OPPO F5 Review - Modern Midrange Standard
OPPO's newly announced F5 was a solid release. Initially, we were pleased w/ its near bezel-less 18:9 screen, speedy specs, and A.I. powered selfie camera.
After few weeks of using it, find out if it is the all-rounder to get. Here's our full review!
For our review part 1: OPPO F5 Unboxing and First Impressions
Quality of the screen is good! The F5 boast an immersive type of 18:9 screen w/ Full HD+ resolution that translates to 2160 x 1080 resolution at 403 pixels per inch.
Sharpness and detail is okay and on par with most midrange phones. It is crisp and colors are punchy, but it is still quite natural looking. Contrast, black, and viewing angles are just alright.
Brightness is decent. Auto brightness also works. It is a bit brighter than the wildly popular Nova 2i, the major competitor of the F5.
It also has night shield mode for eye protection in lowlight and 10 points of touch.
For headphones OPPO highlights the "Real Sound Technology" which enhances loudness and soundstage which creates a "stereo-like live sound" effect. It is partially correct as it would make the soundstage bigger and make the mids sound a bit cleaner.
However, it makes the sound unnatural at times. To some extend, there are times where audio would be muddier and bloated. Some would like the Real Sound Technology on and some would prefer not using it.
Microphone quality is surprisingly good for recordings. It can record loud clean tunes w/ near 3D-like effect. The sound it can record is well layered too. It is also good for calls overall.
The OPPO F5 has 3,200mAh battery inside. On paper, it isn't that big. But, in real life, the battery performance of this phone is strong! In our test, we clocked 10 hours and 59 minutes overall.
Actual performance is even better. Whole day battery life is possible w/ this phone! It can last for around 13 hours on a single charge. Even on playing games and watching movies, the battery won't drain that fast.
However, charging time is quite slow. Charging time from 0 to 100 percent is around 2:45 mins to 3 hours using the stock 2A charger.
At the back, the OPPO F5 has a pretty interesting single camera setup. It's a 16MP camera w/ bright and wide f/1.8 aperture and single LED flash for lowlight shots.
It also auto HDR, face beauty, panorama, 2x digital zoom, and expert mode. The expert mode has adjustments for white balance, EV (-3 to +3), ISO (100 to 3200), shutter (1/8000 to 16 seconds), and focus.
In terms of quality, the back camera of the F5 is pretty GOOD! Focus fast and can go as near as most midrange phones. Shooting speed is also quite fast even on auto HDR mode and in lowlight.
Sharpness and details are good. Grains aren't noticeable in daylight and minimal. Color accuracy is better than expected too! It can even compete w/ the Nova 2i in that regard at times.
In lowlight, its exposure and dynamic range is better than most (for the price. But, images won't be that sharp and detailed. Fortunately, it has an expert mode for long exposure and trail shots. Flash is strong enough too.
In front, the OPPO F5 boasts an enhanced type of 20MP f/2.0 front camera w/ screen flash. It's complete w/ auto HDR, face beauty, and depth effect for bokeh and deep background blur. However, coming from the F3 series, it has now wide-angle mode anymore.
It's also the first A.I. assisted selfie camera as well. The A.I. Beauty Recognition aims to help users take the most natural selfies possible without exaggeration. OPPO also aims to improve selfies the more you use it.
Focus and shutter are really quick for a selfie camera. On auto mode, it is its easily one of the best selfie camera shooter in the Philippines today. Images are really detailed in places w/ enough lighting.
Color accuracy is also better than than the previous OPPO selfie phones. But, it is still a bit whiter than what you would normally look. Exposure is mostly good even in lowlight. Use the screen flash if needed. But, again, you'll look whiter than what you should look in real life.
The face beauty mode can really make you look good. Plus, OPPO is correct, it isn't as over-beautified versus your average selfie camera. It'll still retain most of the detail on your faces.
The depth effect is also way better than before. It can now produce the level of background blur you'll normally find on phones w/ dual camera setup like the Nova 2i. The edges are also cleaner than ever.
