Smart Android And Trik-Commenting on Andorid indeed never endless, because smart devices this one is often updated every certain amount of time. So that the market can always be garapnya menerinya with pleasure. And it is not denied if this device has become the lifestyle of each society. To not wonder if the 6th business information and many are turning to mobail smartphone. With Android which thoroughly dominated the mobile industry, choosing the best Android smartphone is almost identical to choose the best smartphone, period. But while Android phones have few real opponents on other platforms, internal competition is intense.
Introduction
Selfies are an inevitable part of our lives and they have prevailed over the skeptics into a bright, if not predominant future. Oppo was among the first makers to helm the niche with the Selfie Expert F series. And now the company is the first ever to offer a stunning 25MP selfie camera with the new Oppo F7.
But the Oppo F7 is not all about selfies, it also tries to keep up with every new trend, pretty successfully at that. Notched screen - check. Catchy paint jobs - check. Bright aperture on the main 16MP camera - check.
Just like the R15, the F7 employs the Helio P60 chip, which we already saw in action and left us with nothing but positive impressions. But the F7 is not as flashy as its R sibling - it's made of plastic, it lacks a dual-camera setup, and the blazing-fast VOOC charging is missing too.
Then again, the Oppo F7 wasn't meant to be a top-tier device, but an all-rounder priced quite attractively. And it sure looks like Oppo did a fine job of picking the R15's essence and putting it to work cost-effectively on the F7.
Oppo F7 specs
- Body: Plastic back and frame, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 front
- Display: 6.23-inch IPS LCD, 1080x2280px, 405ppi
- OS: Android 8.1 Oreo with ColorOS 5.0 on top
- Chipset: Mediatek Helio P60, 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A53, octa-core CPU, Mali-G72 MP3 GPU, 4 or 6 GB RAM
- Storage: 64 or 128 GB internal with microSD hybrid (SIM2) expansion slot
- Rear Camera: 16MP, f/1.8, PDAF, LED flash
- Video recording: 1080p@30 fps;
- Front Camera: 25MP, f/2.0, 1080p video recording
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, Dual 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, A-GPS/GLONASS, FM radio, microUSB 2.0
- Battery: 3,400mAh non-removable, Regular Charge 5V/2A
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (rear-mounted)
The only letdown is probably the plastic body, not that it's bad, but because even the cheapest of the Redmi phone is now made of metal. The eye-catching paint jobs will make up for that, and the price for sure, too.
Now, let's pop that Oppo F7 out of the box and see what's inside.
Unboxing the Oppo F7
Oppo never disappoints with its retail bundles and the F7's is no different. The Selfie Expert comes packed in a regular box containing a 10W wall plug, a microUSB cable, and an EarPods-like headset. There is also a transparent rubber case for some extra protection.
The Oppo F7 might come with a pre-applied screen protector, which is one extra step over the already durable Gorilla Glass 5 screen glass it has. Still, we appreciate the effort and we know many people will do, too.
Design
The cat is out of the bag - the Oppo F7 is made of plastic - a rarity even among the entry-level devices. But if it's a well-done job - we won't mind at all.
Looks can be deceiving, as the Oppo F7 looks a lot like the R15, but that was probably intentional. If we compare both smartphones, it's like the only difference is the lack of a second camera on the back.
Oppo R15 Pro (left) next to the Oppo F7 (right)
It's more than that, of course. The R15 is made of glass and aluminum, while the F7 is all plastic. Well, except for the Gorilla Glass 5 keeping the screen safe, that is. Oppo's choice for the glossy finish is understandable, as the F7 looks a lot like the R15, but glossy plastics means fingerprints and smudges all over the place.
Luckily, Oppo did some trick with the paint, as it looks like it's beneath the glass, excuse us, the plastic. And thus, it takes some time to really figure out the F7's choice of materials. Obviously, Oppo didn't want to lose the good looks and worked for them until the F7 was convincing enough. And, well, it is.
The F7 is a looker, surely helped by the Solar Red, Diamond Black, and Moonlight Silver color options. Those three are all vivid and showy, and very easily likable.
