I won’t beat around the bush. This is the OPPO Find X Lamborghini Edition and it’s worth almost US$ 2,000 or US$ 1,980 to be precise.

What’s so special about it? See that seal? It’s an actual Lamborghini. No, really, from the Italian luxury carmaker.

I got my hands on this delightful device and I’ve been using it for a few weeks. So, now that I have my own Lambo, what changed? Did using this expensive AF phone make me a classier person? Will I get more street cred because of my flashy phone? What does holding US$ 2,000 in form of a phone feel like?

Because owning such a luxurious device has made me a more gracious person, I shall walk you through my experiences with the Lambo.

It still looks and feels good 

The OPPO Find X Lamborghini Edition has the same signature bezel-less screen of the regular Find X.

On the back, glaring in gold is the Lamborghini logo. This phone also has a different back design on that smooth glass back; almost elusive striped markings dubbed by OPPO as the black carbon pattern adorns the whole body.

Of course, there’s a special edition Lambo theme because if you’re paying that much for a phone, they better throw in a custom theme!

As cool as it was (especially for car lovers!), though, I opted to change the theme into something brighter during my time with the phone. 😅

I’ve said it about the normal Find X and I’ll say it again about this Lambo phone: It’s a pleasure to hold. The weight, feel, and that wide, crisp screen make everything feel premium.

The only downside is that the normal OPPO Find X and the Lambo phone are similarly great — which is a good thing if you own the normal Find X, but not such a great deal if you paid the US$ 825 difference for the more expensive phone.

Nonetheless, the Lambo phone does give a classier spin to the phone in black and gold. I mean, if you hold it strategically enough, people should take notice of that Lamborghini logo, right?

Touting such an expensive device day and night is not as easy as it looks. Because I’m secretly not rich (sad reacts 😢), I almost had a mini heart attack handling such an expensive thing that’s all glass. Thankfully, the phone came with a phone case that sports the same Lamborghini logo and stripe pattern that onlookers can accidentally ogle so they can realize how much my phone costs.

It didn’t make me more luxurious but it looked the part

As you may have noticed, I busted out classy AF props for shooting this particular device.

I figured this was as good a time as any to amp up the set design — it’s not every day your phone costs more than 18 bottles of Moet.

Sans the bottles of champagne, we did discover that the Lamborghini Find X looks great with classy rich girl outfits complete with pearl ensemble. I felt straight out of Gossip Girl, except even Blair Waldorf didn’t own a Lamborghini phone, did she?

The best fast charge technology that money can buy

The best thing about this phone comes in form of a brightly colored charger cord and Lamborghini-branded power brick. I sh!t you not (excuse my crassness but this tech deserves the profanity), this phone charges from zero to 100 in 35 minutes. Ten minutes of charging gives you 37 percent and thirty minutes of charging amounts to a whopping 92 percent.

Never have I seen such fast charging times. It’s unreal.

Honestly, charging became such an easy thing for me since using this phone. I just plug it in and it’ll completely charge before you can finish saying supercalifragilistic-holy-fudge-this-phone-is-so-expensive-docious!

Real talk though, because I don’t plug this phone in as much as you would other phones (shout-out to iPhone users), think of all the money you can save in terms of broken cords!

There are matching earphones

OPPO also threw in a pair of matching wireless earbuds because someone had to justify paying that much money for this set.

They come in a case stamped with the Lamborghini logo and automatically connect to your phone after initial pairing. They’re a decent pair of earphones that go well with the whole Lambo look except I seem to have misplaced one of the earpieces (which is not my fault because there is a serious design flaw to untethered earphones!) and now there’s a pit in my stomach when I think of how much that tiny thing probably costs. 😢

Different yet exactly the same?

At the end of the day, it’s still the same great phone.

The features that made me love the normal Find X are still the same features I enjoy on this Lambo: the fast face unlock feature, the awesome display, and the pop-up camera design (it never gets old).

Owning a Lambo *surprise* has not fundamentally changed me. I’m still really, really not rich. Most people didn’t even notice the flashy Lambo logo on my phone. Funny enough, people still only notice the pop-up camera and are still very much amazed by it.

But, I did, and still do enjoy using this phone. It’s a top-of-the-line device and it feels that way. I like it to the point that I keep using it despite having only one Lambo earphone now. 😢

Like a true luxury item, the price really doesn’t make sense. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s an awesome, awesome device — if you can afford it.

In the meantime, I’m unsure of how to live my life if I have to go back to charging my phone for more than 35 minutes. Let me leave you now as I sip on not Moet to ponder on my dilemma.

