In case you missed this review, here's a summary:
✅ PROS:
1️⃣ Premium build quality, as is expected from a phone at this price, with the phone not being too heavy: the weight is actually quite balanced.
2️⃣ The design resembles the rest of the Find X9 series, including the camera module.
However, the Sunset Orange colorway is unique to the Find X9s, and it looks stunning. The best implementation of Orange till date imo.
3️⃣ The display is crisp and sharp, with very thin bezels and good brightness.
The PWM is also very good and I had zero headaches due to that. Yes, sure, it lacks LTPO, but I never found myself missing it.
4️⃣ ColorOS 16 remains one of the best software experiences. Period.
Smooth, feature-rich and with loads of customisations. You get a promise of 5 6 years of updates too (and the patches will likely be monthly)
The new Live Space feature is really good and useful, and except for one situation (which I'll detail in the cons section), there was no lag or stutter anywhere.
5️⃣ The cameras overall, are good, as is expected from a Find series phone.
Good detail retention, eye-pleasing color science (without going too overboard on saturation), very good implementation of filters and consistently good HDR & Highlight control.
Videography is also fine enough for the price (even if not as good as Apple and vivo phones imo)
6️⃣ OPPO's tuning of haptics and speakers is impeccable.
The speakers sound really good, with adequate loudness and having plenty of fullness, depth and richness to the sound with a slight hint of bass.
ColorOS 16 has one of the best UI haptics implementation, so it makes proper use of the X-axis motor on the phone. Satisfying taps and clicks.
7️⃣ Charging is quite fast considering the battery capacity: a 0-50% charge takes 25-30 mins, and a full charge happens in ~48 mins
Additionally, OPPO has added 55W PPS support, so you can indeed use your PD charger with the X9s.
❌ CONS
1️⃣ While the Dimensity 9500s is a great chip which has no overheating issues or lack of power (there is absolutely no lag in normal use indoors), the phone's thermal ceiling is quite low.
This means that if any task crosses the phone above 40°C, it starts to throttle very quickly (unlike other brands which do this at 43-44°C).
This has an effect in heavy gaming, where any titles heavier than Genshin Impact leads to poor gaming stability, and even the camera app has some lag. The entire phone can drop refresh rate to 90 Hz outdoors without even getting too hot.
OPPO, please increase the thermal ceiling via an update and let the phone go up to 43-44°C before throttling: it'll improve performance in heavy situations too.
2️⃣ While the battery life has improved since my initial impressions (up from 6 hrs SoT at launchtime to 7.5 hrs SoT after two updates since), it is still not on par with a 7025 mAh battery.
The battery life has become average now, but I feel this phone can easily squeeze 45-60 mins more via OTAs.
3️⃣ Some of the cost-cuttings are too ridiculous for a ₹80K phone: yes, a phone at this price must have LTPO, but there are indeed worse cost-cuts to be bothered about.
For instance, the lack of wireless charging. When even cheaper OPPO phones like Reno14 Pro/15 Pro have it, and the Find X9 too, it feels bonkers. And furthermore, I could not top this phone up in the car in a few emergencies I had.
Additionally, USB 3.2 is not present either: it is a USB 2.0 Type-C port.
4️⃣ The camera, despite producing good outputs, has a few minor inconsistencies which can be improved further.
For instance, the use of AI at 3x in zoom shots & the inaccurate rendition of extremely bright colors in sunlight.
Furthermore, the hardware lacks telemacro, which is yet another cost-cutting. The selfies too are quite average because of the lack of AF.
OVERALL RATING: 7.7/10
A good phone (and I did enjoy my time with it), just that you should get it at ₹65K-70K offline instead of ₹80K.
A month with the OPPO Find X9s: The Good, The Bad (& The Ugly)
My FULL Review, after 40 days🧵