Expected release date, what we want to see

Update: November 2, 2023 (11:32 AM ET): We’ve updated this OPPO Find X7 Pro rumor hub with a rumor about the phone’s camera.

Original article: August 26, 2023 (6:00 AM ET): OPPO’s Find X series are usually among the best Android phones you can get, bringing cutting-edge chipsets, excellent screens, and great cameras. These phones usually cost a pretty penny, but they also stand out from the pack thanks to some exquisite designs. OPPO launched the Find X6 Pro exclusively in China in early 2023, but we’re expecting the brand to launch the Find X7 Pro in 2024. What should we expect from this handset, though? Here’s everything we know about the OPPO Find X7 Pro.

Will there be an OPPO Find X7 Pro?

We’re assuming there will be a Find X7 Pro as OPPO has released a new Find X Pro model every year since 2020. The only time the company skipped a year was in 2019, choosing to wait until 2020 to launch the Find X2 Pro.

OPPO has also launched a standard Find X model alongside the Pro variant each year. So we’d expect a Find X7 alongside the X7 Pro next year.

• OPPO Find X3 Pro: March 11, 2021
• OPPO Find X5 Pro: February 24, 2022
• OPPO Find X6 Pro: March 21, 2023

The Chinese manufacturer has typically launched its Find X flagships in Q1 each year. The earliest release in recent years was February 2022 for the Find X5 series, but we usually see a March launch.

OPPO has traditionally wasted little time launching these phones in global markets. But the company threw a giant curveball in 2023 with the Find X6 series. More specifically, the Find X6 and X6 Pro didn’t launch outside China. There were claims that this was due to a patent dispute with Nokia in Europe, with the upcoming OnePlus Open also potentially affected by this saga as an OPPO sub-brand.

Unfortunately, we’re guessing this could be an issue for the Find X7 Pro as well if OPPO and Nokia don’t sort this out in time. So you might have to import the phone in 2024.

What specs and features could the OPPO Find X7 Pro have?

OPPO’s Pro phones usually bring the best-of-the-best specs in most areas, from the screen and chipset to charging tech and photo quality. We’re therefore expecting the brand to hit it out of the park in this regard once again.

If there’s one constant area where OPPO flagships stand out, it has to be the design. The company’s flagships are always eye-catching, such as the pleather back on some Find X2 Pro models, the X5 Pro’s ambitious curved glass back, and the X6 Pro’s two-toned pleather/glass combo.

We’re not sure what to expect from the Find X7 Pro in this regard, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they took a two-toned approach once again. After all, the Find X5 Pro was effectively an evolution over the Find X3 Pro.

Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station also suggested in June that the phone could pack an “ultra-narrow” curved screen. This should make for a more comfortable design, although we hope it isn’t too narrow. The last thing we want is a phone that looks like a folded Galaxy Z Fold 5.

One thing we’re expecting is an IP68 rating, though. OPPO’s Find X Pro models have offered water resistance since 2020’s Find X2 Pro, so we’d be surprised if the X7 Pro lacks this feature.

Digital Chat Station posted a schematic image of what appears to be an OPPO Find X7 Pro on October 19. The picture (seen above) shows the front and back of the phone, and we’ve got a quad rear camera system here that includes a periscope lens. The camera system features a circular housing, with three vertically stacked lenses and the fourth camera to the left of this column. Otherwise, we’ve got a center-mounted punch-hole cutout, the power button on the right, and volume buttons on the left.

It’s almost a guarantee that the OPPO Find X7 Pro will be equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, much like many other Android flagship phones. This was echoed by Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station in June, asserting that it will indeed pack the next-gen chipset.

The Chinese leaker also suggested in July that an upcoming OPPO flagship phone could pack a periscope camera, a curved screen with a 2K resolution and high-frequency dimming, and 50W wireless charging. For what it’s worth, the Find X6 Pro packs a periscope camera, QHD+ curved screen, and 50W wireless charging. So it’s not a leap to imagine that OPPO would retain and refine these features.

A Weibo leaker called Mess With Assen made a number of display and camera claims in August. These claims include a Samsung E6 2K LTPO screen with 2,500 nit brightness, a 32MP IMX709 selfie camera, an IMX989 50MP main shooter, an IMX890 ultrawide sensor, and an IMX890 periscope camera. This is indeed in line with the X6 Pro, but the leaker says the lens and aperture will see changes. We’re not familiar with this source, though, so we’d take these assertions with an entire bag of salt.

Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station shed more light on the Find X7 Pro’s zoom credentials on September 6. The leaker claimed that the OPPO handset will still offer a 50MP ~3x periscope camera with a 1/1.5-inch sensor size. This is in the same ballpark as the Find X6 Pro.

Digital Chat Station also tipped that a LYT900 and DCG dual conversion gain-optimized version is being tested. The OPPO Find X7 may end up being the first to receive Sony’s new sensor.

There’s no word on other OPPO Find X7 Pro specs like battery capacity, RAM, and storage for now. But we’ll update this rumor hub with any more leaks.

• OPPO Find X3 Pro: £1,099 / €1,149
• OPPO Find X5 Pro: £1,049 / €1,299
• OPPO Find X6 Pro: 5,999 yuan (~$823)

The Find X Pro series usually costs a pretty penny in global markets, generally breaching the £1,000 (~$1,270) mark at launch. So we’re expecting the Find X7 Pro to cost more than £1,000 if it does indeed launch outside China.

In saying so, we’ve also seen the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi hike the prices of their flagship phones in many markets due to inflation and other factors. So we wouldn’t be surprised if OPPO’s 2024 flagship is more expensive.

We wouldn’t advise you to wait for the Find X7 Pro, as it’s entirely possible the phone could be restricted to China, like its predecessor. So you might have to import the device if you really want it, which comes with its own set of problems. These issues include after-sales service, repairs, and network band support.

There are a number of alternative devices worth considering, though. For one, there’s the OnePlus 11 ($1296 at Amazon), bringing that Hasselblad branding and what is effectively Color OS with some aesthetic tweaks. You should also think about the Galaxy S23 Ultra ($1199.99 at Samsung), which offers a similarly premium experience with plenty of bells and whistles.

If you don’t mind importing phones and really want an OPPO flagship, then you should certainly grab the Find X6 Pro ($1298 at eBay). It brings a slick design, excellent cameras, and plenty of horsepower. And if one major leak is true, then the X7 Pro won’t be a huge upgrade over the current model.

OPPO Find X7 Pro: What we want to see

We’ve now got a decent idea of what to expect from OPPO’s 2024 flagship phone, but what about our own wishlist items? Well, here’s what we really want to see from the Find X7 Pro when it’s eventually released.

This is our biggest wish, really. The fact that the Find X6 Pro was a China-only release was an absolute travesty, especially in light of its excellent cameras. So we really hope the OPPO Find X7 Pro is available globally.

We’re guessing a European release is contingent on OPPO sorting out its legal battles with Nokia. But even if the company can’t sort out its European troubles, we’d like to see the firm bring the X7 Pro to other markets like India, Latin America, and Africa.

One long-standing pet peeve we have with OPPO’s Find X flagships is that they don’t play very nicely with USB-PD chargers. In fact, the Find X6 Pro tops out at a mere 18W when using a USB-PD adapter.

Needless to say, we really want the Chinese brand to offer much faster speeds without using a proprietary charger. Even a boost to 65W would be a massive improvement over the status quo.

The Find X6 Pro heralds the return of a periscope camera to an OPPO Find X phone for the first time since 2020’s Find X2 Pro. And we were very impressed with this camera, delivering great zoomed-in shots, low-light snaps, and more.

In saying so, we thought the phone couldn’t compare to the Galaxy S23 Ultra at ~10x. This isn’t a surprise as the OPPO phone is leaning on a 3x periscope lens compared to Samsung’s dedicated 10x camera. But we hope the Find X7 Pro is able to deliver much-improved long-range zoom, be it via a second tele camera or software enhancements.

One thing my colleague Rob Triggs noticed about the Find X6 Pro when testing it was that it was a large phone compared to the X5 Pro. You’re looking at a slightly taller, wider, and thicker handset here.

Rob says he can live with the current phone’s camera bump on the X7 Pro, but felt that a smaller design overall would be ideal. For what it’s worth, one leaker mentioned that the new phone will have an extremely narrow screen. So a more ergonomic device might be on the cards.