Oppo F5 Review, Oppo F5 Review
Oppo has done something similar with its latest smartphone Oppo F5. The design of this phone has also overshadowed the special front camera feature of the company’s F series.
Perhaps there is nothing surprising in this, because this change is obvious. Most people will be attracted to the phone because of this feature at first glance. No matter if you like any feature of this phone. But we will test it on every scale.
Oppo F5 design
Companies that have started providing large displays with 18:9 aspect ratio, somehow miss out on making phones with completely negligible borders. Oppo F5 is also one of them. There is little to no material at the edges. But since the review unit is white in color, the remaining material is clearly visible. The top and bottom of the display are still reminiscent of older phones, especially the front camera area next to the earpiece.
We don’t like this strategy of those companies who already provide plastic screen protector with the phone. This is good for customers, as they are relieved from having to buy a screen protector that fits. But according to us it spoils the look of the phone. The “borderless” effect is lost somewhere due to the additional plastic lines. Something similar happens with Oppo F5.
The rear part is gold in color, that too with matte metallic texture. Sometimes it appears pinkish, which depends on the lighting. A bright chrome ring runs along the edge of the phone, where the metal back and white front panel meet. The phone also has an iPhone 7 style antenna line. Generally this phone looks quite good, but in our opinion this phone would look better in black color.
On the right side you will find the dual SIM tray along with the power button. At the same time, volume buttons are present on the left side. There is nothing at the top except the mic pinhole. At the same time, the lower part is full. 3.5 mm audio socket, micro-USB port, mic and speaker grill will be available here. The fingerprint sensor on the back is easy to access. Sadly, the rear camera is protruding and its metal edges are a bit rough.
Measuring 7.5mm thick, the Oppo F5 feels thin and weighs 152 grams, which is not too heavy. Due to the texture of the rear part, there is no problem in holding the phone in hands. Due to the screen size, you won’t be able to reach every corner of the display with your thumb. The phone screen is very big. But the using experience is good.
Specifications and software of Oppo F5
The distance from one edge to the other in the screen is 6 inches. But there is no doubt that it is very compact compared to the phablets of olden days. Its resolution is 1080×2160 pixels. This is due to fitting the full-HD resolution into the 18:9 aspect ratio.
MediaTek MT6763T processor has been used in the phone which was launched recently. The maximum clock speed of the processor is 2.3 GHz. Mali G71 MP2 GPU is integrated for graphics. In Oppo F5, users will be able to use 4G network with only one SIM at a time. Apart from this, if you change the position of the SIM then the phone reboots again and again which is irritating.
Oppo F5 has just been launched with 4 GB RAM and 32 GB storage. The company has said that 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variants will also be launched in the month of December. It is worth noting that the 6 GB RAM variant will be available in black and red colors.
Other specifications include a 3200 mAh battery, 16-megapixel rear camera, 20-megapixel front camera, and a dedicated microSD card slot. For connectivity, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.2 and GPS are available. We were disappointed to see a micro-USB port. Apart from this the phone does not support fast charging.
Oppo’s custom skin is known as ColorOS. This phone runs on version 3.2 which is based on Android 7.1. If seen, this is one of the most detailed custom user interfaces and also very polished. Many things seem to be inspired by iOS. All app icons are part of the home screen. Photos, music, videos, browser, clock and other apps are available in custom avatars. You’ll get Facebook, WPS Office and Amazon Shopping and Prime Video apps pre-installed. By the way, the phone is Flipkart exclusive.
The Settings app is quite different from stock Android. In such a situation, you will have to do some investigation before taking any action. You will also get a glimpse of many exclusive features of ColorOS. One of these is clone apps. With the help of this feature, you will be able to use many apps with two IDs.
Oppo has also provided face recognition security feature in this phone. We were very excited at first, because this feature has been a topic of discussion since iPhone X. During the review, we found that the registration process failed several times. Even after being set up, there was a slight delay in unlocking the phone. In general use, the fingerprint sensor is faster and more natural.
Oppo F5 performance
Its larger screen takes some time to get used to. Sometimes apps also didn’t scale completely. For example, YouTube videos in landscape mode looked as if they were being played in a black box.
Apart from this the display is very good. It’s crisp and bright. Colors are punchy and viewing angles are excellent. Be it writing something or watching videos, our experience was great. We got lost in it. We believe that this experience will be even better in the black variant. The main drawback is the already provided screen protector. It leaves scratch marks and fingerprints easily.
The built in speaker is powerful. Clear and rich sound while playing games and watching videos. The headset provided along with it is also fine. But the bass is completely missing. After a few minutes it starts to feel a little awkward.
The benchmark scores of the Oppo F5 came in better than rivals like the Honor 9i (Review) and Vivo V7 Plus (Review).
The 16-megapixel rear camera takes good pictures in daylight as well as at night. There is no lack of detail. The colors are in decent quantity and the camera also focuses quickly. Even at night, if there is some light then the pictures come out good. Videos are also recorded quite sharp and remain smooth in different conditions.
Oppo F5 has a 20 megapixel front camera. The company has mentioned that it has AI powered beautification mode. Faces look good in selfies but the same cannot be said about objects in the background. You will be able to capture good photos for social media. According to us, this is the main reason for taking selfie cameras. Despite being a selfie-centric phone, the absence of a flash seems surprising. But screen flash works to some extent. AI powered beautification mode will identify facial features. And Oppo has said that it has trained the algorithm on different types of people. So that different beautification techniques are used for different subjects. In our opinion, there was no significant difference between the images taken at different levels. Perhaps this technology does not bring any major change, which is its important feature. It is expected that its AI features will improve with time.
Battery life also does not disappoint. We could use the phone for about one and a half days. During this time, I also played some games and did some web browsing. Sadly, the phone does not have quick charge support. The battery lasted 11 hours and 24 minutes in our HD video loop test. Looking at the screen this would be considered good. The disappointment is the lack of quick charge support. It took about 1 hour to charge the battery from 10 percent to 65 percent, which is okay.
our decision
Oppo has launched a winner phone in the form of F5. The screen is big and immersive. The look is attractive. Battery life is great. Performance is also good for most tasks. What is missing is facial recognition which seems more like a gimmick. Apart from this, the storage of Oppo F5 is also less compared to other phones in this price range. It should have had 64 GB storage. Oppo will bring its 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant, but the price will be higher by Rs 5,000.
Oppo F5 will compete directly with Vivo V7 Plus and Honor 9i. But you have options like Xiaomi Mi Max 2, Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017).
