Oppo Find X Boasts Motorized Pop-Up Cameras, Ditches Notch

So, it looks like Vivo isn’t the only one cramming motors into their smartphones these days. Over at a special event in Paris today, the Oppo Find X demonstrated just how afar this motorized camera thing can go. And just how far we’re willing to move toward a bezel-free future devoid of chins and notches.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2Uu2rYFlPQ]

This sounds a lot like the Vivo Apex concept we saw at MWC 2018, which is actually heading into mass production in a slightly modified form as the Vivo Nex. The key difference is that while the Vivo Next has a tiny motorized module that pops up for the front facing camera, practically the whole top of the Oppo Find X motors its way up.

The pop-up module on the Oppo Find X houses not only the 25MP front-facing camera, but also the dual 16MP + 20MP dual rear camera system. It’s all three cameras that are motoring their way up when you launch the camera app, and they’re able to pop up in about 0.5 seconds.

Also unlike the Vivo Nex, the Oppo Find X does not have a fancy in-screen fingerprint reader. Instead, it turns to facial recognition like Apple Face ID or Face Unlock on the OnePlus 6. They say there’s a 3D facial recognition system hidden in the pop-up camera module, which would necessarily need to motor on up when you want to unlock your phone. In an age where smartphones typically have no moving parts and we’re trying to move away from ports and bezels, the trend for motorized mechanisms is perhaps a puzzling one.

But that’s how we get away from the notch, at least for now.

Outside of the motorized camera system hidden behind a design that’s clearly inspired by the Samsung Galaxy S9, the Oppo Find X gets your typical flagship treatment. There’s a Snapdragon 845, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, global LTE support, dual SIM card slots, Color OS on top of Android 8.1 Oreo, and a 3730mAh battery that charges using the company’s VOOC fast charge tech. The 6.4-inch screen is OLED, but only 1080p. But hey, you’ve got curved glass on the front and back.

And unlike so many other Oppo phones before it, this one is actually going to be sold in Europe and North America. The Oppo Find X is rolling out in China today and will extend to other Asian markets soon. Then, it’s off to conquer the world with its triple camera periscope.