I Went On A Quest To Make The OPPO Find X6 Pro Usable Because I Want To Love It
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
A quick hands-on test of the OPPO Find X6 Pro is enough to tell you a decent set of hardware when you see it, possibly a contender for one of the best smartphones out there. A gorgeous screen, super-fast charging, a leather finish and a reliable triple camera are all good. However, a last-minute switch to the Chinese version means the software isn't up to speed for an international audience. The whole experience was a bit of a joke.
Mainly because the Find X6 Pro is one of those phones that don't come around anymore; It's actually different and a bit more complicated. Apart from the beautiful design, the triple camera caught my eye. With three large 50-megapixel sensors for wide-angle, wide-angle and 3x telephoto, this special setup makes an unforgettable impression in no time. As a bit of a photography enthusiast, this was a key feature that attracted me to the phone.
OPPO's camera setup holds me back, while the Chinese software is a hindrance. Let's remove it
Being lucky enough to own one, I'd like to spend more time with the Find X6 Pro, perhaps even using it as a daily driver. So I tried to "westernize" the software settings to make them more familiar without completely obfuscating the overall ColorOS experience. Whether you want to import the latest and greatest from OPPO or see what the dropped international version looks like, I'll tell you about my successes and failures.
Beat the Play Store
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
First, the good news is that ColorOS on the Find X6 Pro has the customization features and depth we're used to. Although the software is in Chinese (more on that in a moment), the main text of the user interface and most of the main applications are available in English and other languages.
But neither the Google Play Store nor its services are installed out of the box, which may be useful for privacy-minded people, although I'm not sure if the pre-installed options are better in China. But it allows a clean install. I have Google Drive, Photos, Calendar, etc. Built in, so I definitely want to use that before moving forward. Fortunately, it's easy enough to set up (after keyboard navigation!).
I followed the Android official instructions to install the Google Play Store, grab the appropriate APK files, navigate the third-party installation warnings, and voila: the Google-certified Find X6 Pro. We are working on it but now we have to deal with the virus mentioned above.
I broke it!
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
OPPO has not delivered the clean operating system. The 2022 Find X5 Pro was complete with 'Hot Apps' and 'Hot Games' application folders, as well as Chinese market products that I found useless in the UK, such as Alipay and Baidumap. Fortunately, they can all be deleted, but they are already installed, so going through them one by one will be very slow.
In short, Splend Apps' handy uninstaller quickly removed 36 programs I didn't need. Everything can thankfully be removed from the home screen, including the OPPO Music, Reader and Video apps, which I discovered after encountering a wall of logos. However, I couldn't uninstall or disable the app market, browser, or Breno apps, the former quickly forcing me to update multiple apps. I decided to turn off notifications and revoke their permissions to get out of my mind.
Generally, OPPO doesn't come with many downloadable apps. However, some integrations that you can't avoid or hide differ from the previous ColorOS experience with the OPPO Find N2 Flip. Brenno Assistant, Heytop Cloud and UnionPay Wallet are also included in the system settings menu of the Chinese version of ColorOS. Also, Quick Tasks and Quick View Tips are stuck with Chinese text and some tasks cannot be translated. You can hide most of them by removing the quick view screen and changing the swipe on the home screen to reveal the notification bar. But my brain is itching to know that they are lurking in the background.
Can you use the OPPO Find X6 Pro as a daily driver?
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Despite our best efforts to customize apps and software, Find X6 Pro cannot be configured correctly. At least not without delving into the ROM side of things. Search some menus hard enough and you'll end up with untranslated text or an inapplicable service. The most affected services are widgets and themes, the latter being one of the main reasons for choosing an OPPO smartphone. Very close, but not perfect.
However, these ongoing problems are mostly protected from harm. ColorOS branded features like AOD, Icon Theming, OWork and Zen Space work perfectly. Google Wallet allows me to add cards and switch NFC (so it supports payments too, but I haven't tried it yet) and my banking apps work well, which is often a waste of phones without Google Mobile Service (GSM). Fortunately, they seem to be available now and here they are.
With NFC payments and Google apps, this is a phone I want to use every day.
Combined with a clean home screen and access to all your favorite apps, the Find X6 Pro gives me 90% of the western OPPO experience. Most of the Chinese software is on board, robust enough for everyday use and (barring the odd compromise, of course) a good alternative to Google's Pixel UI and Samsung's One UI. I know him a little. I'm aware of the glitches and questionable apps under the skin, but as a daily long-term driver, I can't fully judge the phone. We'll have to see how the next few weeks go.
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
As we discovered during the hands-on session, the phone excels in hardware. Better than usual, fast charging, clean screens and luxurious design offer more than Apple and Samsung's top picks. And the software is more fun to use when it's discounted. However, the reason I keep coming back to this phone is the camera. The juxtaposition between the lenses is very rare in the smartphone space and something that makes me feel very attached to the phone.
But is it really good to import the Find X6 Pro just for the camera? No, it's too much effort for someone whose experience remains good but imperfect, despite hours of practice. After all, the phone is expensive to buy without regional software support, even if you choose its unique appearance and advanced features. Instead, I'd go for a phone like the Google Pixel 7 Pro ($749 at Amazon) for a solid camera, or the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra ($1,199.99 at Samsung) with all the other bells and whistles.
However, it's hard not to recommend the OPPO Find X6 Pro as it offers the best of both worlds, starting from its original price (£1,049 / €1,299) globally. Please make it OPPO.
