Oppo Find X9 Ultra Hands-on: 3 Things I Love, and 1 I Hate

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra, the company’s latest flagship, is now officially available and is set to launch in the UK. While I haven’t had enough time with the device for a complete review, my initial testing in China in the days leading up to its launch has been intriguing.

Overall, my experience has been largely positive. This device is shaping up to be one of the top camera phones of the year, possibly the best.

You’ll need to wait for my full review for a final verdict, but for now, I’ve summarized my hands-on experience, highlighting what I love most about the Find X9 Ultra—and one aspect that frustrates me.

Design (with a caveat)

From the moment I unboxed the Find X9 Ultra, I was captivated by its design. It is simply stunning—particularly in the ‘Tundra Umber’ color variant, which is a standout for me this year. I doubt any design will surpass it.

The Canyon Orange variant, with its new fiberglass back, doesn’t appeal to me as much, despite being slightly thinner and lighter. I prefer the vegan leather back and camera-inspired style of the Tundra option every time.

This color exudes elegance and feels luxurious in hand, showcasing meticulous attention to detail in its textures, premium materials, and subtle accents like the orange ring around the camera module.

It’s perfectly suited for a camera-centric phone developed with Hasselblad, especially as competitors like Xiaomi have moved away from camera-inspired designs with their latest models, such as the 17 Ultra.

Camera performance

The primary reason to consider the Find X9 Ultra is its cameras. With a total of 550Mp across five lenses, including the world’s first 50Mp 10x optical telephoto zoom on a phone, it is a standout feature.

Camera performance is critical, and so far, it delivers.

The array of cameras—main, ultrawide, 3x optical, 10x optical, and selfie—provides a versatile system without the need for the Earth Explorer Kit. It’s akin to having a high-end DSLR with multiple lenses, without the hassle of swapping them out.

While I have minor concerns about the camera performance, it’s too early to determine their significance. Nonetheless, I’ve captured some impressive shots that I adore.

Chris Martin / Foundry

The image quality is unsurprisingly high. When you capture a standout shot, it’s often indistinguishable from one taken with a traditional camera.

Though I don’t often use telephoto lenses, they are invaluable when needed, making all the difference in capturing certain images. For instance, during a visit to a panda sanctuary arranged by Oppo, the telephoto lens allowed me to take photos despite the pandas being far away, and the crowds obstructing the view.

The device offers considerable depth for those interested in more than just point-and-shoot photography. Users can switch to Master mode, which reduces AI processing, and take advantage of Hasselblad Hi-Res mode among other features, allowing for extensive customization and options.

As previously mentioned, this phone could be the best camera phone of 2026. Here are some of my favorite photos from the X9 Ultra so far (resized for web use).

Battery and charging prowess

It’s still early in the testing phase, but the Find X9 Ultra is shaping up to be one of the best phones on the market in terms of battery life and charging.

The phone carries a 7050mAh battery—nearly 1000mAh more than the X8 Ultra—and, notably, the global version matches the Chinese release in capacity, thanks to silicon carbon technology with 15% carbon content.

Charging capabilities are also impressive, with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging, though it lacks Qi2 magnets for MagSafe-style functionality.

Chris Martin / Foundry

During testing, I watched a YouTube video for just over 30 minutes at full brightness, and the battery only dropped by 2%.

This suggests the phone could sustain over a day’s worth of continuous video watching at maximum brightness!

Quick Button

Now, onto what I dislike—the troublesome Quick Button. The name itself is misleading because it’s only for the camera function. Oppo likely wanted to avoid directly mimicking Apple, but surely a better name could have been devised.

While I appreciate the homage to Hasselblad cameras with the new orange color, nearly everything else about the button is problematic. This isn’t exclusive to Oppo; I’ve encountered similar issues with other brands.

The touch-sensitive button, akin to power buttons with fingerprint scanners, is used to launch and control the camera. However, I’ve found it to be unreliable and more of a hindrance than a help.

Chris Martin / Foundry

See also  Man charged with hate crime for rant, attack at suburban 7-Eleven

Besides struggling with the controls—like sliding to zoom in and out—the button is positioned too far up the side of the phone, making it uncomfortable to use.

Despite not having small hands, Oppo oddly moved the button 5mm higher, claiming this “optimization” improves accessibility and comfort in both portrait and landscape modes.

I strongly disagree. Double-tapping to open the camera is equally frustrating. When it works, it’s a convenient way to start shooting quickly, but I’ve often found it unresponsive despite feeling the haptic feedback from my taps.

In moments when you need the camera ready instantly, such as capturing a cute baby panda in the perfect pose, it can be aggravating.

This article was written during a trip hosted by Oppo. The company did not attempt to influence our coverage, nor did they see any articles prior to publication.