OPPO Find X – a smartphone with hidden camera

When OPPO unveiled its latest phone as a “smartphone of the future”, we first thought “meh, marketing speak.” 

But we were proven wrong. At the media launch, we tested out the OPPO Find X in question for ourselves and were impressed straight off the bat with its futuristic all-screen design and nary a camera in sight (don’t worry guys, it’s there).

The latest addition to OPPO’s premium Find series, this baby is also packed with a slew of features that’ll tempt even diehard Apple fans. Here’s what we fell in love with:

1. Pop-up camera

This mechanism was tested over 300,000 times, so..pretty sure it won’t wear out.

When you hear pop-up camera, you’d think a chunky device that juts out at the most inconvenient timings – like when you want to lowkey snap your crush. But this is far more like a stealthy 007 gadget. It’s absolutely silent and glides out faster than you can say, “OPPO”. That’s 0.6 seconds to be exact.

It’s intuitive, too, with both front and rear cameras popping up when a camera app is opened.

The golden question, though: why hide the camera? Besides being a safety against clumsy people like me who drop phones like DJs do to a beat, it’s also a nifty way to ensure no ugly bumps or cracked lens.

It also enables the next point.

2. A super big screen 

+100 points for a bigger than average screen. 

Yes, with no camera notch taking up space, OPPO went big with its generous 6.4-inch screen.

This makes the OPPO Find X a godsend for all of us who watch videos on the MRT – 93.8% I believe, according to a non-scientific study. FYI, that percentage is also the screen-to-body ratio, so most of the phone is screen. 

The phone is also curved at the edges, so it fits nicely when you hold it in one hand.

3. Face recognition unlock 

Move over fingerprints and voice recognition, the OPPO Find X has unveiled the stuff of biometric dreams – a 3D face scanning system. 

Unlock with just your pretty face. Typing numbers is so passe.

It’s swift, too, just like the camera pop-up. Like in half a second.

And in case you’re interested in the ‘how’ behind this sleek mechanism, the phone uses 3D structured lighting technology to scan a whopping 15,000 facial points.

4. AI photo modes – next level selfies

Besides the generous number of megapixels of the front camera – 25-megapixel y’all – what will turn you into a guy/girl that takes selfies on the MRT just because is the AI enhancement mode. 

It means you can customise your OWN beauty filter, whether that means constant nose slimming or sharpening your face to be more V-shaped. Just follow these steps:

1. Go to the default photo mode and choose the icon ‘+’

2. Scan your face with the 3D Recognition software

3. Adjust the custom filter for your scanned face – tweak how wide your chin is, how slim your cheeks are and so on

And presto… You’ll be photogenic forever more. 

It’s not just about beautifying your selfies – you can even tweak the lighting to your liking by choosing from ‘light filters’. So, bid goodbye to shady grainy shots or using another handphone’s flashlight to ‘light up’ your shots. 

This was taken in daylight, but with the bi-colour neon light filter, my photo got x8341785 times more aesthetic.

Bonus: Play around with animated Emojis

If you’re one of those people that like to send emoticons/GIFs/stickers in chats to friends, you’ll love these 3D Omojis. Think cartoon avatars/emojis that map out your facial expressions!

5. Able to charge quickly & shoot in RAW mode

For those of you that go into panic mode when your battery hits the red, this is a lifesaver. The SuperVOOC charging function* means you can charge in 35 minutes flat – so you don’t have to sit around waiting for your all-important juice to be restored.

Photographers will also be glad to note that you can shoot in RAW mode – so you have the option of zero compression for super high-quality shots. 

*Note: Only available for 8GB RAM + 256GB versions & Automobili Lamborghini editions. 

Bonus: The special Lamborghini edition

For people who want to go full-out baller with their 24/7 companion mobile device, you can dig a little deeper into your pockets and get the Automobili Lamborghini OPPO Find X. Named after the luxury car, you can bet the specs and feel of this edition will make you feel real blue-blooded.

Think a sleek carbon fibre texture on the back, with the car brand’s iconic logo. Vroom vroom. 

Note: This is currently not available in the Singapore market.

Verdict:

At first, we were apprehensive about the whole pop-up camera thing. But after seeing how it afforded the MASSIVE screen and actually worked in a super intuitive way, we were sold. Cameras on the outside? Nah. Using hidden cameras was like stepping into the future, one baby step at a time.

The specs of the OPPO Find X are comparable or even better than many phones in the market, but we can especially see this becoming a firm favourite with the phone photography crowd (a.k.a everyone) with the device’s customisable photo modes and inability to take a bad selfie.

Get the OPPO Find X in Singapore

OPPO Find X has hit our sunny island and you can snatch one up through pre-orders. You can get it at OPPO’s concept stores, OPPO’s online store and official Qoo10, Lazada and Shopee stores. It will also be available from 11 Aug at StarHub, Singtel and M1.

There’re two models available in colours Bordeaux Red and Glacier Blue:

• OPPO Find X – 8GB RAM + 128GB (SGD$1,199)
• OPPO Find X – 8GB RAM + 256GB (SGD$1,399)

Other specs:

• Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 mobile platform
• Android 8.1 Oreo with ColorOS 5.1
• 3,730mAh battery
• 6.4-inch OLED display
• Pop-up camera tray with the 25MP lens, and dual-camera module (16MP + 20MP) 

Find out more about the OPPO Find X here!

This post was brought to you by OPPO. Original photography by Vanessa Teo.