The back is all flat, except for the minor camera hump. And a closer look at that red will reveal some tiny dotted pattern, which makes it look even more stunning.
But no matter how catchy the F7's rear looks, the real story opener lies elsewhere. The 6.23" LCD screen occupies almost the entire front, except for that top cutout where the 25MP selfie cam and the earpiece are. Yes, the infamous notch has made it to the mid-range.
Well, as Oppo's PRs said at one of the events - they listen to the fans and just fulfill their wishes. And those people want those gigantic screens with notches, so we can't really argue against that. Okay, we can, but not much we can do besides that. Like it or not, the notch trend is on.
The F7 is exactly as large and thin as the Oppo F5, also made of plastic. The F7 weighs 158g, just 6g on top of the F5.
The F7 increased the screen area by trimming the bezels and that's how it could be as big as its predecessor.
Oppo F5 and Oppo F7 (in red)
A peek over the back reveals that the F7 and F5 are a lot alike, although the F5 was curvier around the sides. The antenna lines are gone now, probably completely hidden behind that flashy red back.
Oppo F5 and Oppo F7 (in red)
The Oppo F7 has everything a phone should have these days, the analogue audio jack included. The SIM slot is not hybrid - it's a rather big triple-frame that can house two nanoSIMs and a microSD card at the same time. Nice!
Oppo F7
The Oppo F7 is very easy to handle and operate, but slippery as it looks. It's not made of glass, which means the plastic would provide a somewhat more secure grip, but probably nowhere near enough for most of its users. That's why they would really appreciate the thoughtful inclusion of that transparent case in the retail box.
Oppo F7
Display
The Oppo F7, just like the R15 and R15 Pro, packs a notched 6.23" screen of 2,280 x 1,080 pixels (that's 405 ppi). This is yet another unusual screen aspect ratio, this time of 19:9, and let's hope it won't break many apps.
The screen has a piece of Gorilla Glass 5 to guard against scratches. The F7 also comes with a factory-applied screen protector out of the box.
Oppo R15 (left) and Oppo F7 (right)
In our display test, the F7 managed about 450 nits of maximum brightness - not the best we've seen - but bright enough for a decent job. Then the black levels we measured are one of the darkest we've seen on an LCD screen. Thanks to those deep blacks, the F7 scored one of the highest contrast ratios we've calculated for such type of display - 2000:1. Impressive job, indeed!
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.228 | 446 | 1956 | |
| 0.192 | 422 | 2198 | |
| 0.214 | 462 | 2159 | |
| 0 | 410 | ∞ | |
| 0.548 | 555 | 1013 | |
| 0.257 | 476 | 1852 | |
| 0.297 | 431 | 1451 | |
| 0.367 | 469 | 1278 | |
| 0.254 | 432 | 1701 | |
| 0.351 | 551 | 1570 | |
In our sunlight test, the Oppo F7 demonstrated above average contrast for a phone with an LCD panel, and scores on par with the Honor 9, Oppo R7 and R9s. You should be fine with the F7 in the bright sunny days, but only when using the maximum brightness.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Apple iPhone X
5.013 - OnePlus 5T
4.789 - Samsung Galaxy S8
4.768 - Samsung Galaxy S8+
4.658 - Samsung Galaxy S9
4.63 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
4.537 - Motorola Moto Z2 Play
4.459 - Oppo R11
4.454 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - OnePlus 3
4.424 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - HTC One A9
4.274 - Oppo R15 Pro
4.251 - Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247 - Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241 - Nokia 8
4.239 - Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)
4.234 - OnePlus 3T
4.232 - Google Pixel XL
4.164 - ZTE Axon 7
4.154 - Samsung Galaxy Note8
4.148 - Meizu Pro 7 Plus
4.147 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4.124 - Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
4.096 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei P20 Pro
4.087 - Nokia 6 (2018)
4.052 - Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)
4.023 - LG V30
4.022 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3.998 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983 - Apple iPhone 7
3.964 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
3.957 - Huawei P9 Plus
3.956 - Meizu Pro 6 Plus
3.935 - Lenovo Moto Z
3.931 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - OnePlus 5
3.914 - Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911 - Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
3.842 - Sony Xperia XZs
3.818 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
3.812 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
3.804 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798 - LG V20 Max auto
3.798 - Sony Xperia XZ
3.795 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Xiaomi Mi 6
3.767 - Sony Xperia XZ1
3.765 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
3.729 - Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
3.725 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
3.688 - Huawei P20
3.683 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Huawei Mate 9
3.68 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
3.675 - Meizu PRO 6
3.659 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3.597 - Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588 - Sony Xperia XZ2
3.58 - LG G6
3.556 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Motorola Moto Z Play
