When a company releases a dialed-back variant of a flagship, the formula is usually predictable: trim the specs, swap out the premium materials, and, of course, slash the price.

But with the OPPO Find X9s, OPPO didn’t quite follow the script. Visually indistinguishable from the Find X9, this smartphone aims to be the fun, approachable sibling to the brand’s mainstream heavyweight. Packing a huge 7,000mAh battery, a feature-rich display, and a robust suite of AI tools we’ve previously praised, it promises an uncompromised vibe without the highest-end price tag.

We’ve spent the last few weeks swapping cases, testing its cameras, and pushing its MediaTek Dimensity 9500s 5G processor to the limit. Does its performance justify the ₱69,999 (around $1,137) asking price, or is it a premium investment that sits just a little too close to the top? Read on for our full review.

Orange is the new black

First things first, let’s get this out of the way: The OPPO Find X9s is visually identical to the Find X9. Apart from the colorway and minor shifts on the camera module — like the relocated Hasselblad branding — you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart. But that’s not a knock against it. This phone is essentially a slightly downgraded variant of OPPO’s mainstream flagship, and considering how phenomenal the standard Find X9 looks and feels, sharing that aesthetic is a win. We actually swapped cases between the two models, and even third-party options built for the X9 fit the X9s perfectly.

Having attended many technology launches, we’ve seen every flavor of the “watered-down premium smartphone.” Too often, they compromise on vibe. Not here. We love that the Find X9s comes in a vibrant Sunset Orange. It positions the device as the more fun, accessible alternative. Think of it as the easygoing Ernie to the Find X9’s serious Bert. The brand even went the extra mile by color-matching the included silicone case to the chassis, a rare and welcome touch we don’t often see. If you prefer flying under the radar, the handset also arrives in subtle Lavender Sky and Midnight Grey.

Physical controls are experiencing a renaissance, and the Snap Key returns here. Like on the OPPO Find X9, this highly customizable button lets you map actions such as toggling the flashlight, capturing a voice note, or switching sound profiles. By default, the Snap Key is tied to OPPO’s AI Mind Space, which acts as a catch-all hub for your daily digital clutter. A short press captures a screenshot, a long press records audio, and a double press opens the hub directly, where the software automatically categorizes, summarizes, and makes all your snippets instantly searchable.

Durability is another strong suit, boasting IP66, IP68, and IP69 certifications. In tropical countries like the Philippines, where sudden downpours are a weekly norm, that’s always welcome news. Pair that with OPPO’s Splash Touch tech, and you can navigate the screen seamlessly even when drenched.

Security is handled by an ultrasonic fingerprint reader that’s reportedly 35% faster and 33% more reliable than its optical counterparts. Best of all? It works without a bright flash of light, so you don’t get an uncomfortable glare when unlocking your phone in the dark. Rounding out the build are a handy IR blaster, top-tier stereo speakers, and haptics that feel just as great as the Find X9 we currently use as a daily driver.

A familiar display

You’re getting the exact same screen as the OPPO Find X9 — and again, that’s a welcome revelation. That means identical size, pixel density, peak brightness, and a 120Hz maximum refresh rate, all on a panel protected by Gorilla Glass 7i.

It’s a gorgeous display that fully supports HDR, letting you enjoy 4K HDR videos on YouTube in all their glory. OPPO’s ProXDR is also baked in, allowing photos to render with stunningly high dynamic range and intensely bright highlights. The only caveat is that those ProXDR images will look a bit flatter when shared to other devices that lack support for the standard.

Diving deeper into the specs sheet, the OPPO Find X9s uses an LTPS AMOLED rather than the more advanced LTPO found on other flagships. If you’re wondering what that actually means for daily use, LTPO panels support a variable range that can drop all the way to 1Hz for static images, saving battery life. LTPS panels, meanwhile, are restricted to fixed stepping rates. Here, it jumps between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz depending on the content, though you can manually toggle these rates for specific apps.

Solid sensors with a serious AI glow-up

Like the Find X9, the OPPO Find X9s’ rear camera system boasts three 50-megapixel rear shooters — a wide, an ultra-wide, and a periscope telephoto with 3x optical zoom. Both the primary and telephoto lenses offer optical image stabilization or OIS.

