In the last few years, the world has been gently conditioned to believe that one brand over another is paramount when it comes to smartphone photography and overall value. But life’s beauty is that it often challenges conventions, makes you think, and encourages deep reflection. The outcome is that not everything being told is the holy gospel. I have been experimenting with all kinds of smartphones, each with different value propositions, and as a user, I tend to focus on the overall experience.
A few weeks ago, I began using the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, a device I otherwise wouldn’t pick because of its bulky form factor (yes, I adore compact phones, or maybe my hands are just too clumsy). I have been using the device at a time when the titans of the smartphone industry were about to enter a new battleground – foldables.
The Find X9 Ultra is a massive phone, but I like to break the experience down into everyday use, performance, cameras, and battery life. After spending a considerable amount of time with this photography-centric smartphone, even though I remain an amateur, here is my experience with the Oppo Find X9 Ultra.
A true flagship
The smartphone came in the usual minimal Oppo packaging, but it is undeniably the most maximalist flagship I have ever seen. The Oppo Find X9 Ultra ships in Canyon Orange and Tundra Umber colours. Tundra Umber comes with a soft-touch rear, while Canyon Orange features a brushed matte finish. For this review, I got the Canyon Orange, a shade reminiscent of last year’s Cosmic Orange on the iPhone 17 Pro series.
The Find X9 Ultra’s brushed matte finish gives the Canyon Orange variant a distinctive premium look. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
At 6.82 inches, the bulky device sports a massive camera module that dominates the rear panel. At a glance, it feels like this camera system is built for someone who cares more about what the cameras can capture than how portable it is. My overall experience over the past few weeks is that the Oppo Find X9 Ultra mostly delivers on what it promises, with a few trade-offs.
Just like the size, at 236 grams, the Find X9 Ultra is a heavy phone, often heavier than some foldables and flips around. Still, it doesn’t feel imbalanced or uncomfortable in the hand. The oversized camera bump often doubles as a finger rest, making single-handed use easy. The screen and metal frame are flat, with slightly rounded corners. The phone has a sturdy build with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 up front and a pre-applied screen protector. Moreover, the device features IP66, IP68, and IP69 dust and water resistance ratings.
The Find X9 Ultra’s massive camera module is hard to miss, and clearly signals that photography is its top priority. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the smartphone is its display. Over the years, I have used a wide range of smartphones from Sony, Samsung, Apple, and OnePlus, but the Find X9 Ultra’s display tech is the most striking. The Find X9 Ultra comes with a 6.82-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED panel with a peak brightness of 3,600 nits and a 144 Hz refresh rate for supported games, plus a smooth 120 Hz for other games and everyday tasks. From light gaming to watching movies or scrolling through YouTube, the display delivers an unmatched immersive experience.
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The flagship device’s display remains vibrant outdoors, with strong contrast and punchy colours. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
The device supports Dolby Vision and HDR10. Moreover, the display dims all the way down to a single nit for late-night use. Meanwhile, the stereo speakers hold up well too. They are adequately loud, reasonably balanced, with clean vocals and a decent amount of bass.
Photography on the Find X9 Ultra
For the Find X9 Ultra, photography is the headline act. The Find X9 Ultra has a five-camera rear system: a 200MP main camera with a Sony LYTIA 901 sensor, a 200MP 3x telephoto, a 50MP 10x optical-zoom periscope telephoto, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 3.2MP monochrome camera, plus a dedicated New-Gen True Colour camera for colour information. The 10x telephoto supports 20x optical-quality zoom and up to 120x digital zoom. Meanwhile, the 50MP selfie camera clicks decent images.
During my leisurely excursions in Vadodara, I clicked some pictures to capture the essence of the heritage city. I found that the Oppo Find X9 Ultra produces some detailed, noise-free images with natural-looking tones. In everyday use, the low-light and night shots really shine. I have grown to like the daytime light processing seen in Apple and Samsung. With the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, the processing is light, with some gentle brightening in particularly high-contrast scenes.
Some unedited pictures below:
On the other hand, the telephoto pairing is impressive, with 10x and 20x zoom shots that look good for a phone, with some light softening occurring at 30x. Meanwhile, portraits from both 3x and 10x lenses output natural background blur without crowding the subject. The phone also records video at 8K 30fps and 4K 120 fps Dolby Vision, aimed at people who want a proper grading pipeline like vloggers. The videos I shot have solid stabilisation, and the audio picked up by the quad-mic array holds up well at a distance.
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Performance
The phone performs exceptionally well during everyday use, and multitasking felt like a breeze. Under the hood, the Oppo Find X9 Ultra runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and comes with 12GB of RAM. I found day-to-day performance effortless, and even if you plan to play demanding games, the device delivers steady performance without throttling.
When it comes to the UI, ColorOS 16, which runs atop the latest Android, offers a light, fast and dependable performance. However, the sheer amount of pre-installed bloatware may disappoint some. While these apps are easy to remove, it can be annoying to find them on an Ultra-tier device.
On the power front, the Find X9 Ultra packs a 7,050 mAh silicon-carbon battery, a notable jump over its predecessor. The phone comfortably handled a demanding day of 7-8 hours of screen-on time, without running out of battery. I have been scrolling endlessly on social media, browsing the internet and playing light games.
Battery life has been largely satisfactory, and for heavy gamers, the phone clocks around 5.5 hours of screen time at peak settings. The device comes with fast charging in both directions. It ships with 100W SUPERVOOC and 50W wireless AIRVOOC support.
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Verdict
The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is among the best photography-focused smartphones available right now, and that’s before even factoring in the optional teleconverter accessory for extreme telephoto work. Its strengths are the display, performance, software experience, and design. Even though it is a heavy phone, it seems distinctive and well thought out.
At Rs 1,69,999 for the sole 12GB+512GB configuration, it’s a serious investment. However, for those who want to buy a capable phone camera system, the Find X9 Ultra is a worthwhile investment. I feel the Oppo Find X9 Ultra makes a strong case as a premium flagship, especially for those who love photography. It has a versatile camera setup that delivers impressive range, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 ensures flagship-level performance. The large, high-refresh-rate display, substantial battery and fast charging add to its appeal for demanding users.
When it comes to camera-focused smartphones, other contenders include the vivo X300, Xiaomi 17 Ultra, Galaxy S26 Ultra, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is expensive, but the combination of camera hardware, performance and premium design makes it a compelling alternative to established Ultra-tier flagships.
