I did not pay an excessive amount of consideration to the Discover X7 Extremely after I received the gadget in mid-January. It wasn’t launching exterior China, so I targeted as an alternative on gadgets that will debut globally. Then I received caught up within the 2024 telephone launch cycle, and the Discover X7 Extremely sat in a drawer for the higher a part of a month.
I used the telephone somewhat bit whereas testing the cameras on the Magic 6 Professional, however it was solely after I began utilizing the Xiaomi 14 Extremely that I began to grasp its potential. I did a spherical of testing with the Xiaomi 14 Extremely and Discover X7 Extremely, and needed to do a double-take after I pulled up each units of photographs on my monitor; certainly, there should have been an error with the labeling, as a result of the Discover X7 Extremely was higher than the Xiaomi 14 Extremely in a number of conditions.
However there wasn’t. The Discover X7 Extremely someway managed to take higher photographs, and portrait pictures particularly have been the very best of any telephone I used up to now. In order quickly as I used to be achieved testing the Xiaomi 14 Extremely, I converted to the Discover X7 Extremely. Sure, there have been annoyances on the software program facet, because the Chinese language ColorOS model is significantly totally different to the worldwide construct, however within the month and a half that I used the telephone, it has been magnificent.
Shortly thereafter, I noticed that I wasted a number of time testing different telephones after I ought to have been utilizing the Discover X7 Extremely as an alternative. Welcome to probably the most underrated telephone of 2024.
OPPO Discover X7 Extremely: Pricing and launch date
OPPO launched the Discover X7 Extremely on January 8, and the telephone is restricted to the model’s residence nation, similar to its predecessor. It’s out there in blue, black, and brown shade variants, and all three fashions have a dual-tone design and leather-based backs. The bottom mannequin has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and there is a 16GB/256GB mannequin and a 16GB/512GB variant.
You will get the Discover X7 Extremely through the use of Chinese language resellers, however contemplating how totally different ColorOS is to the worldwide model, I would not counsel doing so with the gadget.
| Class | OPPO Discover X7 Extremely |
|---|---|
| Show | 6.82-inch 120Hz LTPO AMOLED, 3168 x 1440, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, 1600 nits auto, 4500 nits HDR, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| OS | ColorOS 14 (Chinese language construct), Android 14 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Adreno 750, 4nm |
| RAM | 12GB/16GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB UFS 4.0 |
| Rear digital camera 1 | 50MP f/1.8 23mm, Sony LYT-900, OIS, Dolby Imaginative and prescient |
| Rear digital camera 2 | 50MP f/2.0 14mm, Sony LYT-600 wide-angle, 123-degree FoV |
| Rear digital camera 3 | 50MP f/2.6 65mm, Sony IMX890, 3x telephoto, OIS |
| Rear digital camera 4 | 50MP f/4.3 135mm, Sony IMX858, 6x telephoto, OIS |
| Entrance digital camera | 32MP f/2.4, autofocus |
| Ingress safety | IP68 mud and water resistance |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, international 5G bands, NFC, dual-band GPS |
| Safety | Optical in-screen sensor |
| Audio | USB-C, stereo sound, AptX HD, LHDC |
| Battery | 5000mAh battery, 100W charging, 50W wi-fi charging |
| Dimensions | 164.3 x 76.2 x 9.5mm, 221g |
| Colours | Blue, Black, Brown |
OPPO Discover X7 Extremely: Design
There isn’t any contest — the Discover X7 Extremely is the best-looking telephone I utilized in 2024. OPPO did not make too many adjustments to the design from the Discover X6 Professional, however there are tons of smaller tweaks that make the Discover X7 Extremely simpler to carry and use, and significantly better to take a look at. The defining attribute is the two-tone end — my unit has a blue leather-based again, with a white frosted glass panel protecting a 3rd of the again, encircling the digital camera island.
The impact is nothing wanting beautiful, and the Discover X7 Extremely grabs consideration like no different telephone round. Within the few situations I used the Discover X7 Extremely outside, strangers got here as much as ask me concerning the telephone — the one different gadget that received observed anyplace as a lot was the iPhone 15 Professional Max.
Anyway, an enormous a part of the design is the outsized digital camera island; it’s even bigger than final 12 months, and the grooved ring bordering the island together with the silver inlay makes the cameras stand out rather more than earlier generations. Due to the sheer measurement of the digital camera island, there is no such thing as a wobble when utilizing the telephone on a desk.
