6.23 inch Full HD 1080p display Front camera: 25MP with AI beauty Mode Rear camera: 16MP with LED flash Android 8.1 Oreo running under Color OS 5 Octa core CPU: Mediatek Helio P60 with Mali G72 GPU 4GB RAM 64GB internal storage expandable via Micro SD card Dual SIM with 4G LTE Fingerprint reader 3400mAH battery
In the box
OPPO F7 device USB cable Charger Clear silicone case Earphones SIM removal tool Documentation
Design The OPPO F7 marks the entry of notch screens into the F series. However, the first thing you notice once you take the device out of the box is the super light weight. I mean, when you consider the F7 has a 6.23 inch screen, your minds assumes it is going to have some heft, but no, it is only 158 grams in weight. In fact, the F7 is lighter than the iPhone X which has a 5.8 inch screen (158g vs 174g).
Flip to the back of the device and you will find a glossy reflective material which looks and feels like glass. It is actually a polycarbonate material that is lighter, more durable and cost effective than glass, we think it has contributed highly in keeping the weight down. Despite all those advantages, the material is a smudge fest for oily fingers, luckily, OPPO included a silicone case that easily remedies this issue. Still on the rear, you get a fingerprint reader, the OPPO logo, and the 16MP camera with LED flash. On the right side is the power button and a SIM tray which holds two SIM cards and the Micro SD card. On the left side you get the volume rocker. Under the chin you will find the loud speaker, the 3.5mm audio jack (luckily) and USB 2.0 port. The device is available in solar red and Moonlight silver. They both look amazing, the colors reflect light beautifully to exude a very premium aura. We are actually having tough time deciding which color shade we love better. Display
First of all, it is amazing how OPPO managed to fit a humongous 6.23 inch screen in such a compact space, we bet the presence of a notch has something to do with it. The bezels are very slim in all three sides (top, left and right), the chin has a some space below it, but we would hardly call that a bezel. Some people on the internet are hating on the notch trend but I personally love it, it is a creative departure from the sea of rectangular displays we always had. In addition, it gives the device a futuristic look and fits a lot more screen real estate into compact dimensions. When you turn on the display, you get that WOW factor of the notch. You also discover that the images and text are sharp, colors are natural with a touch of saturation and the viewing angles are perfect, thanks to IPS technology. Software The Color OS on OPPO devices has continued to be refined. Gone is the control center inspired by iOS, and now we have a proper Android notification shade which we think is better due to consistency, especially from customers migrating from other brands of Android devices. The app drawer is still absent, but that can be solved by a simple launcher.
We are glad to report that the interface was been made with full screen display in mind. You get some nice gestures that you can optionally use to replace the on-screen keys. With gestures, you get three small lines at the bottom each representing either back, home and multitasking. Using the gestures is a lot of fun and their execution is flawless. We will delve deeper into the backed-in features in our full review so be on the look-out. Performance The performance is also flawless, OPPO has always had smooth operation on the F series devices and we are happy that hasn’t changed in the F7. The 4GB RAM coupled with the huge display makes split screen multitasking a breeze and the P60 CPU proved to handle everything we threw at it so far. Camera AI is the main ingredient in the F7 camera. The whooping 25MP selfie camera holds the record of the highest megapixel count you will get in a front camera locally. It has an improved AI beauty mode that was initially launched on the F5. This time, the AI uses more points on the face to determine the best beauty selfie for not just you, but up to 4 of your friends at the same time. Initial selfies reveal that levels of detail are kept high and the color tone is natural. The AI works a advertised, the beauty mode looks amazing and realistic especially in good lighting, you won’t come out looking unnatural like previous beauty modes.
The rear camera also gets in on the AI train. It comes in the form of AI Boost, a feature that uses artificial intelligence to accurately know what kind of object you are photographing and implements the best settings to make your photo perfect. If you photograph food, for instance, the AI makes the photo more saturated making the delicacy look more delicious. First impression samples show that the rear camera has amazing saturation, it makes the reds and greens in the photos very vibrant and vivid. Check back the full review for more about the camera. Battery We are looking forward to great endurance, mainly due to the energy efficient Helio P60 CPU and the relatively big 3400mAh battery. Even though the VOOC fast charging technology is never implemented on the OPPO F series, the charger you get in the box is still pretty quick in filling up the battery, no complains here.
