Oppo Find X8 Pro Review: A Triumphant Return

At a look

Skilled’s Score

Execs

• Superior digital camera system
• Nice battery life
• Tremendous highly effective
• New digital camera management button
• Helpful AI options

Cons

• Smaller sensors than the X7 Extremely
• No autofocus on the selfie digital camera
• Magnetic charging solely works with case

Our Verdict

Oppo’s newest flagship is kind of presumably one of the best digital camera cellphone obtainable within the UK. Should you love taking photographs, it calls for your consideration. In addition to pictures, the cellphone impresses with highly effective efficiency, helpful software program options and nice battery life. It’s simply wonderful.

Value When Reviewed

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The Oppo Discover X7 Extremely was one of the vital spectacular digital camera telephones that I examined up to now 12 months. Nonetheless, there’s an enormous drawback with that gadget. It was solely launched in China, which suggests Western prospects would want to import in the event that they wished to expertise Oppo’s finest cellphone for themselves.

With the Discover X8 sequence, Oppo’s flagship handsets make a return to the worldwide market, and fortunately, that features the UK (although nonetheless not the US). This time round, there’s the usual Discover X8 and the X8 Professional, however no X8 Extremely. The final technology had the Discover X7 and Discover X7 Extremely however no Professional.

So, the place does the Oppo Discover X8 Professional sit? Oppo advised us it’s not a alternative for the X7 Extremely, however with a more moderen chipset, an even bigger battery, and a refreshed working system, it does seem to be an improve. There’s a lot to discover right here, together with a recent design, new software program options and, after all, AI smarts. Let’s take a better look.

Design & Construct

• Multi-layer textured glass again
• Gorilla Glass Victus 2
• IP68/IP69 rated
• 215g

The Oppo Discover X8 Professional has the same design to the X7-series telephones, with a big round digital camera island that spans nearly your complete width of the rear panel.

This time, although, the digital camera bump is considerably slimmer, making it rather more pocketable than the X7 Extremely.

Luke Baker

One other massive change is with the positioning of the lenses – they’re now evenly spaced and equally sized, with the Hasselblad emblem prominently stamped within the centre. This symmetrical look makes much more sense than the lop-sided lens array of the X7 Extremely.

The design is barely boxier, with a principally flat entrance and rear and micro curves on the edges. It’s a pleasant center floor, because it’s extra snug within the hand than flatter iPhone-like designs, nevertheless it nonetheless feels fashionable and recent. Should you choose sharper edges, you may need to have a look at the usual X8, which has a really Apple-esque boxy body.

Luke Baker

There are two color choices obtainable within the world market: Pearl White and House Black. I’ve the white model in for testing, which has a singular marble-like sample on the glass rear panel, and it feels luxurious and velvety. Apparently, each cellphone has a barely totally different sample on the rear as a result of method it’s manufactured.

Should you go for the black mannequin, you’ll get a uniform matt black end for a slick skilled look. In both case, a easy clear TPU case is included within the field. It’s fairly primary however provides good safety, and it’s at all times good to get one as a freebie.

Luke Baker

Oppo has a brand new magnetic charging accent, taking clear inspiration from Apple’s MagSafe system, nevertheless it solely works should you purchase Oppo’s magnetic case, because the magnets aren’t constructed into the cellphone itself. I’d’ve liked to see a magnetic case included within the field, however perhaps that’s simply wishful pondering.

The cellphone nonetheless has the basic three-position notification slider on the left aspect, permitting you to shortly toggle between ring, vibrate and silent modes. On the other aspect, you get a quantity rocker, an influence button and a brand new addition, that Oppo is asking the Fast Button.

It’s primarily a carbon copy of Apple’s new Digicam Management button, full with a flush design and capacitive contact capabilities. A double press of this button will launch the digital camera, even whereas the cellphone is locked, after which you may swipe to zoom or press to take a photograph.

I’m a fan of Apple’s new button, and I like this one too, nevertheless it may use some work. It’s not customisable in the mean time, so it could solely be used for zooming, and I don’t discover that very helpful. I’d like to see a half-press to focus just like the shutter button on a Sony Xperia cellphone – I’ve received my fingers crossed that we’ll see added capabilities in future firmware.

The Oppo Discover X8 Professional has an IP69 score for mud and water resistance, a brand new commonplace that provides scorching water jets as much as 80 levels to the testing standards. I can’t say my cellphone is uncovered to scorching water jets fairly often, so I’m undecided how a lot this issues, however regardless, it’s nicely protected towards even essentially the most excessive parts.

