Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
By Peter Nalika & Timothy Muinga
Smartphone buyers in Africa are becoming harder to impress. Screen size and raw power are no longer enough. What matters now is how well a phone fits into daily life. AI that helps. A battery that lasts. A camera that works without effort. After a few days with the OPPO Find X9, one thing is clear. This phone is less about loud claims and more about quiet usefulness.
A Clean Take on ColorOS 16
OPPO has been refining ColorOS for over a decade. On the Find X9, ColorOS 16 feels mature and flexible.
Out of the box, the interface looks busy. Icons and text are large. This can be fixed quickly. Increasing screen resolution and reducing icon size makes a big difference. The phone handles these changes with ease. There is no visible slowdown, and battery impact is minimal.
Once adjusted, the experience becomes smooth and practical.
The Flux Home Screen is one of the stronger ideas here. You can resize individual icons. You can also place app actions directly on the home screen. For example, you can jump straight into a new WhatsApp chat or an Instagram post without opening the app first.
Folders are also smarter. You can tap smaller icons inside a group without opening the folder. It saves time.
Small Features That Matter in Public Spaces
Lock screen customisation is well done. You can add shortcuts for tools like the calculator or calendar. The depth-of-field wallpaper effect works even with custom images.
One feature stands out in public spaces. The phone uses face detection to protect your privacy. If it detects another face next to you, notification details stay hidden. When you are alone, full details appear. It is a simple idea, but very useful on a matatu or while standing in line.
A Phone That Helps You Organise Your Work
ColorOS includes a File Dock that makes moving content across apps easy. You can drag text, images, or files into the dock, then drop them into another app later.
This works well with OPPO’s AI Mindspace. Mindspace collects notes, images, links, and recordings. The AI then organises them for you. It feels less like a chatbot and more like a digital notebook that remembers everything.
For meetings, a long press of the snap key activates the AI Recorder. It records, identifies speakers, and creates a summary. You can later ask the AI to reference only your saved material. This is a key difference from general AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini.
NFC That Goes Beyond Payments
The Find X9 includes NFC, as expected. OPPO adds something extra: NFC Card Clone.
You can copy access cards such as parking cards, apartment elevator cards, office badges, or club access cards. Your phone becomes the key. It removes the need to carry multiple cards or request duplicates.
Encrypted cards, such as bank cards, cannot be cloned. For payments, supported banks like Absa allow tap-to-pay directly from the phone.
AI That Stays in the Background
OPPO’s AI approach is low-key. Features are there when you need them, not pushed aggressively.
There is live call translation, AI Studio tools, and Link Boost, which connects to two Wi-Fi networks at once to improve stability on social apps.
None of this feels complex. There are no subscriptions attached. That matters.
Cameras Designed for Real Use
The Find X9 uses a triple-camera setup with wide-angle and 3x optical zoom. OPPO continues its partnership with Hasselblad, and it shows in colour balance and focus. Photos look natural. Colours are strong without being harsh. Processing is tuned for clarity rather than drama.
AI plays a big role after the shot. You can remove unwanted objects from videos, sharpen images, and combine multiple photos into one. For group shots, the phone can pull the best expression from each person and merge them into a single image. This is useful for family photos and busy scenes.
Sharing is fast too. OPPO’s device-to-device sharing works much like AirDrop and makes sending large files easy.
Battery Life That Changes How You Use the Phone
The 7,025mAh battery is one of the Find X9’s strongest features. It is noticeably larger than most competitors.
In daily use, two full days is realistic. Heavy use still gets you comfortably through a day.
Charging is quick. The included 80W charger fills the battery in under an hour. Wireless charging reaches 50W, which is faster than some competitors’ wired speeds.
This changes habits. You stop worrying about power.
Verdict: Who Should Buy the Find X9?
Buy it if:
- You want long battery life without a bulky phone.
- You create content and want strong cameras with simple editing tools.
- You prefer AI features that work locally and do not require subscriptions.
Look elsewhere if:
- You must have extreme camera hardware like a 200 MP telephoto.
- Brand loyalty matters more than practical features.
Final Word
The OPPO Find X9 succeeds by avoiding extremes. It does not chase headline specs. Instead, it focuses on balance.
Its value shows up in daily use. In how it protects privacy, saves time and how it stays powered.
For users who want a flagship that works quietly in the background while keeping up with an active, connected life, the Find X9 makes a strong case.