The main camera relies on a 1/1.56-inch Sony LYT-700 sensor paired with an f/1.8 aperture. It lacks the dedicated spectral color sensor of the standard model, but the overall color reproduction remains excellent. Instead of the hyper-saturated look common on many modern smartphones, the Find X9s leans toward a warmer tone that looks pleasing enough even in dim environments. And while it’s certainly not the most cutting-edge sensor available on the market, it can capture nice photos under the right conditions and in capable hands.

Sample shots

More importantly, the entire suite of AI tools we raved about on the Find X9 — and the newer tricks from the OPPO Reno15 Series 5G we covered a few months back — make their way here, working exactly as advertised. These features feel genuinely useful rather than gimmicky. Take AI Portrait Glow, tucked inside the gallery’s AI Editor. It automatically adjusts lighting to mimic professional setups, softening harsh shadows while casting a flattering rim light on your subject. It can even save your dimly lit photos, turning them from completely unusable to shareable with just a single tap.

In our line of work, particularly during past stints with local fashion magazines, we’ve spent countless hours around heavy studio rigs and high-end equipment. Usually, we can spot a fake lighting effect instantly, but that wasn’t the case here. The tool works quickly, produces consistently impressive results, and even lets you fine-tune the intensity before saving.

You also get OPPO’s fantastic AI Motion Photo Popout feature. It functions identically to older models, except this time you get vastly superior base images thanks to the better lenses compared to the Reno15 line. For video, the Find X9s shoots up to 4K at 60 frames per second with stabilization enabled. There’s a Pro mode with manual controls, too, though color-graders might lament the lack of a LOG format option for tweaking after the fact.

Flagship-performance on a two-day phone

Under the hood sits the 3nm MediaTek Dimensity 9500s. If that chipset sounds unfamiliar, it’s because it’s a recently released high-end SoC that slots just below the standard Dimensity 9500. According to OPPO, this processor slightly boosts battery efficiency without sacrificing raw speed, allowing the Find X9s to deliver top-notch daily performance and seamless multitasking chops. Honestly, it feels like a fair trade-off — especially if you aren’t pushing PC emulation or the most graphically demanding games out there.

That efficiency is paired with a giant 7,000mAh battery. In our testing, it powered through two full days of mixed usage. The numbers back this up, too. Our unit clocked 22 hours and 12 minutes on the PCMark battery test with the screen at half brightness and Wi-Fi enabled.

In real-world scenarios, the endurance is just as impressive. Pushing the phone to its limits with console-quality titles like Wuthering Waves and Mongil: Star Dive, both running at 60 FPS with all settings maxed out, resulted in a 25% and 28% battery drain after an hour of gameplay, respectively. Switch to lighter tasks, however, and the battery barely breaks a sweat. An hour of Wii emulation at a smooth 60 FPS sips just 3% of your charge, while streaming 1080p Premium video on YouTube or watching Netflix over Wi-Fi drains only 4% per hour.

While that kind of longevity isn’t exactly shocking given the sheer battery capacity, it’s liberating to leave your power bank at home. When it’s time to plug in, the 80-watt wired charging is appropriately fast. Using the included power brick with Smart Charging disabled, a full charge takes somewhere between 45 and 55 minutes. That said, the omission of wireless charging at this price point still stings a bit.

Final thoughts

All things considered, OPPO clearly built the OPPO Find X9s to be the more fun, approachable sibling to the Find X9. That vision translates successfully, from the lively color palette to the inclusion of useful AI tools seen on the latest Reno lineup. We had a blast using it.

If they had just priced this model more aggressively, it would be an easier recommendation, and more users would be willing to buy into the vision. At ₱69,999 ($1,137) for the single 12GB/512GB configuration we tested, it’s undeniably a stellar device — one that reflects a premium investment.

OPPO Find X9s specs

• 6.59-inch AMOLED screen, FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 3,600 nits peak brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass 7i
• 3nm MediaTek Dimensity 9500s processor
• Immortalis-G925 GPU
• 12GB RAM
• 512GB UFS 4.1 storage
• Triple Hasselblad rear cameras: 50-megapixel main camera, 50-megapixel ultrawide, 50-megapixel periscope telephoto
• 32-megapixel front camera
• 7,025mAh battery with 80-watt wired charging
• ColorOS 16 based on Android 16
• IP66, IP68, and IP69 dust and water resistance
• Colors: Midnight Grey, Lavender Sky, Sunset Orange

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