In this week’s Tech & Tonic Podcast, we have Jason Goh of @Smashpop! Jason Goh is one of the more prolific figures in the digital content creation industry. He has a vast experience in the field and is one of the guys behind Tricycle TV, a social media channel that focuses on reviewing tech in Bahasa Melayu. He is also very active in Social Media with @Smashpop across all platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. He is also on TikTok, but not very active; as he says. All good things must be shared, and that is why Jason also conducts workshops for you to better your Social Media presence and skills.
Last week saw one of the most anticipated smartphones (to us anyway) launch globally and in Malaysia. It is the OPPO Find X2 series, a flagship that is two years in waiting now. We had our hands on the OPPO Find X2 as well as Jason with the OPPO Find X2 Pro. We spoke at length about the device; what we like, what we do not like, and what we found interesting. Still, at MYR 3,999 (starting from), it is not what you would call ‘affordable’. Are the features enough to justify its price tag though?
On the subject of smartphones, we revisit the topic of smartphone cameras vs proper cameras. Fitting topic, since we have another very experienced content creator that focuses plenty of visuals. The OPPO Find X2 series also triggers the topic with its claim on topping the DX0Mark charts (OPPO Find X2 Pro). Of course, we would want to know what his opinion is on this subject. We did an editorial on this subject too.
If you ask us last week about what was the most anticipated smartphone was to us this week, we would all in agreement say the OPPO Find X2. We will tell you why.
The OPPO Find X is now about two years old, if you have not noticed. The OPPO Find X was also OPPO’s first device to hit the MYR 3,000 price range. At the time, it was an expensive device. You get a thoroughbred device for that money though. It was a smartphone that is worthy of its ‘flagship’ moniker in every way. Its clever motorised pop-up mechanism is also one that captures plenty of eyes. Of course, there were some fundamental flaws with the design that is eventually solved in other iterations of similar implementations of the mechanism.
Source: OPPO Malaysia
In short; we liked the OPPO Find X. Its pretty looks, large display, capable camera, and long battery life being the main reasons of it winning our hearts. Still, that was two years ago and there was no follow up model until now.
We have covered the global launch so we will not go on and on about its hardware. We did not see the device in our hands too, blame COVID-19 concerns for that. But still, the device has come to Malaysia just a few days after its global launch. That is a good indication of how much OPPO is betting on the local market at this time.
Source: OPPO Malaysia
To jog your memory a little bit. The OPPO Find X2 and Find X2 Pro, replacing the OPPO Find X, has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC shoehorned into a 6.78-inch 2K AMOLED display body that refreshes at 120Hz and samples touch at 240Hz. Through the fast display you are looking through a 48-Megapixel main shooter. There are some differences in the paired cameras in the array between the two variants. All the powerful hardware is given life by a 4,260mAh battery that SuperVOOC fast charges at 65W. As the live demonstration in Barcelona shows, it charges from flat to full in 38-minutes.
The OPPO Find X2 Pro will be available in Black and Orange colour options. The Black will come with a ceramic finish while the Orange is a vegan leather finish. The OPPO Find X2 on the other hand will receive Black and Ocean colour treatments. The Ocean option would be a glass finish. Both models are 5G ready.
Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
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Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
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Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
The OPPO Find X2 and Find X2 Pro will be available in Malaysia 14th of March 2020 onward for MYR 3,999 and MYR 4,599 respectively. If you want to be some of the first people to own one of these flagship goodness, you might want to get on the pre-order boat. The offer lasts until 13th of March 2020, so you still have time. No official word on their Lamborghini limited edition ones though.
Source: OPPO Malaysia
Source: OPPO Malaysia
Source: OPPO Malaysia
Source: OPPO Malaysia
Source: OPPO Malaysia
Source: OPPO Malaysia
If you do pre-order the OPPO Find X2 series, you get a VOOC Flash charge powerbank and an extended 1-year warranty programme with 3-months screen protection. If you are one of the first 300 customers to pick up their OPPO Find X device on the 14th March 2020, or the OPPO Find X2 Pro on the 21st March 2020, you get a set of OPPO Enco Free TWS earphones. Of course, terms and conditions apply. For more information, do visit their website.
