Oppo F3 review: Selfielicious

Performance

We can't realistically ask much of the Mediatek MT6750T. With a performance cluster of four Cortex-A53 units, only going up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-T860MP2 GPU, it has pretty limited resources to work with. What would have been a pretty reasonable request to Oppo in our mind, however, is not to use a SoC that sits a step below the Helio P10 - not exactly a stellar performer either.

Market segmentation and business reasoning aside, there is no denying that the F3 is a major step down from the F3 Plus in terms of performance. It also no secret that, while limited, a budget of around $310 or so can get you a lot more bang for your buck on today's market.

To properly illustrate these points, we decided to first pit the F3 against its siblings F3 Plus and R9s. Then, we moved on to Vivo, since it is no secret the two companies have been passing the ball back and forth with directly competing offers for quite some time now. As it happens, the V5 represents an interesting hardware step down from the Oppo F3 - a pretty similar MT6750 chipset drives its 720p screen. Then there is the V5 Plus, which is a pretty close match specs-wise to the F3 and even has a dual selfie setup of its own. However, at the cost of around $50 more, Vivo has equipped it with a Snapdragon 625 chip.

But before we drone on about the list of competitors any further, let's get to some numbers. We kick things off with pure CPU tests and GeekBench. Since our Oppo F3 Plus unit still refuses to run GeekBench 4, GeekBench 4.1 scores are not directly comparable, and GeekBench 3 is somewhat irrelevant, here is how the two compare in the latest version of the benchmark.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  4695
• Oppo F3
  2798

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  1438
• Oppo F3
  764

We decided to add the Snapdragon 430 to give you a wider performance comparison. Both the Nokia 6 and Lenovo K6 Note employ it to deliver close alternatives to the Oppo F3 package.

The Helio P10, which we talked about earlier, is also represented in the following charts by the Meizu M5 Note. And speaking of MediaTek, it turns out there are quite a few handsets currently on offer rocking the X20 while still staying within the $310 budget. And while the MT6750 and MT6755 (Helio P10) are pretty neck to neck in most performance tests, the X20 simply blows them both out of the water.

GeekBench 4 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  4456
• ZTE Axon 7
  3990
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3885
• Huawei Honor 6X
  3351
• vivo V5 Plus
  3136
• Oppo R9s
  3130
• Meizu MX6
  3070
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  3011
• Lenovo P2
  2965
• Meizu M5 Note
  2690
• Oppo F3
  2685
• vivo V5
  2427
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2027

GeekBench 4 (single-core)

Higher is better

• ZTE Axon 7
  1702
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  1551
• Meizu MX6
  1550
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  1546
• vivo V5 Plus
  846
• Oppo R9s
  845
• Lenovo P2
  840
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  832
• Huawei Honor 6X
  801
• Oppo F3
  737
• Meizu M5 Note
  683
• Lenovo K6 Note
  635
• vivo V5
  621

On to compound test suitеs then, and the AnTuTu 6 in particular. We can see the Oppo F10 outpace Samsung's Exynos 7870-powered Galaxy J7 (2016), but only by a little margin.

However, Huawei's own Kirin 655 in the Honor 6X proves superior overall. Looking at the Oppo R9s, we can really see how much power can be squeezed out of the battery-efficient Snapdragon 625 chip. And, in case you were wondering what the ZTE Axon 7 is even doing on the list with its flagship-grade Snapdragon 820 SoC, it's because its price has been in a steep decline (owing to the recent introduction of the Axon 7s).

