OPPO’s next selfie expert, OPPO F5 with FullView display has been launched focusing on the selfie requirements. The OPPO F5 is a selfie-centric phone with 20 MP front camera targeted to the selfie lovers. We started taking selfies from the first day to see how is the new OPPO F5. We also checked on the other things to see if the OPPO F5 is really worth spending ₹20,000. Here’s out OPPO F5 review.
What’s in the Box
- OPPO F5 with built-in battery
- Micro USB Cable
- Charger (5V, 2A)
- Earphones (3.5 mm)
- User Guides and Warranty Card
- Transparent Protective Case
- SIM Tray Ejector
OPPO F5 Specifications
- Display: 6-inch Full-HD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels) LTPS TFT display with 2.5D curved glass and Gorilla Glass 5
- Software: ColorOS 3.2 based on Android 7.1 Nougat
- CPU: Up to 2.3 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 processor, MediaTek Helio P23 SoC
- GPU: Mali-G71 MP2 (770 MHz)
- Memory: 4 GB (LPDDR3) or 6 GB RAM (LPDDR4X)
- Rear Camera: 16 MP with f/1.8 aperture and LED flash
- Front Camera: 20 MP with f/2.0 aperture, 1/2.8-inch sensor, Portrait Mode, Beauty Mode, AI-backed
- Storage: 32 GB or 64 GB internal, expandable up to 256 GB via microSD card (dedicated slot)
- Cellular: 4G LTE, Dual nano SIM (GSM), VoLTE-enabled
- Connectivity: Micro USB port, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB OTG, FM Radio, 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Battery: 3,200 mAh
- Charger: 2-Pin (5V, 2A)
- Price: ₹19,990 (4 GB RAM & 32 GB Storage), ₹24,990 (6 GB RAM & 64 GB Storage)
Design, Build, & Ergonomics
OPPO has stretched the display on the F5, the screen has gained more space, the bezels are minimized removing the touch keys at the bottom. OPPO F5 gives a new look which separates from the others, the phone looks slightly taller. It uses a 6-inch Full HD+ display (2160 x 1080 pixels resolution) with 18:9 aspect ratio and protected with a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The phone is immediately noticeable due to its large bezel-less screen. The appearance of the OPPO F5 is not something like the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, Samsung Galaxy S8, or the iPhone X. Rivals Vivo V7+ and Honor 9i also come with larger 18:9 display.
Digging more into the design, its outer body is a little disappointment, made of plastic and not metal. Even though it boasts a unibody design and looks metallic from a distance, the overall feel is just plastic not appealing like those metallic phones. The phone is though good at design and feels light in weight.
The front side equips a 20 MP camera while the backside comes with 16 MP camera. The touch buttons are removed, the scanner is now on the rear side. It supports 4G SIM cards with a separate microSD slot, so you will be able to use dual SIM option and enjoy the microSD storage expansion.
It uses a micro USB port at the bottom, not the type-C. The bottom also holds a 3.5 mm headphones jack, a microphone and loudspeakers. The top has another noise cancellation microphone. The right side has a power button, and left side holds two separate volume keys.
Display
OPPO F5 does offer a larger display with full HD+ resolution. The screen offers slightly higher pixels than a 1080p display and it fits the 6-inch size and gives sharper details. There’s nothing much special about the display, there are no display enhancements offered other than a blue light filter option with color temperature control.
Due to the 18:9 display, the black bars on the top and the bottom are visible. There are several apps that do not support the 18:9 aspect ratio so they can’t fully utilize the full screen. You will see the black bars in many apps and watching videos as well.
Software & User Interface
OPPO F5 is based on ColorOS 3.2 interface running on Android 7.1.1 Nougat software with 5th October 2017 security patch. The interface isn’t quite fluid, at least not as responsive as Vivo V5 Plus. The UI is similar to the rest of the OPPO phones, it has no app drawer, the icons are squarish, there’s no sign of stock interface, the UI is highly customized and easy to use.
It uses a control center similar to the Apple iOS, you need to swipe from the bottom to get the shortcuts. The recent apps button do not offer a quick switch feature which is a native Android feature. The notifications can’t be swiped in one go, you need to tap delete after swipe.