Display screen & Audio system

• 120Hz 6.78-inch OLED show
• 4500 nits max brightness, 1264 x 2780 decision
• Stereo audio system

The Oppo Discover X8 Professional has a big 6.78-inch OLED show with a 120Hz adaptive refresh fee and a powerful peak brightness of 4500 nits. That’s the identical because the X7 Extremely, and it has the same pixel density, too. The largest change is with the form of the show.

Luke Baker

Oppo calls it a “quad-micro curve” design, and it’s similar to the one we noticed on the Reno 12 Professional. The display is sort of utterly flat, and it’s solely the bezel space on the very fringe of the cellphone that’s curved.  The curves are symmetrical on all sides, giving the glass panel the looks of an over-filled glass of water.

I’ve at all times most well-liked flat shows over curved ones, however this micro-curve center floor has utterly received me over. It means you could have a totally flat show in all of the areas the place it issues, however gesture controls requiring you to swipe from the perimeters really feel a lot nicer in your thumbs. 

Form apart, the display has vibrant and correct colors and it’s vibrant sufficient to compete with the sunniest of days. It additionally helps Dolby Imaginative and prescient playback, so content material from apps like Netflix at all times appears to be like very good. There’s loads of customisation obtainable if you wish to tweak the color temperature or vibrancy within the settings, too.

Luke Baker

The Discover X8 Professional has twin stereo audio system that are fairly spectacular. They will enhance to a really excessive quantity and produce a clear detailed sound. The bass response isn’t essentially the most spectacular, nevertheless it’s respectable sufficient for informal use and simply competes with most different flagship smartphones.

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 9400
• 12GB/16GB RAM
• 256GB/512GB/1TB storage

Each of Oppo’s new flagships are powered by the brand new Dimensity 9400 SoC, whereas the earlier technology ran the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

I’m certain that can make some readers wince, nevertheless it shouldn’t. Qualcomm might have led in years previous, however MediaTek is now a fierce competitor on the prime finish of the market, and the 9400 is its finest effort to this point.

Luke Baker

Put merely, the Oppo Discover X8 Professional achieved a number of the finest benchmark scores I’ve ever seen. It even topples the mighty Redmagic 9S Professional in sure assessments. In fact, upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered telephones will give it a run for its cash, however should you’re into graphically intensive video games, this cellphone is not going to disappoint.

The cellphone feels extremely responsive and apps open nearly instantaneously. I really feel like a few of this may be attributed to the brand new animation model of ColorOS 15, however the uncooked energy on provide right here definitely helps too.

I used to be capable of run all my video games with maxed-out graphical settings whereas sustaining stable excessive framerates. This consists of notoriously difficult titles like Genshin Affect. The cellphone does warmth up after enjoying for some time, nevertheless it by no means will get uncomfortable to carry, and I didn’t discover any vital body dips when it received slightly toasty, both.

Luke Baker

There’s a recreation overlay constructed into ColorOS, and it doesn’t seem to be there have been any main modifications to it because the final technology. Nonetheless, meaning you get fast entry to most settings you’re prone to want, together with efficiency modes, messaging, notification blocking and extra.

Oppo Discover X8 Professional benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp principal sensor, 1/1.4-inch 
• 50Mp ultrawide, 1/2.75-inch
• 50Mp 3x telephoto, 1/1.95-inch
• 50Mp 6x telephoto, 1/2.51-inch
• 32Mp selfie digital camera, fastened focus

At a look, it could seem that the digital camera setup is similar to the Discover X7 Extremely. Certainly, each have quad 50Mp cameras on the rear, with twin periscope telephotos and 32Mp selfie snappers.

Nonetheless, once you dig a bit deeper, there are modifications to the entire cameras besides the 6x telephoto.

Luke Baker

The sensor sizes are considerably smaller for the opposite three lenses, and it’s a very giant step down on the primary sensor, which is lowered from a 1-inch kind sensor to a 1/1.4-inch unit. This transfer is an intentional step to maintain the scale of the digital camera bump in verify, however enhancements in sensor tech imply it nonetheless guarantees to ship the products in low mild.

Regardless of the {hardware} variations, the ensuing photographs are similar to the X7 Extremely. I took just a few pictures side-by-side and it’s typically laborious to see a lot of a distinction, particularly in good lighting. The distinction turns into extra obvious in low-light circumstances, the place the ultrawide is liable to blur on the newer mannequin, however the different sensors fare surprisingly nicely.

