mechanical clunk while you hit the digicam shutter, for instance. It’s nice for typing, too, feeling exact and highly effective, however I needed to tweak some settings to get it enabled on the keyboard, because it was off by default.

The telephone has an IP68 ranking for mud and water resistance, so you may confidently apply it to journeys to the seashore, or for sea-faring adventures. The closest I received was some rain showers, although.

Display & Audio system

• 6.82-inch AMOLED show
• Quad HD+ decision
• 120Hz adaptive refresh charge
• Twin stereo audio system

The show has an ample 1440×3168 decision and a dynamic refresh charge that may enhance as much as 120Hz. It’s a spacious display screen and it’s very sharp and vibrant.

One of many standout options is its brightness output, which is alleged to ship as much as 4500 nits at peak. In regular use, you gained’t be coming shut to those eye-melting brightness ranges, but it surely means that you could relaxation assured that this show will compete with even essentially the most intense summer season daylight. 

Luke Baker

As talked about, the Oppo Discover X7 Extremely has a curved-edge show, which I’m not all the time the most important fan of, but it surely works nicely right here. For starters, the curve appears tighter than it’s on different telephones, so the areas that you just really contact are primarily flat. You form of get the most effective of each worlds, because it appears like a flat show for essentially the most half, however the telephone feels slimmer in your hand and gesture controls really feel clean because of the rounded edges.

HDR content material appears unbelievable on this show, with the deep inky blacks that OLED panels are identified for, contrasting with dazzling highlights. I ought to observe, nevertheless, that Netflix refused to play in HDR because of DRM certification points, which isn’t preferrred, and hopefully is one thing that will get addressed in future updates. YouTube HDR content material labored wonderful, at the least.

The show helps Dolby Imaginative and prescient, however with Netflix not enjoying ball, you would possibly battle to seek out Dolby Imaginative and prescient content material to look at. Alternatively, you may report movies in Dolby Imaginative and prescient utilizing the native digicam app, so there’s nonetheless some utility right here.

Luke Baker

There are many customisation choices within the OS if you happen to’d prefer to tweak the way in which colors are displayed. You get three foremost profiles, Pure, Professional and Vivid, and each has its personal color wheel that means that you can shift the color temperature and tint. There’s additionally the choice to make use of the telephone’s media processing engine to sharpen low-resolution photos, and even convert SDR content material to HDR.

Should you undergo from eye pressure you’ll be happy to know that the Oppo Discover X7 Extremely boasts a 2160Hz PWM dimming charge, making certain low flicker in any respect brightness ranges. There are additionally low blue mild choices accessible within the OS, as you’ll discover with most gadgets today.

Luke Baker

The telephone has twin stereo audio system and so they’re fairly succesful. There’s extra bass than you’ll discover on most telephones, and nice readability, too. They’ll get very loud, however they do begin to distort at most quantity.

Total, I used to be very impressed with the audio system, however one factor bothered me; if you happen to’re holding the telephone horizontally, it’s virtually unimaginable to not muffle one of many audio system, because of their positioning. At the very least they all the time sound their greatest when held vertically.

Specs & Efficiency

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• 12/16GB RAM
• 256/512GB storage

The Oppo Discover X7 Extremely runs on Qualcomm’s strongest SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. We’ve already witnessed this chip’s blazing-fast efficiency in handsets just like the OnePlus 12 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely, so it’s not too stunning to see it performing nicely right here, too.

My take a look at unit got here with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, however the telephone can also be accessible with 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. In any case, it has loads of reminiscence for multitasking, and it may be just about expanded if you happen to really feel you want extra.

Luke Baker

In use, the telephone feels speedy and responsive in all conditions, animations are clean and apps open in a flash. You possibly can run virtually any recreation within the Play Retailer at most settings, and the telephone stays fairly cool within the course of. 

There’s a built-in recreation overlay which provides you entry to the standard goodies like efficiency modes, notification blocking and community optimisation. It’s extra feature-packed than you’ll discover on most telephones, however not fairly on the extent of gaming-focused handsets just like the RedMagic 9 Professional. Effectively, so far as I can inform, some parts in these menus are displayed in Chinese language, so it is likely to be extra succesful than I realise.

Luke Baker

I seen the telephone begin to warmth up after a prolonged Genshin Impression session with “Gaming mode” lively, but it surely by no means grew to become uncomfortable to carry, and the efficiency stayed rock strong all through.

You possibly can see all our common benchmark exams beneath in comparison with key rivals. Notice that GFXBench wouldn’t go over 60fps regardless of the telephone being able to larger framerates.

Oppo Discover X7 Extremely Benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp 1-inch foremost sensor
• 50Mp ultrawide
• 50Mp twin periscope zooms
• 32Mp selfie digicam with autofocus

It’s clear from the outset that this telephone is basically about digicam efficiency, with such a large digicam array on the rear, it virtually appears extra like a digicam than a telephone.