However, the A.I. Beauty Recognition is still a work in progress. That's fine. We know that it'll get better in time. But, there are times where it auto contoured my chubby face to make it slimmer.
For videos, both the main camera and selfie camera can shoot up to 1080p in quality. Interestingly, it has 6 levels of beautification too. Only the main camera has the 2x digital zoom mode. Focus for both the main camera and selfie camera is a bit slower for videos compared when taking photos.
Exposure and color is identical to stills. The cameras are surprisingly more stabilized than expected even with the lack of OIS. It is not indicated in the specs sheet, but we suspect that both its main and shooters has EIS.
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| OPPO F5 review |
After few weeks of using it, find out if it is the all-rounder to get. Here's our full review!
For our review part 1: OPPO F5 Unboxing and First Impressions
Display Quality
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| Good quality screen |
Good quality screen!
Sharpness and detail is okay and on par with most midrange phones. It is crisp and colors are punchy, but it is still quite natural looking. Contrast, black, and viewing angles are just alright.
Brightness is decent. Auto brightness also works. It is a bit brighter than the wildly popular Nova 2i, the major competitor of the F5.
It also has night shield mode for eye protection in lowlight and 10 points of touch.
Audio Quality
The F5 has a decent single speaker located below. Speaker output is quite clean in general. It can produce pretty loud overall tunes. However, it isn't just as full and layered in sound versus pricier phones. Distortion is present on max loudness.For headphones OPPO highlights the "Real Sound Technology" which enhances loudness and soundstage which creates a "stereo-like live sound" effect. It is partially correct as it would make the soundstage bigger and make the mids sound a bit cleaner.
However, it makes the sound unnatural at times. To some extend, there are times where audio would be muddier and bloated. Some would like the Real Sound Technology on and some would prefer not using it.
Microphone quality is surprisingly good for recordings. It can record loud clean tunes w/ near 3D-like effect. The sound it can record is well layered too. It is also good for calls overall.
Battery Life
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| 10 hours and 59 mins! |
The OPPO F5 has 3,200mAh battery inside. On paper, it isn't that big. But, in real life, the battery performance of this phone is strong! In our test, we clocked 10 hours and 59 minutes overall.
Enjoyable battery performance!
Actual performance is even better. Whole day battery life is possible w/ this phone! It can last for around 13 hours on a single charge. Even on playing games and watching movies, the battery won't drain that fast.
However, charging time is quite slow. Charging time from 0 to 100 percent is around 2:45 mins to 3 hours using the stock 2A charger.
Camera
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| 16MP f/1.8 lowlight camera |
At the back, the OPPO F5 has a pretty interesting single camera setup. It's a 16MP camera w/ bright and wide f/1.8 aperture and single LED flash for lowlight shots.
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| Main camera modes |
It also auto HDR, face beauty, panorama, 2x digital zoom, and expert mode. The expert mode has adjustments for white balance, EV (-3 to +3), ISO (100 to 3200), shutter (1/8000 to 16 seconds), and focus.
Main camera is great for the price!
In terms of quality, the back camera of the F5 is pretty GOOD! Focus fast and can go as near as most midrange phones. Shooting speed is also quite fast even on auto HDR mode and in lowlight.
Sharpness and details are good. Grains aren't noticeable in daylight and minimal. Color accuracy is better than expected too! It can even compete w/ the Nova 2i in that regard at times.
In lowlight, its exposure and dynamic range is better than most (for the price. But, images won't be that sharp and detailed. Fortunately, it has an expert mode for long exposure and trail shots. Flash is strong enough too.
Rear Camera Samples
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| Daylight auto HDR |
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| Indoor close-up |
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| Indoor lowlight |
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| Indoor lowlight close-up |
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| Night auto |
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| Long exposure |
In front, the OPPO F5 boasts an enhanced type of 20MP f/2.0 front camera w/ screen flash. It's complete w/ auto HDR, face beauty, and depth effect for bokeh and deep background blur. However, coming from the F3 series, it has now wide-angle mode anymore.
