28 Jun
Blog

Oppo Band Review: First Attempt Fails to Captivate

Oppo band

"The Oppo Band goes the same well-known route as many other low-cost fitness wearables and is therefore difficult to stand out."

  • Heart rate and blood oxygen tracking

  • Accuracy does not match with other devices

  • No automatic screen brightness

The Oppo Band is the first fitness tracker from Oppo, a company better known for its smartphones like the Find X3 Pro than for wearables, although it has recently attracted attention with the Apple Watch-like Oppo Watch. Given that the basic fitness tracker is such a well-established piece of tech these days, what can Oppo bring to the genre to highlight its maiden voyage? Unfortunately, the answer is not very much.

design

The Oppo band has a 40mm main body that is attached to a thick rubber band that is secured with a plastic pin. You have to take the sensor out of the bracelet when it needs to be charged, which reveals a plastic bezel piece like a bezel on the bracelet itself, giving it a classier, more coherent look than old Xiaomi Mi Band models that used the same charging method . It's the only design element that sets the Oppo Band apart from most of its competitors.

Oppo bandAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

The strap has a lot of holes so it will fit most wrist sizes, although it was difficult for me to get the fit just right as it was either a little too loose or a little too tight. This will of course vary from person to person. I wear the Oppo band 24 hours a day and haven't noticed any skin irritation, but it does get a little hot at night when worn.

What I have noticed is that the plastic bezel that surrounds the module on the bracelet is worn out slightly and has picked up a few small notches after only a short period of wear. I haven't climbed any mountains or actually gone through any activity that could be described as "tough". So if you take part in activities that break things, the Oppo Band may not look good for long.

Oppo strap from the side on the wristAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

The AMOLED screen measures 1.1 inches and is very colorful but does not have automatic brightness adjustment so you can choose the right setting for you. With the default setting of 20%, it cannot be seen in sunlight and ideally needs to be increased to 80%, which has an impact on battery life.

Health tracking

On the back of the main module of the Oppo Band there is an optical heart rate sensor and a blood oxygen sensor (SPo2), while inside there is a 3-axis gyroscope. It doesn't have a built-in GPS or electrocardiogram that you'd likely find on more expensive fitness tracking wearables. It records a range of activities including indoor and outdoor walks, running and biking, and swimming (it has a water resistance of 5 ATM), yoga, cricket, and a few others. Sleep tracking is also an option.

Oppo HeyTap app training screen

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Oppo HeyTap app sleep screen

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Settings of the Oppo HeyTap app

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Main screen of the Oppo HeyTap app

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

It connects to the HeyTap app that I used on an iPhone 12 Pro during my test. The app contains settings and adjustments for the band itself, as well as historical activity data. The daily calendar view is relatively simple, with daily overviews showing the number of steps, exercise time, calories burned, and active hours. To view individual workouts, you must select another option that includes a real-time heart rate graph. Finding these different sections is a bit confusing at first.

The accuracy of the Oppo Band is not as good as that of many other fitness wearables.

Sleep tracking breaks down sleep stages, assigns a sleep score, and uses the SPo2 sensor to provide breath analysis. Oppo gives some information on where to improve, but nothing that you won't find on any other fitness tracker. All data is presented simply and clearly, but without much depth. The Oppo Band is suitable for people who want to know more about their health and want to follow regular exercise sessions, but it does not provide detailed data and advice for people who are serious about fitness or a specific sport.

Oppo strap on the wrist from behind

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Oppo band review screen

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The strap on the Oppo belt

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The accuracy of the Oppo Band is not as good as that of many other fitness wearables. At night, the SPo2 sensor often showed sudden, dramatic drops that were not registered by other models or recorded by the Withings Sleep Analyzer. The number of steps was also usually significantly lower than with other wearables. In a single day the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 and Honor Band 6 were worn, it recorded 4148 steps while the Mi Band 6 displayed 5645 and the Honor Band 6 5565. On another occasion when it was tested against the Fitbit Versa 3, it showed 225 steps versus the Versa 3's 467. When comparing the heart rate monitor, the Oppo Band's results were consistent with other wearables.

software

Oppo's software is a simple swipe-and-tap proposition, with a swipe up or down to scroll through the menu and a swipe left to right to change the watch face. This is an unusual choice and quite frustrating. I almost never want to change a watch face once one has been selected, so this gesture feels like a waste. It would have been preferable to show notifications or have quick access to exercise tracking.

Oppo band training screen

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Notifications on the Oppo band

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Oppo band heart rate monitor

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Oppo strap on the wrist

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The screen is very responsive – sometimes it reacts a little too quickly, which can lead to errors – but the software is quite lengthy and most functions take longer than they should to perform. Would you like to start a workout? Tap the screen to wake it up, swipe up twice, tap again, select a workout, and tap again. Again, these actions would be minimized with a more sensibly designed gesture control system.

