Oppo Find X: Why You Probably Shouldn't Buy It (Yet)

The Oppo Find X is a smartphone you probably shouldn't buy yet – but not for the reasons you think. Yes, it's a more fragile phone than the competition, with a motorized camera module that seems fated to fail someday. To quote the great Montgomery Scott, "The more they overtake the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."

But to me, carrying a phone as beautiful and unique as the Oppo Find X is worth the durability tradeoff. After all, not every device is meant to hold up to the rigors of carelessness, and you've got to expect some compromises in a device made to stand out in 2018. However well-founded they may be, those durability concerns obscure what I think is the more pressing problem with the Oppo Find X: ColorOS. Oppo's custom Android interface insists upon itself so aggressively that it actively prevents the user from installing a custom launcher. To be clear, I didn't expect a cakewalk when trying to adapt an overseas smartphone for North American use – but this is the first Android phone in memory that actively prevents the user from enjoying one of the key benefits of Android: the ability to customize the interface to suit their needs. Oppo tells me a software update is due to fix some of the bugs complained of in the above video ... but until this launcher lockdown policy is lifted, I won't be dropping this phone in my pocket. Join me for additional impressions after five days with the Oppo Find X!

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[ABOUT MRMOBILE'S OPPO FIND X PREVIEW]

MrMobile's Oppo Find X Preview was produced following five days with an Oppo Find X review device (model PAFM00) purchased by Mobile Nations. The device was tested on Project Fi (T-Mobile US) in Greater Boston, MA, USA.

[PRODUCTS IN THIS VIDEO]:

Oppo Find X 128GB PAFM00 [Amazon]:

[LINKS]

Oppo Find X Bend Test Fail!! [JerryRigEverything]:

[MUSIC]

"You Know U Iz" by GG Riggs, available at Premium Beat:

“True Persistence” by Cymatix, available at Premium Beat:

[SOCIALIZE]

[DISCLOSURE]

#oppofindx #findx #oppo #smartphone #technology

[JerryRigEverything]

Brilliant video. That blue is awesome looking. And I totally agree! Durability is not the *only* factor to consider when buying a phone. The Find X is seriously one of the coolest looking phones out right now. Even if it is fragile.

[TravisMCP]

Not going to lie, it's an amazing looking phone regardless of the other issues mentioned.

[Space_Emperor]

That move is soo slick at 2:05! It was matrix level slick.

[TechAltar]

Oh boy, most of these ColorOS issues were already present and well documented back in 2015/16 when I worked for them... Doesn't leave me with too much confidence that they will actually fix them now

[SilvioBritto]

As always, not even talking about the video editing and quality, the best text on the YouTube's smartphones coverage. Always a pleasure to hear. You could podcast this easily.

The back protection of cameras remind me the great days of the SonyEricsson's phones. I'll always miss my C510.

[projectgraham]

Ok now that's a good sponsor. Ya look sharp, man!

[gunswinger]

Vivo Nex is a better bezelless alternative IMO. Headphone jack, underscreen fingerprint scanner, all that jazz.

[PhoneBattles]

I agree about the software. Worst thing about the phone. I can't uninstall everything and still get a bunch of notifications in Chinese. :/ I was able to install Google services pretty easily, though.

[bensgadgetreviews]

The European version allows third party launcher to be used!

[davidhunsinger]

This is such a good looking phone though.

[thao]

Every video you create is good enough to be a commercial! Great scripting, great b-roll and very informative. You're awesome!

[kevinwidjaja]

MrMobile [Michael Fisher] I don't know it it is the case in the US. In Singapore and Indonesia, most people really don't care about the software experience (skins, etc)of their smartphones and often just leave the default settings when they used it. In my friend group, probably only 1 person that actually care about software. If their phone is slow, most of them are either upgrade their phone or just deal with it. I know someone still on galaxy S4. All they care is whether it can run their app or not. I would like to hear from you regarding this.

[fpl_bailey]

The software is like an apple phone, very limited. The very fact that you are stuck with their launcher is a big NO NO

[jamesw]

The production quality of your videos is just amazing. The background music choices are thoughtful and the editing is top notch. I love this video

[vish]

I can never ever buy a phone without watching your reviews! You have such a great knack to tell a customer exactly what he needs to know. Thank you!

[mmorales]

If Samsung doesn't put a display like this on the S10 it's game over. Kudos to this company for actually innovating and proving that a notch is not necessary.

[fuzz]

I would never have thought about not being able to use another (Nova is my choice) launcher on an Android phone. Thanks for the heads-up. I'd be interested in your review of the European model to see if Oppo changes their philosophy.

[harbbe]

who puts phone on theyre back pockets and sit on them? wtf? isnt that dangerous even if you have a really good quality phone?

[ttimber]

When I was in college, learning how to fix cameras, video cameras and cell phones. It not the sand that you can see that really destroys them, it's the sand that you don't see that really gets inside and you don't even know that it is there until you send it or bring it in to get fixed. The extra warranty that you have been paying for to fix or replace it, at best, it will be a used same model replacement device and the original, will be tagged then put in the garbage.
Thanks for another good video 😃

[ramanmouchan]

Holy crap... This video... is amazing. This picture, quality, non-irritating language. Man, I am impressed by your videos. This is very cool what you do.