OPPO’s bigger Selfie Expert phone nails it: a really good 16MP front camera (for awesome nighttime selfies) on a slim and svelte metallic body, massive 4GB RAM (for multitasking), a fast fingerprint sensor (0.2 second response), a 5.5-inch AMOLED Full HD display (colors pop out, details and text are sharp, and contrasts are great), plus fast charging (75% in 30 minutes). The price is an eyebrow-raising P21990 – way below competing flagship price points. And yet the OPPO F1 Plus is premium through and through. Hell, I want one!
Here are the feature highlights of the OPPO F1 Plus.
Amazing selfie camera
We could tell you that the F1 Plus has a 16MP F2.0 front facing Hi-Light camera that takes great pics, even under poorly lit scenes. Or we could show you sample shots taken straight out of camera (see below).
Vivid selfies, just what we all need. Although the F1 Plus doesn’t have front-facing LED flash (unlike the ZenFone Selfie, Cherry Mobile Flare Selfie, and Huawei Mate S, the front camera’s ability to capture a ton of detail is amazing. Still, there’s an on screen flash that provides enough illumination, but even without it, the results are impressive.
In terms of image quality – level of details captured, dynamic range, white balance adjustment, naturalness of color, and software-based image stabilization – at this price point, only two competitors come to mind: the P29k Google Nexus 6p (AMOLED, fast charging, fingerprint sensor, metallic build, great selfie camera) and the P18k Huawei G8 (non-AMOLED, fingerprint sensor, metallic build, great selfie camera, no fast charging). Both of these Huawei phones only have 3GB RAM compared to the OPPO F1 Plus’s 4GB RAM. OPPO really has a contender on their hands.
The OPPO F1 Plus’s front Hi-Light Camera specializes in night time photography, which is when many good times happen – dinner, parties, happy hour inside pubs, unevenly lit concerts, out on the beach under the stars. The front camera also offers twice the dynamic range (details in the shadows) of cameras without the Hi-Light technology, and also delivers images with four times less noise.
Two other notable features of the front camera are Beautification 4.0 (so you can style your selfies as needed) and Selfie Panorama for those extra-wide 120 degree shots, so that everyone in the group is in the frame. No one is left out. We’re interested to see if P30k+ flagships like the LG G5 can compete in the selfie department against the F1 Plus. Also, the P12k ZenFone Selfie (last year’s midrange selfie phone to beat) isn’t even in the same league.
The OPPO F1 Plus was launched on April 16, 2016. It is the bigger sibling of the OPPO F1.
OPPO F1 Plus Full Specs
5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display, 1920 x 1080 resolution
2.0GHz MediaTek MT6755 Helio P10 octa-core processor
4GB of RAM | 64GB of internal storage, up to 128GB
13MP rear camera with phase detection AF and LED flash
16MP front camera, F2.0, screen flash
Fingerprint scanner
VOOC fast charging
Beautification 4.0
Dual SIM, 3G, LTE
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Android 5.1 Lollipop with ColorOS 3.0
2,850mAh battery
SRP P21,990
Great build, built to wow
The OPPO F1 Plus is one compact and stylish phone, with premium written all over it. The 5.5-inch AMOLED display (Gorilla Glass 4) tandems with 1.66mm bezels, making the phone look and feel in your hand like a 5-inch phone. Smaller body with a great yet big display is always welcome. Because it’s more comfortable to have and to hold. And those with small hands will certainly love this phone. The body is thin and light, with a non-slippery metal finish. While it’s great to hold, your hand seems to expect it to be slippery, except that it’s not. Those with sweaty hands who stay away from metallic phones, you’ve met your match in the OPPO F1 plus.
By the way, AMOLED displays have great contrast (awesome outdoors and under the glaring sun) but can offer a bit too much color saturation that feels unnatural. But the OPPO F1 Plus seems to have tamed that tendency for over the top colors. This is something photographers will like, as some of them suspect AMOLED smartphone displays of overdoing the colors (you know, when greens, blues, reds, and oranges pop out too much). Not so with the OPPO F1 Plus.
A snappy performance you deserve
This phone is pretty, but does it perform? The 4GB RAM and Octa-Core processor offer a smooth, fluid experience for everyday usage – browsing, gaming, social media, etc. – and I suspect even at times of abuse. You may not need to routinely kill apps running in the background, just to get some snappiness back. But you can if you want to.
Fast charging that saves time
With the VOOC Fast Charge feature, you only need 30 minutes of charging to get the OPPO F1 Plus to get 75% capacity. In an emergency when you need to call someone, you can charge for 5 minutes and talk for two hours. Lastly, the OPPO F1 Plus can last up 14 hours of constant usage. That’s longer than your work shift.
Fast and secure fingerprint sensor
Front-facing fingerprint sensor is really fast (0.2 seconds). The phone unlocks as soon as you land your finger on the sensor.
Very clean and intuitive UI
ColorOS 3.0 based on Android 5.1 Lollipop is one of the cleanest, most fluid, and intuitive UIs I’ve ever seen. It’s not just the spacing of the icons, but the typography, the transition animations, and the menus that don’t make you feel you’re digging through a Windows XP folder for something you need.
The OPPO F1 Plus is a welcome addition to your wish list of gadgets (or gifts) as it offers a balance of awesome features – 4GB RAM, awesome selfie camera, fast charging, fingerprint sensor, AMOLED display, compact design, premium metallic finish. These features are usually found in flagship devices which sell at (of course) flagship prices, and yet the F1 Plus only has an upper midrange price.
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