With a growing demand for high quality and affordable camera phones, Oppo is trying to position itself as a selfie-focussed phone manufacturer. The company has added yet another smartphone to its selfie-focussed F1 series – the Oppo F1s, which sits right in the middle of previously launched Oppo F1 and Oppo F1 Plus smartphones.
The highlight of the Oppo F1s is the 16MP front-facing shooter, a phone the company dubs as the ‘Selfie Expert.’ Besides, the front camera unit also has a 1/3.1-inch sensor with f/2.0 aperture. Currently available at around Rs. 18,000 in India, let’s find out if Oppo’s latest offering lives up to its claims.
Box Contents:
- Oppo F1s
- in-ear headset
- Wall charger
- Standard USB Cable
- User Guide
- Transparent protective case
Design
The phone looks very similar to its plus sized counterpart the F1 Plus, but still slightly thicker at 7.4, compared to the F1 Plus which is 6.6mm in thickness. That said, it easily manageable and fits comfortably in the hand. At 160 grams, it feels light and easy to carry around. And thanks to the metal unibody and impressively curved edges, the phone has a premium look and feel to it.
Overall, I have no complaints with the phone’s design, besides the fact that it looks like an iPhone 6S clone.
Display
The Oppo F1s packs a 5.5-inch HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. However, the resolution is a major letdown given the phone’s mid-range price tag. As these days even sub-Rs10,000 smartphones rock fullHD screens. Display quality is just about average, with enough brightness and decent color reproduction. That said, it’s not as vivid and sharp compared to fullHD displays. Colors look a little muted, and contrast levels are rather mediocre for a mid-range phone.
Performance
Under the hood, the phone packs a MediaTek MT6750 octa-core processor bundled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in storage. As far as performance goes, I did not face any issues while playing games such as Mortal Kombat X and Dead Trigger 2. Even multitasking was rather seamless, with smooth transitions as apps opened without a twitch. The hardware onboard is more than enough to handle any routine task, and everything from web browsing to video games and movies run smoothly.
In our synthetic benchmark tests, the Oppo F1s managed an Antutu score of 30253. While in GeekBench 4, it pulled off single and multi-core scores of 336 and 2466 respectively. While the phone’s benchmark scores are nothing to drool over, regardless, it’s a pretty reliable performer across the board.
And just like the Oppo F1 Plus, the home button on the F1s also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. I was impressed with the F1 Plus fingerprint sensor for its speed and responsiveness, and the F1s also doesn’t disappoint. Just a light press on the home button instantly unlocks the phone, with no lags or delayed responses.
Besides, you get 32GB of onboard which should be good enough to store plenty of selfies and videos. And in case you’re falling short, there’s an expandable storage option at your disposal.
Battery
Juicing up the smartphone is a 3075mAh battery, which can easily last a day of moderate usage. I just about managed to get through a day of usage which included emails, web browsing, gaming, watching videos on YouTube, and of course, takings selfies, before the battery died out. Besides, it managed to rack up about three and half hours of on screen time with Oppo F1s, which in my opinion is pretty impressive for a mid-range phone. Even the standby time on the phone is pretty impressive.
That said, when you do run out of juice it takes an awfully long time to get it fully recharged. There’s no support for fast charging, and bundled 10W charger takes about 4 hours to top up.
Software
The smartphone runs Android 5.1, which is quite a bummer considering we are in 2016 and even Google doesn’t offer cutting edge Android 5.1 updates anymore. And we are not even sure if the company plans to roll out Android Marshmallow update for the device, leaving the Oppo F1s feeling a bit behind the times.
Besides, the device runs Oppo’s own Color OS 3.1 Android skin which gets heavily inspired by iOS. Hence, it misses out on that look and feel of stock Android, notably the lack of an app drawer.
That said, the overall experience is pretty smooth, and everything seems well optimized. Apps open fairly quickly, and I did not come across any jerks or lags while navigating around the phone’s UI.
But that’s no excuse it comes pre-installed with Android Lollipop 5.1 in 2016. Moreover, the fact that it comes with an excellent fingerprint scanner which may have added more functionality with APIs in Marshmallow.
Camera
Touted as a selfie expert, the Oppo F1s rocks a whopping 16MP front-facing shooter with f/2.0 aperture. And to put it as simply as I can – it does not disappoint. Selfies captured turn out to be crisp and full of details. It pretty much demolishes any other mid-range smartphone in terms of sheer quality of selfies, as they turn out vibrant, eye-popping with fairly accurate color reproduction. Even the 13MP primary camera on the back takes good images in bright outdoor settings and well-lit conditions.
However, both cameras tend to struggle in challenging light conditions. As images shot in low-light turn out grainy, and noise levels start creeping in which eventually results in loss of detail and sharpness.
Having said that, the Oppo F1s lives up to its hype of being a selfie expert. And if you love taking selfies, the Oppo F1s should be your go-to device.
The 13MP primary camera takes good images in bright outdoor settings and well-lit conditions.
Pros:
- Good design and build quality
- Reliable performer
- Great selfie cam
Cons:
- Low-light shots still exhibit noise
- Slight overpriced
- Only a 720p screen resolution
- Outdated OS
Wrap Up
The Oppo F1s certainly exceeded my expectations, be it the phone’s camera quality or general performance across the board. Sure, it runs an outdated version of Android and Oppo certainly needs to get this part right. But software aside, it’s a solid performer when it comes to everyday usage.
Priced at around Rs 18,000 in India, you’ll certainly find other mid-range smartphones with better specs. But those of you who loving taking selfies, the Oppo F1s is probably the best camera phone you can find in this price range.