Fortunately, this design is justified, because the digicam system right here would possibly simply be essentially the most able to any smartphone available on the market proper now.

Luke Baker

There are 4 cameras on the again. The primary digicam has Sony’s second-generation 1-inch sensor, which ought to give it a bonus over the 1-inch sensor within the Oppo Discover X6 Professional and Xiaomi 13 Extremely. It’s a stacked sensor, which ought to imply that it’s extra delicate to mild, whereas additionally drawing much less energy in use.

This meaty foremost sensor is joined by an ultrawide digicam and twin periscope zooms, one with a 2x focal size and one other with a 6x. The entire rear cameras are 50Mp and have colors and picture processing that intently match, so it doesn’t look jarring while you swap between cameras whereas taking pictures video, for instance.

The selfie digicam has a 32Mp decision and comes with autofocus, which remains to be one thing of a rarity. Now that each the Galaxy S24 Extremely and Pixel 8 Professional have adopted it, although, I’ve a sense it’ll grow to be extra frequent. It primarily signifies that your selfie snaps are all the time sharp and detailed, irrespective of if you happen to’re up shut, or at arm’s size for a bunch shot.

The outcomes from this absolutely stacked digicam lineup are fantastic. The massive foremost sensor permits for wonderful low-light seize and might create some beautiful pure bokeh without having to pretend it in portrait mode. To be utterly trustworthy, I didn’t discover an enormous generational distinction in comparison with the 1-inch snapper of the Vivo X90 Professional, however that already carried out extremely nicely, so it’s no dangerous factor.

The opposite standout lens is the 3x periscope zoom, which has one of many largest sensors that I’ve seen on a smartphone telephoto digicam, at 1/1.56-inch. When mixed with the compression of the longer focal size, it permits for a really shallow depth of discipline, and you may snap images that appear like they got here from a DSLR quite than a smartphone.

The ultrawide is a bit more run-of-the-mill, but it surely’s nonetheless very helpful, and the excessive decision ensures that there’s loads of element. The identical could be mentioned for the 6x telephoto, but it surely’s adequate to commerce blows with the 5x zoom of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely, and that’s no imply feat.

Luke Baker

The picture processing, which was tuned in collaboration with Hasselblad, makes for some very reasonable color rendition, and there’s much less exaggeration and oversaturation than you’ll discover with some competing manufacturers. Pictures come out trying sharp and detailed, even with transferring topics and in dim lighting. Dynamic vary is spectacular, too, and relying in your taking pictures mode, you may seize ProXDR photographs that can show in HDR within the gallery.

The portrait mode could be very dependable, and I even managed to get good outcomes with fast-moving animals, although as common, it really works greatest with individuals. There are some very nice-looking filters to accompany the impact, and I used to be frequently stunned at how nicely the telephone managed to isolate stray strands of hair.

At evening, the massive sensors of the primary digicam and the 3x will mean you can scale back the publicity time and keep away from movement blur, however with evening mode activated, you may obtain wonderful photographs with all the lenses. There have been some cases the place evening mode was in a position to select particulars that I might barely see with my very own eyes, what extra might you ask for?

Luke Baker

In relation to taking pictures movies, all cameras help as much as 4K/60fps. I used to be a bit stunned to see an absence of 8K recording, however in equity, I by no means use it when it’s there. The stabilisation is strong and the microphones sound good, as long as there’s not an excessive amount of wind hitting them. 

Battery Life & Charging

• 5000mAh battery
• 100W wired quick charging
• 50W wi-fi charging

The Oppo Discover X7 Extremely has a 5000mAh battery, which is about typical for a contemporary flagship telephone.

It helps as much as 100W wired charging and this extremely speedy charger is included within the field. You can even cost the telephone wirelessly at as much as 50W, however you’ll want a really particular charger to attain these speeds.

In my expertise, the battery life was good, if unremarkable. It noticed me by a mean day’s use with ease, and if I used to be doing one thing a bit extra battery-intensive like taking pictures a lot of images and movies or gaming, then it’d nonetheless make it to the tip of the day, nearly.

Luke Baker

Nonetheless, that’s all you really want, and when you could have such speedy charging capabilities, it turns into much less of a priority. The included charger will zap the telephone from utterly lifeless to 50% charged in simply over 10 minutes, whereas a full cost takes lower than half an hour.

I simply so occurred to have Oppo’s AirVooc 50W wi-fi charger available, too, and I selected to cost with that more often than not. It’s extremely handy, you simply stick the telephone on the stand when you’re at your desk and it’ll cost tremendous quick.

Actually, it’s quicker than plenty of flagships will cost with a cable inserted.

