The Oppo Find X8 Ultra, a fresh release from China, promises to deliver cutting-edge performance, an exceptional camera setup, and a solid overall experience. Although the phone isn’t likely to launch in India, it has garnered attention for its impressive features. In this review, we’ll take an in-depth look at what makes the Oppo Find X8 Ultra stand out, especially in terms of its design, camera system, and performance.
First Impressions and Design
At first glance, the Oppo Find X8 Ultra might not seem like an ultra-phone, but once you get your hands on it, that feeling quickly fades. The industrial design is well-executed, making it one of the slimmest ultra-phones available, despite having a large camera module with multiple sensors. Weighing in at about 226-227g, the device is surprisingly well-balanced and comfortable to hold.
The rear of the phone is made from frosted glass with a matte finish and a satin texture, giving it a premium feel. The glass curves gently at the edges, enhancing the comfort during use. The phone is available in a beautiful light pink color, which looks sleek and stylish. Oppo’s minimalist approach to design shines here, crafting a phone that is elegant yet understated.
One notable design change is the removal of the iconic alert slider, replaced by a customizable shortcut button, similar to Apple’s action button. The shortcut button allows you to switch between various modes like ringer, silent, and flashlight. However, customization options are limited, as it doesn’t let you open apps directly. This addition is a nod to Apple’s design but lacks the same level of flexibility.
The Oppo Find X8 Ultra also introduces the “quick button,” a feature inspired by Apple’s camera control button. This button allows you to zoom in and out by swiping on it, although it doesn’t support switching camera modes.
Display and Build Quality
The display is a flagship-grade OLED panel with slim bezels and a tiny punch hole in the center. The screen offers excellent brightness levels, with a peak brightness that’s particularly good for HDR content on platforms like YouTube. While Netflix HDR is not supported in this Chinese variant, the screen still performs well in bright environments, with a maximum outdoor brightness of 600 nits.
The ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner is another highlight. It’s the most advanced fingerprint scanning technology available, capable of unlocking the phone even with a wet finger. Additionally, the vibration motor and haptic feedback on this phone are some of the best you can experience on any device, providing an incredibly tactile and satisfying feel.
Audio and Performance
The stereo speakers on the Oppo Find X8 Ultra are balanced well between the left and right channels, delivering excellent sound quality. While the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers a more bass-heavy sound, the Find X8 Ultra excels in its treble performance.
Under the hood, the Find X8 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. The phone performs admirably, with excellent frame rates and low temperatures even during extended gaming sessions. The screen is flat, making it ideal for gamers who appreciate a more traditional display without any curves.
The device features a large 6,100mAh battery with silicon-carbon technology and supports 100W wired charging. Additionally, it offers 50W AirWoke wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging, making it an all-around powerhouse in terms of battery and charging capabilities.
Camera System
The real highlight of the Oppo Find X8 Ultra is its camera setup. The rear camera array consists of four 50MP sensors, including a 1-inch Sony Lydia 900 primary sensor, two periscope cameras with 3x and 6x zoom, and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. The front camera is a 32MP selfie shooter.
However, the camera experience in this Chinese variant does come with a few drawbacks. The color tuning seems overly saturated, pushing the reds and making the skin tones appear a bit warm. This issue is region-specific, so it’s likely to vary depending on where the phone is sold. Despite this, the camera’s hardware remains impressive, and it offers features like 25MP pixel binning, which helps capture more detail in your photos, especially in low-light conditions.
The Find X8 Ultra performs exceptionally well in low light, surpassing even the Xiaomi 15 Ultra in terms of detail retention and noise control. You can also shoot in RAW or JPEG Max formats, giving photographers the flexibility to fine-tune their images in post-production. Additionally, the phone features a new “Lumo camera algorithm” that improves color accuracy, sharpness, and HDR performance.
The telephoto zoom cameras also impress, offering excellent telemacro capabilities. However, the AI tuning could use some refinement, especially in longer zoom ranges, where the results tend to look overly processed. Despite this, the 3x camera excels, especially in low-light portrait shots.
The Oppo Find X8 Ultra also excels in video recording, with the ability to shoot 4K at 120fps from the primary and 3x cameras, as well as 4K 60fps Dolby Vision videos from all other cameras, including the front one. The video quality, coupled with impressive sound recording, makes this phone a solid option for videographers.
Software and User Experience
The Find X8 Ultra runs on ColorOS 15, based on Android 15. The software has seen significant improvements, offering features like live activities, Flux themes, and extensive customization options. However, since this is the China-specific version, it comes preloaded with apps that may not be useful for international users, requiring some workarounds like sideloading the Play Store.
Final Thoughts
The Oppo Find X8 Ultra is a true flagship, with cutting-edge specs, a standout camera system, and top-tier performance. Oppo continues to push the boundaries with its camera algorithms, performance optimization, and innovative features. While the regional color tuning may not appeal to everyone, the overall hardware and software experience make this an impressive device.
Unfortunately, since the phone isn’t expected to launch in India, we can only hope that Oppo will bring this Ultra flagship to more markets in the future. Until then, the Find X8 Ultra remains a premium device that proves Oppo’s expertise in crafting flagship smartphones.
