This comparison examines the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and OPPO Find X8 Pro, two top-tier smartphones priced at €1099 and €1199, respectively. Both devices showcase impressive designs, high-refresh-rate OLED displays, and advanced camera systems. While the Pixel excels in software and brightness, OPPO offers superior performance and battery life. Ultimately, the competition highlights strengths in photography and user experience, making it challenging to declare a clear winner.
In this exciting face-off, we explore two highly acclaimed smartphones that have captured the attention of tech enthusiasts. The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, released last summer, earned a commendable score of 8/10 from our editorial team. Its competitor, the OPPO Find X8 Pro, is a recent offering that signifies a strong comeback for the Chinese brand. With the OPPO Find X8 Pro priced starting at €1199 and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL beginning at €1099, the question arises: which smartphone reigns supreme? Let’s delve into this comparison.
Comparing the Technical Specs of OPPO Find X8 Pro and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Which Smartphone Stands Out in Design?
When it comes to aesthetics, personal taste plays a crucial role, yet it’s hard to deny that today’s smartphones flaunt exceptional designs. The Pixel 9 Pro XL, in particular, stands out with its unique look.
Both models showcase distinct design philosophies, attracting both fans and critics. Nevertheless, the premium finishes on these devices speak volumes about their high-end status. While neither manufacturer has opted for titanium, the Find X8 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL certainly hold their own in terms of material quality.
Featuring sleek bezels and generous display sizes, both smartphones are designed for stability on flat surfaces, ensuring durability as well. The Find X8 Pro boasts an IP69 rating (while the Pixel holds an IP68 rating) and is protected by the latest Gorilla Glass 7i, making it resilient against daily wear and tear.
Display Quality that Impresses
Equipped with high-refresh-rate OLED screens (120 Hz), both the Find X8 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL deliver stunning visuals. The OPPO model offers a slightly higher resolution of 1.5K compared to the Pixel’s Full HD, though the Pixel can push up to QHD+. Notably, the Pixel excels in brightness, achieving a peak of 2530 nits against the OPPO’s 1430 nits, making it significantly more readable in outdoor conditions.
Color accuracy is impressive on both devices. The Find X8 Pro allows for greater customization of settings, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL provides a rich out-of-the-box experience with vibrant colors. Although both smartphones maintain a delta E within acceptable ranges, it may be challenging to choose between them based solely on display quality—unless peak brightness is your top priority.
Can Anyone Compete with Google’s Software Expertise?
As the creator of Android, Google is known for delivering an unparalleled user experience and a robust update policy. The Pixel 9 Pro XL promises seven years of updates—an industry-leading record—while the OPPO Find X8 Pro guarantees five Android updates, which is commendable in its own right.
ColorOS, the operating system for the Find X8 Pro, offers a high degree of customization while remaining close to the stock Android experience. Users will appreciate unique features like a clone of the iPhone’s Dynamic Island, which enhances the display notch with relevant information based on app usage.
In the realm of artificial intelligence, Google maintains a slight advantage with a plethora of readily available features—particularly in photography—already optimized for French-speaking users. While OPPO is catching up, it has yet to fully localize its AI functionalities.
Raw Performance: A Slight Edge for OPPO
Historically, Pixel devices do not aim for the highest performance rankings but focus on delivering a smooth user experience, allowing for decent gaming capabilities.
With the Dimensity 9400 chip, the OPPO Find X8 Pro peaks in performance, ranking among the fastest smartphones currently available. It manages heat effectively and offers outstanding stability, ensuring prolonged gaming sessions with ease.
Photography: A Battle of Camera Phones
Google aims to provide an instant photography experience, while OPPO competes fiercely in this arena as well. Partnering with Hasselblad, the Find X8 Pro delivers an exceptional photographic experience.
OPPO Find X8 Pro:
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL:
At this price point, both devices excel in capturing stunning photos in daylight conditions. The images produced are neutral in tone, avoiding oversaturation or excessive contrast (though the Pixel may lean slightly in that direction). Exposure is consistently excellent, and both smartphones handle dynamic lighting with impressive skill, making them formidable contenders.
When it comes to ultra-wide-angle shots, the Pixel 9 Pro XL has a slight advantage thanks to its larger aperture (f/1.7 vs. f/2.0), allowing for better low-light performance during late afternoons and evenings. That said, the Find X8 Pro captures remarkable detail, making it challenging to distinguish between the two based solely on ultra-wide capabilities.
In terms of versatility, the OPPO Find X8 Pro shines with its dual telephoto lenses, ensuring high optical quality at standard zoom levels. Its use of AI for smoothing and reconstructing images from digital zoom is impressive, often yielding breathtaking results. While the Pixel 9 Pro XL also excels across various scenarios, OPPO appears to have upped its game this year.
Battery Life: OPPO Takes the Lead
The OPPO Find X8 Pro features a larger battery compared to the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and its Dimensity 9400 chip is notably more energy-efficient than the Tensor G4 powering the Pixel. In our synthetic testing using ViSer, the Pixel 9 Pro XL lasted 12 hours and 51 minutes before reaching 10% battery.
While we lack specific data for the OPPO Find X8 Pro, reports from GSM Arena indicate it lasts an impressive 15 hours and 16 minutes before hitting the same battery threshold. In other words, you can expect about two additional hours of usage!
With this capability, the OPPO Find X8 Pro can easily last one to two days without needing a recharge. Additionally, when it comes to charging speed, the OPPO model pulls ahead, achieving a full charge in just over an hour, compared to approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes for the Pixel.