One of the heavyweight smartphone launches is sadly going unreleased (so far) in India. Oppo Find X7 Ultra is a competitor of Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Xiaomi 14 Ultra but somehow the company’s marketing strategy around the device is different. We had a chance to use the device for a few weeks and here are our thoughts. It’s the phone you may want but sadly, can’t get.

Out-of-the-box design

Since the phone packs in plenty of top-end camera hardware, Oppo makes sure the phone flaunts it through design. It has beautiful textured vegan leather on the back that adds a touch of softness to its metallic glass and aluminium top. It’s impossible to ignore the massive camera circle. All the fine details around the camera give it a unique look. The four cameras (all 50MP) have flagship level power. With the camera module is centred, the phone doesn’t wobble when kept on the table and makes the phone prop up a bit, making it easier to read the screen. There is an alert slider on the side that reminds one of OnePlus phones.

The camera bump on the phone is centred, which ensures the phone doesn't wobble. And the screen has a curved finish

The overall form factor includes curved edges on the back and front glass, which certainly feel good in the hand but I prefer a flat display because it prevents accidental touches.

The massive 6.82-inch AMOLED display is pretty incredible with maximum brightness of 4,500 nits. This screen gets very bright, especially with HDR content, which is supported through Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG standards. It’s also an LTPO display so it supports variable refresh rates from 1 Hz to 120 Hz.

The phone has a 5,000mAh battery that should easily last a the day and then some more. Needless to say, juicing up the phone takes only a few minutes (supports 100W fast charger). There is also technology to ensure that fast-charging doesn’t affect battery life. Also included — wireless charging.

Plenty of power

The device that Oppo had sent for experience comes with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset accompanied by 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.

The processor is very efficient when it comes to battery life without sacrificing on power. There is support for AI processes should Oppo want to use them and it can handle anything you throw at it, any kind of game. But then, it’s a phone that’s not available in India.

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra comes with the Chinese version of ColorOS 14 based on Android 14. Having the Chinese version of the OS meant we had to side-load Google Play store to access the necessary apps in India.

The battle of the camera lens: Oppo Find X7 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max

The high point of the phone is the camera hardware. The four 50MP snappers comprises ultra wide (Sony LYT600 sensor), main (Sony LYT-900, second-gen one-inch sensor), telephoto 3x (Sony IMX890) and telephoto 6x (Sony IMX858). The larger sensors naturally result in excellent low-light performance and a beautiful blurry bokeh. The Hasselblad tuning is worth pointing out, offering a warm contrast that you generally don’t see on most flagship phones.

The larger sensors help taking photos in dark environments, resulting in brighter photos with less noise. And having large sensors ensure a good depth of field, which is common on a large sensor camera. With such large sensors combined with telephoto lens the need for carrying around a DSLR camera is diminished for a casual tourist. Plus, you don’t have to artificially process most photos to put out on social media.

The camera system wants you to rely less on digital zoom. You can go from 0.6 (ultra wide) to 2x, 3x and 6x without having to deal with deterioration. Even at 10x and 20x, pictures were sharp and colour accurate.

The ultra-wide camera maintains great contrast and there is hardly any colour shift from the main lens. And telephoto lenses come up with clean, detailed images with beautiful colours. There is very little chromatic distortion. With telephoto lenses you get wonderful compressions in photos and make the background feel closer to the subject than it actually is.

Videos are also processed well but the iPhone has an edge and so does Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. On the front, there is a 32 MP snapper that takes good-looking selfies in almost all light conditions.

What sets it apart

Colours on the phone appear natural, thanks to the Hasselblad tuning

It is pushing the limits of what is possible with an Android phone and not just delivering iterative refinements. Am I going to give up a Samsung flagship phone or the iPhone? No. Having used the new device, I couldn’t get a full feel of the software and without that it’s impossible to reach a conclusion. But there is no denying that Oppo is making progress on the camera front in leaps and bounds. Oppo Find X7 Ultra has everything we need from a smartphone and the company should look at launching the device in India to give Xiaomi 14 Ultra competition.

At a glance

Device: Oppo Find X7 Ultra

Price: Not available in India

High notes

Excellent camera performance

Smooth chipset

Some people may enjoy the curved display

Fast charging

Muffled notes

Had to side-load Play Store to get a feel of the phone

Video performance can be improved