3.526 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523 - Acer Jade Primo
3.521 - Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - Nokia 7 plus
3.479 - nubia Z11
3.466 - Huawei P10 Plus
3.456 - HTC U Ultra
3.453 - Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
3.445 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Meizu MX5
3.416 - LG V20
3.402 - Huawei P10
3.379 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
3.378 - Oppo R9s
3.352 - Honor 8 Pro
3.341 - Oppo F7
3.333 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Lenovo P2
3.316 - Archos Diamond Omega
3.305 - Honor 9
3.289 - Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276 - Nokia 5
3.261 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
3.244 - Nokia 6 (Global version)
3.238 - Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Xiaomi Mi Note 2
3.228 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Oppo F3 Plus
3.218 - Huawei Mate 9 Pro
3.206 - Huawei P9
3.195 - Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
3.19 - ZTE Nubia Z17
3.159 - Oppo R11s
3.153 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - HTC U11 Life
3.108 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nexus 5X
3.092 - HTC U11
3.089 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023 - Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL
3.019 - Sony Xperia XA1
3.012 - Motorola Moto X4
3.012 - Sony Xperia L1
2.994 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - LG Q6
2.987 - Huawei P10 Lite
2.974 - Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 - Xiaomi Redmi 5
2.951 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Sony Xperia XA2
2.938 - Xiaomi Redmi 4
2.92 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
2.913 - Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906 - LG G5
2.905 - HTC One S
2.901 - Huawei Honor View 10
2.896 - Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
2.893 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2.884 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium
2.877 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
2.877 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Nokia 3
2.871 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Lenovo Moto M
2.813 - Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803 - Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784 - Nokia 2
2.752 - Meizu MX6
2.751 - LG V10
2.744 - Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
2.742 - Motorola Moto G5S Plus
2.737 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Huawei Honor 7X
2.734 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
2.714 - Meizu M5
2.71 - Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Xiaomi Mi A1
2.689 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - vivo V7+
2.671 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.654 - Oppo F5
2.653 - Doogee Mix
2.642 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
2.635 - Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
2.616 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
2.582 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus
2.582 - Meizu M5s
2.58 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
2.563 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Huawei P Smart
2.563 - Xiaomi Mi Max 2
2.561 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
2.556 - HTC U11+
2.556 - Motorola Moto G 4G
2.546 - Lenovo K6 Note
2.544 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - BlackBerry Motion
2.494 - Oppo F1s
2.481 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G8
2.471 - Huawei nova
2.467 - Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459 - Meizu m3 max
2.447 - Xiaomi Mi 4
2.424 - Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
2.417 - HTC 10 evo
2.407 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - Vivo V7
2.404 - Sony Xperia E5
2.386 - ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - HTC 10
2.378 - Oppo F3
2.376 - vivo V5 Plus
2.371 - Meizu m1 note
2.362 - Huawei nova plus
2.329 - Razer Phone
2.328 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Sony Xperia L2
2.266 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - HTC U11+ (EU)
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - LG Nexus 5
2.228 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Meizu M5 Note
2.189 - Huawei Honor 6
2.169 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
2.145 - LG Aka
2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Xiaomi Mi 4S
2.095 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - vivo V5
2.059 - Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi 3
2.001 - Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996 - Sony Xperia E4g
1.972 - OnePlus One
1.961 - Sony Xperia Z2
1.944 - Meizu m3 note
1.923 - Meizu m2 note
1.892 - BlackBerry Leap
1.892 - HTC Butterfly
1.873 - ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759 - Sony Xperia U
1.758 - Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68 - Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675 - ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659 - Jolla Jolla
1.605 - Motorola Moto E
1.545 - Sony Xperia M
1.473 - Sony Xperia L
1.351 - Xiaomi Redmi 2
1.311 - HTC Desire C
1.3 - Nokia X
1.291 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
We also measured the color accuracy of the F7 display. The average DeltaE is 5.8 with the maximum deviation of 9.6 being at point white. There is a noticeable blue tint on some of the colors, including white, but you can use the Warm Color temperature option from Settings to lower the blue impact.
