Oppo F3 Plus Review
Oppo has had a good run with its photography-centric ‘F series’ ever since the Oppo F1 (Review) launched in February last year. Since then, we’ve also had the F1s (Review) and the F1 Plus (Review) smartphones to fill different gaps in the mid-range segment. Oppo is still promoting this series heavily today, both online and offline, and we’re pretty sure it has been a major contributor to the company’s strong position in the Indian market.
In 2017, Oppo is hoping to expand its reach with the new F3 series, of which the F3 Plus is the first model. Selfie-obsessed buyers continue to be the target here and for that reason, Oppo has outfitted this phone with dual front cameras. Unlike Vivo’s V5 Plus (Review), the second camera isn’t used for depth of field. Instead, the Oppo F3 Plus has a wide-angle lens for group selfies, which actually seems like a much more practical idea that's likely to have a wider appeal (pun intended).
Oppo usually caters to people shopping in the sub-Rs. 20,000 price segment, so the sticker price of Rs. 30,990 for the F3 Plus might be a little difficult to digest. Has Oppo done enough to justify this kind of a price premium? Let’s take a look.
Oppo F3 Plus design and build quality
Oppo has rarely disappointed us when it comes to build quality and design, and the F3 Plus continues that tradition. The metal unibody feels very sturdy and its rounded edges make it easy to hold. Despite the soft-touch finish, we didn’t find the phone too slippery during our usage. The 6-inch display really dominates the front of the phone, thanks to thin borders on the sides. Striking looks aside, there’s still no getting around the fact that this is a big phone, and quite heavy too. Just like the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro (Review), single-handed use is nearly impossible without the risk of dropping it. You can shrink the display area down in single-handed mode if you simply cannot use two hands.
The fingerprint sensor is quick for unlocking the device, and just like before, you can use it for other purposes like locking apps and files. There are backlit capacitive buttons on either side of it for navigation. The dual front cameras and sensors are at the top. The buttons on the sides are a bit of a reach, even for someone with large hands. The headphones socket, speaker and Micro-USB port are placed at the bottom. There's a SIM tray above the power button, and is the hybrid type, so you’ll have to choose between a second SIM and a microSD card (up to 256GB is supported).
The 6-inch display on the Oppo F3 Plus looks sharp thanks to the full-HD resolution but colours are too heavily saturated which can make images look a bit unnatural. There’s no option in the Settings app to adjust this either. Touch response is good though, and the phone has Gorilla Glass 5 protecting the display.
The back of the phone is rather plain with just a slight bump for the camera breaking the flat surface. Oppo has tried something new with the design of its antenna bands here to give the F3 Plus some visual differentiation from the competition.
Overall, we have no qualms about the design and finish of this phone. It isn't the easiest to live with due to its size, but if that’s your cup of tea, then you should be happy. It’s a little strange not to see a USB Type-C port, especially given that this is an upper mid-range 2017 smartphone. In the box (which is rather large), you get a headset, ear tips, a silicone case, instructions, a SIM ejector, a USB cable and a sizeable power adapter that supports Oppo’s VOOC Flash Charge Mini standard. The phone also ships with a pre-applied screen protector.
Oppo F3 Plus specifications and features
The Oppo F3 Plus is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 653 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage, which is a pretty solid set of specifications. Benchmark numbers might not be as good as what's possibile with a top-end Snapdragon 821 SoC, which can be found in the OnePlus 3T at a similar price, but you’d be hard pressed to actually tell the difference in daily usage.
The F3 Plus does put up a decent show in benchmarks, scoring 92,497 in AnTuTu and 35fps in GFXbench. Other specifications include dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, USB-OTG, and the usual suite of sensors, including a gyroscope. Some notable omissions include FM radio and NFC. Many might not care about the latter but local radio is still important, and might be a deal breaker for some.