Notifications are reliable and while they cannot be interacted with, the text is clear and properly formatted. Music can be controlled but not saved from the Oppo Band, and there are a few other simple features like a stopwatch, weather screen (but only if you give it access to your location at all times), and a phone finder.

battery

It takes about an hour to fully charge the Oppo Band's battery, and although Oppo claims it will last for 12 days, it will depend a lot on the features you are using.

Oppo tape chargerAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

With the screen brighter and sleep monitoring, heart rate monitoring, and notifications turned on, the battery lasted eight days before I had to recharge it. It would have taken nine if I'd left it flat.

Price and availability

The Oppo Band is available now in the UK and costs £ 40 or about $ 56 from Oppo and Amazon. It wasn't officially released in the US, although imports will be available from outlets like Amazon and AliExpress. If you choose to get one this way, make sure it is the "global" version as the Oppo tape was previously available in China and functionality may be different from the UK / global model.

Our opinion

Oppo enters a very crowded room with the Oppo Band. There are several inexpensive fitness trackers out there, and while perfectly acceptable in terms of design and software, the accuracy issues are less acceptable, battery life is no better than its competitors, and the accompanying app doesn't have enough in-depth features to appeal to serious fitness fans . The Oppo Band does not attract attention.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes. The Honor Band 6 can be purchased for roughly the same price and has better smartwatch functionality, more style, and a beautiful screen. The Xiaomi Mi Band 6 is even cheaper than the Oppo Band and fulfills the same functions. The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 is slightly more expensive but more readily available, and while it doesn't quite offer the same functionality, it's more than enough for the casual trainer. If you're keen to spend more, we recommend the Fitbit Charge 4, which benefits from a better app experience, rich data, and good battery life.

How long it will take?

Apart from the easily scratchable plastic cover around the main module, the thick rubber band feels strong and the whole thing is waterproof up to 5ATM. No software update has come in for the Oppo Band during the time I had it that I was hoping would fix the accuracy issues. If you're happy to accept that it may provide data that is different from other models, the general functionality of the Oppo Band means it will last for several years, provided your own use doesn't change.

Should you buy it?

No, there are better and more accurate fitness trackers.

Editor's recommendations



11 Mar
Blog

Oppo Find X3 Pro Hands-on: Camera Consistency At Last

oppo find x3 pro review back flat

Oppo Find X3 Pro at your fingertips: Finally a consistent camera experience

The Oppo Find X2 Pro flew under the radar a little after its release and may suffer from an unfortunate timing when its announcement was made just before the coronavirus pandemic spread around the world in 2020, but also because of its relatively high price and novelty Oppo as a brand outside of China. None of that affected its ability, so I embraced the sequel, the Oppo Find X3 Pro, with welcoming arms.

I've been testing the Find X3 Pro for a few days but haven't spent enough time to fully review and rate it. Instead, this will be an in-depth preliminary review that can be updated over the next week or so once I have a better idea of ​​how the battery, software, and camera are performing on a daily basis.

Still, I've seen enough to know that the Find X3 Pro is designed to redefine the performance of the camera on a smartphone.

design

Oppo has done everything possible to make the Find X3 Pro look like no other flagship with an unusual unibody design. This means that the back of the phone has been forged from a single piece of glass, with the camera module rising up and enclosing the lenses in the top corner. It's all a fluid plate and not separate parts. Oppo said it took 2,000 attempts in his lab to get the process and final look just right.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The advantages lie in the 8.2 mm slim housing and the very clean shape of the device. There are really no sharp edges on the Find X3 Pro, as the corners and sides merge seamlessly into the next control panel. However, the curve where the aluminum case meets the screen is pronounced, so it's not quite as comfortable to hold as the Galaxy S21 + or the Huawei P40 Pro, but the low weight of 193 grams prevents it from getting tired.

