Snap happy smartphone shoppers may want to hold off making any purchases in the next few weeks: Oppo’s two upcoming phones could be in the running for the best photography crown, and they’ve just been confirmed for a worldwide release. The Oppo Find X9 and Find X9 Pro are being officially launched on the firm’s home turf this week, and are set for a global launch on October 28.
They’re some of the first phones to use MediaTek’s new Dimensity 9500 flagship chipset, and will be packing some of the biggest batteries of any mainstream handset: 7025mAh for the smaller 6.59in Find X9, and 7500mAh for the 6.78in Find X9 Pro. Even better, it sounds like that won’t change for the global model, so everyone can expect multiple days of battery life – not just the Chinese market.
While Oppo isn’t talking camera specifics, I do know the worldwide Find X9 Pro will land with a 200MP telephoto lens co-developed by imaging experts Hasselblad. That’s a switch up from last year’s Find X8 Pro, which had two 50MP zooms – one for 3x and one for 6x. Both phones get Oppo’s Lumo image processing engine, which can also handle 4K/120fps video recording in Dolby Vision HDR, or Log recording for pro productions.
That would be reason enough to get excited – the China-only Find X8 Ultra was one of my favourite phones for photography this year thanks in part to its nuanced picture processing and colour handling – but the Find X9 Pro is going one better with a bolt-on extender lens. Hasselblad helped out with the optics, which should mean brilliant clarity at an equivalent 230mm focal length. In non-camera geek speak, that means optical quality 10x zoom, regardless of light levels.
I got the chance to try out both the phone and the extender lens at recent Oppo event. While embargoes mean I can’t talk about quality just yet, the above images show what the pair are capable of in the extremely challenging conditions of a live concert. The first shot comes from the phone’s main camera; the second from the telephoto at its native 3x; and the last with the extender lens attached for 10x magnification.
Oppo Find X9 Pro – main camera (1x) vs telephoto w/ Hasselblad Extender lens (10x)
Oppo isn’t the first phone firm to offer a lens attachment; Vivo beat it to the punch with a Zeiss-badged zoom for its X200 Ultra back in March. But unlike that phone, you’ll actually be able to get your hands on a Find X9 Pro if you live outside of China. That also means not having to worry about regional software restrictions.
The Find X9 and Find X9 Pro will arrive running a global version of ColorOS 16, based on Android 16 and with full access to the Play Store, Android Auto, Google Wallet and everything else Western phone owners take for granted.
Both will have the usual flagship combination of aluminium frame and matte glass front and rear, with the Find X9 launching in Titanium Grey, Space Black, and Velvet Red colours; the Find X9 Pro will see Titanium Charcoal and Silk White hues. Images released ahead of the full reveal also show a new, squarer take on the rear camera island.
How (or if) the worldwide handsets differ from the Chinese versions will be revealed at the launch event on October 28.
