OPPO F3 Plus tries to be twice the selfie expert
OPPO has apparently found its calling in the sometimes hated, sometimes loved market of selfies. Each major smartphone it releases is touted as a "selfie expert" and, to some extent, that does end up being true. The OPPO F3 Plus is no different, at least not in trying to claim the title. It is, however, different in that it has twice as much selfie expertise. And by that, we mean that it does have two front-facing cameras. But not all cameras are created equal, and neither are the OPPO F3 Plus'.
Like most dual camera systems, except the new LG G6, the two sensors and lenses on the OPPO F3 Plus' specs are uneven. The main one has a rather high 16 megapixel sensor that collects as much light and color information as it can. Beside it is a smaller 8 megapixel camera that makes up for the lower resolution with a wider 120-degree angle lens. One camera for selfies and one camera for group shots. In theory, it's a great idea but, as LG explains, the jump between resolutions and quality is just jarring.
Design-wise, the F3 Plus is pretty much your standard fare, metallic unibody design, and no one will probably fault you for mistaking it for another manufacturer's highly popular smartphone. The one key design difference, however, are the antenna lines have were once the most criticized part of the new iPhones. Instead of one band at the top and one at the bottom, the OPPO F3 Plus has 6, split between the two edges. Each band, however, is only 0.3 mm thick so it looks more like subtle stripes across the width of the phone. The number of bands hints at the phone's ability to operate on six radio frequencey ranges.
Deep inside, the OPPO F3 Plus is a large mid-range phablet, with a 6.0-inch 1920x1080 Full HD screen. It is powered by an MSM8976 Pro, a.k.a. the Qualcomm Snapdragon 653, a 64-bit 1.95 GHz octa-core processor. There's 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. The 4,000 mAh battery can charge in five minutes to offer 2 hours of talk time. And the 16 megapixel rear camera sports a 1/2.28-inch Sony IMX398 sensor developed exclusively for OPPO's smartphones. The only wart in this otherwise decent mid-ranger is that it is still running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
The OPPO F3 Plus is scheduled to launch in India on April 1 (that's no joke), though pre-orders have already started. It's tag price is roughly $475, which is pretty much on par with most mid-range Android smartphones. But how does it all perform in the real world? Stay tuned for our review of the OPPO F3 Plus dual selfie expert to find out!
