Oppo Discover X5 Professional Overview: Excellence, Refined

When Oppo unveiled the Discover X3 Professional, its design was… a little bit of a shock, to say the least. The one pane of mirrored glass on the rear that curved up, round, and over the digicam module seemed in contrast to anything on the market.

There’s no such shock this time round, because the Discover X5 Professional (no, there was no X4 – we’ll get to that) is a case of refinement quite than reinvention. And never simply within the design – a lot of the cellphone’s specs are half-steps ahead from Oppo’s 2021 flagship, however tweaked and improved simply sufficient to justify the replace.

And sure, there was by no means a Discover X4 sequence. Oppo says that that is right down to the truth that final 12 months’s Discover N foldable was the sequence’ fourth era, making this the fifth – however maybe the corporate simply doesn’t wish to admit that it’s a tad superstitious, with 4 thought of an unfortunate quantity throughout a lot of Asia.

Design and construct

Distinctive curved ceramic construct
Gorilla Glass Victus on the show
IP68

So yeah, Oppo hasn’t modified an excessive amount of concerning the broad strokes design of the Discover X5 Professional – which remains to be a bit like it or hate it – however there have been some good tweaks all through.

The obvious one is the newly slanted digicam module. That is extra than simply change for change’s sake although – the concept is that the angle higher fits the place customers are prone to relaxation their index finger on the cellphone’s again. It offers you not solely a cushty spot to take a seat your finger, however simply as importantly retains it from blocking and smudging your digicam lenses.

I’ll admit I used to be a sceptic, however I’m an enormous fan of the change – and in reality want Oppo had gone just a little additional, with a sharper angle, although which may be a quirk of how my arms sit.

It’s a small tweak, however has a surprisingly influence on how the cellphone is to carry, with the burden of the digicam and the higher a part of the cellphone now capable of relaxation comfortably. That issues greater than typical, however Oppo’s different massive change – a swap to a ceramic rear – has made the Discover X5 Professional fairly heavy at 218g.

That’s not essentially a nasty factor – although little doubt the cellphone will now really feel too cumbersome for some – as it’s a part of making the cellphone really feel particularly premium within the hand. It’s price noting that whereas the 2 colors are Glaze Black and Ceramic White, each in truth use ceramic – not simply the white mannequin.

The ceramic end ought to show more durable than most glass choices, although it’s at the very least as dangerous for choosing up fingerprints. In the meantime the show is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, and an IP68 score means this needs to be protected from most mud and water harm.

The opposite apparent visible addition is a Hasselblad emblem that sits alongside Oppo’s on the rear. I’ll discuss that digicam collaboration extra later, however I do want the emblem had been omitted – or at the very least shrunk. Between the 2 firm logos, the ‘Powered by MariSilicon’ mark on the digicam, and the slew of authorized marks required within the UK and Europe, the again of the cellphone seems to be particularly cluttered and busy this time round, which does detract from the design.

Show and audio

Giant 6.7in AMOLED show
1-120Hz variable refresh charge
Highly effective stereo audio system

The previous couple of Discover X flagships from Oppo have flaunted their show high quality, and whereas the Discover X5 Professional isn’t as dramatic a step ahead as we’ve seen earlier than, it nonetheless boasts among the best shows within the enterprise.

At 6.7in it’s on the bigger finish of Android flagships, however the specs are arduous to argue with: a WQHD+ LTPO AMOLED with variable refresh charge from 1-120Hz and HDR assist.

That’s a whole lot of jargon, nevertheless it boils right down to the truth that you’re getting an in depth, excessive decision show with nice color protection and distinction, and a variable refresh charge that delivers each tremendous clean animations and wonderful battery optimisation.

One intelligent contact that’s new to this cellphone is the flexibility to fluctuate refresh charge throughout the show. It will solely actually kick in for split-screen multi-taskers, however in principle lets a part of the show run at a excessive refresh charge for video or a sport, whereas working one other half down at just a few Hz to your WhatsApp conversations to preserve energy.

As you’d anticipate in a flagship you’ll additionally get stereo audio system, and these actually aren’t dangerous. After all there’s a restrict to their bass output, however sound is crisp, clear, and by no means muddled, making this lots adequate for watching YouTube and even the odd spot of music for those who don’t have a speaker useful.

Specs and efficiency

Snapdragon Eight Gen 1 chipset
12GB RAM and 256GB storage
Twin-SIM 5G

The Discover X5 Professional is powered primarily by the Snapdragon Eight Gen 1 chipset, the newest flagship from Qualcomm. There’s truly additionally a variant utilizing the Dimensity 9000, from rival MediaTek, however for now at the very least this mannequin stays unique to China.