OPPO continues to make use of curvy designs; the Discover X7 Extremely has symmetric curves at the back and front, and it makes utilizing the gadget that rather more pleasing. The load distribution is good, the leather-based again is a delight to carry, and the rounded edges and clean curves means you get an important in-hand really feel. At 221g, the telephone is not too heavy, and there is sufficient room on the perimeters to carry the gadget with none points.
The ability and quantity buttons are on the fitting, and there is the alert slider to the left. I like that the alert slider is now on OPPO telephones as effectively; I take advantage of it extensively on OnePlus gadgets, so it is good to see extra gadgets getting the {hardware} toggle. That mentioned, the utilization is totally different; whilst you can nonetheless toggle between ring and vibrate modes by shifting the slider, the place on the prime now toggles a VIP mode, which turns off mic, digital camera, and placement entry. That is simply one of many dozens of how the Chinese language construct of ColorOS is totally different to the worldwide mannequin, however I will cowl these within the software program part beneath.
There isn’t any titanium mannequin of the Discover X7 Extremely, however the telephone makes use of an aluminum body, and it feels simply as premium because the Xiaomi 14 Extremely and Magic 6 Professional. And it will get IP68 ingress safety, giving it the identical capacity to face up to the weather as the very best Android telephones.
General, I like how OPPO iterated on the design of the Discover X6 Professional to ship what’s the best-looking gadget of the 12 months — it is a disgrace that the telephone is not out there globally.
OPPO Discover X7 Extremely: Show
The Discover X7 Extremely has a 6.82-inch AMOLED panel, and it goes as much as 120Hz refresh. Whereas that is all normal today, what’s distinctive concerning the gadget is how shiny it is ready to get: 1,600 nits in each day use, 2,600 nits in HBM mode, and 4,500 nits in HDR content material. Like final 12 months, there is a Gorilla Glass Victus 2 layer over the panel.
That mentioned, I did not see a noticeable distinction between the telephone and its rivals; if something, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely and Vivo X100 Professional managed to get brighter in each day use. The Discover X7 Extremely’s differentiator is when viewing HDR content material, and the telephone holds up extremely effectively on this regard.
Like most different high-end telephones, the Discover X7 Extremely will get LTPO tech, with the telephone capable of dynamically alter refresh between 1Hz and 120Hz. You possibly can manually alter refresh between 60Hz and 120Hz, and the decision can be modified; it is set to FHD out of the field, however you may simply toggle QHD+ (3168 x 1440).
Colours are vibrant out of the field, and I had no points on this space in any way. Distinction ranges are equally wonderful, and also you get a good quantity of configurability with regards to adjusting the colours. The truth is, the panel is equivalent to that of the OnePlus 12.
There’s loads of customizability with regards to the always-on mode, and curiously, you get a number of extras that you do not see within the international ColorOS construct. The in-screen reader is ideally positioned to make use of one-handed, and the bezels across the panel are thinner than final 12 months.
OPPO Discover X7 Extremely: {Hardware}
Most high-end telephones have related {hardware}, and there is not a lot to distinguish gadgets on this regard. The Discover X7 Extremely additionally makes use of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and my unit has 16GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. I did not see any issues referring to the {hardware}, and out of doors of software program quibbles, the telephone was fluid all through.
| Class | OPPO Discover X7 Extremely | Honor Magic 6 Professional |
|---|---|---|
| PCMark Work 3.0 (General) | 12239 | 17314 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Net Searching) | 9513 | 15748 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Video Enhancing) | 6284 | 7707 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Writing) | 14772 | 21271 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Photograph Enhancing) | 21315 | 36257 |
| Geekbench 6 (single-core) | 1254 | 1908 |
| Geekbench 6 (multi-core) | 5032 | 6816 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (rating) | 4969 | 5121 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (FPS) | 29.755 | 30.67 |
| 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay (rating) | 8409 | 8623 |
| 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay (FPS) | 31.975 | 32.79 |
Similar to the OnePlus 12, the Discover X7 Extremely posts conservative figures in artificial workloads; it suggests an aggressive thermal restrict, and in 3DMark’s Photo voltaic Bay stress take a look at, the telephone received a stability rating of 57%, a lot lower than what its rivals managed. The telephone went as much as 48 levels Celsius, so despite the fact that it will get sizzling, you do not actually see the resultant positive factors in prolonged use.
That mentioned, I did not discover any lag whereas gaming — admittedly, I did not play as many video games on the telephone, however within the few hour-long periods I managed, I received steady framerates with none jitter. Additionally, there was no overheating in common use.
