Oppo F7 review

Colorful Oreo

The Oppo F7, just like the R15, runs on ColorOS 5, based on Android 8.1 Oreo. The new v5.0 launcher introduces an enhanced AI engine with real-time translation, faster Face Unlock, new navigation gestures, better gallery, split-screen multi-tasking. There are also new app shortcuts (long tap), redesigned icons and themes, improved call history, new security features including safe, and better gaming mode with WeChat integration.

ColorOS customizations run deep, making it far off from the standard Google-developed mobile experience. Units sold outside of China still come with the full Google suite, which has resulted in having a few apps with similar functionality - one by Oppo, and another one by Google.

ColorOS isn't that bloated, but it's not "pure Android" either. It comes pre-loaded with social networking apps, a document editor, and few minor-footprint apps.

The so-called AI builds on-device user behavior models for faster app startups and better resource management. It also uses this behavior to show relevant information on the left-most homescreen pane - calendar appointments, quick shortcuts, weather, world clock, package tracking, flight info, among others. You can configure those, or just leave them to the "AI".

The user interface is very familiar. There's no app drawer on the default launcher. Instead, every app you install gets dumped onto the homescreen.

The Lockscreen features a continually changing slideshow of images. You can subscribe to several different channels (e.g., photos of nature or cars or others) or provide your own imagery.

Lock and home screens

The fingerprint sensor is always-on, and it's fast and accurate. You can also set up face unlock in addition to fingerprint security - it's equally fast as the F7 wakes up the moment you pick it up.

The face recognition is indeed blazing fast, faster than on the iPhone X. It relies on 120 recognition points and supposedly can't be fooled by a picture. Surely, this implementation is not as secure as Apple's Face ID, but it's there, and it's user-friendly.

The wallpaper on the homescreen doesn't change as the lockscreen wallpaper does, but you can still spruce up the place with Themes. The Theme Store features whole themes and just wallpapers, sorted into categories (including free and paid ones). Themes change the icon pack, the lockscreen wallpaper, and even the system font.

Themes

The notification shade features notifications, quick toggles, and a brightness scrubber.

Notifications • Toggles • Task Switcher • Split screen

One of the most notable additions to Oppo's custom ROM has to be the Full-Screen Gesture model. Bigger display and diminishing bezels and chins tend to pose some ergonomic concerns beyond a certain point. Oppo's current design might not be exactly there yet, but the company is already trying its best to prepare for that.

When enabled, Full-Screen Gesture navigation positions three small lines at the bottom of the UI. Swiping up from the middle one acts like a home button but if you stop the gestures mid-way - you'll summon the task switcher (like on the iPhone X). Swiping on the left or right ones acts as Back. You can change one of those to open the recent apps manager if you like.

You can hide those lines since they are only visual aids. If you don't like these controls, there is a standard Android navigation bar to fall back to as well.

Navigation settings

Clone apps and file safe functions are on board, as well as real-time translation thanks to an improved voice assistant.

There is a Phone Manager quite similar to what Huawei and Xiaomi have on their phones under the same name. It handles memory cleaner functions, app permissions and encryption, and virus scan, among other things.

Phone Manager • Game Settings • Gallery • Videos • Files

An improved Game Center allows you to handpick which notifications to pass through when you are playing with friends. It now supports WeChat Voice integration, so no more switching to WeChat if you get a call.

Benchmark and performance

The Oppo F7 employs the same chipset powering the R15 flagship - the Helio P60. The MediaTek's P60 packs an octa-core processor of 4x Cortex-A73 @2.0GHz and 4x Cortex-A53 @2.0GHz. The presence of A73 cores should seriously boost the Android's day-to-day operations.

There is a tri-core Mali-G72 GPU to handle graphics. It's not the best in the mid-range class, but we've seen it perform great under pressure, so it should be up to the task.

Finally, the Oppo F7 comes with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, depending on the storage option you get.

The Snapdragon 660 is known to have the most powerful processor in the mid-range and, luckily, the Helio P60 features a similarly powerful configuration. So, no matter if it's a single or a multi-core task, the Oppo F7 and its P60 CPU are among the best performers in the midrange.

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Nokia 7 plus
  1634
• Oppo R15 Pro
  1612
• Oppo F7
  1531
• Oppo R15
  1520
• Huawei Mate 10 Lite
  913
• Nokia 6 (2018)
  882
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  877
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
  874
• Motorola Moto X4
  866
• Sony Xperia XA2
  865

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo F7
  5901
• Nokia 7 plus
  5893
• Oppo R15 Pro
  5809
• Oppo R15
  5806
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
  4309
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  4292
• Nokia 6 (2018)
  4225
• Sony Xperia XA2
  4215
• Motorola Moto X4
  4136
• Huawei Mate 10 Lite
  3603

The tri-core Mali-G72 delivers great performance on the 1080p display of the Oppo F7. While it oddly lags in the compound tests such as BaseMark X, the GFX separate routines put it on par with the Adreno 512 inside the S660 chip.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Nokia 7 plus
  23
• Oppo R15 Pro
  22
• Oppo F7
  20
• Nokia 6 (2018)
  14
• Sony Xperia XA2
  14
• Motorola Moto X4
  14
• Oppo F5
  11
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
  9.9
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  9.8
• Huawei Mate 10 Lite
  8.1

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo R15 Pro
  15
• Nokia 7 plus
  15
• Oppo F7
  12
• Nokia 6 (2018)
  9.9
• Motorola Moto X4
  9.8
• Sony Xperia XA2
  9.6
• Oppo F5
  7.1
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
  6.5
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  6.4
• Huawei Mate 10 Lite
  4.8

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Nokia 7 plus
  9.1
• Oppo R15 Pro
  9
• Oppo F7
  7.5
• Nokia 6 (2018)
  5.6
• Sony Xperia XA2
  5.5
• Motorola Moto X4
  5.3
• Oppo F5
  4.2
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
  3.5
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  3.5
• Huawei Mate 10 Lite
  2.9

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Nokia 7 plus
  21063
• Oppo R15 Pro
  20693
• Motorola Moto X4
  14479
• Nokia 6 (2018)
  14365
• Sony Xperia XA2
  14312
• Oppo R15
  11993
• Oppo F7
  11873
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
  10484
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  10472
• Oppo F5
  9205
• Huawei Mate 10 Lite
  8721

Running the compound tests such as AnTuTu and BaseMark we got yet another proof for the great skills of the Helio P60.

AnTuTu 7

Higher is better

• Oppo R15 Pro
  146526
• Nokia 7 plus
  140820
• Oppo R15
  140161
• Oppo F7
  139414
• Nokia 6 (2018)
  90918

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Oppo R15 Pro
  2438
• Nokia 7 plus
  2376
• Oppo R15
  1985
• Oppo F7
  1953
• Sony Xperia XA2
  1545
• Motorola Moto X4
  1532
• Nokia 6 (2018)
  1517
• Huawei Mate 10 Lite
  1408
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  1262
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
  1226
• Oppo F5
  424

The benchmarks easily show the Helio P60 isn't lacking in performance. It has a great processor and very balanced graphics, which is what a mid-ranger should be all about. We ran all kinds of games and we spotted no issues whatsoever with lag or graphics. Hiccups might occur here and there, but we can't tell if those were bottlenecks or app issues.

The Android OS runs blazing fast, smoother than on some recent flagships we've tested. This is both chipset and software optimizations related, but it's another job well done.

Finally, the F7 always runs cool, even under peak performance. There were no signs of throttling as a result of that, which is nice.