It’s been a while since OPPO released its flagship smartphone outside of China. The last one we saw here in Australia was the Find X5 Pro. Fast-forward about two and a half years, and they have released the Find X8 Pro worldwide, including in Australia.
Ten years ago, OPPO first arrived on our shores. Every year since then, they have listened to our opinions, gripes, and of course our praise and improved their devices. Now, with the Find X8 Pro on the EFTM review bench, it will be interesting to see if they have continued to improve their devices and just how much.
We received the Find X8 Pro a week or so before Christmas, but with the hectic time of year followed by the craziness of CES, we are only now putting our thoughts to paper (so to speak). Read on to hear how the Find X8 Pro performed in the various tests we conducted.
The OPPO Find X8 Pro is a big phone. It is basically the same size as the Pixel 9 Pro XL, just slightly thinner, and measures 162.3 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm. I have gotten used to smaller phones such as the Pixel 9 (and Pro) and the iPhone 16 Pro and prefer that size, but this large size is growing on me again—maybe size doesn’t count?
The Find X8 Pro is available in Space Black and Pearl White. After seeing both, I can say that the black is boring, so I am glad OPPO sent me the Pearl White to review. I’m not sure why they haven’t tried to spice up the black version—it is just plain old black—but they certainly have for the white version, and I’m here for it.
The rear of the phone has a pearl-like, marble-like finish. If you use the clear case that comes in the box, this stunning finish will be on display for all to see. The device’s rear is glass, but Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protects it, so don’t be too concerned about that.
Also, on the rear of the device is one of the biggest camera islands you will ever see – and it undoubtedly needs to be due to the presence of four 50MP cameras with two of these being telephoto cameras with telescopic lenses. It sits a good few millimetres out from the back of the phone but the lenses are protected by a steel ring around the island that sits higher than the cameras themselves. If you purchase one of OPPO’s cases, the protection sits out even further.
I’ve bemoaned this before, and I will again, but I dare say it’s because this Find X8 Pro is a worldwide version and not specifically located in Australia. Once again, OPPO has put the certification stamps on the rear of the device. This time, the stamps are extremely subtle and barely visible, though, so I’ll give them that.
The sides of the device have a brushed steel (?aluminium) frame. Both the rear of the device and the front display have an ever-so-subtle curve at the edge to allow for a soft touch and feel in the hand and during operation.
I’m not going to talk about specs of the hardware inside the device too much given that it is 2025 now and even mid-range smartphone chipsets are good enough for a great experience. One thing that stands out, though, is the CPU in this phone – it is not a Snapdragon this time but instead a top-of-the-line Mediatek Dimensity 9400 (3 nm), and it works as it should. I honestly don’t notice that much difference anymore – MediaTek has come a long way in the last 10 years and is now no longer a poor man’s choice.
The buttons around the outside are great. Sure, there’s the usual volume rocker above the power button on the right, but OPPO has once again added a volume slider on the left-hand side of the phone (something “borrowed” from OnePlus), and I’m here for it. It’s great being able to quickly adjust the phone’s volume with a flick of the slider.
The other significant button is the Quick Button (or, if you are an iPhone user, the Camera Control Button). However, instead of a physical button that depresses (such as that on the iPhone), you have a capacitive button. It gives really nice haptic feedback when “pressed,” and I love it. In fact, using this as your shutter button is better than using the iPhone version because you won’t accidentally move the phone while taking the image.
I actually had to turn off using it as the shutter button, though, because I kept accidentally pressing it because I hold the phone in my claw grip when taking photos. Instead, I double-tap the button to open the camera app and slide up and down on it to zoom in and out.
Other notable hardware capabilities include support for Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7, and IP68/IP69 dust/water resistance (up to 1.5m for 30 min). This water resistance means that the phone is rated to survive a dunk in water up to 1.5m deep for as long as 30 minutes. You can also use a pressure washer on it as long as the water isn’t hotter than 80℃ (but who is testing that one?).
