In 2022, we’ve already seen a lot of fantastic phones. The Galaxy S22+ is a terrific all-around phone, while the S22 Ultra marks the return of the Note series and the S21 FE establishes a new benchmark for budget flagships.
This year, Samsung fired the initial shot, but Chinese makers aren’t far behind. I’m excited to watch what OPPO does this year; the brand’s Find and Reno series have seen a 50 percent year-over-year rise in sales in the previous 12 months, and it’s gaining traction in major western markets like the UK.
With this year’s Find X5 Pro, OPPO hopes to continue that trend. The phone, which is aimed squarely at the Galaxy S22+, is now available in global markets. It has a similar look to the Find X3 Pro from last year, but it has a number of intriguing new features under the hood, including OPPO’s in-house image NPU, the MariSilicon X. There’s also a Hasselblad connection, improved internals, and new charging technology that supports up to 80W wired and 50W wireless charging.
Does the Find X5 Pro have what it takes to compete with Samsung’s best? With the Galaxy S22+ giving a solid overall package, does the Find X5 Pro have what it takes to go up against the best? Let’s have a look.
Release
The Find X5 Pro was announced at Mobile World Congress on February 24, and it is now available for pre-order in the UK, with sales beginning on March 24. Here’s a breakdown of when the Find X5 Pro will be available worldwide:
- Spain/Switzerland/Belgium/Netherland: March 14
- Italy: March 17
- Germany/Portugal: March 21
- France/UK: March 24
- Australia: April 7
- New Zealand: March 31/April 7
The Find X5 Pro will be available in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa after April, according to OPPO. The Find X5 Pro, like other OPPO phones, will not be available in North America.
The Find X5 Pro comes in only one configuration, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and costs £1,049 ($1,365) in the UK. There are several freebies available if you pre-order: the Enco X wireless earphones (which are great), an OPPO Watch Free smartwatch, a 50W AirVOOC wireless charging stand, and a Kevlar Aramid Case. The pre-purchase freebies are worth £373 ($485), so if you’re interested in the Find X5 Pro, you’d better place your order by March 23.
OPPO also offers a normal Find X5 model with an FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 888 processor, identical cameras to the Find X5 Pro, and both wired and wireless charging options of 80W and 30W. This model, which costs £749 ($975), includes a glass back and 8GB of RAM with 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
The camera bump on the Find X3 Pro blended smoothly into the chassis last year, and OPPO is continuing that trend with the Find X5 Pro.
This year, the impact is a touch stronger, which makes the phone stand out even more than normal among the glass-and-metal designs that now dominate this category.
Overall, the Find X5 Pro gets a lot right in terms of design. The ceramic back is fabulous and it is more resistant to tumbles, the phone feels great to hold and use, and although it is heavy, it is well-balanced. This may just be my favorite phone design of 2022, and that white color option in particular looks very distinctive.
Performance
It wouldn’t be right for a flagship to arrive in 2022 without Qualcomm’s latest chipset, thus the Find X5 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. There’s also a larger multi-tier cooling system to guarantee the phone doesn’t overheat during gaming sessions, and I didn’t notice any thermal concerns during my week with the phone.
There’s not a lot to say about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. It performs admirably in almost every situation, and I don’t see that changing for at least a few years. The Find X5 Pro breezes through day-to-day work with ease, and the technology on offer is overkill for most use cases.
In terms of memory and storage, the Find X5 Pro comes in a single 12GB/256GB combination, which I like because OPPO now includes 256GB of storage as standard on its mid-range and high-end handsets. Although there is no microSD card port, the internal storage should be sufficient for most people.
Another feature I like is the haptic engine; the Find X5 Pro has a vibration motor that delivers excellent feedback. And like everything else about the phone, it is inherently customizable — you can adjust the vibration intensity and pattern of feedback from the settings. OPPO did a brilliant job here, and I want the same motor to make its way to the OnePlus 10 Pro and other BBK offshoots of the Find X5 Pro.
When it comes to connectivity, you’ll find Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, AptX HD audio codec, and global 5G bands with a 360-degree antenna design. While the Find X5 Pro isn’t launching in North America, it has the requisite Sub-6 5G bands for the region. Here’s the breakdown of all the 5G bands: n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/13/18/20/25/26/28/38/40/41/66/77/78/79.
And finally, the Find X5 Pro includes IP68 dust and water resistance, giving it the ability to withstand the elements. You’re getting all the hardware features you could want in a flagship, and the Find X5 Pro holds its own against the best Android phones.