While the unibody shape is very noticeable, Oppo wasn't particularly brave with the layout of the camera lens as it's basically a mirror image of the iPhone 12 Pro, nor with the color. My test model is in matte blue, and while it's pretty, it looks a lot like the Pacific blue of the iPhone 12 Pro. What Oppo gives in terms of forward-looking design it takes away with these derivative elements.

oppo find x3 pro review Power Button "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x3-pro-power- button -640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP//yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

oppo find x3 pro review button "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn3.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x3-pro-buttons-640x640. jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

oppo find x3 pro review camera shock "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn4.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x3-pro-camera- shock -640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP//yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

oppo find x3 pro review with iphone 12 "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn5.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x3-pro-with - iphone-12-pro-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAAAOppo Find X3 Pro (right) next to the Apple iPhone 12 Pro (left) Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Leave those little aspects aside, however, and the phone's design has many good features. It's a lot lighter than most of the other high-end smartphones that have recently hit the market. So it fits in my pocket without complaining. I can comfortably hold it at all times without it getting out of whack, and the matte finish makes it look clean too. The Oppo Find X3 Pro is a slim, elegant and modern looking smartphone.

screen

Here Oppo goes to Dr. Evil and talks a lot about a billion colors. The 6.7-inch AMOLED screen has a color depth of 10 bits or just over a billion colors and a color gamut of 100% DCI-P3. Oppo then had it professionally calibrated to make sure it was getting the most of its capabilities and we didn't have to mess around to tweak it ourselves. This should mean we can't see any color streaks or dithering like we can on smaller screens. The 10-bit color offers a QHD + resolution of 3216 x 1440, an adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz, a brightness of 1,300 nits and HDR10 + support.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

According to Oppo, the Find X3 Pro delivers the best color reproduction on any smartphone. But can you really see on a screen this size? Before diving into that, it is worth mentioning how beautiful the Find X3 Pro's screen is in general. The performance comes very close to that of the Samsung Galaxy S21 +, but not quite as bright in direct comparison. It certainly looks great for watching videos on YouTube and Netflix. But what about 10-bit color?

What is frustrating is that Oppo doesn't tell you how to get the most out of the screen. I switched to cinema mode and watched several videos that were supposedly taken with a 10-bit capable camera and compared them to the Galaxy S21 +. I think there are differences as there are slightly fewer stripes visible on the Find X3 Pro, but these could easily be my eyes playing the pranks, simply because you have to look really carefully to see something "different".

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

A 10-bit DCI-P3 screen on a smartphone is very technically impressive, but I'm waiting to be convinced of any actual benefit to anyone looking at general content. I asked Oppo for clarification on how the Find X3 Pro's screen works and how to best use its capabilities. It will be updated as soon as I hear something and keep experimenting.

camera

When we get to the camera, there is more talk of a billion colors. That way, phone owners can enjoy the Find X3 Pro's 10-bit color screen right out of the box, as you can capture 10-bit color photos and videos on it. This is done by flicking a switch in the settings menu so you can take photos in either 10-bit or normal mode. Shoot them in 10-bit quality and the images will be saved as High Efficiency Image Format (HEIF) files, which can cause compatibility issues with viewing and editing.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The 10-bit color feature feels extremely geeky and is currently only relevant to a small number of hardcore photographers. It also distracts from what actually makes the Find X3 Pro's camera desirable – the use of two main cameras. The 50 megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor is used for both the main wide angle and ultra wide angle cameras. This means that the color and balance are the same for both cameras. This is a common complaint against other wide / ultra wide camera setups. These two cameras include a 13-megapixel telephoto camera with 5x hybrid zoom and 20x digital zoom, as well as an unusual 3-megapixel micro lens that can be used to take “microscope” photos with 60x zoom.

I'm only busy with the Find X3 Pro for about a hundred photos, but as of now, it's the real deal. It not only takes beautifully balanced photos with breathtaking dynamic range and color management, but also for main and ultra-wide cameras.

oppo find x3 pro review main bank "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn6.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/find-x3-pro-main-bench- 640x640. jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAAFind the X3 Pro standard camera Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

oppo find x3 pro review wide bank "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn7.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/find-x3-pro-wide-bench- 640x640 .jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAAFind the X3 Pro ultra-wide camera Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

oppo find x3 pro review Hauptsonne "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn8.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/find-x3-pro-main-sun- 640x640. jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAAFind the X3 Pro standard camera Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

oppo find x3 pro review wide sun "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn9.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/find-x3-pro-wide-sun- 640x640 .jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAAFind the X3 Pro ultra-wide camera Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The wide-angle example shown here with the bench under the tree would have looked very different on a different phone. Instead, it's almost indistinguishable from the standard photo in terms of balance, shadow, and color. Wonderful. It's also very hard to get the camera to misbehave, as you can see in the photo that is shooting in the sun.

What about the micro objective 60x microscope camera? Like a microscope, it's insanely close to taking macro photos like you've never seen them before. The following example shows moss. It's a gimmick, but it really does something that no other phone camera can, and while the results may not be of the best quality, it is possible to really have fun with it. It's definitely not a reason to buy the phone, but it's a welcome change from a useless 2-megapixel macro camera just to make room.

