- Incredible cameras
- Long-lasting battery
- Slick use of vegan leather
- Not available in Australia
- Would be very expensive if it was available in Australia
I’ve been saying this for close to a decade now: when you’re buying a high-end phone, you’re often really buying a camera. This adage rings even truer on a device like OPPO’s Find X9 Ultra, which takes the photography prowess of the Find X9 Pro and dials it up to 11. You get a chunkier overall device, but more capable cameras. For those that want the best possible picture quality from their phone, this kind of trade-off is a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, you can’t buy the Find X9 Ultra in Australia. I did, however, get a chance to spend a bit of time testing a European unit, which is notable in itself, as the Find X9 Ultra is the first time one of OPPO’s “Ultra” tier devices has made it outside of China.
As aforementioned, the cameras are the story here. To start, there’s a 200MP primary lens with a 1-inch sensor. While 200MP cameras are dime a dozen now, we’ve only seen one phone use this kind of sensor in Australia so far: the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. A 1-inch sensor is the kind of hardware you’d find in a compact camera rather than in a phone, and you can tell. The sensor size means the Find X9 Ultra can capture more light, which results in better low-light performance and less noise.
I took the Find X9 Ultra with me when I saw Blackwater Holylight play Sydney’s Crowbar, and the consistency of the photos I got impressed me. Despite being a dimly lit show, I was able to over-index on shots that I was actually happy with. If I didn’t know the photo below was taken on a phone, I wouldn’t believe it.
The primary camera is paired with a 200MP 3x zoom lens and 50MP ultra-wide. These specs will be familiar to anyone who’s across the Find X9 Pro, but the Ultra variant amps up the sensor size behind them. Once again, this has the upshot of capturing more light, and as such, making the lenses that little bit more reliable.
These are rounded out by the first 10x optical zoom lens we’ve seen on a phone in years. While Samsung had a few years where it included a 10x zoom on its top-end devices, it eventually swapped to a faster, more usable 5x zoom lens. The Find X9 Ultra’s 10x lens has a slowish aperture of f/3.4, but that is still a big step up from the f/4.9 that we saw on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, for example. In practice, this means the 10x zoom isn’t as snappy as other cameras, but when a photo turns out, it looks great.
OPPO Find X9 Ultra camera samples
Check out these camera samples taken on the OPPO Find X9 Ultra. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.
One thing worth noting is the Find X9 Ultra camera uses generative AI to enhance images unless you shoot in “Pro” mode or RAW. OPPO has used generative AI in previous phones to get better results from long-range zoom, but the Find X9 Ultra has it across the entire magnification range, even when you’re a native “zoom” like 10x. This isn’t a huge issue for the most part, but you might see some of generative AI’s trademark hallucinations on photos with, for example.
Like the Find X9 Pro, the Find X9 Ultra has an optional telephoto lens you can clip onto the phone. The lens gives you an optical 13x zoom, as well as options for 30x and 60x zoom. It isn’t the most practical of accessories, but the implementation is a step up from what we saw on the Find X9 Pro. Using the external lens still requires a special case and an extra connector plate for the lens, but now the connector plate doesn’t cover up every other lens. If you’ve already got the connector plate and case on your Find X9 Ultra, all you need is to clip on the lens.
This doesn’t address how unwieldy the whole thing can be, however. The clip-on lens weighs over 350g, which is much more than the phone. Once you snap it on, it becomes a lot harder to frame shots, and unless you have very steady hands, the extra weight heightens the risk of motion blur in your photos.
While the telephoto lens accessory is a lot of fun, the best results tend to be from between 13x to 20x magnifications. After you go beyond that, images can look overprocessed or even a little fake. Given the Find X9 Ultra can already take great images at 10x zoom and do a decent 20x crop, the lens kit doesn’t exactly feel essential.
OPPO Find X9 Ultra zoom samples
These camera samples were taken on the OPPO Find X9 Ultra using the optional zoom lens accessory. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version. The mangifications are as follows: 1x, 13x, 30x, and 60x.
When it comes to the Find X9 Ultra’s “phone” bits, there’s nothing too surprising for a high-end phone. It’s powered by a top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, there’s a 7,050mAh battery that comfortably gets you at least eight hours of screen time per charge, and there’s a 6.82-inch display.
The Find X9 Ultra is on the heavier side, however, weighing in at 235g. That’s 11g heavier than the Find X9 Pro, and 2g heavier than an iPhone 17 Pro Max. The heft isn’t unreasonable, at least as someone who normally uses an iPhone 17 Pro Max, but when combined with the large camera bump, the Find X9 Ultra certainly isn’t the kind of phone that disappears when you’re not using it. But on the subject of design, I am a big fan of the finish my unit came in: a vegan leather that mimics the look of a more conventional camera.
If you’re considering importing the Find X9 Ultra, there are a few things worth considering. To start, the experience may not be as straightforward as setting up a phone bought locally. To get mobile data working, I had to manually configure my APN settings, which isn’t something I’ve had to a phone in a long time. You obviously won’t get a local charger in a box, which can end up being another expense, especially if you want to pick up one of OPPO’s proprietary fast chargers. And the warranty situation also becomes a lot trickier. If anything goes wrong, you have to take it up with whoever you got the phone from. OPPO Australia is only able to provide support for models officially sold in Australia.
It’s a shame the Find X9 Ultra isn’t available locally, because it’s extremely cool. As someone who cares about mobile photography and is willing to put up with a little more heft to get a better shot, I’m the target audience for this device, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. It’s also notable that the extra weight is the only significant trade-off made by the Find X9 Ultra. While the battery is smaller than what you’d get in the Find X9 Pro, the run-time is still up there with the best of the best.
Sadly, the rumour mill has suggested there may not be a Find X10 Ultra next year, because of the component crisis. If there isn’t, hopefully OPPO takes it as an opportunity to kit out the Find X10 Pro with the same kind of primary lens as the Find X9 Ultra. But if there is, it would be great to see OPPO launch it down under.
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Alex Choros
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