There are just a few cases the place the Discover X8 Professional pulls forward, too. Oppo has clearly been engaged on its autofocus system, and I used to be impressed to see that the cellphone recognised the place my cat’s eye was, giving me pin-sharp photographs even in difficult lighting.

I additionally seen that the minimal focus distance has been lowered on the primary and 3x lenses, which suggests you may take some spectacular macro pictures.

The shutter is quicker, which is useful for motion pictures, and you’ll shoot bursts at as much as 7fps with no drop in high quality. Should you shoot plenty of sports activities or wildlife, it is a superb instrument for the job.

Should you zoom past 60x, Oppo’s AI enhancement kicks in, and it delivers some astonishing photographs. They aren’t precisely correct, because the AI algorithm is simply guessing and inventing further particulars, however regardless, you may zoom to an unimaginable degree with out the same old grainy and blurry outcomes.

The selfie digital camera may be very respectable, however I used to be disenchanted to search out that it lacks autofocus. Within the majority of eventualities, that doesn’t matter an excessive amount of, nevertheless it does imply your photographs can be much less sharp should you take a large group picture or an excessive close-up.

The Hasselblad partnership remains to be in full impact, and a few new portrait results and movie simulation modes can be found with this cellphone. They’re a straightforward method to boost your pictures, and a few create a really distinctive look, just like the White ProMist filter. Enabling this offers your photographs that basic “Vaseline on the lens” dreamy 80s look, and it’s enjoyable to play with.

The cellphone is a really succesful video shooter, too. It may well seize at 4K 60fps on each lens, and it’ll do it in Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR should you like. Stabilisation is nice, the microphones sound respectable and you will get surprisingly clear pictures when zoomed previous the optical telephoto vary, all the way in which as much as about 12x or so.

These video capabilities are about to get even higher, as Oppo has introduced that the Discover X8 sequence will work with the Blackmagic Digicam App. This implies you’ll be capable to shoot in LOG, apply LUTs and use a full suite {of professional} guide controls.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5910mAh battery
• 80W wired charging
• 50W wi-fi charging

The Oppo Discover X8 Professional makes use of new silicon-carbon battery know-how to cram a whopping 5910mAh cell into its comparatively slim chassis. As you may anticipate, this leads to very spectacular battery life.

With my regular utilization, I’ve been simply attaining a day and a half on a cost, and that’s with a lot of digital camera use, streaming content material and enjoying the occasional recreation. Should you’re extra conservative along with your use, two days is a particular chance.

That stated, operating out of battery isn’t the most important trouble, because the Discover X8 Professional will be recharged in a short time. My evaluation pattern got here with an 80W quick charger within the field, and this took me from totally flat to round 70% charged in simply half-hour. Nonetheless, the cellphone ships with no charger in some areas, so that you may have to think about the price of an honest wall adapter.

Luke Baker

As typical, the highest 80W velocity is just obtainable utilizing certainly one of Oppo’s SuperVooc chargers, however fortunately, it’s nonetheless fast utilizing a third-party USB PD charger. That’ll get you as much as 55W, which isn’t too shabby, and means you received’t be ready an age for the factor to cost utilizing an influence financial institution.

Should you prefer to cost wirelessly, the Discover X8 Professional helps as much as 50W utilizing an AirVooc charger. As talked about earlier, there’s a brand new magnetic puck for this objective, however you’ll want to purchase Oppo’s magnetic cellphone case to make use of it successfully, because the magnets aren’t constructed into the cellphone itself.

Software program & Apps

• ColorOS 15, primarily based on Android 15
• AI options and Circle to Search
• Some bloatware

The Oppo Discover X8 Professional runs ColorOS 15, Oppo’s freshly overhauled pores and skin primarily based on Android 15.

At first look, it appears to be like fairly acquainted, nevertheless it instantly feels faster. It is because Oppo has tweaked over 800 animations, and it was nicely definitely worth the effort as a result of this feels a lot snappier than any earlier Oppo gadget.

The Apple affect extends past {hardware} options and has seeped its method into the software program, too.

ColorOS 15 has its personal model of Apple’s Dynamic Island, which pops up and provides you fast entry to media controls, hotspot standing, Bluetooth gadgets and extra. I’m a fan – it’s certainly one of my favorite issues about iOS, so I’m in full assist of Android manufacturers additionally adopting it.