Luke Baker

Software program & Apps

• ColorOS 14
• Based mostly on Android 14
• Designed for the Chinese language market

To date, the Oppo Discover X7 Extremely has impressed on all fronts, but it surely’s with the software program that issues get a bit difficult. This telephone has solely been formally launched in China, and that signifies that the software program isn’t very Westernised. 

To start with, it doesn’t include Google Cellular Companies enabled, and you need to sideload the Play Retailer to get entry to your common app library. It’s not a troublesome course of, but it surely does imply that issues aren’t fairly assured to work as you’d anticipate.

Luke Baker

I didn’t run into any large points throughout my testing, however there have been just a few unusual issues like I wouldn’t all the time get my Gmail notifications. Nevertheless, this might simply be associated to Oppo’s overly-enthusiastic battery optimisation measures. It is advisable go into the settings menu and disable optimisation for all your necessary apps if you wish to get notifications in a well timed method.

While you first boot up the telephone, you’ll be greeted with plenty of bloatware, and apart from TikTok, it’s just about all aimed toward Chinese language clients. So that you in all probability gained’t be capable to use any of it. Fortunately, it’s simple to uninstall the lot, but it surely’s a little bit of a tedious course of to undergo on such a high-end telephone.

Should you chosen English through the setup course of, many of the OS can be in English, however I continuously discovered areas and options that hadn’t been translated. For instance, the AI assistant, Breeno, is all in Chinese language, and there’s no technique to swap it to English or swap it to Google Assistant. A whole lot of the search performance seems in Chinese language, too.

Luke Baker

In any other case, ColorOS has some good options, and doubtless lots extra that I can’t entry because of the language barrier. There’s a lot of customisation, and it’s fast and simple to navigate. These small frustrations add up, although, and for most individuals, it gained’t be well worth the trouble.

Value & Availability

The Oppo Discover X7 Extremely is simply accessible in China, the place it retails for CNY 5,999. Nevertheless, you may also discover it accessible for import by websites like Wonda Cellular, Giztop and AliExpress. Pricing varies, however you may anticipate to pay round £800/$1000 for an imported mannequin.

Oppo has not introduced any plans to deliver the Discover X7 Extremely to different areas, however I’d like to see that change. The Discover X6 Professional by no means received a world launch, both, so likelihood is trying slim in the mean time.

Because it’s not accessible within the UK, you gained’t discover any contract choices, so the most effective different is to discover a good SIM-only deal. Nevertheless, you’ll possible have a greater total expertise with a tool that has been formally launched in Europe. 

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely is one other top-tier photographic performer, but it surely’ll value you extra, beginning at £1,249/$1299. The Pixel 8 Professional can also be superb within the digicam division, however you gained’t get fairly the identical processing efficiency if that issues. That telephone carries an MSRP of £999/$999, and might typically be discovered discounted.

In any other case, see our chart of the most effective smartphones and greatest digicam telephones for extra choices.

Must you purchase the Oppo Discover X7 Extremely?

The Oppo Discover X7 Extremely is an absolute beast of a smartphone.

It impresses in virtually all areas, with a stunning design, speedy efficiency, a shocking show and a number of the most succesful cameras that you just’ll discover in a smartphone at the moment. I genuinely assume it might be top-of-the-line telephones of the 12 months, however there’s an issue.

For the reason that telephone isn’t prone to launch internationally, the one technique to get one within the UK, US or Europe is to import. This implies you’re caught with software program that’s not optimised for Western clients, and the quirks and untranslated options are positive to trigger irritation – to not point out sideloading Google Companies.

As a lot as I really like this telephone, finally, it was a aid after I popped my SIM again right into a telephone with higher localisation. That mentioned, if you happen to’re a little bit of a tinkerer, you may positively dwell with this as your foremost system.

There’s even a case to be made for utilizing it as a alternative for a compact digicam, as a result of the images are actually that spectacular. For me personally, although, I’ll simply be holding my fingers crossed for a world launch.

Specs

• ColorOS 14, primarily based on Android 14
• 6.82in, 3168×1440, AMOLED, 120Hz, curved show
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• 12GB / 16GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB storage
• Cameras:
  • 50Mp, f/1.8 foremost digicam (1-inch)
  • 50Mp f/2.0 ultra-wide
  • 50Mp f/2.6 3x telephoto
  • 50Mp f/4.3 6x telephoto
  • 32Mp front-facing digicam with autofocus
• As much as 4K @ 60fps rear video
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM
• Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), 802.11a/b/g/n/
• Bluetooth 5.4
• 5000mAh battery
• 100W wired charging
• 50W wi-fi charging
• 164.3 x 76.2 x 9.5 mm
• IP68 licensed
• 221g
• Colors: Tailor-made Black, Ocean Blue, Sepia Brown