While Oppo has previously juggled where its Find X and Reno ranges fall within the hierarchy of things, it’s assumed that the company’s next flagship will be the Oppo Find X3.
Little is known about the next member of the Find X line and whether we’ll see one or multiple devices – as has been the case with this year’s Find X2 series – but there are some tidbits of information regarding what to expect from at least one variant of Oppo’s first big smartphone release of 2021.
When does the Oppo Find X3 launch?
Little is known about the Find X3’s potential release as yet, that said, there is one clue that at least confirms it’s on its way – the Snapdragon 875.
Chipmaker Qualcomm’s next flagship-tier mobile SoC is expected to make its debut at the end of 2020, ready for the best and brightest smartphones of 2021.
Following the announcement of the company’s annual Snapdragon Tech Summit event, kicking off on 1 December, companies including Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo are all apparently on the books to be using Qualcomm’s next chip in their next smartphones.
It’s assumed that the 875 will power the Find X3, just as its predecessor – the Snapdragon 865 – has served as the brain of both the Find X2 and Find X2 Pro, and that it will launch around the same time as the X2 range did, in early March 2021.
How much is the Oppo Find X3?
At this early stage, pricing is also up in the air. With the existing Find X2 range, the standard model starts at £899, while the Pro pushes to a starting price of £1099.
While there’s a chance that the company might hike prices to some degree, against the current market, Oppo is already brushing up against the ceiling of what most brands charge for an Android flagship phone, so going much higher would require significant technology innovation to justify the increase.
What features does the Oppo Find X3 have?
As spotted by LetsGoDigital, Oppo filed a design patent for a smartphone with the CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Office) at the end of 2019; the documentation for which was approved and published on 9 October, 2020.
It details a device with both a “waterfall” display and an under-display front-facing camera, which would logically serve as standout features for new flagship-class device from the company.
We’ve seen phones with “waterfall” displays before – devices like the Vivo Nex 3 and Huawei Mate 30 Pro – that feature panels with heavily rounded edges covering the majority of the phone’s sides, but we’re yet to see Oppo bring a design like this to market.
We’ve also seen under-display front-facing cameras from various phone makers, including Oppo, however, only ZTE has brought a device with this unique feature to market, with the China-exclusive Axon 20 5G.
Oppo showed the technology off to Tech Advisor first-hand during its Inno Day 2019 event in China but the Find X3 would be the first of the company’s devices to actually grant consumers access to such capabilities.
Oppo Find X3 wish list
Consistent cameras – There’s little that Oppo left out with this year’s Find X2 Pro and to a lesser degree the standard Find X2. The former boasts one of the best camera setups currently available on a smartphone, so bringing that same degree of consistency and general imaging excellence across the entirety of the potential range would be ideal.
Wireless charging – Considering the asking price of Oppo’s current-gen flagships, there’s little reason to exclude features like fast charging, especially when other Oppo devices already possess such functionality.
Faster charging – The entirety of the Find X2 range possess already-impressive fast charging but to push the envelope as it’s clear Oppo likes to do, we’re expecting even faster speeds from next year’s X3.
More colours/finishes – The Find X2 Pro comes in an understated grey ceramic or an eye-watering orange vegan leather; some more colourways or finishes wouldn’t go amiss next year, Oppo.
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