Battery life
The Oppo F7 is powered by a 3,400mAh battery (Li-Po) sealed inside its body. The F7 lacks support for the fast 20W VOOC charging standard - the best it can do is 10W. In our tests, it reached a 28% charge (from flat) in half an hour, and a full charge - in about two and a half hours.
ColorOS features a few power saving modes that are enabled by default, so you may notice how the phone often intervenes by killing background apps for you - perhaps way too often. If that causes issues, you can exempt specific apps from this behavior. We found it too aggressive to our taste and had to go and white-list a few apps manually (a minor note: we wish we had a way to do this from the app switcher, instead of having to go into the settings).
The Oppo F7 posted an overall great battery score of 91 hours in our standardized test - exactly the same as the Oppo F5. The video playback and call endurance is the same, while the web test returned lower score probably due to the new screen.
The Helio P60 chipset (and modem) turned out more efficient in standby consumption than the Helio P20 in the Oppo F5 and the Snapdragon 660 in the Oppo R15 Pro.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Oppo F7 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Loudspeaker
The Oppo F7 has a single bottom-firing loudspeaker and scored a Very Good mark with its single loudspeaker, an improvement over the F5. It's a bit quiet in the vocal range, but it performs great for music and the sound output is rich and clean most of the time.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing |
Overall score | |
| 63.5 | 70.8 | 71.5 | Average | |
| 66.1 | 68.4 | 82.1 | Good | |
| 67.5 | 71.3 | 79.7 | Good | |
| 67.2 | 71.1 | 80.7 | Good | |
| 69.7 | 73.5 | 76.6 | Very Good | |
| 67.8 | 71.0 | 84.5 | Very Good | |
| 67.1 | 74.0 | 85.3 | Very Good | |
| 68.0 | 73.8 | 84.8 | Very Good | |
| 71.1 | 72.7 | 87.7 | Excellent |
Audio quality
Oppo F7 did flawlessly when hooked to an active external amplifier - it delivered very loud output that was perfectly accurate too. There’s really little else we could want here.
Plugging in a pair of headphones delivered a blow to volume levels, which sunk to average levels. Some intermodulation distortion and a moderate amount of stereo crosstalk crept in too, so the performance is not quite as impressive here. Still, it’s a solid job for a mid-range and one most people will be perfectly happy with.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.01, -0.10 | -92.5 | 92.7 | 0.0019 | 0.0077 | -91.2 | |
| +0.50, -0.20 | -91.4 | 91.8 | 0.0079 | 0.402 | -51.5 | |
| +0.10, -0.20 | -37.5 | 80.4 | 0.0018 | 4.735 | -93.3 | |
| +0.05, -0.03 | -94.3 | 90.2 | 0.0027 | 0.019 | -58.6 | |
Oppo F7 frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Colorful Oreo
The Oppo F7, just like the R15, runs on ColorOS 5, based on Android 8.1 Oreo. The new v5.0 launcher introduces an enhanced AI engine with real-time translation, faster Face Unlock, new navigation gestures, better gallery, split-screen multi-tasking. There are also new app shortcuts (long tap), redesigned icons and themes, improved call history, new security features including safe, and better gaming mode with WeChat integration.
ColorOS customizations run deep, making it far off from the standard Google-developed mobile experience. Units sold outside of China still come with the full Google suite, which has resulted in having a few apps with similar functionality - one by Oppo, and another one by Google.