OPPO’s Find X was something else from OPPO. It was something
quite extraordinary to come out from OPPO’s stables. It was OPPO’s game changer
also their first device to hit the premium market segment. It sold for MYR
3,699 when it was launched; more expensive than any OPPO devices that came before
it.
It was not like any other OPPO devices that came before as
well. Instead of a familiar Apple-esque design they employed with their best-selling
models, the OPPO Find X was a device they could proudly call their own. It was
a device they could really identify as an OPPO device. It was also OPPO’s first
European ready device.
In all fairness it was also the first smartphone in the
world that was truly bezel-less. While whatever premium devices came with ‘bezel-less’
devices, you still get the notch to house the camera. OPPO’s implementation
made sure that your bezel-less experience is truly bezel-less. How? Quite ingenious,
a motorised pop-up mechanism that slides a whole part of the device to reveal a
front facing camera.
It did not sell for MYR 3,699 merely for that feature though.
It was a world beater with a high-end System on a Chip (SoC). It had other
flagship class specs as well, large RAM and storage. It had a larger than life
battery too at the time. Even its camera array is flagship class. Was it worth
MYR 3,699? It surely looked like it.
Source: OPPO
Now, there is the brand new OPPO Find X2; the evolution of
the iconic flagship from 2018. Instead of just a single device though, the Find
X2 is a series of devices. They are all 5G ready too. The 5G capabilities are
thanks to the most powerful processor available to them in the world today. They
are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865.
The OPPO Find X2
There is not that much difference between the two devices that was launched by OPPO today. Even the price (in Euro anyway). The difference in price is only about EU€ 200 (*MYR 946); which is not that much.
Source: OPPO
There are still some differences to justify the higher price point
of the OPPO Find X2 Pro though. Starting with the storage, the OPPO Find X2 tops
out at 256GB. Mind you, that is not expandable; kind of a bummer, but 256GB is
plenty anyway.
One of the cameras, the ultra-wide lens; you only get 12-Megapixel
out of it. While that is not bad, it will not be the most powerful sensor you
can find on the OPPO Find X2. Then there is the battery which tops out at
4,200mAh for the OPPO Find X2. It still charges as fast as the Find X2 Pro
though.
This is where the differences end though.
OPPO Find X2 Pro
We start with the storage at 512GB of storage, double of the OPPO
Find X2. The OPPO Find X2 Pro also packs a very slightly bigger battery at
4,260mAh. This is no where near as big as we think it would be. Still, it
charges very quickly at 65W (SuperVOOC). It fully charges the device from an
empty battery to full within 38 minutes.
Source: OPPO
The biggest difference between the device is within the camera
array. The OPPO Find X2 Pro packs a 48-Megapixel ultra-wide sensor instead of
12-megapixel. It is supported by the same 13-Megapixel telephoto lens and 48-Megapixel
main shooter as the OPPO Find X2. The difference? 48-Megapixels obviously
captures more details in its ultra-wide shots and its macro shots from at least
3cm away from subject. This camera array is the one that puts OPPO at the top
steps of DX0Mark.
The Find X2 Series Powerhouse
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 paired to 12GB of RAM is not just
keeping the OPPO Find X2’s 5G kicking though. It is also a powerhouse to keep
the Android 10 based ColorOS 7.1 running as smoothly as possible. You can see
that smooth and snappy performance from the large 6.7-inch display that pushed
QHD+ resolution at 120Hz. If you are into gaming, you will benefit from the
240Hz sampling rate; or mor commonly known as touch response these days.