You can even cut up the notification shade and fast settings, which seems like iOS once more, however you can too preserve the normal configuration should you choose. Most working programs power you to make use of one or the opposite, so I actually admire having the choice to modify backwards and forwards.

Luke Baker

The cellphone additionally comes with Circle to Search and has Google Gemini because the default assistant. These are each very useful, and I take advantage of them nearly day by day, however they’re beginning to roll out extra broadly and I’ve a sense they’ll be default Android options earlier than too lengthy.

In fact, in late 2024, no flagship is full with no wholesome serving of AI options, and there’s a lot to sink your tooth into with the X8 Professional. I typically really feel like AI options are extra like social gathering methods than issues I’d use every day, however there are two options constructed into ColorOS that I want I had entry to on each cellphone.

Luke Baker

They’re referred to as AI Communicate and AI Abstract, and will be accessed at any time by swiping from the aspect of the show to disclose the sensible sidebar.

Primarily, if you could learn an extended article, however you’re brief on time, AI Abstract can select the important thing data and provide you with a concise set of bullet factors. Alternatively, AI Communicate can learn the article aloud in a natural-sounding voice so you may multitask.

They’re extremely useful, and in contrast to some opponents, you don’t want to make use of Oppo’s browser or keyboard to entry them – they work with Chrome, Firefox and extra. 

There are additionally writing instruments like AI Author and AI Reply that may allow you to craft an electronic mail, doc or response. I don’t discover these very helpful, however that is perhaps as a result of I write for a residing. Both method, they’re right here and so they additionally work throughout a number of apps.

As you might have gathered, I’m very keen on ColorOS 15. It has a great deal of nice options, feels fast and appears good within the course of. Sadly, it’s not excellent, and there’s a full web page of bloatware to take care of once you first arrange the gadget. It doesn’t take too lengthy to scrub up, nevertheless it’s not what you need to see once you’re investing in a flagship handset.

Oppo guarantees the Oppo Discover X8 sequence will get the most recent safety patches and Android updates till 2030, which ought to equal 5 main OS upgrades. It’s a really respectable proposal, nevertheless it’s price noting that Google and Samsung each assist their gadgets for 2 years longer.

Value & Availability

The Discover X8 Professional prices £1,049 within the UK. That’ll get you a mannequin with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is the one one obtainable.

You should purchase the cellphone instantly from Oppo outright and on contract through O2. Should you’d fairly go for the previous, you may pair it with a fantastic SIM-only deal.

As anticipated, the Discover X8 Professional isn’t obtainable within the US.

At this worth, the Discover X8 Professional is competing with the easiest telephones you should purchase. Equally-priced competitors is fierce, together with the Samsung Galaxy S24+ (from £999), Google Pixel 9 Professional XL (from £1,099) and OnePlus 12 (£999 for the high-end mannequin), however the cellphone holds its personal.

Must you purchase the Oppo Discover X8 Professional?

After spending every week with the Oppo Discover X8 Professional, I discover myself with only a few complaints. This cellphone excels in each metric. It’s highly effective, handsome, has superb cameras and loads of software program perks too.

As a pictures fanatic, who values digital camera efficiency over all the things else, I’d choose this over one of the best from Samsung, Apple or Google. No contest.

The competitors from manufacturers like Vivo and Xiaomi is fierce, however their finest digital camera telephones aren’t at the moment obtainable within the UK. If we’re simply speaking about telephones you should purchase regionally, the Discover X8 Professional is sort of definitely one of the best for pictures.

I’d fortunately put up with extra heft if it means bigger sensors, and I’ve received my fingers crossed that there’s an X8 Extremely on the horizon. For now, although, that is greater than ok.

Specs

• ColorOS 15, primarily based on Android 15
• 6.78-inch, 1264 x 2780, OLED, 120Hz
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• MediaTek Dimensity 9400
• 12GB / 16GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB / 1TB storage
• Cameras:
  • 50Mp principal sensor
  • 50Mp ultrawide
  • 50Mp 3x telephoto
  • 50Mp 6x telephoto
  • 32Mp selfie digital camera
• As much as 4K @ 60fps rear video
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7
• Bluetooth 5.4
• 5910mAh battery
• 80W charging
• 162.3 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm
• IP68/IP69 licensed
• 215g
• Colors: Pearl White, House Black