ColorOS isn't that bloated, but it's not "pure Android" either. It comes pre-loaded with social networking apps, a document editor, and few minor-footprint apps.
The so-called AI builds on-device user behavior models for faster app startups and better resource management. It also uses this behavior to show relevant information on the left-most homescreen pane - calendar appointments, quick shortcuts, weather, world clock, package tracking, flight info, among others. You can configure those, or just leave them to the "AI".
The user interface is very familiar. There's no app drawer on the default launcher. Instead, every app you install gets dumped onto the homescreen.
The Lockscreen features a continually changing slideshow of images. You can subscribe to several different channels (e.g., photos of nature or cars or others) or provide your own imagery.
Lock and home screens
The fingerprint sensor is always-on, and it's fast and accurate. You can also set up face unlock in addition to fingerprint security - it's equally fast as the F7 wakes up the moment you pick it up.
The face recognition is indeed blazing fast, faster than on the iPhone X. It relies on 120 recognition points and supposedly can't be fooled by a picture. Surely, this implementation is not as secure as Apple's Face ID, but it's there, and it's user-friendly.
The wallpaper on the homescreen doesn't change as the lockscreen wallpaper does, but you can still spruce up the place with Themes. The Theme Store features whole themes and just wallpapers, sorted into categories (including free and paid ones). Themes change the icon pack, the lockscreen wallpaper, and even the system font.
Themes
The notification shade features notifications, quick toggles, and a brightness scrubber.
Notifications • Toggles • Task Switcher • Split screen
One of the most notable additions to Oppo's custom ROM has to be the Full-Screen Gesture model. Bigger display and diminishing bezels and chins tend to pose some ergonomic concerns beyond a certain point. Oppo's current design might not be exactly there yet, but the company is already trying its best to prepare for that.
When enabled, Full-Screen Gesture navigation positions three small lines at the bottom of the UI. Swiping up from the middle one acts like a home button but if you stop the gestures mid-way - you'll summon the task switcher (like on the iPhone X). Swiping on the left or right ones acts as Back. You can change one of those to open the recent apps manager if you like.
You can hide those lines since they are only visual aids. If you don't like these controls, there is a standard Android navigation bar to fall back to as well.
Navigation settings
Clone apps and file safe functions are on board, as well as real-time translation thanks to an improved voice assistant.
There is a Phone Manager quite similar to what Huawei and Xiaomi have on their phones under the same name. It handles memory cleaner functions, app permissions and encryption, and virus scan, among other things.
Phone Manager • Game Settings • Gallery • Videos • Files
An improved Game Center allows you to handpick which notifications to pass through when you are playing with friends. It now supports WeChat Voice integration, so no more switching to WeChat if you get a call.
Benchmark and performance
The Oppo F7 employs the same chipset powering the R15 flagship - the Helio P60. The MediaTek's P60 packs an octa-core processor of 4x Cortex-A73 @2.0GHz and 4x Cortex-A53 @2.0GHz. The presence of A73 cores should seriously boost the Android's day-to-day operations.
There is a tri-core Mali-G72 GPU to handle graphics. It's not the best in the mid-range class, but we've seen it perform great under pressure, so it should be up to the task.
Finally, the Oppo F7 comes with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, depending on the storage option you get.
The Snapdragon 660 is known to have the most powerful processor in the mid-range and, luckily, the Helio P60 features a similarly powerful configuration. So, no matter if it's a single or a multi-core task, the Oppo F7 and its P60 CPU are among the best performers in the midrange.
GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Nokia 7 plus
1634 - Oppo R15 Pro
1612 - Oppo F7
1531 - Oppo R15
1520 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
913 - Nokia 6 (2018)
882 - Xiaomi Mi A1
877 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
874 - Motorola Moto X4
866 - Sony Xperia XA2
865
GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Oppo F7
5901 - Nokia 7 plus
5893 - Oppo R15 Pro
5809 - Oppo R15
5806 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
4309 - Xiaomi Mi A1
4292 - Nokia 6 (2018)
4225 - Sony Xperia XA2
4215 - Motorola Moto X4
4136 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
3603
The tri-core Mali-G72 delivers great performance on the 1080p display of the Oppo F7. While it oddly lags in the compound tests such as BaseMark X, the GFX separate routines put it on par with the Adreno 512 inside the S660 chip.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Nokia 7 plus
23 - Oppo R15 Pro
22 - Oppo F7
20 - Nokia 6 (2018)
14 - Sony Xperia XA2
14 - Motorola Moto X4
14 - Oppo F5
11 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
9.9 - Xiaomi Mi A1
9.8 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
8.1
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Oppo R15 Pro
15 - Nokia 7 plus
15 - Oppo F7
12 - Nokia 6 (2018)
9.9 - Motorola Moto X4
9.8 - Sony Xperia XA2
9.6 - Oppo F5
7.1 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
6.5 - Xiaomi Mi A1
6.4 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
4.8
GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Nokia 7 plus
9.1 - Oppo R15 Pro
9 - Oppo F7
7.5 - Nokia 6 (2018)
5.6 - Sony Xperia XA2
5.5 - Motorola Moto X4
5.3 - Oppo F5
4.2 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
3.5 - Xiaomi Mi A1
3.5 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.9
Basemark X
Higher is better
- Nokia 7 plus
21063 - Oppo R15 Pro
20693 - Motorola Moto X4
14479 - Nokia 6 (2018)
14365 - Sony Xperia XA2
14312 - Oppo R15
11993 - Oppo F7
11873 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
10484 - Xiaomi Mi A1
10472 - Oppo F5
9205 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
8721
Running the compound tests such as AnTuTu and BaseMark we got yet another proof for the great skills of the Helio P60.
AnTuTu 7
Higher is better
- Oppo R15 Pro
146526 - Nokia 7 plus
140820 - Oppo R15
140161 - Oppo F7
139414 - Nokia 6 (2018)
90918
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
- Oppo R15 Pro
2438 - Nokia 7 plus
2376 - Oppo R15
1985 - Oppo F7
1953 - Sony Xperia XA2
1545 - Motorola Moto X4
1532 - Nokia 6 (2018)
1517 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
1408 - Xiaomi Mi A1
1262 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
1226 - Oppo F5
424
The benchmarks easily show the Helio P60 isn't lacking in performance. It has a great processor and very balanced graphics, which is what a mid-ranger should be all about. We ran all kinds of games and we spotted no issues whatsoever with lag or graphics. Hiccups might occur here and there, but we can't tell if those were bottlenecks or app issues.
The Android OS runs blazing fast, smoother than on some recent flagships we've tested. This is both chipset and software optimizations related, but it's another job well done.
Finally, the F7 always runs cool, even under peak performance. There were no signs of throttling as a result of that, which is nice.
New selfie snapper, old main gear
The Oppo F7 is touted as a great selfie master, but it can do regular pictures quite well, too. And while the F7 has that impressive 25MP to show off, its main snapper remains unchanged since the F5.
The lack of change isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. The camera on the back employs a 16MP sensor with bright f/1.8 lens. There is a single-LED flash and phase-detection autofocus is available.
The camera app got the so-called AI-boost, which is a fancy name for scene recognition. You'll see a small icon when a scene is successfully recognized, and the software will tweak all settings accordingly. Food, snow, pets (dogs and cats), sunsets, grass, among other scenes, are caught mostly correctly.
The interface of the camera app has borrowed a lot from the iOS app, of course. Most settings are on the left (or top, depending on the orientation), while different modes are selected on the right next to the shutter key. Strangely, the left-hand side also has a few additional modes that didn't find a spot in the carousel on the right.
The app offers two trendy modes - 2x telephoto zoom and blurred background. Those have dedicated shortcuts on the viewfinder, but you can imagine they are both simulated as there is no secondary snapper to help. The telephoto zoom is basic digital zoom, but the blurred background works rather well for not-so-complicated subjects.
