Hello! I’m Yuan Hehe. Please follow me for more exciting content. OPPO Find X9 Ultra review

The OPPO Find X9 Ultra is hard to ignore among this year’s flagship imaging phones. With its dual 200MP Hasselblad lenses, 10x optical zoom telephoto, and the expensive Hasselblad professional teleconverter, the difference between it and ordinary flagship phones is quite obvious.

I really like that the camera body doesn’t go overboard with its imaging features. It’s clearly aimed at people who enjoy photography, but it doesn’t set the bar too high. Those who know photography will find something to tinker with, while ordinary users won’t be completely lost.

What does it have?

The Find X9 Ultra isn’t just a rebranded Find X9 Pro with a larger body. The Find X9 Pro used the Dimensity 9500, while the Ultra uses the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Ultra, and 12GB+512GB is one of its available versions. This configuration isn’t surprising even today, and its performance needs no further explanation, as it was always aimed at the highest tier.

The front features a 6.82-inch QHD+ flat screen with a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz and a peak brightness of 1800 nits. The screen colors are vibrant, with deep blacks, making it pleasing to the eye for photos and videos. However, it’s not particularly restrained in its calibration; when the brightness is increased, white pages can appear somewhat harsh. Some people appreciate this clarity, while others might need to adjust the display settings first.

There’s no need to be too attached to the original screen protector. After using it for a while, it’s prone to leaving small scratches. If you care about the screen’s appearance, replacing it will save you the trouble.

There are two AI buttons on either side of the camera body. A light press on the left activates AI one-click recording, while a long press on the right activates AI one-click screen navigation. These are not shutter buttons as mentioned in the original text, nor do they involve sliding aperture adjustments. The functions are not complex, and whether they become frequently used depends on personal habits.

Looking at the camera setup on the back, it’s clear what the Find X9 Ultra is aiming for. It features a 200MP main camera, a 200MP 3x telephoto lens, a 50MP 10x telephoto lens, and a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens. The most interesting aspect isn’t the sheer number of lenses, but rather the coverage of several commonly used focal lengths from 14mm to 230mm. The 10x telephoto lens, in particular, is far from being a mere filler lens found on typical smartphones.

The Hasselblad Earth Explorer Master Kit goes a step further, including a professional teleconverter, a protective case for the camera grip, a shoulder strap, and filter adapters. It looks very much like a camera when packed up, and it’s certainly fun to take out for shooting, but it’s quite bulky, and most people might not want to carry it around every day.

As for performance, it’s not surprising that the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Ultra achieved high scores. Fluctuations in individual tests shouldn’t be immediately interpreted as a performance failure. For a phone like the Find X9 Ultra, I’m more concerned with its stability after continuous shooting, long-term video recording, and high-load operation, rather than whether a single benchmark score is thousands higher.

What are its advantages?

The most outstanding feature of the Find X9 Ultra is still its camera. The main camera, ultra-wide-angle lens, 3x telephoto lens, and 10x telephoto lens cover a wide range of commonly used focal lengths. The 230mm telephoto lens, in particular, allows you to shoot distant buildings, stages, or subjects that are difficult to get close to without immediately relying on digital zoom. While the two 200-megapixel lenses don’t need to be fully zoomed in every shot, they do provide more margin for cropping when needed.

The imaging style is quite distinctive, making it visually appealing for photos of food and street scenes. It’s not the kind of flagship imaging camera that requires extensive parameter analysis before use; in normal mode, simply pressing the shutter button already produces photos with good detail and color. If you really want to experiment, then you can switch to Hasselblad’s Ultra Detail or Master Mode.

The Hasselblad Earth Explorer Master Kit is also quite interesting. With the teleconverter attached, the telephoto capabilities are further enhanced, and the grip with the protective case is more natural than simply holding the phone. However, the entire kit isn’t particularly lightweight, making it more suitable for carrying specifically for photography trips rather than keeping it on your phone every day.

