I’ve said it before, 2018 is the year of notches, large batteries, powerful front-facing cameras, and 6”+ screens. Adding to this excitement are a host of AI improvements & in-display fingerprint sensors.
Speaking of which, Oppo has rolled out its notch-bearing F7 at an event in Mumbai and will carry a price tag of Rs.21,990. It has undercut Vivo V9 by Rs. 1000, which was India’s first notch-bearing smartphone until most recently.
The Oppo F7 shows a real potential in terms of AI capabilities that chime well with its 25MP front-facing camera. Furthermore, it comes in amazing colors and impressive specs that definitely makes it worth a shot this year.
Design & build of Oppo F7
The use of glass or metal in the back panel is the norm since Apple began the trend. It’s good to see Oppo using an acrylic back panel on the F7. Even though, it may be susceptible to regular scratches and abrasions if no case is utilized.
As far as the rest of the body is concerned, it is made up of a glossy plastic.
Another good news comes in the form of a pre-installed screen guard, which should be a big relief to those interested in buying an F7. The notch at the top looks akin to iPhone X but on a happier note, Oppo has secured patents to try out notches in an inverted ellipse and an inverted triangle shape as well.
The rear end comprises a single camera 16MP camera with a flashlight and a fingerprint scanner, below which rests the insignia of the brand.
Display
The display is very neat and clear with a 19:9 aspect ratio and a Full-HD+ screen resolution on a 6.23” display. Around it, a black border encases the main chassis giving you the feel of a bezel on this bezel-less phone.
Cameras
Unlike many other smartphones with dual cameras at the back, Oppo F7 mounts a single 16MP rear camera and a 25MP front-facing camera both of which support a portrait mode.
The camera app is one of Oppo’s brightest renovations so far, as it boasts a lot of AI interlaced within the app. For instance, the real-time HDR is fairly quick and the new AI Beauty 2.0 scans 296 facial recognition points including neck and shoulders.
Hardware & firmware
The Oppo F7 stocks a MediaTek Helio P60 Octa-Core System-on-Chipset and comes in two variants of 4GB RAM+64GB ROM or 6GB RAM+128GB ROM.
As with most other phones launched this year, the F7 is also coming out with Android 8.1 Oreo update with Oppo’s skin ColorOS 5.0 that makes it easier to access screen recording. Other software renovations include the ease of accessing shortcuts or taking a screenshot while playing a game or watching a video in the landscape mode.
Colors
Admittedly, Oppo F7 ditches the regular black and white and opts for new shades for both 4GB and 6GB variants. Both the variants are available in Solar Red and Diamond Black colors with an added color option for the 4GB in Moonlight Silver.
Pricing
Oppo F7 poses a tough challenge to Vivo V9 that had only just entered the market. With Rs. 1000 lesser than its competition, Oppo F7 comes down to Rs. 21,999. We will have to let it play out for a while to see which fares better in the diverse Indian market.
Flipkart will hold a flash sale for the smartphone starting April 2.
