DT Next Tech | The OPPO Find X9 Ultra deep-dive — is this the smartphone shooter to beat

CHENNAI: If you’re looking for a camera-focused smartphone experience in 2026, you will be spoilt for choice. From the iPhone 17 Pro’s video capabilities to the Vivo X300 Ultra’s zoom skills and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s versatile rear cam experience, there’s lot to choose from. The OPPO Find X9 Ultra does battle in this same league and is pitched as one of the best mobile shooters you can buy right now. But as we found out in our deepdive, this one’s more than just a sharp shooter.

Quite a few smartphone brands have leveraged their partnerships with the world’s best imaging brands. OPPO seeks inspiration from Hasselblad’s camera design while crafting one of the best looking smartphones of 2026. This device looks particularly impressive in the Tundra Umber colour way that we checked out. The vegan leather finish lends it an ultra-premium vibe and also makes it easier to grip. We’re fans of the large Hasselblad camera module and the dedicated camera button that sits on the right edge of the device.

This is not a lightweight smartphone, but despite the 236 gm heft, the Find X9 Ultra feels good in your hand. The 9.1 mm thickness is not without reason, it packs an elaborate camera set-up and a massive battery. That’s not all, the 6.82inch LTPO AMOLED display (4168 x 1440 pixels / 510 PPI) puts it in the top tier. Visibility (with a peak brightness of 3600 nits) is terrific and the colours on this 144 Hz refresh rate display are vivid. It’s a great bingewatch screen backed by a massive battery for gaming and video marathons.

The 7050 mAh battery com- fortably lasted more than a day in our tests with extensive multi-media usage. There’s a 100W SUPERVOOC charger that powers this massive battery in quick time.

This is a premium flagship with an impressive hardware spec sheet. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset that teams up with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. The device aced our Geekbench benchmark tests, it handled multi-tasking and intense gaming with equal ease. OPPO’s custom UI (ColorOS 16 that’s built on Android 16) with its clean design aesthetic adds to the overall experience.

Ultimately, the Find X9 Ultra’s key USP is it’s camera and it doesn’t disappoint. On paper it’s one of the most impressive rear camera arrays on any smartphone - a 200MP main camera (f/1.5 aperture), a 200MP 3x Telephoto lens, a 50MP 10x optical periscope lens, a 50MP ultrawide camera and a multispectral/true colour sensor. Add Hasselblad’s colour science and you get a stellar camera performance that fires on all cylinders. Zoom photography and portraits are impressive, OPPO’s 2026 flagship also delivers sharp images in lowlight. The OPPO Find X9 Ultra comes with a stiff price tag but offers one of the best camera experiences on any smartphone backed by a flagship-level spec sheet.

(Rs 1,69,999)

(Ashwin Rajagopalan is a lifestyle writer and consumer technology expert. Catch the latest digital and tech updates in this weekly column.)