Oppo Find X3 Pro microscope photo mode. Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

About the 10-bit color mode? I don't have a 10-bit color monitor as I suspect many others don't either. Although my Mac Mini M1 can open HEIF files, they look the same on my screen as non-10-bit recordings. The Find X3 Pro's camera otherwise evolves to really deliver what we've wanted for a while: consistency between the main and wide-angle cameras, and that's a significant advancement in mobile photography.

Performance, battery and software

The Oppo Find X3 Pro uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage space, as well as 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6 and a 4,500 mAh battery. There are two main areas that I need to spend even more time with the Find X3 Pro, software, and battery. Oppo’s ColorOS user interface, version 11.2, which was created here over Android 11, is integrated. It's better than ever, but still frustrating and less sophisticated than competing systems from Samsung, OnePlus, and Google.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

For example, apps are spread across multiple home screens in the iOS style by default, and you can then clean up when you switch to the drawer layout. The icons are too square for my taste, the speed depends on what you're doing (scrolling notifications is faster than the app drawer, for example), and the camera app often refuses to work, forcing you to close and reopen it.

This could be because I am using a pre-release version of the software. Hopefully everyone will improve with an update right before the launch. The battery is the other area that still needs evaluation, with performance so far being decent and around 30% of the battery being used for an hour and 45 minutes of general screen time without games. One day should be achievable, but not much else.

oppo find x3 pro verification notifications "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn6.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x3-pro-notifications-640x640 .jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

oppo find x3 pro review apps "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn7.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x3-pro-apps-640x640. jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

oppo find x3 pro review 10-bit setting "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn8.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x3-pro- 10 -bit-settings-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAAAAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

Oppo has added its massively fast SuperVOOC recharge. The 65W system delivers a full charge in just 35 minutes. We have tested this in the past and found that it works exactly as described. The Find X3 Pro also has 30W wireless charging and 10W reverse charging.

Price and availability

The Oppo Find X3 Pro has been announced for the UK, where it starts at £ 1,099 or around $ 1,527. It will be published on April 14th and will be sold via Oppo's own online shop and with a contract with all major airlines. Oppo does not sell its phones in the US, but they are available as an import.

At £ 1,099, the Find X3 Pro faces the Galaxy S21 + and iPhone 12 Pro, which are both cheaper, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which is slightly more expensive. It's also facing competition from the upcoming OnePlus 9 Pro, which is likely to undercut the price too.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

While it's too early to make a final judgment, at this point the Oppo Find X3 Pro certainly impressed me with its camera and its compact, lightweight design. The Find X2 Pro has been Oppo’s best phone to date, and the Find X3 Pro seems to be doing things in a meaningful way, although the price is still a bit high. It remains to be checked whether the battery and the software can meet the same standard and whether the 10-bit color screen and the camera setting are relevant for normal people.

Editor's recommendations




22 Jan
Blog

Oppo Enco X Review: Android-Friendly AirPods Pro Killers

Oppo Enco X.

Oppo Enco X review: Android-friendly AirPods Pro killers

"The only thing Oppo didn't copy from the AirPods Pro is the price."

  • Cozy

  • Very good sound quality

  • Excellent ANC and transparency

  • Very good call quality

  • Seamless switching of devices

Oppo, the Chinese electronics company that has produced some of the biggest sleeper hits in categories like Blu-ray players and smartphones, just released its latest true wireless earbuds, the Oppo Enco X, valued at $ 150. Digital Trends got an early look at the earbuds, which won't be available in the US until spring. Yes, they look a lot like Apple's AirPods Pro and have Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), just like Apple's Buds. But don't write her off as another copycat hoping to get Apple's coattails at the checkout for a payday. The Enco X are real business, with both words deservedly in the foreground. Let's look at them.

What's in the box?

With the exception of the black plastic inner shell, the Enco X box is a simple cardboard container that should prove to be easily recyclable when you aren't storing it. Inside you will find the earbuds, their charging case, a short USB-C charging cable, two additional sizes of silicone earbuds (small and large to accompany the standard medium) and a quick guide.

If you love the vibe of apple, you will love the look of these buds.

design

Oppo Enco X and AirPods ProOppo Enco X (right) and Apple AirPods Pro Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Enco X doesn't just look a bit like the AirPods Pro – I'd call them as close as possible without incurring the legal ire of Apple. In white in particular (they are also available in black), the bulbous main body, the semi-oval silicone tips, and the downward-pointing stems are direct copies of the Apple design. That said, if you love Apple's mood, you will love the look of those buds.