It does not stop there for its display though. The display is in a
class of its own with a 100% DCI-P3 certification. This is also the first OPPO
device to pack a 10-bit display. That also means that you get one billion
colours on the display. The O1 Ultra Vision Vision Engine on the Ultra
Vision display is also the world’s first
engine in the world of its kind on a mobile device. The engine is a hardware
based upscale mechanism that scales 30fps videos to up to 120fps videos with
minimal motion blurring and tearing. With HDR10+, the OPPO Find X2 series’
display is easily the most advanced and most accurate out there in the market.
Immersive too with Dolby ATMOS certified dual stereo speakers.
Source: OPPO
While we have spoken about the camera’s hardware capabilities, there is more to the camera than meets the eye. The 10x hybrid zoom is nothing new technically. What is new though is OPPO’s All Pixel Omni-Directional PDAF that is supposed to increase the Auto-Focus speeds with even better accuracy than regular PDAF systems. The camera also shoots at 12-bit, meaning you get even more details in your shots. Out the front is a 32-Megapixel shooter housed in a small punch-hole on the display.
You get to shoot even better in low-light conditions too
with their new Ultra-night mode 3.0 across all lenses. Your main camera though
gets Ultra Dark Mode treatment to help the camera see even better in near blackness.
While regular Optical Image Stabiliser functions would be enough for photos, videos require a little bit more than that. That is why OPPO has the Ultra Steady Mode 2.0 that combines OIS and EIS on the OPPO Find X2 series. Plus, the Live HDR mode helps you visual your videos without having to take a picture or video first. It samples HDR on top of your display once you fire up the camera. For videos also the OPPO Find X2 devices are equipped with three mics for even better and more advanced noise cancelling functions. Once you shoot, you can edit all of the footage in SoLoop app included within the device.
Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
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Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
The OPPO Find X2 Pro will be available in Black (ceramic material) and Vegan Leather for EU€ 1199 (*MYR 5,671). The OPPO Find X2 will be available Black (ceramic) and Ocean (glass) for EU€ 999 (*MYR4,725). As expected there is a Lamborghini edition for the OPPo Find X2 series too. Both devices is expected to be available globally in May 2020. Malaysia’s launch is just in a few days away next week though. We should get more information regarding the OPPO Find X2 series’ availability and prices in the coming week. Meanwhile, stay tuned!
*Based on current exchange rate of EU€ 1 = MYR 4.73 as of 6/3/2020
After the whole hoo-ha at MWC, OPPO too had delayed their launching of the OPPO Find X2 to a later date. But it did not take them long to set a new date for their launch. The OPPO Find X2 will be launched on March 6 possibly alongside with the OPPO watch.
But wait! The specifications have been leaked, you say? The OPPO Find X2 has been spotted for sale on SouthEast Asian eCommerce site, Shoppe. The listing of the OPPO Find X2 is listed by OPPO’s official Vietnam Store with a price at 40 million Vietnamese Dong which translates to MYR 7,310 and USD 1,724 which is quite steep, considering. But we will have to wait and see the pricing once it is revealed.
Other details immediately found on the listing is that it will come with 8GB of RAM paired to 256GB of storage. There will also be two different colour options that are in Vietnamese which we did not understand but with the power of Google Translate, we manage to get something out of it. The two colours are Ocean Blue and Blue Night Sea which we assume is green with a blue hue colour and the second colour would be black with a blue hue to it.
Source: Brian Shen
Scrolling further down we will find a screen size of 6.5 inches with reports of a possible 120Hz refresh rate with 240Hz sampling rate. Which will be exciting especially for intense games such as PUBG and Mobile Legends. But that’s not all, the Find X2 will feature a 3K display according to a tweet from Brian Shen who is OPPO’s VP and President of Global Marketing. This means that the display would likely have a 3,000 x 2,000 pixel resolution.
Source: Arun Maini
To capture the moments, the Oppo Find X2 comes with a triple rear camera set up consisting of a 48-Megapixel main camera, an 8-Megapixel and a 13-Megapixel sensor. The rear cameras are said to be using a periscope lens that is able to have a digital zoom of up to 60x. The front of the phone, on the other hand, has a 32-Megapixel camera. There are rumours that the phone would be coming with a 44-Megapixel punch-hole dual front camera instead though.
