Hands on: Oppo Find X3 Pro delivers killer camera close-ups in an Android powerhouse

Ben Schoon | Mar 11 2021 - 8:15 am PT

Oppo isn’t a big deal in the US, but the company’s latest flagship leaves me a little envious of that. After using the Oppo Find X3 Pro for a few days, I’ve been impressed by a well-designed, powerful, and easy-to-use flagship Android phone that has a truly killer camera.

The hardware of the Find X3 Pro is what impressed me right off the bat. It’s a sleek, honestly gorgeous phone in person. The signature look of the device comes from Oppo’s “impossible curve” around the camera, which is a genuine improvement to smartphone design in my book. It’s easier to keep clean, doesn’t get caught on your pocket, and visually looks great in person, despite being a little odd in early renders.

That great design was only complimented for me by the matte blue color I was sent. It’s a really nice hue and the matte coating absolutely repels all fingerprints. That does come at the expense of the feel of the texture, though, which is coarse. My best comparison that is that matte Oppo Find X3 Pro feels like incredibly fine sandpaper. I’d still take it over the glossy mess that is the black model, but I think Samsung, Apple, and even Google’s Pixel 4 handled matte glass way better than this.

The display up front, while curved, is great as well. It’s bright, super smooth at 120Hz, and I appreciate that Oppo still includes a pre-applied screen protector, even if this one is especially bad.

As far as the software goes on Find X3 Pro, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Oppo’s ColorOS has come a long way, but it’s still a heavy and somewhat clunky skin. It reminds me of Samsung, before the time of OneUI but after the worst of TouchWiz. ColorOS in it’s current form isn’t offensively bad, but it’s also not great. The features are there. Oppo’s designs honestly aren’t bad. It’s just way too cluttered. But hey, that’s just part of focusing on markets that aren’t in Europe or North America.

Oppo Find X3 Pro Camera

The thing that’s impressed me the most about the Find X3 Pro so far, though, is without a doubt the camera. I’ve been blown away by the triple-camera array on this device with just about every shot I’ve taken so far.

The primary 50MP shooter on the Find X3 Pro delivers crisp shots, and the processing rarely hurts it. One of the benchmarks I use to test all phones is my pets, specifically my two black dogs that never stay still. The Find X3 Pro is one of the elusive devices that manages to actually capture crisp shots of Rey and Finn without becoming a blurry mess like so many others do. The quality continues beyond that, though, with vivid but accurate colors in outdoor shots and minimal noise on those taken indoors. Low-light also came through time and time again.

Oppo’s biggest camera feature on the Find X3 Pro, though, is how it handles close-ups. A dedicated “microlens” sensor is one of the three distinct cameras on the back — there’s a fourth telephoto camera, but it’s so subtle many might assume it’s just for autofocus. When that sensor kicks in, which I might add happens automatically as you get close to a subject, it takes incredibly detailed shots as you’ll see below. That also goes for the ridiculous “microscope” mode that captures truly stunning pictures when your lens is quite literally touching a surface. A niche use, definitely, but one I had a lot of fun with.

What do you want to know about Find X3 Pro?

I can only answer so many questions about the Find X3 Pro, as I’ve only been using it for a few days, but we’ll have a full review coming soon with much more detail. That includes more on battery life, which is my testing so far has actually be impressive given the capacity.

Drop a comment below and let us know what other questions you have about the Oppo Find X3 Pro and we’ll do our best to address them in the full review!