The Discover X7 Extremely has all the pieces you want when it comes to connectivity: there’s Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, dual-band GPS, AptX HD codecs, LHDC, and a USB-C port that is based mostly on the USB 3.2 normal. The vibration motor continues to be wonderful, delivering granular suggestions and in depth customizability.
OPPO Discover X7 Extremely: Battery life
The Discover X7 Extremely has a 5000mAh battery, and it has 100W charging tech, with a charger bundled within the field. The telephone additionally has 50W wi-fi charging together with 10W reverse wi-fi charging, and actually, I did not hassle with both. It takes simply over half-hour to cost the battery, and in over a month of normal use, I did not depart the Discover X7 Extremely plugged in in a single day even as soon as — there’s simply no want to take action.
Anyway, battery life has been dependable all through; I simply received over a day’s value of use constantly, and there’s no battery nervousness in any way. The one level I will notice on this regard is that the battery does not final so long as the Magic 6 Professional, and that is not astonishing contemplating Honor’s telephone has a bigger 5600mAh unit. That mentioned, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely with the identical 5000mAh battery manages to last more, and it does not have reminiscence administration that is anyplace as aggressive.
OPPO Discover X7 Extremely: Cameras
OPPO at all times fielded first rate cameras on its telephones, however the Discover X7 Extremely takes issues to an entire new degree. The telephone has 4 50MP cameras on the again — similar to the Xiaomi 14 Extremely — with a main f/1.8 1-inch Sony LYT-900 module that is joined by an f/2.0 wide-angle lens based mostly on Sony’s LYT-600, an f/2.6 telephoto that makes use of the Sony IMX890 going as much as 3x optical zoom, and a secondary f/4.3 telephoto based mostly on the Sony IMX858 that hits 6x.
Exterior of the wide-angle lens, all different cameras has devoted OIS lenses. There is a 32MP digital camera on the entrance, and it does a good job with selfies. The digital camera interface hasn’t modified, and also you get the identical orange accents and leaf shutter sound that is normal on all telephones with Hasselblad integration.
There is a new Grasp mode that has customized results, and the Professional mode is bundled into this part. All 4 lenses can shoot 4K video at 60fps, and video recording basically is significantly better than earlier fashions. Low-light movies particularly are terrific, and also you get the power to shoot in Dolby Imaginative and prescient with all of the lenses, and it has higher dynamic vary all through.
Picture 1 of 4
Images taken with the principle digital camera are excellent. There may be loads of element, vibrancy, and dynamic vary, and you do not get any artifacting with foliage or clouds. The principle digital camera additionally shoots at 2x, and pictures are equally detailed. But it surely’s the telephoto pictures which can be noteworthy — the Discover x7 Extremely produces standout pictures at 3x and 6x, and also you get usable pictures as much as 10x.
Picture 1 of 4
The telephone holds its personal in low-light eventualities, delivering pictures with wonderful element, correct colours, and minimal noise ranges. The 3x and 6x lenses do an important job in difficult conditions, and whereas the wide-angle lens is not fairly pretty much as good as the principle digital camera, it’s nonetheless higher than what you get on most telephones.
Picture 1 of 3
But it surely’s the portrait pictures which can be actually excellent; the telephone mechanically makes use of the 3x lens to take portraits, however you should utilize the 6x and the principle digital camera as effectively. There’s detailed background segmentation and good rendition of element, and you’ll alter the depth of the background blur.
On the entire, the Discover X7 Extremely is a improbable package deal, and I desire its shade stability to that of the Xiaomi 14 Extremely in a number of eventualities. It outshines the Magic 6 Professional, and is in a special league altogether towards the likes of the Galaxy S24 Extremely and iPhone 15 Professional Max.
OPPO Discover X7 Extremely: Software program
The Discover X7 Extremely runs ColorOS 14, and though it’s based mostly on Android 14, it is extremely totally different to the worldwide construct. Because the telephone is just out there in China, there are a number of distinctive options that you do not get in different areas, and actually, establishing the telephone the best way I wished was a problem.
Putting in the Play Retailer was simple sufficient, however the Chinese language ColorOS construct does issues very in another way with regards to permission administration and notification entry. So after I needed to configure Google Pay, it would not enable me to make use of SMS Organizer — my most well-liked SMS shopper — and would solely ship an SMS if the default Messages service was used.
After switching over, I needed to then enter the password for my ColorOS account to ship an authorization textual content; most Android telephones do that behind the scenes, and having to enter a password to ship a verification textual content is extra restrictive than even iOS. Speaking about restrictive options, utilizing Bitwarden on the Discover X7 Extremely continues to be an train in futility; even after enabling the autofill function and giving the password supervisor the requisite entry, the autofill service simply would not load, and each time, I had to enter the vault and manually seize the password.
