Author: Parineet Vernekar

See objects close than ever before with this smartphone

Oppo Find X3 Pro

• Includes a microscope camera

• Starts at $1500

• Billion color display

Remember microscopes in biology class? The large, heavy pieces of equipment you had to be very careful with, tune ever so carefully to focus? Well, Oppo - a sister company of OnePlus - has brought that to your pocket. On Thursday, they announced the Oppo Find X3 Pro, their brand new flagship phone, at a flagship price.  

It includes an amazing 10-bit display with over 1 billion colors. The screen lets you see images and videos in their full form, with no compression or tweaking! Of course, you’ll need something to look at on this beautiful display. The microscope camera can help with this!

With 60X zoom and a ring light, the microscope camera capabilities are out of this world! But, don’t take my word for it, see the images below capturing a mint plant and a sponge for yourself.

What use is it?

Although it doesn’t have all that many practical uses, the microscope camera is an awesome feature! Seeing objects close up, such as the individual pixels on your display or every fabric on your clothes, is something you probably don’t do every day. But, it makes for some awesome wallpapers and will astound people at a party!

While it remains as a party trick right now, this lens could find real use in the future. Like the Apple Watch brought medical capabilities to your wrist, the microscope camera could have greater use in medical or industrial applications. Imagine doctors being able to analyze blood samples remotely thanks to a patient’s microscope photo. Even though some capabilities like this may be possible right now, none were brought up by Oppo or third parties.

Overall, the camera is more of a gimmick than a feature. Perhaps the next version of the Find X will have greater use, with a better sensor and more practical use rather than just microphotography.

Is the microscope lens worth $1500?

Although the microlens is a cool feature, I don’t think it’s worth spending £1,099 (~$1,500), on what’s essentially a first-generation camera. The microlens is bound to get better with the next iteration of the Find X series and will probably improve significantly - maybe a better focus or larger image sensor!

At first, I was quite interested in trying out the Find X3 Pro, but after looking further into the phone’s capabilities, the microscope camera and the display are the only mindblowing features of the X3. Even the rest of the camera array isn’t all that impressive!

For those interested in buying the Oppo Find X3 Pro, it’ll be released on March 31st in Asia and Europe, and it’s unlikely to be sold in North America.

A special thanks to Richard Lai of Engadget, his full article on the Find X3 Pro can be found here

 Parineet Vernekar:

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