OPPO F3 Plus First Impression: A Big Display Phone First, A Selfie Expert Later

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Oppo’s next generation ‘Selfie Expert’, the F3 Plus, is now official and kicking, though it still won’t make it to the retail shelves for a while (coming this May). The advent of Oppo F3 Plus is big news for a few reasons:

  1. The selfie frenzy is peaking like never before and thus selfie-phones are indeed enjoying some vogue in India
  2. F3 Plus has a unique dual front camera system, which means thankfully the trend is evolving towards something more substantial than the mad megapixel rat race.
  3. And also because the last generation selfie-expert, Oppo F1s, was a huge commercial success, which also explains the huge marketing budget Oppo is allocating to the F3 Plus.

But a few key fact that’s overshadowed by all that selfie-hype is that this is a big BIG display phone – something that could have a substantial impact on end-user experience. And it also costs about twice as much as compared to the original F1s, which makes this stand in a different league altogether.

Oppo F3 Plus Dual Selfie Camera Phone (7)

We did spend some quality time with the Oppo F3 Plus at the India launch and here are a few things that we would like to point out.

Oppo F3 Plus Specifications

Model Oppo F3 Plus
Display 6-inch IPS, Full HD, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Processor 2.0GHz Snapdragon 653 octa-core, Adreno 510 GPU
RAM 4GB
Internal Storage 64GB, expandable up to 256GB
Software Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based ColorOS 3.0
Rear Camera 16MP, f/1.7 aperture, 1/2.3” sensor
Front Camera 16MP + 8MP, f/2.0 aperture 6P lens on both shooters
Dimensions and Weight 163.3×80.8×7.35mm and 186Grams
Battery 4000 mAh, VOOC fast charging
Others 4G VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5mm Audio Jack, Hybrid Dual SIM, Fingerprint Sensor, microUSB
Price and Availability Rs. 30,990/- (Prebooking open between March 23 to 31, Availability in May)

Oppo F3 Plus Design: Looks gorgeous

Oppo has long enjoyed a reputation for not compromising with the aesthetics and the F3 plus is no exception. It’s slim, has 2.5D Gorilla Glass 5 on the front, a full metal rear, and benefits from extremely narrow bezels on the front. Moreover, the F3 Plus is also water resistant

Oppo F3 Plus Dual Selfie Camera Phone (20)

Had it not been for the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro, we would have been compelled to label it as the most ergonomic 6-inch display phone. ‘Would have’ being the keyword here.  The fingerprint sensor felt extremely fast and is present right below the display (which is exactly where it should be for bigger phones). A regular Type-A USB port, audio jack, and a mono speaker is present on the bottom.

Since users who prefer consuming multimedia content on their phones will be drawn to it for its bigger display, stereo speakers would truly have added value to the Oppo F3 Plus experience.

Oppo F3 Plus Dual Selfie Camera Phone (21)

Display size will get in the way of selfies

Over the years of experimenting with different phones, we have definitely learned that it’s rather easy getting accustomed to big displays. If the phone isn’t slippery, you are likely to feel perfectly at home with the extra display real estate after a week or so. But we still don’t see how the size won’t come in the way of selfies.

Clicking selfies more often than not involves maneuvering your phone using just one hand, even when there are alternatives like using the volume rocker or rear fingerprint sensor as the selfie shutter.

Oppo F3 Plus Dual Selfie Camera Phone (23)

Yes, alternatives such as mentioned above will help mitigate the size issue to an extent but You will still find yourself switching your phone from portrait to landscape on the fly or toggling with the camera app options after you have held your hand out and above while composing that perfect shot or simply refocusing on subjects in the frame – all while using just one hand.

This could be super inconvenient for any selfie enthusiast with small hands, men or women. And that’s why we opinionate that 5.5-inch is the upper limit when it comes to selfie-centric phone displays.

Also Read: Oppo F3 Plus Or Vivo V5 Plus – The Dual Selfie Dilemma

The display, in itself, has blue-tinted whites and a tad oversaturated colors, most probably because Oppo is targeting NTSC color gamut here. This shouldn’t count as a problem unless you are very picky about your phone’s display. The display sharpness feels perfectly adequate (Full HD).

Oppo F3 Plus dual front camera explained

Most dual camera systems are designed to sense the depth of field and then to use that knowledge to blur image backdrops. The F3 Plus, interestingly, uses the LG G5 like apparatus to enable wide-angle selfie shots.

Oppo F3 Plus Dual Selfie Camera Phone (24)

Switching to group selfie mode is simple (just one tap) and the effect is like zooming out without having to stretch your hands. From a practical standpoint, that makes a lot of sense. We will have to test it extensively to know if this works better than Vivo V5 Plus implementation for us, but I guess people who take many selfies through their day will find Oppo’s implementation a tad more convenient.

Software and Performance expectations:

The Oppo F3 Plus employs 2.0GHz Snapdragon 653 octa-core chipset paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. This is the same SoC that we recently tested in Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro (which has 6GB RAM). It’s a very capable chipset and we don’t expect performance to falter. Besides, the 4000mAH battery with VOOC fast charging is assuring enough.

The software, however, is still based on Android 6.0 marshmallow and might not be upgraded to Android Nougat anytime soon. That could feel even more dated by the time F3 Plus is ready to hit retail stores (later in May). For consumers like us, who like to experiment with new tech and apps this could be a problem. Average consumers should be fine, though. Oppo F1s is still running on Lollipop and is still a massive success.

Oppo F3 Plus Dual Selfie Camera Phone (2)
Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro and Oppo F3 Plus

Oppo F3 Plus First Impression

Oppo’s selfie approach makes sense, but we think that before being a selfie expert, the F3 Plus is a Big display phone. So, if you are ok with the Oppo’s choice of display size, only then should you consider it’s selfie merit.

OnePlus 3T might seem like a better value for money proportion, but the Oppo F3 Plus is targeting an entirely different set of audience. It’s real competition should be the Vivo V5 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro.

As far as big phones go, this F3 Plus will find it extremely difficult to outshine the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro, which benefits from a much better quality AMOLED display and Samsung branding, but this could very well be a recommendable option for offline buyers looking for something around 30,000 INR. We will know for sure after our full review.

Deepak SinghDeepak Singh
Deepak has more than 8 years of experience in covering technology for several eminent publications in India. He currently leads an enthusiastic team of young writers at Smartprix and tries to uphold the highest quality standards.

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