There are a few settings, including location tagging and guidelines, separated out in their own menu in the phone's settings. There is a total lack of any clear resolution control for stills. All you get is a choice of aspects, between the standard 4:3 one, 1:1 and 16:9. It's not clear which aspect ratio is native to the sensor, and how choosing any of the other affects the resolution of the images.
The camera app
Expert mode is available for those seeking more manual controls. It comes with a handy horizon level and can change most settings on the primary camera (this mode doesn't work with the selfie cam). The shutter speed control lacks fine adjustment, good mostly for very low-light shooting - it starts at 1s and increments at full stops to a maximum of 16s. Manual focus adjustment is present as well.
Selfies and stickers
Image Quality
The regular samples turned out good with enough resolved detail, excellent contrast, and accurate colors. The dynamic range is about average - there are clipped highlights here and there, but nothing that the Auto HDR can't fix. The pictures are noisy though, and the foliage is more often smudgy rather than not.
Those are not among the best samples we've pixel-peeped but are about what we'd expect for the class.
Oppo F7 16MP samples
The 2x pictures are just cropped and then digitally upscaled to 16MP, and you can tell right away.
Oppo F7 2x telephoto samples
As we said, the Auto HDR mode is pretty good at catching the contrasty scenes and will fix those blown highlights for you at the expense of a minor decrease in contrast.
HDR off • HDR on • HDR off • HDR on
While the F7 has a bright aperture that should help the pictures at night, the lack of stabilization is getting in the way big time. Most of the low-light samples we took with the F7 came blurry, noisy, and the resolved detail - rock-bottom low.
Oppo F7 16MP low-light samples
If you have a tripod or you can stabilize the F7, then you can snap pictures like these using the manual mode.
Long-exposure low-light samples
Feel free to pixel peep in our Photo compare tool - we've pre-selected a couple of phones we found relevant, but those can easily be replaced in the drop-down menus.
Oppo F7 against the Oppo F5 and the vivo v7+ in our Photo compare tool
Panorama
The 180-degree panoramic images are flagship-worthy. The maximum height is 3,200px. There is plenty of detail, excellent colors, and contrast, the exposure is even, the dynamic range is rather good.
Oppo F7 panorama
Blurred Background
The F7 has just one camera on its back, but it can simulate blurred background for some portrait shots. Unfortunately, the samples are nothing to talk about, and what's worse - the front camera does a better job of blurring the background than the main one.
Blurred background samples
Selfies
Oppo phones usually deserve their self-proclaimed Selfie Expert tag and come with an impressive snapper at the front. The F7 features the first-ever 25MP selfie cam. It doesn't have autofocus, which isn't an issue in and of itself - it's just that the focus plane is all too close to the phone.
The Oppo F7 offers company's new 3-HDR tech for the selfie camera. It's a combination of tricks that results into better HDR selfies with the HDR effect applied in real-time and visible on the viewfinder. You can turn that off if you like (disable the HDR Auto), but we'd recommend leaving it on - it does a nice job.
3-HDR • HDR off • 3-HDR • HDR off
Despite the high resolution, the resolved detail is not awful lot and if you don't hit the sweet spot of the fixed focus, you'd get slightly blurred images. The colors and contrast are great, though. And whatever the shortcomings, those pictures would look perfect once downsampled to any other size thanks to the impressive 25MP resolution.
Oppo F7 25MP selfie samples
The F7 may lack a secondary selfie sensor for the bokeh shots (those are saved in 8MP), but it still does a good job in detecting and separating the person from the background. Sure, you can notice the processing tries to mask the borders with some forced blur, but sometimes this improves the effect instead of hurting it.
We wouldn't recommend using this mode unless really necessary, but it does what it's supposed to do.
Oppo F7 25MP selfies samples with blurred background
Finally, there are lots of stickers available to apply to your selfies. The sticker-enabled selfies are also captured at 5MP.
Sticker selfies
Video recording
The Oppo F7 records videos in 1080p and 720p at 30fps. There is no digital stabilization available on any resolution. Unfortunately, there is no option for 4K video capture.