But oppositional flattery from Jony Ive's aesthetic doesn't end there. The charging case is also a pure AirPods Pro, right down to the perfectly movable hinge and the LED charging indicator on the front. Sure, there are a few differences. Oppo wrapped its case in sleek aluminum tape that gives it a touch of sophistication, and the pairing button sits a little proud of that tape on the side instead of sitting flush on the back like Apple. This button could be accidentally pressed, which wouldn't be ideal, but the real head scratch in Oppos's design is the decision to orient the earbuds so the tips are facing away from each other. This means that every time you take them out of the case – which is easiest if you pinch the silicone tips between your thumb and forefinger – they are pointing the wrong way for your ears.

Why did Oppo do that? Maybe to avoid accusations of a complete Apple copy, or maybe the slightly longer stems of the Enco X made it necessary.

There's one area in the Enco X's design that actually improves Apple's work: The Enco X's are rated IP54, which means they're just as waterproof as the AirPods Pro, but also have some dust resistance.

Convenience, control and connections

Oppo Enco X.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The AirPods Pro are some of the most comfortable true wireless earbuds I've ever tried, and (surprisingly) the Enco Xs offer an equally comfortable fit. There's even a Fit Test in the free HeyMelody app for Android (an iOS version coming soon) and another AirPods Pro feature to add to the list. I had to switch to the large earbuds for a perfect fit, but even the standard media was pretty good. As long as you don't mind having buds in your ear canals, the Enco X is comfortable enough for many hours of continuous use.

The earphones use a touch user interface. I'm usually not a huge fan of touch controls. I find them inaccurate and I don't like the lack of click feedback that physical buttons offer. But the Enco X could turn me into a convert. Tap the registered stems almost every time, and you can adjust the volume by sliding your finger up or down the length of either stalk. This is still not possible with the AirPods Pro.

The HeyMelody app lets you customize these controls, update the firmware, and customize the ANC (more on that later).

The Enco X doesn't support Bluetooth multipoint (which allows two devices to connect to a set of earbuds at the same time), but the pairing feature is so fast that it almost doesn't matter. If you press the pairing button for two seconds, you can quickly connect to a new device or reconnect to a previously assigned device.

Even better, in the HeyMelody app, you can assign a long press command that automatically switches the earbuds back to the last connected device. I've never seen this feature on any set of wireless earbuds. It worked like a charm and let me switch seamlessly between my iPhone and Pixel XL.

Full and rich, with a bass response that is powerful but never overwhelming, they deliver a well-balanced sound signature.

The Enco X's wireless range averages 30 feet outdoors, which is closer to 15 feet indoors. The connection is very reliable within these distances.

Sound quality

I'm not going to by the bush – the Enco X sounds really good. Full and rich, with a bass response that is powerful but never overwhelming, they deliver a well-balanced sound signature. The sound stage strikes a middle ground between intimate and expansive.

Compared to similarly expensive products like that Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro or even the AirPods Pro, the Enco X, can more than hold their own. Only when you compare it to more expensive products like the Jabra Elite 85t or the Sony WF-1000XM3 will you notice limitations. The Enco X can't quite keep up with these earbuds when it comes to clarity and precision, especially at higher frequencies.

When I found that the HeyMelody app didn't offer EQ adjustments, I was a little concerned – I tend to tweak most of the earbuds slightly to get a sound profile that suits me. Now that I've spent some time with these earbuds, I don't miss that lack of EQ control at all, and I'm confident you won't either.

Another observation that surprised me: the Enco X sounded better when used with my Pixel XL test phone than it did with my iPhone 11. This is a mystery. In general, I don't hear much of a difference between iOS and Android, especially when streaming from the exact same source (in this case, Tidal HiFi). And while there is no Bluetooth codec advantage (the Enco X uses AAC when connected to both phones), I found that stereo imaging, clarity, and soundstage were improved when using the Pixel XL.

The Oppo Enco X have the rare distinction of being some of the best noise canceling earbuds you can buy.

Speaking of codecs, the Enco X may sound even better when used with Oppo phones that support LHDC, a high-resolution, low-latency Bluetooth codec that competes directly with Sony's LDAC and aptX HD. The Enco X are some of the first true wireless earbuds on the market to come with LHDC support.

Noise cancellation and transparency

Oppo Enco X.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Oppo Enco X has the rare distinction of calling the AirPods Pro, Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, and Jabra Elite 85t some of the best noise-canceling earbuds you can buy.

Not only do they excellently reduce unwanted noises like traffic, conversation, and the booming hum of machines while listening to music, but they also deliver an impressively quiet cone of silence when there is no music at all.

Transparency mode is equally effective, doing that magical balancing act of amplifying the outside world so far that you can hear it, but not so much that it sounds like you're listening to a recording of the outside world.

It's not perfect: I found that while other people's voices were crisp and clear, my own voice still felt a little muffled. But it makes conversation easy, what matters.