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• ZTE Axon 7
  129926
• Meizu MX6
  92377
• Oppo F3 Plus
  91458
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  85162
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  77442
• Oppo R9s
  66081
• vivo V5 Plus
  63812
• Lenovo P2
  63493
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  61616
• Huawei Honor 6X
  57012
• Oppo F3
  53008
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  49094
• Meizu M5 Note
  47806
• Nokia 6
  46413
• Lenovo K6 Note
  44972
• vivo V5
  41702

Basemark OS 2.0 tells much the same story, with only a little variance here and there.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• ZTE Axon 7
  2346
• Oppo F3 Plus
  1890
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  1728
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  1696
• Huawei Honor 6X
  1309
• Lenovo P2
  1235
• vivo V5 Plus
  1107
• Oppo R9s
  1091
• Oppo F3
  1085
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  1050
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  1007
• vivo V5
  821
• Meizu MX6
  469
• Lenovo K6 Note
  288

What is even more noticeable is the decrease in graphics performance compared to the F3 Plus. The Mali-T860MP2 just can't keep up with the Adreno 510. The latter is far from a powerhouse, but at least it delivers smooth gameplay in graphic intensive games (as long as they scale down quality a bit). As for the Mali-T860MP2, it can't really cope well with anything beyond casual titles. Stuttering is a sad reality in games such as Asphalt 8. Your mileage may vary depending on the title.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  17
• Meizu MX6
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  15
• ZTE Axon 7
  15
• Oppo R9s
  10
• vivo V5 Plus
  9.9
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  9.9
• Lenovo P2
  9.8
• Huawei Honor 6X
  8.4
• Lenovo K6 Note
  7
• Oppo F3
  6.8
• Meizu M5 Note
  5.5
• vivo V5
  5.2
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  4.9

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  17
• Meizu MX6
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  15
• ZTE Axon 7
  12
• vivo V5
  10
• Lenovo P2
  10
• Oppo R9s
  9.7
• vivo V5 Plus
  9.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  9.7
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  9.5
• Huawei Honor 6X
  7.9
• Lenovo K6 Note
  7
• Oppo F3
  6.8
• Meizu M5 Note
  5.5

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• ZTE Axon 7
  31
• Meizu MX6
  11
• Oppo F3 Plus
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  9.5
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  7.2
• Oppo R9s
  6.2
• vivo V5 Plus
  6.2
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  6.2
• Lenovo P2
  6.2
• Huawei Honor 6X
  4.8
• Oppo F3
  4.5
• Lenovo K6 Note
  4.4
• Meizu M5 Note
  3.6
• vivo V5
  3.4

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• ZTE Axon 7
  15
• Oppo F3 Plus
  11
• Meizu MX6
  11
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  9.4
• vivo V5
  7.8
• Lenovo P2
  6.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  6.2
• Oppo R9s
  6.1
• vivo V5 Plus
  6.1
• Huawei Honor 6X
  4.6
• Oppo F3
  4.5
• Lenovo K6 Note
  4.4
• Meizu M5 Note
  3.6
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.2

When reading some of these results, it is important to remember that some of the devices on the list, like the Vivo V5 and Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016), have 720p displays. As such, they have a distinct advantage.

As far as OpenGL ES 3.1 performance goes, it is important to note that having support of the API is a small victory in itself, regardless of its actual usability for rendering games. This is due to the fact that it is one of the requirements for running Android 7 Nougat. This means it might still get an OS upgrade down the road.

GFX 3.1 Car scene (offscreen)

Higher is better

• ZTE Axon 7
  15
• Oppo F3 Plus
  6
• Meizu MX6
  6
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  5.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  5.4
• Huawei Honor 6X
  4.6
• Oppo R9s
  3.4
• vivo V5 Plus
  3.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  3.4
• Lenovo P2
  3.4
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.5
• Oppo F3
  2.4
• Meizu M5 Note
  1.9
• vivo V5
  1.8

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• ZTE Axon 7
  16
• Oppo F3 Plus
  6
• Meizu MX6
  6
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  5.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  5.4
• Huawei Honor 6X
  4.8
• vivo V5
  3.7
• Lenovo P2
  3.7
• Oppo R9s
  3.4
• vivo V5 Plus
  3.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  3.4
• Oppo F3
  2.4
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.4
• Meizu M5 Note
  1.9

All things considered, the Oppo F3 is rather severely held back by the Mediatek MT6750T chipset. We definitely think Oppo could have done a better job in its cost-saving efforts and it's a fact that you can get more performance for your money elsewhere.