- [Mr. Mobile] I'm just gonna say it.
The Oppo Find X is the most interesting smartphone of 2018.
Instead of blending in with everyone else,
it negates the need for a notch in its display
by placing all of its camera in a peek-a-boo module
that pops up from the top of the phone.
It's this peculiarity that has a lot of folks hesitating
at the checkout button,
but that's not what they should be worried about.
I'm Mr. Mobile, and I've spent five days with this phone.
Let me tell you why I'm not gonna make it six.
(upbeat, cool music)
Okay, it is impossible
to discuss the Find X without talking
about how it failed my friend Zach's durability testing
over at JerryRigEverything,
and Zach brings up some great points.
This phone is necessarily more fragile
than it's monoblock competitors.
It's easier to break in half if you sit on it,
or you know, try to break it in half.
Further, I can confirm that it's not water
or more importantly, dust proof.
Yeah, stuff gets in there, and the introduction
of moving parts does make it more likely to fail over time.
But here's why I don't care about that stuff,
you don't buy the Find X if you're looking
for just another phone, folks.
You buy it so you can have something special.
This thing isn't something you'd expect
to survive the job site.
It's a work of art, it blends the curved lines of Samsung
with the layered colors of Honor
and the face scanner of an iPhone.
There's a reason I had to pay nearly a thousand bucks
on eBay just to get a hold of one.
I agree that every mainstream phone should be able
to be stuck in a back pocket and sat on,
but it's pretty obvious that Oppo wasn't trying
to cater to the mainstream here.
As for the argument that more moving parts equals
a higher failure rate, okay,
but I've been around long enough
to see this argument play out before.
Back around 2004, the US market was switching
from candy bar style phones like this
to flip phones like this, and everyone was saying,
"OMG, moving parts, they're all gonna break!"
Well, I was in wireless retail at the time, and sure,
some clamshell phones did indeed break in half.
But I saw many, many, many more
of them coming back intact years later
as trade in devices on upgrade deals, and let's be real,
it's not like you need a hinge or moving parts
to break a modern smartphone either.
Now, you might say, "Sure, Mr. Mobile,
"but the Find X camera module using a motor.
"Motors can fail!"
Again, you're not wrong, but as some of you know,
I work on another YouTube channel featuring scale models,
and do you know what every single one
of those scale models has in common?
Electric motors, and despite operating constantly
in sea water, they don't fail nearly
as often as some other components on those boats.
Turns out humans are pretty good at building motors in 2018.
Just think about the tiny one
driving the optical stabilization unit,
or the haptic vibrators
in the phone you might be watching this video on.
All that's a long way of saying the durability thing
is not a deal breaker for me.
Matter fact, in one weird way, it's more durable than most.
I can put this phone down on a table and not worry
that a random grain of sand is scratching my camera lens
'cause the cameras are always protected
unless you're using 'em.
When you do use the cameras, they're pretty good.
Beside from some occasional auto-focus issues,
I was pleased with the primary and selfie shooters.
Though, I will need a longer review period
to really put it through its paces.
Please subscribe to TheMrMobile on YouTube
so you don't miss those follow ups,
and the phone has some other fantastic high points.
That humongous, beautiful, curved display.
The two day battery life, the jam packed spec sheet.
If it weren't for one huge failing,
this phone would already be a contender
for one of my two daily carries.
(upbeat, entrancing music)
That failing, and stop me if you've heard this before,
is the software.
See, the Oppo Find X isn't currently planned for US release,
so would be American owners need to deal
with software made for the China market.
And that software is, in a word, terrible, why?
Well, just pick one of these.
(upbeat, entrancing music)
Now, bugs in markets specific feature failings
are one thing, okay, but the Oppo Find X makes
a nearly unforgivable faux pas that I mean,
if we weren't talking about something
as frivolous as smartphones, I'd almost say it offends me.
See, the main reason I carry Android phones instead
of iPhones is because Android lets me do what I want.
If I don't like the way a particular phone's software works,
I can install another launcher to suit my taste.
Now, I have used phones that do everything they can
to talk me out of using my own launcher.
Lookin' at you, Huawei.
But after all their warnings and complaints,
they eventually do let me use it.
I had never used a phone
that straight up disables the ability
to use a custom launcher until today.
The Find X does just that.
Oppo tells me it's working to fix some
of the bugs I mentioned before, and it's also promised me
an European review device when those are available
so I can give it a proper review.
I'm looking forward to that, but I'll say right now,
that if that phones keeps users locked
into the color OS launcher,
there's just no way I can recommend it,
not without a good explanation.
I have asked Oppo for just such an explanation,
and if the company provides one,
I will definitely drop it in the comments below.
My preliminary conclusions, after a quick word
from the company that made today's video possible.
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And thanks.
(upbeat, entrancing music)
For all the ways the Find X doesn't work for me,
I'm really glad it exists.
I mean, people like me are always calling
for more innovation in mobile technology.
Well, okay, here's a smartphone
that hides its cameras inside a periscope
so it can squeeze more display onto the face plate,
and it's beautiful and feature packed to boot.
That's innovation, that's boldness, and I respect it.
On a hardware level, the Find X has all the markings
of a truly great smartphone.
I just hope that by the time it comes to Europe,
Oppo will have awoken to the wisdom
of offering that greatness to users
without consigning them to decidedly not great software.
(upbeat, entrancing music)
Folks, we're kicking off the fall smartphone season
with a bang, and we're barely into August.
More fun stuff on the way from Motorola, Samsung, and others
in the weeks ahead so at the risk of repeating myself,
please hit that subscribe button
and let me know what you're most looking forward to
in the latter half of 2018.
Until next time, thanks for watching
and stay mobile, my friends.
(upbeat, entrancing music)