The Eight Gen 1 solely launched in December, and so it would take a while to determine precisely what it’s able to, and the way varied cellphone producers make use of it. Some early Eight Gen 1 telephones appear to wrestle with thermal administration, however Oppo has taken this in its stride with a 75% bigger vapour chamber and I haven’t seen the Discover X5 Professional warmth up any greater than I’d anticipate.

As with most flagships right here, efficiency right here actually falls into two distinct camps. In the event you’re something like a typical cellphone person – largely anxious about social media, listening to music, perhaps some mild gaming – then this has greater than sufficient energy. The Eight Gen 1 can deal with absolutely anything you throw at it, and the cellphone is slick and clean to make use of.

In the event you’re a multi-tasking energy person or extra dedicated cell gamer, then that is nonetheless one of the highly effective telephones available on the market, however the Eight Gen 1 doesn’t ship any big bounce on final 12 months’s Snapdragon 888 flagships. In actual fact its Geekbench 5 scores are even overwhelmed by a few of final 12 months’s handsets, although it impresses extra within the graphical GFXBench exams, the place it is comfortably forward of Snapdragon 888 telephones on the identical decision – notice that the Galaxy S22+ included for comparability has an unfair benefit right here, because it runs at a decrease decision.

Oppo has determined to supply only one model of the cellphone, so that you’ll get 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage whether or not you prefer it or not – and with no microSD assist, that storage isn’t expandable both.

5G is supported in fact, and the dual-SIM slot will allow you to use two 5G SIM playing cards directly (or one card and one eSIM). Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and NFC assist spherical out the connectivity options.

Battery and charging

Giant 5000mAh battery
80W wired charging (charger included)
50W wi-fi charging

The Discover X5 Professional’s sheer measurement affords Oppo the possibility to incorporate a capacious 5000mAh battery. Nonetheless, with the excessive specs included her the cellphone can burn by way of that sooner than you would possibly suppose, so that is nonetheless a cellphone that can want a cost day-after-day.

With mild use you would possibly nearly have the ability to stretch it additional, however for essentially the most half you’ll in all probability solely get in the future at a outing of it, with 5 hours or so of screen-on time.

Luckily charging is quick, with assist for 80W wired charging and 50W wi-fi. A brand new ‘Battery Well being Engine’ helps shield the battery whereas charging, and Oppo says the cellphone ought to retain 80% of its full capability after a whopping 1600 charging cycles – although in fact I haven’t been capable of check that declare myself.

With the included 80W wired charger I topped the cellphone up by 56% in simply 15 minutes, and as much as 94% in half an hour. In the event you’re prone to want to make use of third-party chargers too, the cellphone helps the PPS commonplace at as much as 30W speeds.

Oppo says the 50W wi-fi charging can ship a full cost in 50 minutes, however for that you simply’ll want an official AirVOOC charger. Commonplace Qi wi-fi chargers are supported too, however at a lot decrease speeds – the max is 15W over the EPP commonplace.

Digital camera and video

50Mp most important and ultrawide cameras
13Mp 2x telephoto
No microlens or periscope zoom

Oppo has made some attention-grabbing selections with the digicam system on the Discover X5 Professional, although I will admit to having blended emotions about a few of them.

First up, this is what you get: a pair of 50Mp most important and ultrawide lenses, a 13Mp 2x zoom telephoto lens, and a 32Mp selfie digicam.

There isn’t any signal of the novel microlens digicam used on the Discover X3 Professional, nor of any 5x or 10x zoom periscope lens. Oppo says that it thinks customers are extra focussed on the standard and low mild efficiency of the principle lenses, and so has focussed its efforts there.

There are two different parts to concentrate on earlier than we dive into the outcomes. First is {hardware}: Oppo has included its first in-house silicon right here within the type of the MariSilicon X NPU. That is an additional 6nm chip dedicated to picture processing, which the corporate says is essential to the digicam’s efficiency – particularly in low mild.

The opposite change is software program. As given away by the large emblem on the again, Hasselblad has helped right here, however solely in providing the identical kind of options discovered on final 12 months’s OnePlus 9 Professional. Which means the digicam app now has Hasselblad’s orange accents and distinctive shutter sound, together with a couple of new color filters and an XPAN that shoots within the uncommon 65:24 facet ratio. That is actually about it although – do not get too hung up on the Hasselblad stuff.

Digital camera efficiency actually is superb. Photographs are sharp and detailed throughout the three lenses, with heat colors that appear true-to-life – and with spectacular color consistency between the three lenses.