The on-screen buttons take a little space at the bottom, but fortunately, to get full access to the screen, you can disable the virtual navigation keys and use the swipe gestures to navigate. To go back, swipe up from the right bottom of the screen. To open control center, swipe up from the left bottom. Return to Home screen by swiping up from the middle bottom while swiping up and pause for 1 second from the middle bottom of the screen will open recent apps.
Real Sound Technology, co-developed by OPPO and Dirac Research AB, delivers full fidelity and creates a spatial stereo field to offer a live performance effect. Headphones Monitor, when turned on, can provide a live karaoke experience in real-time via the plugged headphones.
Hardware, Performance & Gaming
OPPO F5 uses a MediaTek Helio P23 with eight Cortex-A53 cores clocked up to 2.3 GHz paired with 6 GB RAM (4 GB RAM on the base variant). Unless you do heavy multitasking of apps, the processor is good for above average use. The performance of the CPU is close to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625.
AnTuTu Benchmark
- 67,792 points
Geekbench 4
- N/A
Quadrant Standard Edition
- 46,584
Games Tested on OPPO F5
- Sky Force Reload
- Dead Trigger 2
- Unkilled
Storage & Memory
On the storage side, the OPPO F5 offers 32 GB eMMC internal storage. The 64 GB storage variant is coupled with 6 GB RAM and is priced ₹5,000 more in contrast to the 32 GB variant. The performance of the storage remains very similar. Check out the storage benchmarks below, they are about average and stands in the midrange category.
A1 SD Bench
- 143.68 MB/s (Read)
- 72.20 MB/s (Write)
- 6,421.52 MB/s (RAM Copy)
AndroBench
- 293.53 MB/s (Sequential Read)
- 85.91 MB/s (Sequential Write)
- 74.15 MB/s (Random Read)
- 15.78 MB/s (Random Write)
Cameras
The cameras on the phone are 20 MP f/2.0 on the front side and 16 MP f/1.8 on the rear side with LED flash.
OPPO F5 Camera Specifications
- Camera: 16 MP f/1.8
- Optical Image Stabilization (OIS): N/A
- Rear Flash: Single LED flash
- Features: Face Beauty, Panorama, Portrait mode, Expert, Palm Capture, Time-lapse, Geo-tagging, Tap to Focus, HDR, Color Filters, Burst Shot
- Video Recording: 1080p/720p video @30fps
- Front Camera: 20 MP, f/2.0
- Video Recording: 1080p/720p videos @30fps
- Front Flash: N/A, Screen Flash
The 20 MP camera uses an AI (Artificial Intelligence) Recognition technology to process the selfies with the beauty mode. The skin tones are lightened, the colors look more natural, and the overall quality of the image is good in daylight. The selfies in the low light turn out the average, the front camera has no dedicated flash rather it uses the screen flash. Competitors offer an LED flash on the front side.
The rear camera performs great when you snap in the daylight conditions, the colors and details are good. However, the camera isn’t something for enthusiasts. Also, it can’t record 4K videos which certainly isn’t good when we see its pricing. Phones within this price bracket have better camera features including 4K video recording and slow motion.
OPPO F5 Camera Samples
Battery Life
Battery life is indeed good, the 3,200 mAh battery has enough power to keep the phone alive for the entire day with day-to-day activities. The battery life can be stretched the next day easily with average use. According to our tests, the battery life is slightly better than the Vivo V7+. There are phones that are good at battery-backup, they offer higher battery capacity comparatively.
The charger provided by OPPO is a 5V and 2A, charging the OPPO F5 can take up to 2 hours from 0% to 100%.
OPPO F5 Battery Results
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Verdict
OPPO F5 offers as many features and if you aren’t familiar with selfie phones, you may try out the OPPO F5, it looks promising with its large display, good battery life, and a camera that takes selfies with bokeh effect. Things like low storage and the lack of a front LED flash isn’t impressive. Some alternatives we suggest are the Honor 9i and Vivo V7+ before you make up your mind.
Competitors
- Honor 9i (64 GB) – ₹17,999
- Vivo V7+ (64 GB) – ₹21,999
Strength
- Large 6-inch 18:9 screen
- Selfie Camera creates bokeh effect
- Rear Camera takes decent daylight shots
- Dedicated microSD slot
- Good Battery life
Weakness
- Selfie Camera Lacks LED Flash
- No 4K Video Recording