In the HeyMelody app, you can choose which ANC modes are available when you touch and hold an earbud. You can switch between all four modes (Off, Transparency, Regular ANC, and Maximum ANC) or any combination thereof. I found maximum ANC and transparency most useful.

Changes in ANC mode are as quick as the AirPods Pro, but not as quick as the Elite 85t.

Battery life

Oppo Enco X and AirPods ProOppo Enco X (right) and Apple AirPods Pro Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

If there is one area the Enco X could do better, it is battery life. Oppo claims four hours per charge if the volume is 50% and you use the maximum ANC which is 20 hours with the charging case included. By switching off ANC, up to 5.5 or 25 hours are achieved.

As far as I can tell, these numbers are slightly conservative. There were almost 4.5 hours between charges with ANC. Once again, the Enco X seems content to replicate the AirPods Pro – these battery life stats are close to Apple's – although the AirPods Pro offer a slightly better lifespan in this case.

One feature that Oppo should have mimicked is the AirPods Pro's fast charging capability. Five minutes of charging adds an hour to AirPods Pro playtime, but the Enco X cannot be charged quickly. From the empty state, it takes 80 minutes to charge the earbuds in their case. If you charge the Enco X for five minutes, you only have 17 minutes of play time.

Call quality

The Oppo Enco X may not be as crystal clear as the Bose or Jabra earbuds, but it still offers very good call quality. Competing noises, such as car traffic driving past, were very effectively suppressed. My voice wavered and fluttered occasionally, but it was always intelligible.

Our opinion

Oppo made a near-perfect clone of the Apple AirPods Pro that offers better sound quality and a much cheaper price.

Is there a better alternative?

As long as Oppo can keep the Enco X's price tag at around $ 150 or less, these earbuds have no serious competition at all.

You can get better sound quality and more features, but you'll have to spill an additional $ 50 to $ 80 Jabra Elite 85t come to mind. You can certainly spend less and still get ANC – like the Edifier TWS NB2 – but these earbuds don't meet the Enco X's very high bar for ANC and design.

Even iPhone owners should seriously consider the Enco X before buying a set of AirPods Pro. The Enco X does not allow you to speak hands-free with Siri, and Apple spatial audio is not supported. However, this seems like a fair trade to save $ 100.

How long will they last?

The Enco X seems to be very well built, with high quality materials and workmanship. At the time of this review, no US warranty information was available, but I'm assuming these earbuds can be used regularly (or better) than comparable models.

Should you buy it?

Absolutely. If you like the idea of ​​the AirPods Pro, the Enco X are cheaper and outperform Apple's sound quality.

Editor's recommendations




04 Apr
Blog

Oppo Find X2 Pro Review: Oppo Finds the Sweet Spot

oppo find x2 pro review camera lenses 3

"The Oppo Find X2 Pro is a beautiful phone with the latest hardware."

  • Stunning OLED screen

  • Quick charge

  • Versatile camera that takes great photos

  • High-performance SoC with 5G

  • Expensive

  • Phone software seems unreliable

How do you follow the Oppo Find X? It was ahead of its time in design, gave us an innovative and unusual motorized camera, and even had a completely crazy version of Lamborghini. It seems that Oppo himself wasn't entirely sure what to do since it took 20 months for the company to develop a sequel.

Get to know the Oppo Find X2 Pro, a phone that isn't as visually striking as the Find X, but is even more powerful.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

I've spent a few weeks on the phone since it was unveiled, and it has impressed me more than any other Oppo phone before. This is due to advances in software and design. It's not perfect, but it's the first Oppo phone that I can confidently recommend. Here's why.

design

Oppo's decision to make the Find X2 Pro more conventional is the right one. I miss the madness of the Find X and other Find series phones as much as the next tech fan, but they weren't always practical. The Find X2 looks normal, maybe to the point where it feels derived from the front. However, the orange vegan leather back wall and gold accents prove that Oppo's design department still knows how to party.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

The beautifully curved 6.7-inch OLED screen falls off to the side, but not to the extent that you see on the Huawei Mate 30 Pro. It's a more subtle, shallow drop that still offers an impressive viewing experience. Oppo's light effect notifications use the curved glass to warn you and display colored light when you receive a call or new message. It stands out, keeps you up to date and looks cool.