It's also the first A.I. assisted selfie camera as well. The A.I. Beauty Recognition aims to help users take the most natural selfies possible without exaggeration. OPPO also aims to improve selfies the more you use it.
How good is it? Really good!
Focus and shutter are really quick for a selfie camera. On auto mode, it is its easily one of the best selfie camera shooter in the Philippines today. Images are really detailed in places w/ enough lighting.
Color accuracy is also better than than the previous OPPO selfie phones. But, it is still a bit whiter than what you would normally look. Exposure is mostly good even in lowlight. Use the screen flash if needed. But, again, you'll look whiter than what you should look in real life.
The face beauty mode can really make you look good. Plus, OPPO is correct, it isn't as over-beautified versus your average selfie camera. It'll still retain most of the detail on your faces.
The depth effect is also way better than before. It can now produce the level of background blur you'll normally find on phones w/ dual camera setup like the Nova 2i. The edges are also cleaner than ever.
However, the A.I. Beauty Recognition is still a work in progress. That's fine. We know that it'll get better in time. But, there are times where it auto contoured my chubby face to make it slimmer.
Selfie Camera Samples
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| Daylight shot |
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| Indoor well-lit w/ bokeh |
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| Indoor selfie w/ artificial light |
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| Indoor depth effect |
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| Night selfie |
For videos, both the main camera and selfie camera can shoot up to 1080p in quality. Interestingly, it has 6 levels of beautification too. Only the main camera has the 2x digital zoom mode. Focus for both the main camera and selfie camera is a bit slower for videos compared when taking photos.
Exposure and color is identical to stills. The cameras are surprisingly more stabilized than expected even with the lack of OIS. It is not indicated in the specs sheet, but we suspect that both its main and shooters has EIS.
Video Samples
Performance
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| Nice AnTuTu score |
The OPPO F5 is one of the first in the world to feature the 64-bit Helio P23 octa-core processor. It has a high clock speed of up to 2.5GHz. Interestingly, this chip is also coupled w/ Mali-G71MP2 GPU, a graphics card commonly found on high-end smartphones.
One of the speediest phone for the price!
Moreover, this phone has 4GB RAM to ensure multitasking performance is great. However, its storage is a bit smaller at 32GB than most phones at this price point. Even the lower end OPPO F3 has bigger 64GB internal storage.
Actual performance is very impressive for the price. It is always fast, great for multitasking, and barely heats up. For gaming, it can easily load most of the demanding 3D games w/ ease even on high settings.
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| ColorsOS 3.2 |
OPPO has also improved the software of the F5. Like the A71, it has cleaner and more intuitive ColorOS 3.2. Just swipe down notifications and swipe up to view the control center.
The control center has easy shortcuts for turning the WiFi, data, Bluetooth, GPS, power saving, hotspot, and more. It also allows you to adjust the brightness easily. In addition, it now has easy toggle for OPPO Share (OPPO to OPPO fast file sharing) and Night Shield blue light filter.
Connectivity and the rest of telephony experience is mostly smooth. GSM signal is strong and this handset even has 700MHz LTE for better indoor LTE signal reception.
Moreover, this phone has OTG support, gyroscope sensor for VR, stable GPS, and dual SIM card slots.
Pros - Gorilla Glass 5 protection, speedy processor and GPU, good main camera, promising selfie camera
Cons - Plastic build, 32GB internal storage, still not on USB Type-C, slow charging time
Verdict
OPPO F5's price is right! It is one of the better deals in its class. As a matter of fact, we are confident to say that it is one of the best deals in town today! Design is modern, speed is upper midrange grade, and cameras are great for the price. The selfie camera has improved dramatically coming from the F1 and F3 series as well.This is a solid deal w/ few weaknesses for the price! Good job OPPO!
Related: Vivo V7+ vs OPPO F5 vs Huawei Nova 2i - Midrange Comparison
Build / Design - 4
Display - 4.25
Audio - 3.75
Battery - 4.25
Camera - 4.25
Performance - 4.5
Average - 4.16 / 5
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