© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Oppo has made its first big jump into the bezel-less smartphone bandwagon with the F5. The smartphone was launched at a press event in Mumbai. The device has a tall 6-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio, and extremely thin bezels on the sides. But this is not the only highlight of Oppo F5, as it also uses artificial intelligence to enhance selfies.
With Oppo F5, the focus is naturally on the front camera which comes with a Portrait mode. Though there’s no dual camera system on the front, Oppo F5 relies on the software enhancement to produce the bokeh effect in pictures. Oppo has been launched in India, and here’s our first impressions.
Oppo F5 first impressions Design and Display
Oppo F5 has a stunning design, one that’s stylish and sleek. Despite being a 6-inch large phone, it is easy to use with one hand. The back has some sort of a matte finish, which makes it easy to hold in your hand. However, we’d recommend a back cover for extra protection.
Oppo F5 features muted antenna lines present on top and bottom of the back cover. Speaker grille, a USB Type-2.0 port along with a 3.5mm headset jack are at the bottom. Oppo F5 has rounded corners and curved side edges on the rear. An oval shaped fingerprint sensor rests below the circular rear camera lens and a LED flash.
Coming to the display, the 6-inch Full HD+ screen is a delight to look at thanks to a balanced colour reproduction and sharp icons. The screen is vivid, and adapts well to bright sunlight. I didn’t have to struggle to click pictures or view the screen in bright outdoors, which is a great sign. There’s no home button and the phone uses on-screen capacitive keys
Oppo F5 first impressions Camera
Coming to the front camera, which is the highlight of Oppo F5. It does a pretty good job of clicking selfies in bright outdoors. You can go from Auto in artificial intelligence to level 6, to enhance your photos. The AI relies on user’s age, gender, colour, etc to customise selfies. The shots that I clicked were detailed, sharp, and I liked the colour reproduction as well. There’s Portrait mode for front camera as well, using which got me pretty good results.
However, I’m skeptical about using so many filters in photos as they make them look highly artificial. I’m not a fan, but the F5 will definitely appeal to people who like to look picture perfect on social media. The rear camera is equally good. I was impressed with the details it brings out in pictures. It produced close to natural colour, which I liked. We’re yet to test F5’s cameras in low light.
Oppo F5 first impressions Processor, Battery, and Memory
Under the hood, Oppo F5 packs an Octa-core Helio P23 processor with 4GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, which is expandable up to 128GB via a microSD card slot. In our limited time with the Oppo F5, we didn’t experience any lags while opening apps or working on multiple tabs. We’ll have more details on performance in our full review.
Oppo F5 is a dual SIM phone that supports two nano SIM cards and a microSD card. It is backed by a 3,200mAh battery, which should easily last for a day. Those expecting fast charging technology in the new F5 are in for a disappointment.
Oppo F5 first impressions Software
Oppo F5 runs a new version of company’s Color OS 3.2 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. This means people can use split screen feature for multitasking, as well as access quick notifications. It remains to be seen when Oppo decides to push out Oreo update for the smartphone.
Oppo F5 first impressions Verdict
Yes, there’s a lot to like about in Oppo F5. But remember, it is priced Rs 20,000 and the focus here is selfies. So if you want a phone for a good overall performance, there are a couple of options in the lower price segment as well. For selfie buffs, those who need a device that looks stylish, the F5 makes for a good option. The phone faces tough competition from Vivo V7+, which also promises enhanced selfies and has a nearly bezel-less design.
Disclaimer: The author is in Mumbai at the invite of Oppo.
