Oppo Find X7 Ultra Review: Camera smartphone we'll miss

Rating: 4/5

The rise of powerful smartphone cameras sparked a debate: will DSLRs become relics like point-and-shoots? Just like the small factor point-and-shoot cameras have met their eventual fate, entry-level DSLRs are facing pressure. A complete replacement isn't on the horizon and high-end DSLRs still hold advantages, but the capabilities of today's phone cameras are undeniably impressive.

While the Apples and oranges – oh! we mean to say Googles – have their might when it comes to photo and video capturing capabilities, the Chinese players are really putting in extra hours to deliver which is nothing short of fascinating. Each year’s Oppo Find X flagship model, for one, represents what’s the best there is to offer.

Having said that, it’s a shame that such smartphone tech doesn't cross the border. Following its 2020 tradition of not launching Oppo Find ultra-premium smartphones in India, the recently launched Oppo Find X7 Ultra is also going to be a China-only device. But we got our hands on the smartphone and tested its prowess.

Camera

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra packs the high-flagship hardware when it comes to mobile photography. The camera has been developed with Hasselblad, boasts the next-generation HyperTone Image Engine and comes with leading zoom capabilities with a pair of dedicated telephoto cameras. Oppo is calling it the first-ever quad main camera system with four 50MP sensors paired with computational photography.

Oppo Find X7 Ultra camera specs
Main camera: 50MP Sony LYT-900 2nd-Gen 1-inch sensor paired with a customised 1G+7P lens that has f/1.8 aperture with OIS and 23mm focal length.

Second camera: 50MP Sony LYT600 1/1.95-inch sensor paired with an ultra-wide lens and autofocus.

Third camera: 50MP 3x Tele Sony IMX890 1/1.56-inch sensor with f/2.6 aperture and Prism OIS.

Fourth camera: 50MP 6x Tele Sony IMX858 1/2.51-inch sensor with f/4.3 with Prism OIS

The phone gets Hasselblad Portrait Mode, Cinematic Bokeh, Dimension Bokeh (Depth), Hair Strand Bokeh (Detail) as well as professional photography modes like the new Master Mode that essentially matches output from the iconic Hasselblad X2 100C lens.

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra camera is pretty good out of the box and can be used to take excellent shots out-of-the-box. The photos are a bit on the warmer side but the phone gives ample options and controls to users so that they can get the exact photo they want by using the Master Mode.

The Master Mode is further divided into two parts: an Auto Mode and a Pro Mode. The former allows users to quickly change the tones and hues of the photo, and the latter allows further control with the ability to control white balance, aperture, among others.

The colour consistency between the four cameras is a hit-or-miss. In favouring lighting conditions, there may be a slight hit in the colour consistency and sometimes it is hard to distinguish. This is untrue in not-so-favourable conditions.

The main camera gets the job done in almost all conditions and there weren’t many occasions where we had to retake shots. However, when it comes to portraits, there is more to be done with the edge detection. It didn’t cleanly capture the beard and hair on the subject.

Oppo has so many camera capabilities that users can cover a vast spectrum of photography tricks but one tends to get spoilt for choices. With so many options in your palm, there is going to be confusion at some point about what mode to choose. During such situations, there are chances that you may miss a shot.

For example, we wanted to take a photograph of a bird that sat on lush green grass. However, by the time we decided the ‘best’ mode to choose to get an “awesome” photo, it flew away. We were forced to choose a mode because we have it available but it is buried under so many menus that we struggled at these times.

The photo quality with 6x optical zoom is fine with minimum loss of clarity and colour but going beyond that limit pushed details on the side. One can capture an image of a long-distant advertising board or a snow peak but it will surely be for documentation purposes.

Other modes present in the camera are: text scanner, XPAN, long exposure, dual view-video for vlogging and more. There are some AI-based tricks to remove unwanted objects that work as they should and there is nothing new that we saw, especially after seeing the AI capabilities on our Google Pixel 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Design and display

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra combines sophisticated style with luxury. Oppo has also evolved the two-tone design of the Find X6 Pro, refining it in the latest model in three colour combinations.

The Ocean Blue variant combines a regal quality with deep nautical hues and a brilliant white top half – the colour we got for the review. There is a Sepia Brown colour that carries forward the style of its predecessor, blending tan leather with a sleek metal finish. Lastly, the Tailored Black option offers sophistication with distinct stitching in various black hues contributing to its premium appeal.

