OPPO F5 in glossy blue is as stylish as Sidharth Malhotra: Trumps gold, black, red hues

OPPO has been teasing a new variant of its OPPO F5 smartphone on Twitter and Facebook channels, leaving little to fans' imaginations. The glossy blue variant of the OPPO F5, dubbed as OPPO F5 Sidharth Limited Edition", has finally arrived as the company's brand ambassador and celebrated actor – Sidharth Malhotra – unveiled the handset himself during Saturday's event.

The international variant of Dashing Blue OPPO F5 broke covers in India as a limited edition variant, adding to the existing gold, black and red hues. But the stylish blue stands out in the crowd and the fact that it has been priced Rs 19,990 – same as other colours – it is even more reason for customers to go for it.

OPPO F5 Sidharth Limited Edition will be available exclusively on Amazon India on February 8 and arrive in stores on February 9. So if you're still trying to fill up that Valentine's Day gift list, this one certainly makes the cut.

The new glossy finish on the back of the phone makes it look like the company went with glass, but that's not the case. Everything from the phone material to its specifications, OPPO F5 Sidharth Limited Edition is same as the original OPPO F5. It's worth pointing out that the blue variant of the OPPO F5 is a limited edition, so it is likely the phone will be available in limited quantities.

OPPO F5 came in multiple variants. The 6GB RAM model targeted to power users while the OPPO F5 Youth caught the attention of budget shoppers. With this new blue variant, OPPO aims to attract the young generation.

There are no changes in the OPPO F5 Sidharth Limited Edition. The handset features a 6-inch Full HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio, a 16MP rear-facing camera with large f/1.8 aperture and a 20MP front snapper with f/2.0 aperture for selfies.

The handset is powered by a 16nm MediaTek Helio P23 octa-core chipset, which is paired with 4GB RAM and offers 32GB onboard storage with an option to expand further using microSD cards. There is a 3,200mAh battery that's quite long-lasting and Android 7.1 Nougat-based ColorOS runs the show on the F5.

There's a fingerprint scanner at the back of the phone and an ultra-fast Face Unlock feature to serve as an alternative to unlocking the smartphone. When we reviewed the original F5 smartphone, we found the phone to be quite stylish, but the new shade is like the icing on the cake. But the glossy surface is going to be a fingerprint magnet, which would require constant care.

The competition, however, is stiff when it comes to OPPO F5's survival in 2018. For a smartphone that's priced Rs 20,000, buyers find alternatives like Honor 7X (REVIEW) for a lot less. It remains to be seen how this new variant of the OPPO F5 performs in terms of sales.