Oppo's top camera phone is on sale in Europe but not in the US

Oppo has launched its newest camera-focused phones, the Find X10 and Find X10 Pro, in Europe. CNET calls the Pro a powerhouse with one of the best cameras on the market. Americans can't buy it, and Oppo and other Chinese phone-makers are steering clear of the US.

What happened

Oppo held the global launch on Wednesday in Mallorca, Spain. Spain is its biggest European market. Counterpoint and Omdia, two research firms, say Oppo was the fourth-largest phone-maker in the world by shipments in the first half of this year. The Find X10 series reached China only a month ago, a much shorter wait for Europe than in the past, when the gap often ran to months.

Why the US is skipped

The US is the largest and most profitable market for premium phones. Even so, Oppo is staying out. Two reasons stand out. Oppo lacks the long-standing relationships with phone carriers that Apple and Samsung have. And political tensions affecting Chinese tech companies make the US too risky to invest in right now.

Runar Bjorhovde, an analyst at Omdia, said the barriers make it almost impossible to scale in the US without lots of money to invest. Oppo is putting its money into Europe instead. It says it will raise its European investment by 30% over the next three years.

What US buyers miss

CNET's reviewer, Andrew Lanxon, called the Find X10 Pro a powerhouse phone worthy of its flagship title. He ranked its cameras among the best, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Xiaomi's Leitzphone. Only one of those three is sold in the US. Europeans can pick any of them.

Ben Wood, an analyst at FDM CCS, said US shoppers are missing out. He pointed especially to advanced folding phones from Honor, Oppo and Xiaomi.

Oppo's pitch to younger buyers

Elvis Zhou, Oppo's European CEO, wants shoppers to have three or four premium brands to choose from instead of two. In China, he noted, Huawei, Apple, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Honor sit within a few percentage points of each other. Oppo is aiming the Find X10 at Gen Z. Omdia research shows people under 35 are the most likely to buy premium phones.

The timing is tricky. A memory shortage is pushing phone prices up and shipments down. Premium phones are holding up better than budget and midrange ones, which is why makers are leaning on them.

What is not known

The material does not give prices for the Find X10 or Find X10 Pro. It also does not say whether Oppo has any plan to enter the US. For now, Americans who want this phone have no official way to buy it.