The Australian version arrives with 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage, which is plenty.
Just like they did in the Find X5 Pro, OPPO has used one of the best displays available in the Find X8 Pro. It is a big 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a resolution of 1264 x 2780 pixels (~450 ppi) and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It has a peak brightness of 4,500 nits so it can be easily seen in direct sunlight and is protected by the latest from Corning, the Gorilla Glass 7i.
So, how does it look? It’s big, bold, and beautiful. The colours are vibrant and pop, but they are not oversaturated like on some displays. Thanks to the very small and slight curve along its edges, the display is extremely comfortable to use.
The only biometric security on this phone is the fingerprint sensor which is located under the display. While it is incredibly fast and easy to reach (it is located very low down on the display) it would have been nice to include secure biometric face unlock too but that requires more specialised software. I do like how Google has included both options in their recent flagship smartphones.
The camera upgrade is extensive, and the specs outshine every other smartphone on our market. You get an ultra-wide camera, main wide camera, 3x telephoto, and 6x telephoto
You would expect the camera results on the Find X8 Pro to be impressive given its specs, and you’d be right. Daytime pictures are vibrant, detailed and not overexposed or over-saturated.
Night images are also good—not Google Pixel-quality, but still excellent. Even at night, there is a wide dynamic range with great shadows. The end result is really nice images without the over-sharpening that so many do in low-light scenarios. For those who don’t like the night software that every manufacturer includes these days, there is also an option to shoot in raw to show the image just as your eyeball sees it—I do like to do this occasionally.
Within the OPPO Gallery app, you can also use their AI solutions, which are strikingly similar to Google’s. AI Eraser, AI Ultra Clarity, and AI Unblur do what you would expect, and if you are unsure when to use each, you can set the AI Editor to automatically suggest one of these tools when required. I’m not sure how many folks use the native gallery on their phones, but I’m not one of them. Maybe I should use it more often for this reason.
OPPO’s software, ColorOS, is now at version 15 and has undergone a lot of changes in the last couple of years since we’ve seen it here on a flagship smartphone. OPPO has stepped up their update game with promises of five OS releases and six years of security updates – that should satisfy most folks.
The software is still good. Actually, I’d say it was great. It is fast and smooth and although it falls short of the Pixel Experience smoothness that is not a huge negative – everyone that isn’t Google falls short of that experience.
The software options are extensive, really extensive, and nearly everyone is useful to some degree. It’s going to be too difficult to cover them all, but let me discuss a few that I find most useful.
There are new, incredibly smooth animations, new icons, and new themes and theming options, but those are neither here nor there for me. However, they do mean that if you like to customise your device to exactly how you want it to look, you can.
The fantastic software additions from OPPO include quite a few new ones as well as a few old ones I want to touch on as well.
It sounds like the software is perfect, right? Unfortunately, I noticed one issue. Very occasionally, the keyboard (Gboard) would close automatically while in a messaging app and would not reopen no matter how many times I tapped on the text box. This happens maybe once a day or so, not every time, so your mileage may vary. It’s still annoying, though.
The workaround is to back out of that chat, reopen it, and then the keyboard will be active again. I’m not sure if a fix is on the way, but if OPPO is still reading my reviews all these years later, I am happy to help them find the bug and squash it.
One final word is that I couldn’t get Google Wallet to enable contactless payments on one of my cards which is a Google problem though because it also wouldn’t work on a recent Moto razr phone I was using. Very strange and it really annoys me that the bank has no idea what is wrong and Google just point you towards your bank. This is not uncommon if you search the web for this error. Google needs to get their butt into gear and fix this, or at least find what the issue is and tell the banks how to fix it. ***EDIT*** the fix is to add the card from within your banking app and not the Google Wallet.
I thought these days were behind us but OPPO does include some pre-installed apps such as Booking.com and TikTok which, although annoying and really should be installed by a manufacturer, can uninstalled. OPPO, you are bigger and better, than this, stop doing it, please.
