Oppo F7 review

Design

The cat is out of the bag - the Oppo F7 is made of plastic - a rarity even among the entry-level devices. But if it's a well-done job - we won't mind at all.

Looks can be deceiving, as the Oppo F7 looks a lot like the R15, but that was probably intentional. If we compare both smartphones, it's like the only difference is the lack of a second camera on the back.

Oppo R15 Pro (left) next to the Oppo F7 (right)

It's more than that, of course. The R15 is made of glass and aluminum, while the F7 is all plastic. Well, except for the Gorilla Glass 5 keeping the screen safe, that is. Oppo's choice for the glossy finish is understandable, as the F7 looks a lot like the R15, but glossy plastics means fingerprints and smudges all over the place.

Luckily, Oppo did some trick with the paint, as it looks like it's beneath the glass, excuse us, the plastic. And thus, it takes some time to really figure out the F7's choice of materials. Obviously, Oppo didn't want to lose the good looks and worked for them until the F7 was convincing enough. And, well, it is.

The F7 is a looker, surely helped by the Solar Red, Diamond Black, and Moonlight Silver color options. Those three are all vivid and showy, and very easily likable.

The back is all flat, except for the minor camera hump. And a closer look at that red will reveal some tiny dotted pattern, which makes it look even more stunning.

But no matter how catchy the F7's rear looks, the real story opener lies elsewhere. The 6.23" LCD screen occupies almost the entire front, except for that top cutout where the 25MP selfie cam and the earpiece are. Yes, the infamous notch has made it to the mid-range.

Well, as Oppo's PRs said at one of the events - they listen to the fans and just fulfill their wishes. And those people want those gigantic screens with notches, so we can't really argue against that. Okay, we can, but not much we can do besides that. Like it or not, the notch trend is on.

The F7 is exactly as large and thin as the Oppo F5, also made of plastic. The F7 weighs 158g, just 6g on top of the F5.

The F7 increased the screen area by trimming the bezels and that's how it could be as big as its predecessor.

Oppo F5 and Oppo F7 (in red)

A peek over the back reveals that the F7 and F5 are a lot alike, although the F5 was curvier around the sides. The antenna lines are gone now, probably completely hidden behind that flashy red back.

Oppo F5 and Oppo F7 (in red)

The Oppo F7 has everything a phone should have these days, the analogue audio jack included. The SIM slot is not hybrid - it's a rather big triple-frame that can house two nanoSIMs and a microSD card at the same time. Nice!

Oppo F7

The Oppo F7 is very easy to handle and operate, but slippery as it looks. It's not made of glass, which means the plastic would provide a somewhat more secure grip, but probably nowhere near enough for most of its users. That's why they would really appreciate the thoughtful inclusion of that transparent case in the retail box.

Oppo F7