The standard 1080p/30fps mode is encoded at about 17Mbps. Audio is recorded in mono at 128Kbps - far from impressive.
The resolved detail is enough, but not impressive, as are the dynamic range and contrast. The audio quality is above average, even though it's mono.
The Oppo F7 has a 2x telephoto switch for videos, too, and it captures those with the same quality as the regular ones. The sensor is big enough to allow for lossless zoom in the 1080p videos.
Finally, here is a short video we took with the selfie camera.
As usual, we've provided unedited samples straight out of the camera for you to download - 1080p@30fps (10s, 21.5MB), and 1080@30fps telephoto (11s, 24.5MB).
You can also head over to our Video compare tool and see how the Oppo F7 stacks up against the competition.
Oppo F7 against the Oppo F5 and the vivo V7+ in our Video compare tool
The Competition
The Oppo F7's primary target is a market dominated by Xiaomi. And while the F5 costs about twice as much as the Redmi 5 Plus (also known as Redmi Note 5 in India), it has a few tricks in its sleeve.
Take the big notched screen for example. Or the powerful Helio P60 chipset with a flagship-grade processor. There is the superior 25MP selfie camera, too. Yes, if you are on the budget - the Redmi will do. But if you want more premium experience with trendy features, then it should be the Oppo.
The Huawei's most recent P20 Lite has a similar screen and equally attractive design. It's inferior in performance, but superior when it comes to portrait shots thanks to the dual-camera setup on the back. The selfie camera seems great, but not as great as the F7's though. It costs the same as F7 but seems to offer less for the most part.
Nokia 6.1 isn't about trends, but experience. It's one very-well built aluminum smartphone, with good screen and chipset. While inferior in pretty much every aspect - screen, performance, camera, the Nokia has pure Android OS for being part of Android One program and can do 4K video recording. Oh, and it's a lot cheaper.
The Moto X4 is also an Android One smartphone priced the same as the F7. It has a smaller screen and inferior chipset, but it makes up for those in camera skills. The dual-cam on the back has superior sensors, wide-angle lens, native bokeh shots, 4K video recording, among others. The selfies may be just 16MP but there is a dedicated LED flash to help in the dark. So if camera experience is all that matters, the Moto X4 will serve you better than the Oppo F7.
Finally, there is the Xiaomi Mi A2, which is still sold in extremely limited quantities but seems to be worth the wait. It has a tall and notch-free 6" screen, Snapdragon 660 chipset, and a premium dual-camera with regular and telephoto lens. The front snapper is 20MP with bright f/1.8 aperture. The Mi A2 is made of metal, but the rest of the specs are more Oppo R15 Pro, rather than F7. Yet, it's cheaper than the F7. How about that?
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (Redmi 5 Plus) • Huawei P20 lite • Nokia 6 (2018) • Motorola Moto X4 • Xiaomi Mi A2
The Verdict
The Oppo F7 is a great looking and powerful smartphone. It has the trendy notched screen, catchy colors, powerful chip, and even a large battery. It's a great all-around package, and it's priced reasonably. There are a few shortocmings, yes, but every mid-ranger has these.
Pros
- Dual-SIM phone with standalone microSD slot
- Notched, almost bezel-less screen
- Powerful Helio P60 with blazing-fast CPU performance
- Great battery life
- Loss-less 2x zoom in videos
- Enjoyable 25MP selfies
Cons
- Made of plastic
- Main camera: okay daylight, disappointing low-light shots
- No VOOC fast charging
We can forgive the lack of fast charging, and we can probably live with the plastic body. But we've seen better camera performance from similar Oppo snappers and we just expected more from the main 16MP snapper. It has the sensor, the lens, and even the AI to back it up, but the samples didn't live to some of our expectations. Yet, the F7 will make up for that with great selfies shots, and that was its job in the first place, wasn't it?
So, the Oppo F7 doesn't really excel in anything but selfie resolution. And yet it's not disappointing either. It has what it takes to be a successful mid-ranger and is priced accordingly. If you like it, you should go for it - it's that simple.
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