In 2013, Oxford Dictionaries declared “selfie” the word of the year. Back then the dictionary’s ‘example’ for the word was also interesting: occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself every day isn’t necessary. Clearly, much has changed in half a decade. OPPO made its India debut around the same time when selfie officially became a word and its N1 with a revolving camera rode heavily on its selfie credentials. Almost ever since, the device’s flagship devices have stayed focused on their front camera proclaiming to be selfie experts. OPPO’s 2018 flagship—the F7, joins this bandwagon.
First things first. The F7 takes the selfie cam to a new zone becoming the first device with a 25-megapixel front shooter. The device is equipped with a Sony 576 HDR sensor and an AI engine. The Artificial Intelligence features complement the capable sensor and offer a host of selfie tweaks. For instance, it can scan 296 facial recognition points for the perfect selfie. You can slim your face, add AR stickers to enhance your selfies. The device’s AI engine tracks your beautification preferences based on edits you make to images you store in your photo gallery. It learns from those edits and then applies those learnings by ‘auto editing’ new images you snap with the device.
We were impressed with the selfies the 25MP front camera captured. The Vivid mode, which blurs only the background, is a cool touch and so is the cam’s ability to apply different beautification filters to multiple people in the same frame. If the front camera was your biggest purchase driver for a smartphone, the F7 certainly won’t disappoint you. But if you’re more than just a selfie fiend, read on.
The F7’s other standout feature is its gorgeous 6.23-inch FHD+ display (1080 x 2280 pixels). OPPO refers to this as a ‘Super Full Screen’ and it takes the screen: body ratio close to 90 per cent. Its truly immersive with a 19:9 aspect ratio. The phone features the same ‘notch’ you might love or hate from the Apple iPhone X. This tiny piece of bezel at the top of the display is a feature we are seeing on quite a few flagship devices in 2018. We prefer a display sans the notch but OPPO has used the space effectively and offers a few screen shortcut options that also include a handy ‘do not disturb’ button; you can enjoy your favourite videos without any interruptions. The speaker on the F7 can certainly hold its own in this price segment and yes, there is a 3.5-mm headphone slot.
There’s a choice of three colours, the device’s aluminium chassis looks premium. We particularly like the F7’s Diamond Black colour option with its striking edgy triangular-cut patterns. But all three colour options with their glossy finish leave fingerprints. In terms of hardware, the device is powered by a Mediatek Helios octa-core processor. There are two versions—4GB of RAM/ 64GB ROM and 6GB/ 128GB ROM. Both versions offer support for Micro SD cards up to 256GB. At a time when many devices have opted for a hybrid slot, the F7 has a dedicated Micro SD slot in addition to slots for two SIM cards. We tested the version with 4GB RAM, it handled multi-tasking quite effortlessly. We had no complaints with the 3400 mAh battery, it lasted a full day with everyday tasks and camera usage. The F7 oddly opts for a Micro USB charging port at a time when type-C is becoming the gold standard for Android devices.
OPPO has bundled this device with the newest iteration—Color OS 5.0, of its custom UI. It offers quite a few customisation options, including a bunch of themes, but it does mask the Android Oreo (8.0) experience. OPPO F7 delivers on its headline feature—the selfie cam, it’s something the brand’s legion of fans will dig. It also augments this with a bunch of other feel-good elements like a bezel-less display, a primary cam (16MP) that shoots pleasing Portrait mode images and a refined build. It’s easily one of the best selfie cams we’ve used but if you’re looking for more than just a front cam there are other options to consider in this price band.
The OPPO F7 comes in two versions—the 4GB RAM (64GB of ROM) version costs Rs 21,990, while the 8GB RAM (128GB of ROM) version is priced at Rs 26,990. The device debuts with an offline and online flash sale on April 2.