To power up all these fancy features of the phone, the battery comes with a 4,065 mAh capacity. 4,065 mAh isn’t exactly large these days but it should still be a decent amount for you to last throughout the day. All this power will be powering the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor that will be 5G ready. Of course, it will be using Type-C connector. It does not seem to have a 3.5mm headphone jack, bummer. We are taking all these things with a pinch of salt though. We can only confirm the final specs of the OPPO Find X2 when it launches on the 6th March, 2020.
OPPO is reportedly getting into the chip making game. This is not the first time a phone manufacturer creates its own chipsets to be used in their own smartphones. You know these brands too, they are Samsung and Huawei with Exynos and Kirin respectively. They call it the Mariana Plan. Not to be confused with the Mariana Trench, the plan will be led by Qualcomm’s former technical director in collaboration with engineers from Oppo’s sister companies, OnePlus and Realme.
In the past, OPPO mentioned of a big R&D push for an ecosystem of smart devices with an investment of RMB 50 billion which is just slightly over US$ 7 billion. Yes, that is what it takes to get into the game with the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek.
There is no obvious reasons yet on why OPPO would make their own chipset. At the moment as OPPO has been great partners with Qualcomm and Mediatek. There is no indication as well on OPPO dropping the partners anytime soon. Possibly, OPPO sees a market that its missing out on or just a long term cost effective move to install its own chipsets into their phones. The chipsets could also be sold to other phone manufacturers to integrate them into their phones expanding the variety of chipset and value.
With the on going US trade ban, HUAWEI is unable to integrate Qualcomm’s chipset into their phones. Fortunately HUAWEI has their own chipset to lessen the blow of the ban. Based on this logic, OPPO could be developing this new project as their own safety net.
At this point, OPPO has developed one of the best and best known Android iteration in ColorOS. There is no telling yet on what they can do with their chips. If their Android UI development is any indication, they could develop great chips at a fraction of the price of other manufacturers.
We unboxed the OPPO Enco Free True Wireless Earbuds. The OPPO Enco Free is another True Wireless earbuds that carries that Apple Airpods-esque design. There is a few small difference between the Enco Free and the Airpods though.
The OPPO Enco Free, while carrying the same design, has a silicon tip to ensure a better fit on the ears. In the box comes three extra silicon tips with different size to ensure that the OPPO Enco Free will properly fit any ear. The stems from the Enco Free are also touch panels for you to control your music and volume with.
The OPPO Enco Free is now available via OPPO’s authorised retailers and official stores across the nation. The new Enco Free True Wireless earbuds is available in two colours, Black or White. There is a pink colour variant on the way, but there is yet to be available information on that yet. The OPPO Enco Free could be yours today for MYR 499.
When you own a device from the fruity manufacturers from Cupertino, you do not get the privilege of transferring files between devices other than using AirDrop. Technically, AirDrop is a combination of using Bluetooth and WiFi Direct to drag and drop files between Apple devices. While Android devices can plainly use Bluetooth to share files, WiFi Direct between devices have been a little finicky from one Android device to another. So we are stuck to using slow Bluetooth file transfers if you use an Android device from Xiaomi and I am using one from Samsung.
Of course WiFi Direct is an option, but only if you use certain smartphones that are from the same manufacturer. This may no longer be the case though. Fast file transfers between Android devices could be made possible with the “Peer-to-Peer Transmission Alliance”. The Alliance is made to allow high-speed file transfer and sharing between devices. In that case, you get AirDrop like performance from Android devices; 20MB/S over-the-air file transfer speeds.
The only issue is that the Alliance currently consists of three manufacturers. The three manufacturers are OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi. Not even HUAWEI is part of that alliance, which also means that you only get fast file transfers between these three manufacturers until anyone else joins the Alliance. Still, nothing wrong with being hopeful.
