Oppo F17 Pro Review: Decent Entry In The Mid-Tier Segment

High-Resolution Tall Display

The Oppo F17 Pro packs a 6.43-inch Super AMOLED display which delivers an FHD+ resolution, 408PPI pixel density, and has a screen-to-body ratio of 90.7 percent. Protecting it is the Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It comes with a dual-punch-hole (pill-shaped) and slim bezels on all corners.

If we speak of the display performance then the tall form factor complemented by high-resolution support makes watching videos a pleasurable experience. The streaming experience on OTT platforms and YouTube is also good. You will have no complaints when it comes to clarity. Speaking of which, you will be able to stream 1080p videos online.

The display is punchy and is sharp with colours. The panel comes with a standard 60Hz refresh rate, still, you will get a decent viewing experience while playing high-end games.

Also with a peak brightness level of 800 nits, viewing content under direct sunlight or outdoors isn't a trouble. The display also is equipped with a fingerprint scanner which is accurate and fast when it comes to unlocking the unit.

Premium Looks And Feel

The Oppo F17 Pro is a mid-range device, yet it manages to give a premium feel to hold. The handset comes with 7.48mm thickness and weighs around 164g. The slim profile makes for a good grip.

What makes it feel the premium is the gradient rear panel that has a matte surface. But, somehow the back panel is completely smudge-proof. You will notice it picking up fingerprints after a while.

Thankfully, there is a transparent soft TPU cover inside the retail box that will let you flaunt the design; keeping the device safe and clean at the same time. At the rear, there is a square-shaped camera module.

The left side houses the volume rockers and the dedicated SIM card tray, while the right panel stores the power key. The bottom panel has the 3.5mm headphone jack followed by the USB Type-C port and the speaker grille.

Also, the slim form factor makes it easy to use the device with basic tasks. But reaching the nooks and corners with a single hand is a bit of a task.

Decent Gaming And Processing

Driving the Oppo F17 Pro is the MediaTek Helio P95 processor which has eight cores and has a base frequency of 2.2GHz. The chipset is combined along with 8GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage. The device has a dedicated microSD card slot for up to 512GB. So, the storage crunch wouldn't be an issue with this device.

The mid-range MediaTek processor gives a satisfactory performance overall. It can handle multitasking fairly well. We didn't come across any app freeze issues with multiple of them running in the background. Expect a good performance with day-to-day tasks such as media playback and web surfing. Gaming is also a good experience here.

The handset can render graphics-rich games without any frame drops or lags. The device heat-up issue with prolonged gaming isn't something you would come across frequently.

Latest Firmware with New Air Gesture Feature

The Oppo F17 Pro runs on the Android 10 OS which is layered with the Color OS 7.1 user interface. The device gets all the Android 10 goodies such as Dark Mode, gesture-based navigation, and also Digital Wellbeing. The UI is similar to what recent Oppo launches offer (a bit cluttered).

By default, a swipe-up on the home screen will pull-up the app drawer. You will find some pre-installed bloatware and third-party apps. There is a dedicated game space mode which improves the overall gaming experience by allowing customized optimization.

One of the most interesting features which this device offers is the Air gesture. Using this, you can answer any calls by a swiping gesture right above the screen. You don't need to touch the display to answer calls if your hands are untidy.

There is also a Doc Vault application where tone can store your documents or the ones issued by the Indian government. The smart slider bar will allow you to use quick tools such as screenshots, screen recording, and File Manager, etc. You can also add some other tools as per your requirement.

Feature-Packed Quad Rear Cameras

Optics has become one of the biggest driving factors of a smartphone's commercial success. Brands have been experimenting with the cameras for long. Oppo has also been launching budget and mid-range smartphones with multiple camera sensors; up to four on maximum devices.

The F17 Pro has also arrived with four rear cameras where the primary sensor is a 48MP Samsung GM1 sensor with an f/1.8 aperture. Accompanying the primary sensor is an 8MP wide-angle sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and a pair of 2MP sensor with an f/2.4 aperture each for depth and macro shots. There are several shooting modes inside the camera app.

The AI-backed camera allows you to capture HDR and portrait images along with Slow-motion and Time-Lapse videos. The rear camera is capable of shooting 720p/1080p slow-motion videos and up to 4K standard video recording. The AI portrait mode allows you to give a different splash of colors to the people in the frame and the background blur. This gives the captured images a funk.

Besides, the camera does a good job of capturing details in an image. This is with good light conditions. The dynamic range is good and the images have less noise when shot in broad daylight. The camera app has a dedicated Night Mode as well for low-light shots. This does aid in clicking decent night photos.

Speaking of the selfie cameras, the pill-shaped module upfront is equipped with a 16MP primary selfie snapper with an f/2.4 aperture and a 2MP depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture.

Thanks to the dual-lens module, the F17 Pro is capable of capture hardware-driven selfie portraits. The images captured by the front cameras also have ample clarity. Moreover, the bokeh selfie shots are also of good quality. You will love to flaunt them on social media platforms.

Battery And Benchmark Performance

The Oppo F17 Pro gets its fuel via a 4,000 mAh battery unit. It is also backed by 30W VOOC flash charge support that allows the unit to get refuelled in less than 2 hours.

This saves the day when you are in a rush and need quick backup. The device lasts more than half a day if you are using it moderately. With extensive usage, you will need to plug a charger twice a day.

In the benchmark test, the smartphone scored 6954 points in the PCMark Work Performance 2.0 test. In the 3D Mark Sling Shot benchmark test, the F17 Pro logged 1243 points, whole the Sling Shot Extreme Vulkan test the device achieved 1556 points.

Oppo F17 Pro: Is It A Good Buy?

The Oppo F17 Pro is well-rounded in terms of hardware. Its performance is good if not outstanding in all aspects. Its tall display will let you binge-watch your favourite shows, while the quad-rear cameras will allow you to capture some good memories. The handset performs decently with gaming as well, so this segment of users can also consider this option.

You can buy the handset at an asking price of Rs. 22,990. With the features it offers, the pricing is fair enough. But, a slightly lower tag would have made an ideal deal for the Oppo fans.