I Went On A Quest To Make The OPPO Find X6 Pro Usable Because I Want To Love It
Robert Triggs/Android Authority
A brief hands-on experience with the OPPO Find X6 Pro is enough to recognize an excellent hardware package the moment you see it rival even one of the best smartphones on the market. A gorgeous display, super-fast charging, a leather finish and a solid triple camera setup all promise. However, a last-minute switch to a China-only version meant the app wasn't quite suitable for a global audience. The whole experience was a little uncomfortable.
Especially since the Find X6 Pro is one of those rare phones; Completely different and a little unusual. In addition to the excellent design, I especially noted the triple camera setup. With three large 50-megapixel sensors comprising wide-angle, ultra-wide-angle and 3x telephoto, this unique setup makes a lasting impression in no time. As a photography enthusiast, this is a great feature that keeps me coming back to the phone.
OPPO's camera setup appealed to me, but the Chinese-based software was a hindrance. get rid of it
Since I was lucky enough to own one, I want to spend more time with the Find X6 Pro and even use it as a daily driver. So I tried to "westernize" the software settings to make the overall ColorOS experience more familiar without completely obscuring it. If you're thinking of importing the latest and greatest from OPPO, or want to see how the discontinued global version fares, I'll walk you through my successes and failures.
Go to Play Store
Robert Triggs/Android Authority
First, the good news is that ColorOS on the Find X6 Pro comes with the same features and depth of customization we're used to. Despite the Chinese bloatware (coming soon), the main UI text and most of the main apps are available in English and other languages.
However, there's no Google Play Store or services installed by default, which might actually be good for the privacy-conscious - although I'm not sure the pre-installed options in China are any better. But it offers the option to do a clean install. I use Google Drive, Photos, Calendar, etc. I have integrated. So I really want everything to work before I do anything else. Fortunately, installation is quite easy (after keyboard navigation!).
I followed Android Authority's instructions for installing the Google Play Store, downloaded the appropriate APK, reviewed the installation instructions from an external source, and voila: find the X6 Pro by Google. We are in the process of fixing the bloatware mentioned above.
Bloatware, keep it up!
Robert Triggs/Android Authority
OPPO has never offered the cleanest OS installation out of the box. The Find X5 Pro 2022 is packed with 'Hot Apps' and 'Hot Games' app folders, and it also has extra apps for the Chinese market, such as Alipay and BaiduMap, which I find useless in the UK. Fortunately, they can all be removed, but there are enough presets that going through them one by one is painfully slow.
As a shortcut, Splendid Apps' easy uninstaller quickly removed almost all 36 unwanted apps. Fortunately, the rest can be removed from the home screen, including OPPO's music, player, and video apps, which I find more sold than the original content player after encountering a wall of logos. However, I was unable to uninstall or disable the App Market, Browser, or Brenno apps that previously allowed me to quickly update various apps. I decided to turn off the notifications and remove their permissions to get them out of my head.
In general, OPPO doesn't come with many uninstallable apps. However, some of the integrations you can't remove or hide are different from my previous ColorOS experience with the OPPO Find N2 Flip. Breeno Assistant, HeyTap Cloud and UnionPay Wallet are also integrated into the system settings menu of the Chinese version of ColorOS. Likewise, Quick Features and Quick View recommendations are all blocked with Chinese subtitles, and some features are not translated. By changing your home screen gestures, you can hide everything from clearing the overview screen to swiping down to open the notifications panel. But my mind itches knowing they're just lurking in the background.
Can the OPPO Find X6 Pro be used as a daily driver?
Robert Triggs/Android Authority
Despite my best efforts to westernize the app and firmware situation, it is impossible to configure the Find X6 Pro perfectly. At least without diving deep into the ROM side of things. Browse through some of the menus and you may find untranslated text or non-applicable services. The main services affected are widgets and themes, the latter being one of the main reasons to choose an OPPO smartphone. Short but not too perfect.
Still, this chronic problem remains largely under control. The best features of ColorOS like AOD, icon themes, OWork and Zen Space all work flawlessly. Google Wallet lets me add cards, and NFC is enabled (it can also accept payments, but I haven't tested it), and my banking app works fine, which often works on phones that don't have Google Mobile Services (GMS) installed. . Fortunately, they all exist and appear to be true.
With NFC payments and Google apps, this is the phone I want to use every day.
With a clean home screen and access to all my favorite apps, the Find X6 Pro brings me about 90% of the OPPO western experience. A lot of Chinese software is broken, difficult enough for everyday use, and (despite the odd compromise, of course) a great alternative to the Google Pixel UI and Samsung One UI, which I know a little better. However, mistranslations and knowledge of dodgy apps lurking beneath the surface have kept me from fully committing to the phone as a daily driver for a long time. We'll have to see how this develops over the next few weeks.
Robert Triggs/Android Authority
As we noted during our hands-on experience, the area where the phone really excels is in the hardware experience. Faster-than-average charging, a clean screen, and a luxurious design offer more than premium options from Apple and Samsung. And it's more fun to use once you lighten the fat in the program. But what keeps me coming back to this phone is the camera. Compatibility between lenses is a rarity in the smartphone space and keeps me firmly attached to the phone.
But is it so good that I need to import the Find X6 Pro just for the camera? No, it's too much of a hassle, because despite hours of fiddling, it's still a good but flawed experience. Finally, without regional software support, this phone is too expensive to buy, even if you rely on its unique looks and innovative features. Instead, I'd go with the Google Pixel 7 Pro ($749 at Amazon) for a decent camera, or the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra ($999.99 at Amazon) for a phone with all the other bells and whistles.
However, with the OPPO Find X6 Pro available globally for the same price as its predecessor (£1,049 / €1,299), it's hard not to recommend it because it offers the best of both worlds. OPPO please make it happen.
