Oppo R17 Pro quick review: SuperVOOC, low-light cameras steal the show

Oppo finally made their big launch of R-series in India by unveiling the latest R17 Pro on Tuesday. The premium smartphone bags some interesting specs and a price tag to go with it. It's certainly not the phone for the masses like the popular F-series as it is targeted towards the premium range for people who are willing to spend the top dollar.

Oppo R17 Pro brings some innovative features that could compel tech enthusiasts, but the question is should you buy it. After getting hands-on Oppo R17 Pro, here are some quick conclusions about the phone ahead of a full review.

Before we get to the phone, let's get the pricing out of the way. Oppo R17 Pro is priced at Rs 45,990 and the first sale in India goes live on December 7, 2018. 

Oppo R17 Pro's biggest highlights are the SuperVOOC fast charging technology and triple rear camera setup. Of the two, my favorite is the SuperVOOC, which is the best fast charging solution we've ever got our hands on. While I wasn't able to fully test the battery charging speeds, some early tests showed the phone does charge in a flash.

Since the review unit was half charged, I plugged in the SuperVOOC charger and within 10 minutes, it charged more than 90 percent. I will be thoroughly testing the battery charging speeds as a part of my full review, but the early signs look really promising. The smartphone also comes with two 1,850mAh batteries, which add up to be a single 3,700mAh unit, which I will also be testing during my review.

It's worth pointing out that SuperVOOC was exclusive to Find X Lamborghini Edition, but it is exciting to see Oppo's biggest feature come to a lower-priced phone.

I also happened to test the cameras briefly. Oppo's triple rear camera combining 12MP f/1.5-f/2.4 dual aperture and 20MP sensors alongside a 3D sensing camera delivered some well-detailed images with natural colour tones and balanced contrast and brightness in indoor lighting. The company boasts the low-light imaging on this phone is excellent, and the tested samples will be included in the upcoming review.

Check out some samples below:

Beyond cameras and battery, Oppo R17 Pro is a head turner with its unique matte-like gradient finish on the back. There were numerous colours on the back cover when the light fell on it and it looks mesmerizing. But again, if your taste is a single colour tone, there's an emerald green edition to satisfy your needs.

Since the Oppo R-series phones have served as blueprints for OnePlus phones, I had higher expectations in terms of the design of the R17 Pro. The handset may be of the same width, but it appears thicker due to the rounded sides. But Oppo has decorated the sides with a beautiful gradient shade and the top and bottom bars with a unique oval design. The thickness of the phone is certainly not a deal-breaker here.

Oppo has also retained the water notch display design for the R17 Pro. There's a 6.4-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with 91.5 percent screen-to-body ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 6 and an in-display fingerprint scanner. The display is bright enough to use in harsh sunlight. As for the scanner, it works pretty well but the face unlock is snappier.

While many would find it surprising that Oppo went with Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset, it must be noted that the company is confident it won't disappoint power users. There's 8GB RAM and 128GB fixed storage, which is quite generous. Since the R17 Pro is the first handset in India with Snapdragon 710, it remains to be seen how well it performs in the real world.