A golden aluminum case is located between the front window and the vegan leather back. It's smooth and gently curved so it won't get into your palm while the leather back feels warm. The Oppo Find X2 Pro is a pleasure to hold.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

The leather has no heavy grain and only the slightest texture, but it is easy to grip. The phone never feels like it's slipping out of your hand. Whether the gold and orange color scheme is appealing depends on your personal choice. If it is too gaudy, a black ceramic model is available. Personally, I love the orange leather, but I don't like the chintzy gold, and the Oppo badge looks like an afterthought.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

The leather model is slightly thicker and heavier than the black ceramic Find X2 Pro. With a thickness of 9.5 mm and 200 grams, it is a fairly large phone, especially compared to the feather-light Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus with a thickness of 186 grams and a thickness of 7.8 mm. It's still pluggable and never feels unwieldy, but is slightly top-heavy. The design, the high-quality materials and the processing as well as the excellent comfort in the hand make the Find X2 a mature and desirable phone.

screen

Oppo has put a lot of technology into the Find X2 Pro's screen, and it really pays off. The 6.7-inch OLED offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz, a resolution of 3168 x 1440, 240 Hz touch sampling, 10-bit color and HDR10 + support as well as the so-called O1 Ultra Vision Engine to optimize the Video performance. The Oppo Find X2 competes strongly with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus and the Apple iPhone 11 Pro, two powerful mobile phones with breathtaking screens.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

The Find X2 offers numerous options for changing the screen, including adjusting the color temperature and color mode, as well as the ability to turn off the O1 Ultra Vision Engine if you don't like motion smoothing or HDR upscaling. If the color temperature is set to the standard setting, the O1 Ultra Vision Engine and the color mode to Vivid, it hardly differs from the S20 Plus in direct comparison. Black is deep, shadows look perfect, colors are vivid and strong and details are sharp. It is a stunning screen with numerous adjustments if you wish.

The Find X2 Pro, which is also equipped with Dolby Atmos support, features two full-range stereo speakers. The speakers have a lot of volume, and Atmos also adds an extra dimension, but the phone lacks bass and can sound harsh when you turn up the volume.

The Oppo Find X2 Pro (top), Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus (bottom left). and iPhone 11 Pro (bottom right). Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

During the first few days of use, I was concerned that the screen was not responding slightly, which was contrary to the 240 Hz touch sampling function. On my early test model, a screen protector was attached that was lifted up at one corner, eliminating the feeling of lag. I should also mention the phone's haptic feedback, which is wonderfully soft and tactile and comes very close to the excellent vibrations of the OnePlus 7T Pro.

Camera quality

The oversized camera on the back of the Find X2 Pro, which is held in gold, has a 48-megapixel Sony IMX689 1 / 1.4-inch main sensor with an aperture of 1: 1.7 and a second 48-megapixel -Sony IMX586 ultra-wide sensor and a 13 megapixel telephoto lens for a 2x optical zoom as well as a 5x and 10x hybrid setting and up to 60x digital recording. There is double optical image stabilization, live HDR for video and a macro mode as well as an auto focus with laser and phase detection.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

The camera app looks familiar if you've recently used a Huawei phone. From the zoom controls to the menu selection, the layout of the app is strikingly similar. I took pictures before and after an important software update and liked a lot of pictures of both. The camera takes colorful and detailed photos that approach a cooler palette than a Samsung camera. The atmosphere of mobile phones like the Huawei P40 Pro can also be missing.

There's a noticeable difference in dynamics between the standard 48-megapixel lens (Sony's new IMX689 sensor) and the wide-angle IMX586, which weakens the colors. However, if you enable Oppo's "Dazzle" color mode, which uses artificial intelligence to enhance your images, the level of saturation will be increased to compensate for this. Edge detection in portrait mode is average and sometimes difficult to recognize even the simplest shapes. However, the large sensor creates a decent natural bokeh when there is an object nearby.

On the front is a 32 megapixel selfie camera in a small hole that offers both a beauty mode and a night mode. This unusual addition to the selfie camera is surprisingly effective and does a good job of reducing noise in low light, but processing time is long. However, I can see that it is useful for many people. Otherwise, the selfie camera has numerous filters and a decent portrait mode.

The Oppo Find X2 Pro's camera is excellent. It's versatile, has great zoom and lots of useful features, and delivers strong photo results whether you're using the front or rear camera. It is reliable and capable.

Software and performance

Software is a traditional weakness of Oppo phones, and previous versions of ColorOS (the company's Android user interface) were filled with frustrating changes to normal Android features.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

Fortunately, Oppo changed course. The Oppo Find X2 Pro ships with ColorOS v7.1 via Android 10. It is more modern and uses clean storage much better to improve usability. The user interface is similar to Android on a Google Pixel 4 phone in that menus and icons look consistent and are where you expect them to be. Thanks to the screen with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, it is also quick and smooth.

The importance of this cannot be overstated. Daily use of the Find X2 Pro is more of a pleasure than a duty, since almost no matter which phone you come from, no steep learning curve is required after switching. The constantly active screen is helpful and clearly shows notification symbols. I also like the system-wide dark mode.