I did not have points with notifications for probably the most half, however I needed to manually whitelist apps and permit lock display screen notifications to get push alerts, and reminiscence administration is extra aggressive than the worldwide construct of ColorOS. I take advantage of DND mode all through the day in order to not be bothered by notifications, however I whitelist all calls (I get a number of packages). Nevertheless, that did not work on this occasion, and at any time when I set DND, calls could be silenced no matter what I configured within the settings.
OPPO telephones up to now had an annoying behavior the place they’d use a hard-coded Google DNS configuration, so even when you use a customized DNS along with your router (like I do), it would not acknowledge that. Fortunately, that is not the case on the Discover X7 Extremely, however there have been situations the place it might randomly path to Google DNS intermittently.
You do not get Google Assistant both, with the telephone that includes the model’s Breeno assistant as an alternative. The app drawer and notification pane are normal, however you do not get as many customized widgets. What’s annoying is that there’s rather more bloatware pre-installed than on the worldwide construct, however it may be simply uninstalled.
What I like is simply what number of updates the telephone has gotten during the last three months; I depend at the least 4 updates with stability tweaks, digital camera tuning enhancements, and have additions which have made their solution to the gadget, and also you simply do not get this degree of frequency on the worldwide ColorOS construct.
On that notice, the Discover X7 Extremely will get 4 platform updates and 5 years of safety updates, and going by the best way it’s selecting up month-to-month updates, it ought to get the steady Android 15 effectively forward of the worldwide construct.
That mentioned, given the variety of issues to tweak, I would not suggest shopping for the telephone until you have used ColorOS extensively up to now and know tips on how to get probably the most out of the interface. There are simply too many adjustments to the worldwide model, and it is not definitely worth the effort to tame the interface to your preferences.
OPPO Discover X7 Extremely: The alternate options
The Xiaomi 14 Extremely is the closest rival to the Discover X7 Extremely, with Xiaomi additionally providing a powerful digital camera package deal with excellent auxiliary lenses. There is not a lot to distinguish both gadget on this space, and each telephones ship excellent photographs and movies in any situation. That mentioned, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is on the market exterior China, and also you get the Play Retailer and a fluid interface that is significantly simpler to make use of.
Honor’s Magic 6 Professional is one other gadget that nails the fundamentals. It has a stunning design, the cameras maintain their very own towards the Discover X7 Extremely, and whereas I desire OPPO’s tuning, the Magic 6 Professional is not far behind. And similar to the Xiaomi 14 Extremely, you should purchase the Magic 6 Professional exterior China, though it is not out there in fairly as many markets.
OPPO Discover X7 Extremely: Must you purchase it?
You should purchase this if:
- You need probably the greatest digital camera packages of 2024
- You want a telephone with a stunning design
- You desire a vibrant 120Hz AMOLED panel that will get shiny
- You want the very best {hardware} out there at the moment
You should not purchase this if:
- You want software program that is simple to make use of
- You need official guarantee
I used all of the launches within the Discover X sequence up thus far, and the Discover X7 Extremely has vital upgrades throughout the board. The display screen is noticeably brighter than its predecessor, I like the two-tone design, and the leather-based texture mixed with the frosted glass end across the digital camera island provides the telephone a degree of refinement that you just simply do not get elsewhere.
And there is the digital camera island itself; the massive housing is designed to seize consideration, and the telephone as an entire has a particular design and a cushty in-hand really feel. I’ve no issues with regards to the {hardware}, and whereas a 1TB model would have been good, it is not an enormous omission. In the same vein, the battery life has been dependable, and whereas the gadget does not final fairly so long as its rivals, I nonetheless received over a day’s value of use simply.
But it surely’s the cameras which can be the star of the present; the quartet of 50MP cameras takes magnificent photographs and movies, and the portrait pictures particularly rivaled that of my mirrorless digital camera — and that is a sizeable achievement. It is due to the cameras that I caught with the irritating software program, and alongside the Xiaomi 14 Extremely, the Discover X7 Extremely is certainly one of my favourite digital camera packages of 2024.
OPPO launched the Discover X5 Professional globally, however it selected to restrict the Discover X6 Professional and the Discover X7 Extremely to China. Fortunately, that coverage is altering quickly; upcoming Discover telephones will debut globally, and that is all the way down to OPPO lastly settling its lawsuit with Nokia. So despite the fact that the Discover X7 Extremely is not out there exterior China, there’s motive to be excited.