Images by MJ Jucutan

SEE ALSO: OPPO Find X review: All about style, selfies, and that poppin’ camera

A few years ago, megapixels were all the rage when it came to smartphone photography. Producing larger photos somehow equated to better quality — and more aggressive marketing — from those little shooters on older phones.

Fortunately, that craze ended, but we’re now facing a new race to see who can stuff the most number of cameras on a single handset.

Even though dual-camera setups became the standard a couple of years ago, brands like Huawei and LG have been pushing for more. Naturally, competitors including Samsung saw the need to catch up, and even exceed in some cases.

The Galaxy A7 of 2018 is a direct answer to the trending need for at least three cameras on a phone’s rear. In this case, one camera is for regular shots, another is for wide-angle photos, and a third helps power the Live Focus function.

We already had time to experience this unique setup in India, but we now want to answer another question: Is there more to the Galaxy A7 than just its cameras?

The short answer is yes. Not only does the Galaxy A7 have Samsung’s signature AMOLED display and a mostly glass body, it does so at a reasonable price of INR 23,990 in India and PhP 17,990 in the Philippines — both of which convert to about US$ 330.

Samsung’s entry-level Galaxy J series often hovered around this price, so for a Galaxy A phone to hit this point with more premium features is a good deal. (It may also be a sign of Samsung gradually letting go of the Galaxy J lineup.)

Despite the relatively large bezels for a 2018 phone, the 6-inch 1080p AMOLED is both well-sized and a pleasure to look at. As usual, Samsung tends to oversaturate colors, but I appreciate the inclusion of Always On Display (AOD), which keeps the panel partially active to show me the time and my notifications throughout the day.

It’s tough on the battery, though, and I recommend turning this feature off when not needed. The 3300mAh battery capacity is lacking for a phone this size; with AOD on, I only get four hours of screen-on time in a single day. Leaving it off gives me an additional hour, but the phone still doesn’t get over a day’s worth of usage.

Using Samsung’s standard Adaptive Fast Charging adapter, it takes less than two hours to get to full from zero percent. That makes up for the mediocre battery life, although I wish the Galaxy A7 came with a USB-C port instead of the aging micro-USB.

What’s new, however, is the interface. Although it’s stuck on Android 8.0 Oreo, Samsung baked Experience 9.0 into the operating system, so it has the newest gestures and I found that jumping from one function to another is pleasantly smooth.

It helps that Samsung’s own Exynos 7885 chipset is handling all the heavy-duty tasks. While it isn’t the best for gaming — titles like Life is Strange and Asphalt 9: Legends don’t run that smoothly unless graphics settings are lowered — switching through apps while multitasking is seamless, and I can’t remember a time when hiccups bothered me.

I was surprised to find only 4GB of memory inside, but it turned out being enough for my usage case. There were only a few instances wherein I wished my background apps wouldn’t close so soon. What’s better is the integrated storage, which comes in at 64GB with additional room for a microSD card up to 512GB.

Other reasons to consider this phone? There’s a 3.5mm audio port if that matters to you, and the front-facing LED flash is pretty helpful when lighting is terrible during your selfie shoots.

Another thing that’s useful to me but may be annoying to others is the placement of the fingerprint scanner. It’s on the side-mounted power button, which I consider to be an optimized spot no matter how the phone is held or laid on a tablet. Left-handed people might not feel the same way.

Finally, despite the glass body, the phone seems to be a little flimsy. It’s not something I’m confident putting inside my back pocket. Get a case as soon as you buy one, or simply don’t drop or bend it.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

It’s easy to recommend the Galaxy A7 for what it is, but there are so many great phones in the sub-US$ 400 segment that it’s difficult to ignore them. Offerings from Honor, Xiaomi, and even Pocophone make the final purchasing decision a tough one.

The Galaxy A7 is primarily for long-time Samsung users looking for something different. Its triple-camera setup is certainly unique in this part of the smartphone market, and the side-mounted fingerprint scanner is a refreshing sight.

At the same time, a lot of Samsung’s familiar features are here, including the AMOLED display and the lack of a notch. It’s certainly the most non-Samsung, Samsung phone you can buy today — until you see the more outrageous Galaxy A9, that is.

The Polaroid OneStep+ is finally in my hands! Not to be confused with the Polaroid OneStep 2, the OneStep+ is the latest in Polaroid’s line that pays homage to the original OneStep camera released in the 70s. As a lover of pretty things and Instagrammable cameras, the OneStep cameras were always a treat to review.

This newest Polaroid Originals camera looks (almost) the same, feels the same, but what’s so different about it? Let’s get to it!

Hands-on time

This newest release, dubbed the Polaroid OneStep+, comes in black. Now, it might sound boring but it actually looks pretty classic and fun with the pop of colors from the Polaroid rainbow branding.

