Oppo Find X2 Neo
The marriage of premium and affordable never felt so good.
It’s been a year since we reviewed the Oppo Reno 5G, and both the Chinese phone manufacturer and the 5G network have come a long way in that time. That handset and the newly launched Find X2 Neo share many similarities, but with a retail price $500 less, is the Neo better suited to today’s market?
Available in either blue or black – both of which are subtly iridescent – the Neo offers a decent balance between flashy, premium looks and a more subdued item that’s novelty won’t rub you the wrong way after a few weeks.
Both the face and rear of the phone are minimal, with the latter home to small Oppo branding and the quad camera array, and the former comprised almost entirely (89.7%) of its gorgeous display.
The display is a vibrant 6.5-inch AMOLED number which, save for a small punchhole selfie camera, is largely uninterrupted. It’s curved at the edges, similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S flagship range, which makes for a very comfortable and slim-feeling grip in the palm.
Powering the Find X2 Neo is one of Qualcomm’s upper-midrange chipsets, the Snapdragon 765G, one of the first to fully integrate 5G tech. This is great for battery performance, with the 4,025mAh cell lasting much longer than other equivalent handsets.
You’ll get an insane 12GB of RAM, which – coupled with the 90Hz refresh rate in the display and plenty capable chipset – makes for a solid gaming platform. And while there’s no SD card slot, the 256B of on-board storage should be enough for most users in this cloud-based age.
Considering the crazy benchmark that smartphones have set for camera capabilities, it can feel a little harsh when saying that something as powerful as the Find X2 Neo doesn’t compare to its more expensive competition.
If you’re absolutely after top-of-the-line camera specs you can’t go past the Google Pixel range or the Neo’s elder sibling, the Find X2 Pro, but for those seeking merely excellent photo and video capabilities, the Neo still performs better than most in its price category.
Last year when we reviewed the Reno 5G, Australia’s 5G network was in its infancy and the range of compatible phones were limited. There are now manifold options available – some of which are even cheaper than the Find X2 Neo – and the network itself is more capable around major city areas (although still far from perfect).
This means that it’s way less of a novelty to invest in the technology now, but it also means you can be pickier about the handset you choose – thankfully, the Neo is a good choice.
A lack of wireless charging, SD card slot and headphone jack are, for the most part, easy to forgive given the price point, but a complete absence of a waterproof rating holds it back from the everyday ruggedness we’d like to see.
HARRY DOMANSKI
There are cheaper handsets that’ll get you on the 5G network – Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 3 5G and Samsung’s A71 5G for instance – but Oppo’s Find X2 Neo does a much better job of making its compromises less critical and, as a result, is very easy to recommend.
“The display is a vibrant 6.5-inch AMOLED number which, save for a small punch-hole selfie camera, is largely uninterrupted. It’s curved at the edges, similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S flagship range, which makes for a very comfortable and slim-feeling grip in the palm.”