It's not all good news, and the problems I've had with the Oppo Reno 3 Pro are present, e.g. B. the useless Smart Assistant that you wipe from the home screen. However, since Oppo fixed other issues, these are disappointments in an otherwise solid user interface.

The phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor and an X55 5G modem as well as 12 GB RAM and 512 GB storage space. Going through two benchmark tests gave these results.

3DMark: 6.523 (volcano)

Geekbench 5: 901 single-core / 3266 multi-core

This is the fastest Qualcomm processor available and has a large amount of RAM, so the Find X2 Pro never lacks the performance. The results have driven it forward in tests with the Exynos-based Galaxy S20 Plus and with phones with the Snapdragon 855 Plus such as the Asus ROG Phone 2.

oppo find x2 pro review apps "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn8.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x2-pro-apps-640x640. jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

oppo find x2 pro review settings "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn9.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x2-pro-settings-640x640. jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

oppo find x2 pro review shortcuts "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn1.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/oppo-find-x2-pro-shortcuts-640x640. jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

I had some problems with calls. Although the reception was strong according to the symbol and was not technical, I often had problems hearing the caller and vice versa. It seemed like I was in an area with poor coverage and disruption before I reconnect. The problem only occurred with Find X2 Pro. It was intermittent, so not every call was affected, suggesting that it was a software problem.

Battery life

The Find X2 Pro has a built-in fingerprint sensor and a face release, both of which work very well. Face recognition usually beats faster than the fingerprint sensor. A 4,260 mAh battery, which is actually two 2,130 mAh cells that work together, provides the juice. This setup helps the Oppo SuperVOOC Flash Charge 2.0 fast charging system to work and keep temperatures low.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

The battery is quickly charged with the supplied 65 W charger. In just 30 minutes in my repeated tests, it shot from 0 to 100%, which essentially makes overnight charging unnecessary. Charge the phone when you get ready in the morning, and it's done before you're done. Unfortunately there is no wireless charging.

I watched approximately 3.5 hours of 1080p video, which drained about 35% of the battery, and the phone took a day of moderate use.

Price, availability and guarantee

The Oppo Find X2 Pro costs £ 1,100 and can currently be ordered from Amazon in the US for $ 1,300. It will be released in May. You can register interest on the phone through the Carphone Warehouse retailer website. However, there is no information yet about which network operators will sell the phone. Oppo does not sell its devices in the United States, but it may be possible to import one. Oppo grants a two year warranty on the device and the battery.

Our opinion

The Find X2 Pro is Oppo at its best. It offers the performance we expect from a flagship phone, without the inconvenience of previous Find models and yet enough individuality to respond. The screen is stunning, the camera is excellent and the software has improved a lot compared to old models.

All of this at a high price that puts Oppo in the same space as Samsung, Apple and Huawei. That is rightly so, but it remains to be seen whether Oppo has the brand name to attract at this level.

Is there a better alternative?

There are a lot of phones out now, and some will be coming very soon to take on the Oppo Find X2 Pro. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus for $ 1,000 is strong with very good software, a great camera, and one of the best screens available. However, the design is boring compared to the Find X2 Pro. The $ 1,400 Galaxy S20 Ultra and its 108-megapixel camera also come into play at this price.

The Huawei P40 Pro costs £ 900, which is about $ 1,115. Therefore, it will be offered at a competitive price when it is released in April. The design is more mature than that of the Find X2 Pro, and the camera has great potential, but the lack of Google Mobile Services puts it at a disadvantage in the UK. If you're not fixated on buying an Android phone, the Apple iPhone 11 for $ 1,000 Pro is our top choice for the year to date.

I also like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus for $ 1,100, which is a little older, but is still an excellent smartphone. One to watch out for in the near future is the OnePlus 8 series. OnePlus is part of the same business conglomerate as Oppo and will launch its new phones on April 15th. There is every chance that OnePlus 8 Pro will take over the Find X2 Pro at a cheaper price.

How long it will take?

With IP68 water resistance, the phone stays relatively safe in the wet, and the version with leather back should stay attractive longer because it has no fingerprints or can break like a glass back. Ceramic is tougher and more scratch-resistant than glass if you choose the black version.

Oppo's track record with Android updates isn't great. The original Find X, the RX17 Pro and the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom are expected to receive ColorOS 7 and Android 10 in summer 2020. Android 10 was released in September 2019. If you buy the Find X2 Pro, you can wait a while for an update to Android 11.

Should you buy one?

Yes. The stunning screen, excellent photo functions, fast charging and 5G for future security ensure that the Find X2 Pro will serve you well every day for several years.

Editor's recommendations