It looks as Instagrammable as its predecessor, despite the dark color change. Don’t believe me? I’ll prove it:

The Polaroid OneStep+ looking great at any time of the day

This good-looking camera doesn’t come cheap. It retails for EUR 159 or almost PhP 12,000 in the Philippines.

Up top is a switch that toggles between normal portrait mode and wider-angled photos. The light indicator for your remaining shots is also up here.

On the back is the on/off switch, a micro-USB port for charging, and the flash button — press and hold as you take the photo so the camera won’t flash.

The viewfinder (which looks tinier) is in the same place, on the left-back side.

I think the biggest and most notable change, though, is the fact that you can now attach this camera to a tripod. Built in at the bottom is a tripod screw thread which means that the OneStep+ can be mounted on a tripod. I guarantee you, this is a recipe for better Polaroids.

Getting started

Taking a photo with the OneStep+ is the same process as before: Look through the viewfinder and compose the photo, press the shutter (the red button on the side), and the photo automatically prints on film.

The shape of this camera is reminiscent of old-school cameras. Shooting with it can give you those feels, it’s just a different experience compared to shooting with your smartphone or a point-and-shoot camera.

So, yes. The Polaroid OneStep+ still takes (fun) photos or even selfies…

… and prints them on square format Polaroid film. It works with both 600 film and i-Type film which retail from EUR 16 to EUR 20, depending on the type.

Let me take this opportunity to gush about how cute that purple-pink gradient border is on that frame! It’s so pretty!

But, let’s go back to that photo of me and Chay taking a selfie with the camera. Notice something?

Why is Chay holding her phone in this photo?

No, Chay isn’t overly attached to her phone… it has to do with this camera’s new feature.

You can connect the OneStep+ to your phone via Bluetooth and you’ll be able to control your camera via the Polaroid Originals app.

Pairing is pretty easy, too. After the initial pairing process, the camera will automatically pop up when you open the app which is so convenient! (We all know how having to pair every single time can be annoying. 😅)

So, what can this new app do? Time to try it out!

Test run!

Once connected, there are six shooting modes you can try on the app.

The most basic: A remote function which allows for your phone to act as a trigger for the camera. This is pretty useful for when you want to be in the photo and there’s no one else to take the picture. Take note, however, that the app only acts as a trigger so you can’t preview the photo on your phone. (See photo 2)

Starting from the upper-left photo: 1. Selfie sample, 2. Remote, 3 and 4. Self-timer,  5. Noise trigger, 6. Double exposure, 7. Another light painting attempt, 8. Failed manual mode

The self-timer is a pretty cool feature, though the previous OneStep cameras had that feature even without the app. (See photos 3 and 4)

The same can be said about the double-exposure function. The Noise trigger is a new one, and it’s the coolest thing ever. Basically, you can trigger the camera shutter by creating any sound of a certain loudness. You can set this up on your phone and even change the sound threshold! (See photo 5)

Also included is light painting and manual modes. As you can see in the samples above (see photos 6, 7, and 8), it takes a while and a lot of ruined film to actually get how to take proper photos with these modes.

Our good shots from the second film cartridge

Once you learn how to use the OneStep+, it means a lot of cute Polaroids — and we all want that.

Finishing touches

When you’re all set with your Polaroids, the app offers an added feature to ensure you can show the world your prints. The scan feature automatically detects your photo, fixes it (crops and tilts it, if needed), and you can post or share away.

It’s not perfect, though. The function can be fidgety when it’s not photo-ready bright, which is most real-life circumstances. It’s usually a trial and error process to get the best-looking scan. Also, for some reason, this works best on iPhones. The Android devices we tested with it always had a harder time scanning the photos.

Nonetheless, it’s still pretty useful and it’s a great integration to the app. I see where this feature can go and I’m hoping that later updates will be able to fix these problems.

Another addition to the app is the Discover feature where you can find tips and tricks, or even photo ideas for your next Polaroid project.

You will never run out of things to try with your camera because of this!

Verdict

If you want a Polaroid camera in 2018, this is for you. It’s the same new-old camera (get it? 😎), but now made even better.

Although I would’ve loved a remote preview on my phone, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this addition would’ve changed the whole process of taking Polaroids and destroyed the instant camera experience.

Previous cameras have attempted to merge high technology with the concept of instant cameras. But, we have yet to see an execution that utilizes tech in a way that enhances the shooting without destroying the old-school experience. This might be the right step towards that.

Some will argue that a smartphone could outdo what these instant cameras can do. If you’re one of those who believe so, you’re completely missing the point of these throwback cameras. This line is designed for those who want to enjoy Polaroids in 2018 and the Polaroid Originals OneStep+ just offered another way to do so.