Oppo F1 Plus quick review: Five compelling features that cast a magical spell

Oppo launched its F1 Plus smartphone in India last week, and we at International Business Times, India, have been testing the device and exploring its new features since then. So far, the F1 Plus hasn't ceased to surprise us with its performance. Ahead of the device's complete review, we thought of highlighting some features that impressed us.

It's worth noting that Oppo F1 Plus will be available in stores mid-April. It comes in gold and rose-gold colours and is priced at Rs. 26,990 for the 64GB variant, which is the only offering. The handset competes against devices like Vivo Max 3, Apple iPhone 6 and OnePlus 2. Here are the top five features that make the F1 Plus stand out in the crowd.

Design

Oppo F1 Plus has a premium design that easily matches the flagship-level architecture of giants like Apple and Samsung. The ultra-slim bezels, overall metallic finish, smooth edges and solid grip make the F1 Plus a complete charmer. The rear design of the handset appears identical to the latest iPhone series, offering an alternative to those who cannot afford the expensive Apple devices.

The volume keys are placed on the left side of the device, which is unusual but not completely odd. The side buttons are within reach and don't require users to stretch their fingers uncomfortably while using the phone. The handset is also sturdy and survived an accidental fall of about 3 ft. The phone had a silicon cover, which comes free with the device, and a tempered-glass screen guard.

The 5.5-inch display doesn't seem too big to use. The handset has a 6.6mm-thin profile and weighs 145 gram.

Selfie camera

Oppo F1 Plus is being touted as a selfie expert, so one can expect the camera to be of great quality. While the rear camera is a standard set-up, much like the rivals in its price range, the front-facing camera used for taking selfies takes the handset to a new level.

Oppo F1 Plus sports a 16-megapixel Hi-Light camera with features such as screen flash, Beautify 4.0 and Selfie Panorama for great photos. The Hi-Light technology lets you shoot good-quality images even in low-light night-time conditions. The sensor has a 120-degree wide-angle lens, PDAF, ISOCELL technology and a large f/2.0 aperture to let sufficient light into the sensor to take good photos even in challenging lighting conditions.

Here are some sample shots from the F1 Plus:

Fingerprint scanner

Unlike other phones in the market, Oppo F1 Plus packs a fingerprint sensor in the physical home button. While using the device, we found the sensor working accurately. It identified the registered fingerprints almost every time. The company said the fingerprint scanner is designed to improve its accuracy over time by gradually refining the image of the user's fingerprint.

The scanner can unlock the device with a simple touch in a fraction of a second, and also works from any angle.

Battery

Oppo is not trying to woo customers with a massive battery unit in its F1 Plus smartphone. In fact, the company has taken a smarter route. Oppo F1 Plus comes with a 2,850mAh battery, which may sound quite small when compared to other budget phones that offer 4,000-5,000mAh batteries. However, the F1 Plus battery is equipped with the company's home-grown VOOC flash charge technology, which charges 75 percent in just 30 minutes.

We tested the fast-charging feature and found it working really well. In our tests, the device charged from 20 percent to 80 percent in minutes. What's really surprising is the device does not heat to abnormal levels during charging, an issue found with most phones these days. This could be due to the 5V low-voltage technology used in the device.

In terms of battery life, we are able to use the F1 Plus for more than 12 hours with average usage of calls, messages and Wi-Fi browsing. We are yet to test the device for gaming and video-streaming. The low-power mode is quite an interesting add-on that can extend the battery of the device by a few hours by limiting background activities and some extra features.

Theme Store

For those who like to keep changing the looks of their phone, Oppo has a viable solution in its F1 Plus. The Oppo Theme Store has a wide collection of themes and wallpapers that will change the complete look of the device's interface, from icons to animations and graphics.

The themes can be activated as soon as they are downloaded, and the device works just like it would with the stock theme.