Last week we covered CES 2025 extensively and AI was everywhere. If you’re like me, you are over it. I am now officially over-saturated with AI. All of the mobile ones are the same (even from Apple to Google), which is not a bad thing but do we need to go over them every single time?
Google’s Circle to Search is installed once again – I use this ALL the time and find it super handy – mainly to copy numbers but to find products etc is handy too.
OPPO has its own AI Toolbox (thanks to Google Gemini), but the AI tools are basically what we have seen in all phones recently: AI Speak, AI Summary, AI Writer, and AI Studio.
The OPPO Recorder app also uses AI to transcribe your recorded audio and summarise it. This is handy for meetings or doctor’s appointments, so you don’t forget anything.
This generation OPPO has upgraded the battery material to silicon carbon. They are not the first to do this, but they are one of the first. What does this mean? This battery technology offers a greater energy density (12.8%) than lithium-based batteries, meaning a smaller battery can hold the same amount of charge capacity.
That is how they can include a massive 5,910mAh battery in such a thin body. To their credit, OPPO has adapted this technology to work seamlessly with their SUPERVOOC fast charging. The OPPO Find X8 Pro offers 80W wired, 50W wireless (with an OPPO AirVOOC charger) and 10W reverse wireless charging, assuming you use the OPPO charger which is included in the box.
In my testing, the charging speeds match those stated by OPPO, and it is extremely handy. If you are about to go out for dinner or something and realise your battery is at 15%, plug it in while you get ready, and ten minutes later, it’s at 45%. I did this on Saturday night.
From 4% battery left, the Find X8 Pro took 17 minutes to charge to 50%, 36 minutes to 90% and 47 minutes to 96%. I also have an 80W car charger that I use during the day as well. OPPO’s SUPERVOOC is awesome in every single way and puts all other manufacturers in Australia to shame.
These days, it’s uncommon to talk about accessories, but here we are. OPPO includes a basic clear silicon case in the box, which is nice but just that. It’s nothing special but a great touch.
For some unknown reason, Android manufacturers seem to be avoiding installing the full Qi2 specs in their phones. As such, you will need to buy their accessories to add the magnetic feature of Qi2 (well, there is a reason, maybe—there is also AliExpress for Qi2 charging cases).
I had OPPO send me one of their “Pro Fantasy Prism Magnetic Half-Pack” Cases which is basically a half case that offers a small amount of protection from scratching but not from drops. It does include the Qi2 magnets in it so you can use it with any Qi2 accessory such as a car charger/mount – this is where I use it mostly. The case is well built and offers even greater protection for the cameras on the rear thanks to its large lip around the camera island.
If you like cases directly from the manufacturer, I would consider this for the addition of magnetic Qi2 capabilities. However, at AU$45, it is not cheap.
Another accessory you can buy from OPPO for the Find X8 Pro is the “OPPO AirVOOC 50W Magnetic Charger,” which does what its name says. It will also work with your Find X5 and X5 Pro.
Yes. OPPO has improved this phone out of sight since we last saw the standard smartphone Find series on our shores. The software is a massive improvement with some exciting new additions to the improvement in smoothness and speed. The main camera offers four great cameras in its setup, with two of them periscopic cameras and all of them 50MP and the resultant images are stunning as expected.
The design is gorgeous with the pearl white stunning. It is a large phone but the display is big, bold and beautiful and the bezels are tiny, offering a great experience for your eyes. Add in the volume slider and quick button and you have nearly perfect hardware.
The OPPO Find X8 Pro also has attractive pricing at RRP AU$1,799 at OPPO and JB Hi-Fi with the equivalent iPhone coming in at AU$2,499 and the equivalent Pixel 9 currently on sale at AU$1,999.
The OPPO Find X8 Pro is good enough for me to part with my own funds for one after this goes back. That speaks volumes.
Scott is our resident open technology expert. If you can mod it, or want to use it your way, Scott has probably done it. From Laptops to phones, headphones and game consoles, he’s played with it and wants to see the next generation.
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