Every smartphone brand today claims to have the “best camera phone”. At this point, most flagship cameras have a 200MP 1-inch-type main camera, a powerful telephoto sensor, and whatnot. The differences between them are becoming increasingly harder to explain through specifications alone. Trust me, I do this for a living, it is not easy.
So when I spoke to Simon Liu, Oppo’s Director of Imaging Technology, around the launch of the brand’s first Ultra model in India, the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, the interesting part wasn’t necessarily the phone’s hardware. It was how openly the conversation acknowledged something smartphone brands rarely admit directly: flagship camera phones are no longer really being made for everyone.
Once you start using these phones, that becomes obvious pretty quickly. When I asked Liu how an average user, someone who isn’t deeply into photography, should approach a device like the Find X9 Ultra, his answer was immediate: “Look how deep your pocket is.”
It was obviously a joke, but it is also probably the easiest way to sum up the philosophy behind ultra-premium smartphones in recent years.
“Extreme Users And Everyday Users… The Needs Are Different”
One of the most interesting bits about my conversation with Liu was how openly he separated enthusiast users from regular consumers. “Extreme users and everyday users… the needs are actually different.”
For you and me, it sounds pretty straightforward, but that is not how smartphone cameras are usually marketed. Most flagship launches try to present every new camera feature as something that is useful for everyone, whether it’s 10x optical zoom, LOG video, RAW photography, or gigantic one-inch sensors. Honestly, if you’re not into photography, you don’t even care about any of this.
During the briefing, the company repeatedly highlighted its 10x optical zoom capabilities, along with accessories and creator-focused camera features, but instead of claiming that these tools are essential for everyone, Liu said that these features are designed for specific situations and user types. At one point, while discussing extreme zoom, he used concerts as an example, as the concert trend is rising in India. “You might be a normal user… but if you like to go to concerts, you’re going to need it.”
If you ask me, that’s a far more realistic explanation of smartphone photography than most keynotes. Most people do not need an advanced telephoto zoom every single day. But then there are certain situations, like concerts, sports events, travel, and wildlife photography, where those features suddenly matter a lot.
That context is also pretty relevant in the Indian context. Cameras are no longer just being used casually. With the creator economy booming, a growing number of users are using their smartphone cameras in place of DSLRs to shoot content. The Oppo Find X9 Ultra seems to be designed around that shift.
Smartphone Cameras Still Have A Consistency Problem
I agree that smartphone cameras can do a lot more today than they could 5 years back, but multi-camera consistency still remains one of the biggest problems in smartphone photography.
You must have noticed how the colours in the shots taken from the primary lens look good, but the consistency tends to drop when you switch to the ultrawide or telephoto sensor. The Find X9 Ultra combines sensors from Sony, Samsung ISOCELL, and Omnivision, and naturally, I was curious about what Oppo is doing for colour consistency and image transitions while switching between lenses.
According to Liu, the issue has very little to do with sensor brands themselves. “Even if you have all Sony sensors, you still need to deal with the same issue.”
He explained how every lens behaves differently physically. He said, “As long as it’s a different sensor, the statistics we’re getting are different.” In simple terms, every camera sees the world differently.
Since there are multiple lenses on flagship cameras, companies have to deal with different sensor sizes, different focal lengths, different lenses, and different light intake. The difficult part is making multiple, completely different cameras feel like one seamless system.
Liu admitted that this problem is not completely solved yet, but he added, “I wouldn’t say totally solved… but we’ve already tuned it to a pretty good level.” So, stay tuned for our review to see how much it delivered on that end.
“Different Phones Have Different Characters”
Then it was time to answer the inevitable question: Is the Oppo Find X9 Ultra the best camera phone in the world right now?
Interestingly, I didn’t get a direct answer to this, and that’s why I respect the brand even more now. Instead, he said, “Different phones have different characters.”
Most flagship phones today are already extremely capable. Some have features that people don’t even realise they need for today. All phones have top-notch hardware, so the difference now is becoming less about raw hardware and more about personalisation. Some brands prioritise brighter HDR and aggressive sharpening, while others focus on cinematic rendering, natural colours, or telephoto performance.
This also explains why Oppo is positioning the Find X9 Ultra differently from other flagship smartphones. Between the advanced zoom capabilities, creator-focused camera tools, and accessories, the company clearly seems to be targeting users who deeply care about photography and videography rather than casual point-and-shoot usage.
So, what I took away from this conversation was simple. The new Oppo Find X9 Ultra is not trying to be the safest or most universally appealing flagship camera phone in the market. Instead, Oppo is positioning this as a device for the enthusiasts, especially for creators who need a reliable device for both photography and videography.
One more interesting bit with Liu during this interaction that I did not expect at all. When asked what his reaction would be if he had access to a device like the Find X9 Ultra a decade ago, Liu didn’t talk about using it.
Instead, He talked about taking it apart. “I would immediately disassemble it… start hacking what’s inside. It would save me ten years.”
It’s a response that’s stuck with me and also captures the mindset behind devices like this. Not just building technology but compressing years of innovation into something tangible.
I think that this is an interesting approach, we will have to wait and see how it translates into real life. Also, to see how much of Oppo’s claims translate into real life, stay tuned for our review!