Any digicam system at this value will nail it in good mild although, so low mild is the place issues actually matter. Right here the Discover X5 Professional is nice – nevertheless it’s not the most effective, regardless of Oppo’s insistence that that is the place it is focussed its efforts. The Vivo X70 Professional+ stays head and shoulders above the competitors in low mild, although the Discover X5 Professional holds its personal towards the likes of the Galaxy S21 Extremely or Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely, and nonetheless comfortably beats the iPhone 13 Professional.

Low mild photos are sharp and impressively detailed, however dynamic vary could be missing. Some black areas keep very black, and light-weight sources could be extraordinarily over-exposed – although that is improved once you use the devoted evening mode, quite than depend on the default digicam mode.

The principle digicam fares better of the three, little doubt helped by its extensive aperture and 5-axis OIS stabilisation – with no optical stabilisation in any respect on the opposite lenses, they can not compete when the going will get darkish.

This in all probability sounds extra vital than is honest – the three rear lenses all take wonderful low mild photographs (and even the front-facing lens holds its personal). However when Oppo has justified ditching a periscope to ship on low mild, it is disappointing to see that it is not likely any higher than its key rivals in that space.

If digicam is your most important concern then the Discover X5 Professional is unquestionably within the combine, nevertheless it’s not the be-all, end-all, particularly for those who care concerning the additional zoom choices elsewhere. However for those who simply desire a new flagship with a digicam you possibly can belief, then this positively delivers, after which some.

Software program and updates

Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1
Three Android OS updates

The Discover X5 Professional ships with Android 12, and runs Oppo’s ColorOS pores and skin on prime.

Necessary Android 12 options like icons to warn you to when the digicam and microphone are in use, or the brand new privateness dashboard, are included right here. Nevertheless, Oppo has opted to thoroughly omit Materials You, the brand new Android 12 characteristic that tweaks person interface colors based mostly on a palette drawn out of your wallpaper – although you possibly can at the very least simply go in and tweak the colors manually, as I’ve.

There’s nonetheless lots to love about ColorOS although, which stays one of many higher Android skins round. It’s easy and straightforward to make use of, with a clearly laid out settings menu and a wealth of customisation choices all through the OS.

Oppo additionally guarantees three years of Android OS updates for its flagships, with a fourth 12 months of safety patches, which ought to see this cellphone replace to Android 13, 14, and ultimately 15. That’s not fairly the long-term software program assist provided by Apple, nevertheless it’s up there among the many greatest for Android manufacturers, with solely Samsung doing higher proper now.

Worth and availability

Whereas the Discover X5 Professional has already been revealed in full, it received’t truly be in the stores for some time – within the UK at the very least, the cellphone doesn’t go on sale till 24 March, although it is going to be obtainable to pre-order from 10 March. It will likely be obtainable throughout Europe and Asia, however don’t anticipate it to launch within the US – Oppo telephones by no means do.

Within the UK it would value £1,049, whereas in Europe it’ll set you again €1,299. Within the UK that’s truly a slight value drop from the Discover X3 Professional, although the fee has gone up in Europe, and there it is immediately up towards premium flagships just like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Extremely or final 12 months’s Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely and Sony Xperia 1 III.

If the Discover X5 Professional goes to wrestle right here, it is as a result of most of these rivals provide highly effective periscopic zoom cameras, which this does not. If that is a key characteristic for you then look to these rivals, but when the Discover X5 Professional’s 2x zoom appears like sufficient then the well-rounded package deal right here might be a winner.

Take a look at our round-ups of the most effective flagship telephones and greatest Android telephones to see the important thing rivals, or the most effective Oppo telephones for extra from the model.

Verdict

The Oppo Discover X5 Professional is gorgeous, highly effective cellphone that delivers nearly in all places it counts.

In comparison with different current flagships, this seems like an all-rounder: you get a superb show, sturdy efficiency, respectable battery and charging, and a strong digicam – all wrapped in a reasonably distinctive design.

Outdoors of that aesthetic I am undecided there is a single space that the Discover X5 Professional is the best possible of any cellphone on the market, so when you’ve got particular priorities chances are you’ll discover that some rivals provide you with extra of that you really want. However few nail nearly each facet of the cellphone the way in which that Oppo has right here, which may give the Discover X5 Professional extra wide-ranging attraction.

Specs
Oppo Discover X5 Professional: Specs

Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1

6.7in WQHD+ LTPO AMOLED show, 120Hz, HDR10+

Qualcomm Snapdragon Eight Gen 1
12GB RAM

256GB inside storage

50Mp, f/1.7, 5-axis OIS most important digicam
50Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam
13Mp, f/2.four 2x telephoto digicam

32Mp, f/2.four selfie digicam
Stereo audio system

Fingerprint scanner (in-display)

Bluetooth 5.2
Wi-Fi 6

GPS

NFC

5G
Twin-SIM
Gorilla Glass Victus show coating
Ceramic rear
IP68