The Oppo Find X9 Pro is one of the most well-rounded phones of the year. It offers a versatile camera system, powerful performance, a great display and excellent battery life. All of this, packed in an ergonomic design. In his review for CNET, Andrew Lanxon said, "Oppo's Find X9 Pro might just be one of the best Android phones I've tested in 2025 -- and I've tested plenty."
While it may not be available for purchase in the US, Oppo takes on Apple with features that aren't even available on the latest iPhone 17 Pro. And that puts the Cupertino, California-based phone-maker in a tough spot. Apple needs to continue innovating and adding new features to the iPhone, while also keeping pace with what its competitors, such as Oppo, are doing.
I've been using the Find X9 Pro for a week, and there are three features I want Apple to steal from Oppo for the iPhone 18.
1. Improve the iPhone's still photography
On the left is the iPhone 17 Pro and on the right is Oppo's Find X9 Pro. Prakhar Khanna/CNET
Apple's iPhone Pro models are the go-to for mobile videographers by leaps and bounds. After all, the iPhone 17 Pro brings action camera-like stability and post-editing versatility to video recordings -- even in 8x zoom. However, it lags behind Chinese competitors, such as Xiaomi and Oppo, in terms of portrait quality, low-light photos, and long-zoom shots.
The Oppo Find X9 Pro has a 200-megapixel telephoto camera with a 3x optical zoom lens, providing images with sharp details. By contrast, the iPhone 17 Pro offers a 4x 48-megapixel tele camera with 8x "optical-like zoom," which, in my testing, outputs noisy results compared to the Oppo phone, especially in low-light conditions.
I've enjoyed shooting 10x shots with my Find X9 Pro, but I wouldn't go beyond 4x on my iPhone for stills because of that aforementioned image noise. Oppo has better-looking digital image processing, and this extends to portrait mode, low-light scenarios and macro shots.
It is hard to get the texture of Grand Seiko's Morning Frost watch right. The Oppo Find X9 Pro's macro mode was able to capture the details in 6x zoom. Prakhar Khanna/CNET
The Oppo phone tends to be better at detecting the edges around subjects and adding a bokeh effect in portrait mode. Neon lights appear more vibrant in low-light images, and there is less noise in dark environments. Macro shots, even at 6x zoom, have excellent details, and as a result, you don't need to get super close to your subject to get good-looking macro photos, like the sample above. You can check out more shots here.
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