Battery life is another aspect that’s reassuring. A 7050mAh battery is essential for a flagship camera phone like this, given the power consumption of long framing sessions, continuous shooting, and viewing photos in high brightness. According to these test results, it can last over two days under normal use, and just over 24 hours of continuous video playback at 40% brightness. While the test environment may not represent everyone’s actual performance, at least you don’t need to worry too much about it not lasting a day.

As for the feel, it’s definitely not light; the vegan leather version weighs about 236 grams, and the other two versions weigh about 235 grams. Fortunately, the vegan leather back of the Tundra version isn’t slippery, making it quite stable to hold. For those who don’t like constantly using regular phone cases, this surface treatment is much more practical than smooth glass.

What are the drawbacks?

What I’m not entirely satisfied with about the Find X9 Ultra is precisely its most attractive feature: the camera kit. The phone itself isn’t light enough, and adding a camera grip, protective case, and teleconverter immediately increases its weight. It’s fine for taking a few shots briefly, but if you’re holding it up to find the right angle and wait for the right shot, your wrist will quickly feel the strain. It’s more suitable for those who know exactly what they want to shoot before heading out, rather than carrying the whole kit around on their phone every day.

The shutter button on the grip isn’t as convenient as I expected. Its position is slightly inward, requiring my index finger to consciously reach inward when holding it horizontally. If you hold it down for too long after locking focus, it can easily trigger continuous shooting. This isn’t a big issue when shooting relatively still subjects like architecture and landscapes, but in scenes requiring immediate shutter release, the response feels somewhat sluggish.

Installing a teleconverter is a bit of a hassle. It’s not as simple as just putting on a protective case and using it directly; you also need to install the adapter and then fix the lens in. The complete set includes a teleconverter, a camera grip protective case, a shoulder strap, a filter adapter ring, and a carrying case. It’s very comprehensive, but it’s definitely starting to resemble a full camera kit.

Some people might appreciate this sense of ritual, but I personally feel it’s a bit excessive. The appeal of mobile phone photography was originally the ability to simply pull it out and shoot immediately. Now, to use a teleconverter, you have to carry several accessories and go through several extra steps. It’s fine when you’re specifically going out to take photos, but it’s easy to find it troublesome in everyday life.

Telephoto image quality shouldn’t be judged solely by the zoom number. Teleconverters offer a 300mm optical focal length, and zooming in further allows you to capture even more distant scenes, but beyond the optical range, the loss of detail is quite noticeable. I’ve also tried zooming in very high, and while I could indeed see distant buildings, the enlarged photos lacked any real texture; they were more like simply “captured” the scene.

Ultimately, it comes down to the price. The Find X9 Ultra is already a high-priced flagship imaging phone, and if you include the Hasselblad kit, the entire budget will increase even further. It can indeed shoot further and offer features that ordinary phones don’t have, but the weight, portability, and installation hassles remain unchanged.

Should I buy it?

First, think about this: will you actually use its camera seriously? The Find X9 Ultra is expensive, but what really makes it expensive isn’t the Snapdragon chip or the screen, but the entire imaging system behind it.

With dual 200MP lenses, a 10x telephoto zoom, Hasselblad tuning, and the ability to attach external teleconverters, it offers a lot. However, these capabilities require you to actively use them; otherwise, simply opening the camera and pressing the shutter button would be a waste.

I don’t recommend ordering just because it has a “Cosmopolitan” name or the camera module looks professional. The phone itself isn’t light, and the price is already at a level that requires serious consideration.

The Hasselblad Earth Explorer Master Kit isn’t a must-buy; it adds more features and, along with that comes added weight, installation instructions, and a whole bag of accessories. Those who like it will find it more photogenic, while others might use it twice and then put it away.

But if you genuinely enjoy photographing architecture, landscapes, or stages, or often find that the telephoto lens on a regular phone isn’t far enough, the Find X9 Ultra will be hard to find a completely identical alternative. It’s not a budget-friendly phone, nor does it aim to please everyone. This phone is worth buying if you’re willing to spend more on imaging and are willing to take it out for shooting.

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