OPPO Find X5 Series phone shapes curved ceramic design in space age style

a new flagship smartphone: the OPPO Find X5 series

since launching its first mobile phone ‘smiley face’ in 2008, OPPO – a leading global smart device brand – has continuously quest to create beautifully-designed innovations. innovations have since ranged from unique smartphones such as the folding, credit card-sized one designed by nendo, to the evolution of the ColorOS operating system. there is a relentless pursuit for the perfect synergy of aesthetic and performance – and the latest manifestation is the Find X5 Series. the flagship mobile improves styling, reliability, battery technology and, overall, user experience.

to delve into the design of the OPPO Find X5 Series, designboom speaks with jingxuan chen, ID designer, and yidong wang, structural designer, who both formed part of the OPPO design team.

all images courtesy of OPPO

OPPO’s unique design DNA

the OPPO Find X5 Series is the epitome of the brand’s design language; it is the ultimate product in their mind. it reveals a unique design DNA that is the result of years of evolution and refinement. a subtle yet recognizable curved unibody forms the design, impressing an artistic image to the product. from aesthetic alone, the product entices users to take hold, play, communicate, enjoy and capture moments with.

‘the styling of both the Find X3 Series and the new Find X5 Series is very consistent,’ begins jingxuan chen, industrial designer at OPPO. ‘the original design language of the Find X3 Series has been continuously refined to display a more unified, holistic and futuristic appearance in the Find X5 Series.’

technology might be cold but the OPPO Find X5 Series is vibrant. its futuristic appearance is likened to a space age design language: a curved unibody design, seamless surfaces and uniform colored materials. the styling stretches far beyond this theme only. it also expresses the brand’s proposition ‘Inspiration Ahead’ for the future.

‘the design language does reference space exploration in its styling. the key message, however, is that the design language expresses OPPO’s ideas about the future, which we see through a romantic, sleek, minimalist and fun interpretation. we try to embody this vision of the future through our products. this is why the Find X5 Series looks so artistic with its curved design,’ adds the industrial designer.

one of the main distinctions of the smartphone is its curved unibody. an organically-formed, colored ceramic back panel seamlessly encases the design and is polished for an even more elegant effect. its manufacturing process even enables minute ridges to be added to the surface to be extremely comfortable yet secure to hold. the material outperforms the glass used on the back of the Find X3 Series, improving wear-proof, reflection and heat dissipation twofold.

‘we decided to use ceramic for the back cover of the Find X5 Series as the material meets OPPO’s high level of design much better than glass. firstly, curves are difficult to control in glass; it cannot be formed as precisely as in ceramic. secondly, reflection characteristics are much more pure and clean in ceramic, especially once polished. only a single layer reflection is created,’ explains jingxuan.

‘a ceramic back cover can be made thinner than glass. it is also more wear-proof and has two times stronger heat dissipation than glass. this benefits the overall heat of the entire phone,’ clarifies yidong wang, structural designer at OPPO.

prominent, volcano-shaped camera positioning

the use of ceramic for the back cover also creates a more prominent positioning of its all-important camera. its volcano-like form houses two main cameras on the left whilst lenses and sensors are placed on the right. a revolutionary four-axis polishing machine used micron-level diamond powder to incrementally polish the edges to smoothly blend the module with the body of the phone. the glass is then directly joined together with the ceramic finish. the result appears fun, iconic and also understandable and functional to the users.

‘the ceramic cover is processed using CNC co-engraving technology. this is very precise as we need to control the size of the camera housing. this manufacturing process ensures there are less gaps in the camera module too. we were able to directly join the camera glass and ceramic together without it looking intrusive,’ adds yidong wang.

the designers at OPPO – spread across multiple teams within the brand’s industrial design center – refined the previous generation to create a new iconic design. its camera module plays an important role in this result: it houses a high-performing feature of the phone, is encased by seamless combination of glass and curved ceramic, and appears in an artistic aesthetic. from its technology through to trend-setting futuristic design language, the OPPO Find X5 Series is a sleek, minimal yet fun product for the future.