The phone has rounded corners making it easy to hold and it feels premium in the hand. Another thing that we liked about the phone’s design is its balance. We also reviewed the Vivo X100 Pro, a camera-centric offering from Oppo’s sister company – and found that the smartphone is a bit too heavy on the upper side due to its solid hardware. This doesn’t seem to be the case on Oppo Find X7 Ultra. Though the phone itself is a bit on the heavier side, the weight distribution is something that the company seems to have worked on a lot.

One of the standout features of the design is the Cosmos Ring camera island. This design element is not only striking but also indicative of the world-class photography capabilities of the device. Oppo Find X7 Ultra has the HyperTone Camera System, highlighted by the Starlight Track that echoes the aperture rings of professional lenses.

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra is built to withstand the elements, boasting an IP68 rating. This means it can handle the rigours of everyday adventures – from trekking in snowy mountains to wet and sandy beaches in Goa.

Coming to the display, the Oppo Find X7 Ultra comes with a 6.82-inch curved AMOLED QHD+ display with a peak full-screen brightness of up to 1600 nits in direct sunlight like the ones in Delhi summers. Oppo claims that when viewing HDR content, the local brightness can peak at 4500 nits for sharp and vibrant visual details.

Along with the brightness, the display of the Oppo Find X7 Ultra has 3168x1440 resolution (510ppi), 120Hz LTPO refresh rate and a bunch of other tech. There is Oppo’s ProXDR technology that is said to further enhance the display experience and it is also future-proof with support for Google’s Ultra HDR standard.

Oppo Find X7 Ultra has received a DisplayMate A+ rating and TÜV Rheinland Eye Comfort certification for eye safety. And supports a range of HDR formats, including Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG.

Performance

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra gets promising hardware and offers an ultra-level performance to gamers and regular users alike. Under the hood, the heavy lifting is done by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC and our unit packs 12GB (+4GB) RAM and 256GB storage. Since it is a China-only device, we did not have access to Google mobile services. We had to download a specific APK to access Google apps on our review unit. The phone did work quite well but we’d recommend not to sideload apps on your Android smartphones as they may be dangerous.

From daily multi-tasking to demanding games, the Oppo Find X7 Ultra tackles everything we threw at it with ease. The switching between the apps, navigation was smooth and responsive. We did not encounter any slowdowns during our review but the phone did heat up a bit after prolonged heavy usage, particularly when recording videos.

When it comes to safety, the Oppo Find X7 Ultra gets a dedicated security chip that keeps authorising data safe and secure. The phone also gets a unique alert slider – like the one we have seen in OnePlus smartphones – to switch between sound profiles as well as enabling a private VIP mode. With a single slide, we can disable the camera, location access, and microphone, giving you an extra layer of privacy whenever needed.

Battery and software

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra boasts a large 5000mAh battery, offering enough juice to comfortably last a full day. It supports 100W SUPERVOOC wired charging that fully juices up the smartphone in roughly about 40 minutes. The phone comes with up to 50W of wireless charging with a compatible AIRVOOC charger – something that even Apple and Samsung do not offer at this point of time.

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra runs on ColorOS 14- based on Android 14. There are loads of apps that come pre-installed in the smartphone and some of them can even be uninstalled. We liked the smooth animations and navigation.

Verdict

The Oppo Find X7 Ultra is a meaner, finer evolution of the Oppo Find X6 Pro that we reviewed last year. If there was a smartphone camera-only competition in the world, this would have been the contender to beat. Oppo Find X7 Ultra gets almost everything right. It has a strong build, beautiful design that puts scores of flashy and colourful smartphones to shame, absolute peak performance with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC with up to 16GB of RAM, arguably the best camera hardware in any smartphone yet and a gorgeous curved display.

Having said that, Oppo X7 Ultra is not only about the hardware it boasts. Getting all things ‘best’ to work together takes a bigger challenge and we think the company has done a great job in bringing a wholesome experience in people’s hands.

One thing which the smartphone misses is its availability in international markets and, by extension, the safe software experience because people will have to download popular apps from unofficial sources (or third-party stores), bringing along a bunch of threats. The smartphone may be counted among the top offerings on the home soil but it will fall a bit short if someone ships it in India.


GN Awards 2025: Vote for your favorite Gadgets