Oppo F15: The Good, The Bad, And The X Factor

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The mid-range smartphone segment has started getting new offerings right from the beginning of this year. Just two days ago, Honor unveiled its first pop-up selfie camera smartphone dubbed Honor 9X in India. Now, Oppo has also unveiled its new offering called the F15.

 

Oppo F15 First Impressions

It is packed with features like a 48MP quad-camera setup, a tall FHD+ AMOLED display, and a VOOC Flash Charge supported battery. And with a price tag of Rs. 19,990 it comes as a rival to the Realme X2 and the Redmi Note 8 Pro. It is announced in Unicorn White and Lightning Black colors and in a single 8GB RAM configuration.

The device has gone up for pre-orders starting today and will hit the shelves on January 24 at both the online and offline market. We got to try our hands on the new device, and here's what we feel is the good, the bad, and the X factor of the smartphone.

Oppo F15: The Good
 

Oppo F15: The Good

Premium Look And Feel

The Oppo F15 we received is the Unicorn White color variant. The rear panel is glossy like most of the handsets in the market in the market nowadays and reflects patterns with light rays falling on it. This makes the device look appealing.

Besides, the sleek and lightweight form factor gives a premium feel to hold. The ports and keys are also neatly placed making it easier to access them at any given point of time.

You get the power key on the left, while the right edge has the volume rockers. This saves you from locking the device accidentally while adjusting volume which is the case with most of the smartphones.

The smartphone has a polycarbonate back with metallic framing on the sides. This is another factor adding to the appeal of the device. The quad-camera module with a protruding design is placed vertically on the top left corner.

At the bottom, there is a USB Type-C port sandwiched between the speaker grille and the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Tall High-Resolution Display

Tall High-Resolution Display

Complementing the premium looking design is a 6.3-inch AMOLED display with 1080 x 2400 pixels FHD+ resolution. It has a tall 20:9 aspect ratio and offers a 90.7 percent screen-to-body ratio. The bezels are ultra-narrow on the sides but slightly thick at the chin.

Also, Oppo has stuck to a waterdrop notch design while the majority of manufacturers are moving towards a punch-hole or pop-up module to eliminate the notch. But, the notch isn't too big and shouldn't hamper the viewing experience.

The brightness levels seem sufficient, but we still need to test the sunlight legibility. The display has Widevine L1 support which will allow it to play 1080p videos on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime videos.

In our brief testing, we found the display to deliver crisp and vivid output. You also get features like Night Shield pre-installed which protects your eyes from harmful blue-ray emissions in low-light situations. We still need to test it to its full potential and will be sharing our feedback on the same in the comprehensive review of this handset.

Capable Processor

Capable Processor

The smartphone draws its power from an octa-core MediaTek Helio P70 chipset. This is a mid-range chipset used by some popular smartphones like the Vivo V15, Oppo Reno 2F, and also the Oppo F11 Pro.

The processor is accompanied by 8GB RAM and 128GB expandable storage. Notably, the device ships with some game-optimizing features like the Game Mode 2.0, game-voice changer, and in-gaming noise cancellation.

The hardware seems sufficient to render high-end games like PUBG, Asphalt 9, and Fortnite. We expect minimum frame drops or lags while playing these graphic-intensive games. But, will share the feedback only after thorough testing.

In-Display Fingerprint Scanner And Dedicated MicroSD Card Support

In-Display Fingerprint Scanner And Dedicated MicroSD Card Support

The Oppo F15 is equipped with an in-display fingerprint scanner that comes as a biometric authentication measure. The company is calling this feature an In-Display Fingerprint Unlock 3.0.

It is claimed to unlock the device in 0.32 seconds. While we can't confirm the unlocking time, this feature did unlock the handset quickly.

To further ensure security this technology is said to be based on anti-forging technology. This new fingerprint sensor is said to have a 20 percent faster unlocking speed than what we have seen on the previous generation Oppo handsets.

Another feature that we liked here is the presence of a dedicated microSD card. This is primarily because a huge number of smartphones have been introduced with hybrid SIM slots in the past.

This limits us from using two SIM card and a microSD together on a smartphone. But, that's not the case with the Oppo F15. You can use two SIM cards and up to 256GB microSD card at the same time on the Oppo F15.

Oppo F15: The Bad

Oppo F15: The Bad

Prone To Smudges

The Oppo F15 is undoubtedly a good looking smartphone. But, the beauty comes at the cost of being a smudge magnet. But, that's the case with the majority of the smartphones with a gradient back panel. The Oppo F15 is instant in picking up fingerprints and dirt.

You will definitely find it hard to keep the rear surface clean if not using any case or cover. Thankfully, Oppo ships a transparent soft TPU case inside the retail box allowing you to flaunt the premium looking device without getting it dirty. The case will also act as a guard against scratches and accidental falls.

Dated Software, Cluttered UI

Dated Software, Cluttered UI

The Oppo F15 is launched with an older Android Pie OS which is wrapped under Color OS 6.1.7. The UI is nothing different from what we have seen on some of the Oppo's mid-range offerings in 2019, like the Oppo A9 2020 and the Oppo Reno 2.

It would have made for a sweet deal if it shipped with the latest Android 10 OS layered with a new Color OS 7 skin. It is unknown if the company will bring the new UI to this device anytime soon. Also, it has some pre-installed bloatware which makes the UI a bit cluttered. A cleaner UI would have been appreciated.

Smaller Battery

Smaller Battery

Keeping the Oppo F15 ticking is a 4,000 mAh battery unit. While this is a decent sized battery, a bigger unit is what we expected. Considering the device is equipped with some high-end internals, a 4,500/5,000 mAh battery would have solidified the deal.

But, to make up for it, the company has equipped the battery with 20W VOOC Flash Charge 3.0 support. The company claims zero to 50 percent battery within 30 minutes. We will be testing the battery to its full potential so that we can give you feedback on the charging speed as well as backup.

Oppo F15: The X Factor

Oppo F15: The X Factor

AI 48MP Quad-Cameras At The Rear

The Oppo F15 sports four cameras at the rear positioned vertically on the top-left corner. The sensors onboard include a 48MP primary lens with an f/1.79 aperture, an 8MP wide-angle macro sensor with an f/2.25 aperture, a 2MP mono sensor with an f/2.4 aperture, and an additional 2MP sensor with an f/2.4 aperture for depth mapping.

The cameras are equipped with features like EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization), 10x digital zoom, Time-lapse, Pano, Slow-motion and a bokeh mode. To take care of the low-light shots, there is a dedicated Night mode which you can access from the camera app.

The camera seems to do a good job of capturing details with good lighting around. We are yet to test its capabilities in locking details in low-light situations.

At the front, there is a 16MP camera for selfies and video calls neatly tucked inside the waterdrop notch. The selfie snapper is backed by AI which allows it to beautify images automatically. You can adjust its sensitivity manually from the app. Overall, the selfie camera seems to be well-fitted for social media uploads.

Oppo F15: Will It Be A Hit Or A Miss?

Oppo F15: Will It Be A Hit Or A Miss?

The Oppo F15 is well-loaded with features. And to top it all, it offers a premium-looking design. The company seems to primarily target the youth with a good looking feature-rich smartphone. We liked the overall touch and feel of this device.

And the hardware seems pretty decent for its price tag. But with just a single variant available, that to priced at Rs. 19,990, could give Xiaomi and Realme an upper hand with their Redmi Note 8 Pro and the Realme 5 Pro. We would be doing a detailed review of the device in the coming days. So, stay tuned with us.

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