Oppo Find X9 Pro - A Strong Case for Phone of the Year

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but there are more than two makes of phone out there.

I have to keep reminding myself that a lot of people still don't really realise that. Or if they do, they certainly have never considered buying one of those "other" phones for themselves.

If you're one of those people, this review is for you. I'm not trying to patronise you. Far from it. Today, I'm here to educate you about a new phone that is quite simply, factually, better than any other phone in many ways.

As the telemarketer once said, "I'm not trying to sell you anything."

I just thought you might be interested.

For a while now, it's been Oppo's strategy to try and own the final flagship phone launch of the year. Last year, the Find X8 Pro turned a lot of heads with its unique design and premium performance. While I was reviewing it, I had more than one person stop me and ask me what kind of phone it was. I just told them, "A great one."

So even if the 2025 Find X Pro ended up being a predictable, iterative upgrade, I had every confidence it would still be a pleasure to unbox and use.

Well, despite a lot of pre-launch leaks, teasers and hype, the Find X9 Pro has pretty much blown my mind.

Let's begin with how it looks; very different this year. The Hasselblad camera module is no longer a wide circle, with four lenses, set in the middle of the back panel. Instead we now have an asymmetrical bump pushed to the upper left-hand corner. Oppo claims this allows for a more natural grip on the phone, now that you don't have to worry about your index finger obscuring any of the lenses. Of which there only appear to be three now - but we'll get to that.

The Find X9 Pro comes in just two colours in New Zealand; Titanium Charcoal and Silk White - both have an attractive, metallic sheen under the tough Corning Gorilla Glass, while still maintaining a matte, fingerprint-resistant surface. Unfortunately we don't seem to be getting the Velvet Red option that's available in some markets.

Meanwhile, the 6.78-inch display is protected by even tougher Gorilla Glass; Victus 2. The handset also carries IP66, IP68 and IP69 ratings against dust and water - even hot water and high-pressure water. I haven't tried using it in the shower, but it would probably survive.

There are new buttons - the Snap Button, which is a customisable shortcut key that can be set to launch tools like Do Not Disturb or turn the Torch on and off. Alternatively, it can fire off AI Mind Space, which is sort of Oppo's gateway to Google Gemini. A short press takes a quick screenshot for Gemini to analyse if required. A long press let's you save a voice note and a double press opens Mind Space to show you all the info it's collated - useful for planning your calendar or remembering that show your colleague said you should watch.

On the other side there's now a Quick Button, for more tactile control of the camera. This not only opens the camera app with a double press, but can also be used to click off photos, you can hold it down for continuous burst shots or swipe it with your finger to zoom in and out.

Which you may well want to do because the telephoto lens is part of the big news with the Find X9 Pro. The camera array is somewhat confusing to a non-photography aficionado like me - it's described as a triple-lens setup, even thought when you dig into the specs, there's definitely a fourth sensor; the True Colour Camera which is claimed to be an "industry first" 8-channel spectral sensor that effectively ensures the colours you capture are as you see them with your own eyes. If it's clever colours you're looking for, check out the sunset examples I show in the video below.

There's a redesigned 50MP Ultra XDR main shooter, which performs particularly well in low light and the 15mm Ultra-Wide camera provides very consistent tone and colour.

Then there's this 200MP Telephoto lens.

I'll never forget when Oppo introduced the first periscope telephoto camera back in 2017. They thought outside the box to fit a bigger optical zoom INSIDE the box. Now, in collaboration with Hasselblad, they've blimmin well done it again. The new sensor is huge and the Hi-Res shooting unlocks a world of options when it comes to editing both photos and video.

Just look at these two shots, both taken from exactly the same spot...

You don't get long distance detail like that on any other phone camera I've ever used. 

Video quality is incredible, obviously. You can shoot 4K at 120fps from the rear camera and there's a quad-mic system that effectively lets you capture your own surround sound footage.

Something else you don't get on any other phone is a 7,500mAh battery, which is probably why the Find X9 Pro is noticeably heavier than last year's flagship. I'm thinking a few grams extra is a price a lot of people will be prepared to pay for the unbelievable battery life on offer here. Oppo says you'll get through two days on a single charge. That's not what I found. I got through three.

The massive Silicon-Carbon cell never raises a sweat - and can be charged super fast with the 80W SuperVOOC charger included in the box. What's more, with the right charger, you can juice this phone up wirelessly at 50W - significantly faster than many other flagships' wired rates.

What a phone.

There's so many other things about this phone that make it unique and awesome, but we haven't got all day. From little things, like the fastest, most reliable under-display fingerprint reader I've ever used, to more important things, like the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chip, the 16GB of RAM and the advanced vapour cooling chamber that keeps this thing running like a Swiss watch.

It even pairs with my Oppo Enco X3i earbuds better - they stay connected all the way from the other side of the house!

If I'm starting to sound manic, it's because this really is one of the best phones you can buy in New Zealand today - but I'm just not sure how many people know that. 

At least now YOU know that and I can finish my glass of water and calm myself down.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Oppo Find X9 Pro.