I wish I could buy the second generation of my favourite foldable phone
It's packing Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which probably means this foldable runs smoother than you could ever need. The battery's a beefy 5165mAh – which is a big deal when most flip-style phones are still trying to pretend 4000mAh is enough. It also clocks in at under 200g and just 7.57mm when unfolded.
What's even more annoying (in a good way) is the new 3.5 inch outer display. It supports over 500 apps now – not just the predictable ones either like your calendar or the clock. You can apparently book flights, order from Amazon, and even fiddle with photos without opening the phone. Since it's 2025, there are also some AI-powered pet lock screens that react when you poke them. Not exactly a must-have feature, but perhaps useful if you've ever wanted your phone to act like a Tamagotchi.
The camera set-up looks pretty impressive as well – and not just for a foldable. It features a Light Fusion 800 sensor paired with Leica optics. Xiaomi's partnership with Leica has produced some surprisingly strong mobile shooters lately, so I wouldn't be shocked if the Mix Flip 2 punches above its weight in the photography department.
It's available in White, Purple, Green, and a properly flashy Checkered Gold. You can spec this foldable all the way up to 16GB RAM and a ridiculous 1TB of storage. Pricing starts at 5999 RMB (approx $825/£650), with three configurations: 12GB+256GB, 12GB+512GB, and 16GB+1TB.
All of them are currently exclusive to China. Xiaomi says there are no updates regarding global availability. Still, considering the first-gen Flip did eventually go global, I'm holding out hope that the sequel won't stay locked in China forever.
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Yet when they're part of a package that otherwise impresses so much, it's hard to grumble. Performance & battery life: bring it on If you've got a need for speed, look no further than the Find X8 Ultra. With a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and 16GB of RAM on board, there's no Play Store app this phone can't handle. Synthetic benchmark scores put it up among the best flagship phones, for both 2D and gaming. Effective cooling and power management mean performance doesn't crater like it can on some rivals, and it consistently outperformed the 'for Galaxy' version of the same silicon found in a Samsung S25 Ultra. Oppo Find X8 Ultra benchmark scores Geekbench 6 single-core 2949 Geekbench 6 multi-core 9137 Geekbench AI 4516 PCMark Work 3.0 18,136 3Dmark Solar Bay 11,259 In daily use this phone absolutely flies, with zero stutter or slowdown. Apps load in a flash, multitasking is always smooth, and the rear panel never got uncomfortably hot even when the hardware was being pushed. My recent rotation of mobile games all put in sterling performances, with high frame rates free from lag or dropped frames. Even more impressively, the Find X8 Ultra is able to keep this up without slaughtering its battery life. Oppo has been quick to adopt silicon-carbon battery tech, like a lot of Chinese phone brands, and the result is a mammoth 6100mAh capacity cell that'll last a day and a half of use without any real effort. Steer clear of more demanding apps or games and it'll do two days before needing to charge. That's basically as good as it gets from a flagship phone right now. Charging is equally impressive, with 100W wired top-ups needing just 44 minutes for a complete empty-to-full refuel. 50W wireless charging is up there with the best as well, being faster than a Galaxy S25 Ultra or Pixel 9 Pro XL can manage through a cable. Software experience: far from home If I've mostly painted a pretty picture of this phone up to now, the Oppo Find X8 Ultra sadly comes undone on the software side. Or at least it does if you don't live in China. As it isn't officially sold anywhere else, you can only get one with a version of Android 15 aimed at the domestic market, meaning a lot of the features Westerners take for granted are missing – often permanently. Oppo does admittedly do more to help the situation than some rivals, with some low-level Google functionality buried in the Settings menu. That means Android Auto and Google Wallet are both on board, once you've side-loaded the Play Store to install all the other apps you use on the daily. Once you do, the Find X8 Ultra feels a lot like the global Find X8 Pro variant – just with a significant amount of local market bloatware and AI-assisted apps you'll need a translator to be able to use. Even after a lot of tweaking, you still can't swap the shortcut that wakes the firm's Breeno digital assistant to Google Gemini, and a long-press on the navigation bar wakes the Breeno take on Circle to Search instead of Google's own. There's no Google Discover a swipe away from the homescreen (unless you use a third-party launcher) and a double-press of the power button is hard-wired to Oppo's contactless payment app. Wear OS smartwatches sold in Western markets are seemingly incompatible, too. Oppo's aggressive memory management and notification silencing are seemingly universal, as even with the phone set to ring rather than vibrate, a lot of messages and apps simply wouldn't ping up. I found I would check apps more frequently than with other phones, as I was never convinced the status bar had up-to-date info. Five years of new Android generations and six years of security updates is a decent effort in terms of software support, though Samsung, Google and Honor remain your best bets if you want to hold onto your handset for the long-term. Oppo Find X8 Ultra verdict Had Oppo launched the Find X8 Ultra worldwide, it would surely have scored a full five stars here. This is an exceptional smartphone, with some of the best rear cameras you'll find anywhere. Regardless of zoom level and lighting conditions, this is a photography powerhouse that shows what can be achieved when you go all out on top-tier sensor hardware. The silicon-carbon battery also has outstanding staying power, even when tasked with powering Qualcomm's fastest silicon and an impressively bright display. Sadly, though, it's only on sale in China. Even if you went to the trouble of importing one, the software won't play nicely with some things Western devices take for granted, like pairing with Wear OS watches, Gemini voice commands, and Circle to Search. You'll never truly be able to strip out all the region-specific apps and settings, either. As the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is more readily available in Europe and beyond, it's simply easier to recommend to keen phone photographers. Stuff Says… Score: 4/5 Comfortably one of the best cameraphones you can buy in 2025, with top-tier power and longevity. The Oppo Find X8 Ultra's China exclusivity and region-specific software sadly hold it back, though. Pros Astonishingly clear photos in all lighting conditions Flagship-grade performance and fantastic battery life Gorgeous flat OLED display Cons Only officially available in China Regional software restricts things like Wear OS support Camera button feels a bit 'me too' Oppo Find X8 Ultra technical specifications Screen 6.82in, 3168×1440 AMOLED w/ 1-120Hz CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Memory 12/16GB RAM Cameras 50MP, f/1.8 w/ OIS, dual pixel PDAF + 50MP, f/2.1 periscope telephoto w/ OIS, PDAF, 3x optical zoom + 50MP, f/3.1 periscope telephoto w/ OIS, PDAF, 6x optical zoom + 50MP, f/2.0 ultrawide w/ PDAF rear 32MP, f/2.4 w/ PDAF front Storage 256GB/512GB/1TB Operating system Android 15 w/ ColorOS (China version) Battery 6100mAh w/ 100W wired, 50W wireless charging Dimensions 163x77x8.8mm, 226g
Stuff.tv
08-07-2025
- Stuff.tv
The OnePlus Watch 3 43mm slims down my favourite WearOS wearable
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