Has a relatively unknown Chinese manufacturer of high-end home theater equipment actually created a flagship Android smartphone capable of going head to head with the industry's established heavyweights? We take Oppo's S4 Pro-powered Find 5 for a spin.
Whether you're talking about paint, toys, or electronics, there's this stigma hanging over Chinese production that affects the way a lot of think about quality. Although many of the stories we hear are no doubt steeped in fact, there are also plenty of beautifully designed products that we simply never get to see here in the U.S. For evidence of this, you don't need to look much further than Oppo's recently-eclipsed smartphone, the Find 5.

If the name Oppo doesn't ring any bells, that's probably because the company was only established in 2004 and is typically known for its high-end home theater equipment, specifically the BPD range of Blu-ray players. Oppo's first entry into the world of Android-based smartphones arrived in July 2012 with the Finder (X907), which was powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8620 dual-core SoC. It also came equipped with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED+ display sporting a 800x480 reslution and, of course, Android 4.0. Although the phone was not aimed at the North American or European markets, and didn’t receive much attention in the press, it was notable for two reasons. Having a thickness of just 6.55 mm meant that it edged out the Huawei Ascend P1 S by 0.03 mm, making the Oppo Finder the world's thinnest smartphone at the time. The Finder was also known for being literally as as tough as hammer, and capable of being used as one in a pinch.
In contrast to its spiritual predecessor, the Find 5 (also known as the X909) clearly has broader ambitions of being a global phone able to compete on equal terms with any other high-end smartphone. To that end, the Find 5 offers an array of desirable features, including Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core SoC, a 13 MP rear camera, broad network support, and one of industry's first five-inch displays with a 1080p native resolution. Following its unveiling at the aptly titled "The Fifth Element" launch event in Beijing last December, the Find 5 arrived on North American shores in February 2013 as an unlocked device selling directly from the manufacturer with a very competitive unsubsidized price of $499 and $569 for the 16 GB and 32 GB models, respectively.
| Oppo Find 5 (X909) | |
|---|---|
| SoC: | Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 |
| CPU Complex: | Qualcomm Krait 200 @ 1.5 GHz Quad-Core |
| GPU Complex: | Qualcomm Adreno 320 @ 400 MHz Quad-Core |
| Memory: | 2 GB LPDDR2 |
| Display: | Five-inch IPS LCD, 1920x1080 Corning Gorilla Glass 2.0 |
| Camera: | 13 MP AF HDR rear with f/2.2 aperture and dual-LED flash 1.9 MP front |
| Storage: | 16 GB or 32 GB NAND |
| Cellular Radios: | UMTS / HSPDA / HSUPA / HSPA+ / HSPA+42 (850, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz) GSM / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) |
| I/O: | 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) Wi-Fi Direct with Miracast Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP NFC microUSB 2.0 |
| Battery: | 2500 mAh Lithium-ion (non-removable) |
| Dimensions: | 141.8 x 68.8 x 8.9 mm, 165 g |
| OS: | Android 4.1.1 with Custom Skin |
On paper, the Find 5's technical specifications and attractive price point certainly seems to offer a compelling combination, one that could potentially allow it to compete in one of the industry's most demanding segments and establish Oppo as a top-tier smartphone manufacturer alongside the likes of Apple, HTC, LG, or Samsung.

Although the Find 5 is fairly dated at this point, it's still available as Oppo's mid-range model. Besides, the company is continuing to develop top-tier hardware at great off-contract pricing, and has even become the first manufacturer to use a custom ROM by default, with a CyanogenMod version of the company’s new flagship available soon.
- Oppo Find 5: An Android-Based Smartphone You Won't Find On Shelves
- Exterior: Buttons And Display
- Internal Hardware, Cameras, And Audio
- Default ROM And Supported Alternatives
- Test Setup And Benchmark Methodology
- Results: System Tests
- Results: Graphics Tests
- Results: Web Tests
- Results: Display Measurements
- Benchmark Results: Battery Life Tests
- Was Oppo's Find 5 Actually A Viable Flagship Android Smartphone?

btw The audio and storage rows in the first page are mixed up.
SOftware is where it lacks, though. I got this because Oppo promised frequent updates to the OS, and TBH the Android-based variant it came with was not too bad of an experience. Then it became clear that the development team does not really know what they're doing (same minor but annoying bugs with every release, now barely coming through with 4.2, etc). They could have given CyanogenMod the kernel and drivers and let them pick up the development. CM-based ROMs are functional, but still plagued by bugs that come from lack of access to proprietary code.
Basically, their approach (at one point there were 2 or 3 versions of ROMs in development, none out of a beta state) stretched them way too thin, and it shows.
Last but not least, ignoring many requests of just embracing AOSP and let the plethora of apps do the rest was not a smart move on Oppo's part.
With this phone, however, I doubt Apple will stick it inside their own chassis and call it ther own. It is mildly interesting, but as is often the case, forays into new market segments by otherwise high quality manufacturers are often precarious.
By all means, get an Oppo Blu-Ray player. As far as the phone, they need to get through their growing pains.
It seemed a bit biased and not truly giving a comparison with current market phones.