So the Oppo Find 5 is out and in the hands of certain lucky customers, and in fact our very own Dave Weinstein has one and given us his first impression here. But before you consider buying the Find 5 from a Chinese reseller you might want to take a look at some key differences between the Chinese and International versions.
If you’re in the market for the Find 5 there are only 2 reliable sources of information 1) Gizchina (of course) and 2) the Oppo forums. The Oppo forums have been set up to give international (non-Chinese speaking) customers a place to discuss all Oppo phones and providing support to those outside of China.
After discovering that the Chinese model of the Oppo Find 5 is void of anything which resembles Google and their Gapps, we contacted Oppo who pointed me in the direction of this forum post which stated the differences between International and ChineseFind 5 phones.
Difference between International and Chinese Find 5
- Packaging: International Find 5 comes with an entirely English packaging.
- Certifications: International Find 5 will have, among others, CE and FCC certification, making it theoretically legal to own and use in for instance the EU. This will be visible on the backside of Find 5.
- Firmware: International Find 5 comes with International (EN) Firmware pre-installed. EN firmware can be installed onto other versions of the Find 5.
- Networking: Chinese Find 5 does not support the 1700 MHz band on 3G (used by T-mobile in the US).
- Support: OPPO employees will not provide English language support for Chinese devices. You can however receive support from the Ofan community here at OPPO Forums, or communicate in Chinese with our Chinese customer support agents.
- Warranty: Like above, OPPO’s international team can not help in any way when it comes to warranty for Chinese devices. You will have to contact your seller to help you arrange warranty.
- Price: Since the Chinese Find 5 is likely resold by a seller making a profit, there is a high chance that the price will be higher than the upcoming International version.
It’s good to hear that the International version will come with English packaging, and all the relevant certification needed for sale outside of China, however some key points of the phone are still shrouded in mystery!
While we are told that the Chinese versions of the Find 5 will not work on 1700 MHz bands such as T-mobile in the U.S, Oppo haven’t released official details of which networks will be supported on the international phone. Could there be LTE?
As we expect Chinese versions of the phone will be void of warranty if supplied to customers outside of China, however we are not told how warranties will be handled for the International model.
We also don’t know how Oppo plan to sell the Find 5. Will they team up with supermarkets, mobile carriers, or Electronic stores around the world, or will they only offer the phone through an online store?nbsp;A release date hasn’t been offered either, which might tempt early adopters to buy a Chinese version of the phone.
Should you buy a Chinese version of the Oppo Find 5?
If you can wait I would say to hold off buying a Chinese version of the Oppo Find 5 and get the international model, if you can’t wait then bear in mind that:
- A ChineseFind 5 won’t be warranted by Oppo International
- It will not support Gapps, but can be flashed to the International ROM (still no details or links to this yet)
- Prices will be very high as you will have to buy from a reseller. Expect $700+.
- The only support you will have is through the Oppo Forums.
- What network do you use? Are you on T-mobile?
So after knowing that the Chinese and International version of the Oppo Find 5 are different will you be waiting for the global phone or will you snap up a grey import?