Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions: A specs-heavy Android-powered iPhone 6s lookalike targeted at selfie

By Harshita
|

The front seems to have finally become the new rear! Well, we are taking about camera-centric smartphones that feature impressive camera arrangement and profile.

Rating:
4.0/5

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

Smartphone companies have been focusing on offering exciting front-facing camera for quite some time, however the Chinese smartphone Oppo hits the new milestone by introducing a SELFIE EXPERT smartphone with a 16MP front-facing snapper.

The front-facing camera on the newly launched Oppo F1 Plus has features of a primary camera on standard smartphone, which gives it an edge over others.

The Oppo F1 Plus is clearly meant to cater to the selfie enthusiast, but it also pack in powerful specs for a smooth performance. You get a bunch of impressive specifications that seem promising. The phone has been introduced in two colors, including rose gold and gold, for a price of Rs 26,990. The price is slightly on the higher end, but we can't ignore the specifications Oppo F1 Plus carries for this price point.

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

We got our hands on the Oppo F1 Plus smartphone at its launch event in Delhi, India, and here is what we felt about the phone in the brief time we spent with it.

Premium Design and good display:

There is no doubt about it that the Oppo F1 Plus has a very premium look and feel. The unibody metal design of the phone has this uncanny resemblance to the Apple iPhone 6s, to an extent that you may actually confuse the phone with the latter in first quick glance! Be it the smooth curved edges or the size, or the speaker grate at the bottom, there are quite a few design elements picked from Apple iPhone.

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

However, the Oppo F1 Plus still look quite appealing. It is slim and sleek, and is quite light on hand. You can say that it is an Android iPhone that oozes premiumness even at a compelling price point.

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

On front, you get a 16MP front-facing camera. The phone features a 5.5-inch full HD display with a resolution of 1080p, which looks crisp, reproduces colors well and offers good viewing angle. The good part is that the display has a very narrow bezel profile at 1.66mm that makes the display look bigger. There is a physical home key placed below the display, which doubles up as a fingerprint scanner.

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

The left and right sides have power key placed alongside the SIM trey, and the volume rocker respectively. The bottom has speaker, microUSB slot and a 3.2mm audio jack slot, while the top remains free of any keys. Moving to the back, the rear adorns a 13MP snapper with flash placed on right corner, similar to the iPhone's rear camera, and Oppo moniker.

Processing power:

The phone is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor with Mali T860 GPU, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. The overall processor configuration looks powerful, but the phone will be put against the Xiaomi Mi5 that runs Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, which seems more powerful. However, performance of the phone will be judged once we review it thoroughly.

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

Camera:

The front-facing camera is the USP of the Oppo F1 Plus that has been touted as the Selfie Expert smartphone. It has a 16MP selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture and 78degree wide angle lens. The front camera did seem impressive during the short time we tested the phone.

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

It produced colors well, and resulted in crisp and detailed shots, but we will reserve our final take on the phone for its detailed review. As far as the rear camera is concerned, the 13MP sensor performs well for its megapixel count.

Software:

Sadly, the Oppo F1 Plus runs the Android 5.1 Lollipop iteration which is outdated considering that Marshmallow iteration now powers many smartphones. It is topped by the company's native UI that brings additional features and extra controls. In the short hands on time, the UI seems intuitive and smooth, though we refrain from commenting on its performance till we review the device.

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

Battery:

The F1 Plus also comes with a 2,850mAh battery, which as per Oppo can run for more than 14 hours of heavy use. It uses the company's VOOC Flash Charge technology, which charges the phone instantly. The company claims that in just 5 minutes of charge, the phone can offer up to 2hours of talk time.

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

Conclusion:

Overall, we can say that the camera seems impressive but we miss a few things related to it on the phone. For instance, a dedicated camera key could have been advantage and an LED flash would have accounted to better experience. By selfie camera standards, this one is a good option for its price, but not the best out there. Otherwise, the phone is beautiful, has great specifications and is priced well.

Oppo F1 Plus First Impressions

The Oppo F1 Plus is available in India in gold and rose gold colors, priced at Rs 26,990 via online and offline channels. At this price, the phone I spaced well however it will get tough competition from Xiaomi which has its own fanfare in India.

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