Oppo N3 and R5 hands-on: First look

Introduction

Oppo's Singapore event is now under way and we were off to a great show - the star of the show took the stage just minutes after the start. The successor to the Oppo N1 is called Oppo N3 and retains the rotating camera module on the top, while adding a few nice extras on top. The Oppo N3 sports a 5.5" display, meaning it's much smaller than the 5.9" Oppo N1.

With 16MP on a 1/2.3" sensor and f/2.2 aperture, the Oppo N3 should be a potent cameraphone. The lens on the camera is also Schneider Kreuznach certified, while a nice touch to the rotating module is the added motor, which allows it to auto-rotate.

Each pixel is 1.34 microns which puts it above the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony's Xperia series, so in theory the Oppo N3 should be able to do better in low-light conditions. What's more interesting about the rotating Oppo N3 camera is its ability to move by itself, a whole 206 degrees. Oppo has named the module Motorized camera. Once the camera locks onto a subject it can track it by itself. Panoramas have also gotten better, now offering an automatic mode and a maximum resolution of 64MP.

Oppo N3 at a glance:

• Dimensions: 161.2 x 77 x 9.9mm; 192g
• Display: 5.5" TFT touchscreen, 1,080 x 1,920 resolution; around 401ppi; Gorilla Glass 3
• Chipset: Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AA chipset: quad-core Krait 400 @2.3GHz; Adreno 330 GPU; 2GB RAM
• OS: ColorOS 2.0 based on Android 4.4 KitKat
• Camera: 16MP Motorized camera with 4K@24fps video recording; 206-degree rotation, f/2.2 aperture, infrared and Bluetooth remote control, RAW support
• Storage: 32GB built-in, microSD card
• Connectivity: LTE, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS + GLONASS; microUSB 2.0
• Battery: 3,000mAh, VOOC rapid charging
• Misc: Fingerprint scanner on the back

The camera suite of the N3 has been upgraded and is now called Ultra image 2.0. It has slow shutter, ultra macro mode, after focus, RAW support and manual control. The beautify mode is here once again.

The Oppo N3 has the the same pixel density as the Apple iPhone 6 Plus - 401ppi. There's a Snapdragon 801 chipset with a quad-core Krait 400 processor and 2GB of RAM inside to keep things going smoothly. The Oppo N3 comes with ColorOS 2.0, which is based on Android 4.4 KitKat, no word yet on a CyanogenMod variant.

Built inside a stainless steel frame the Oppo N3 looks very sleek and premium. On the back it now has a fingerprint scanner, which can also be used to encrypt images.

The Oppo N3 comes with a breathing light under its display. Oppo calls it Notification Light 2.0. The O-Click remote is back as well, also in 2.0 form. It will help users to find the Oppo N3 and more.

The Oppo N3 supports VOOC rapid charging for its 3,000mAh battery. It can get to 75% battery from 30 minutes of charge. Oppo says you can get 2 hours of call time from 5 minutes of charging. There's a new mini VOOC charger specifically for the Oppo N3.

The price of the Oppo N3 at $649.

And now the Oppo R5 - praised by the company as the thinnest smartphone in the world at just 4.85mm. It packs a 5.2" 1080p AMOLED of 423 ppi, 13MP camera on the back and a 5MP on the front.

The Oppo R5 is built on a foundation of aluminum alloy and is welded together. It features a special coating material on the back and a micro arc frame on the sides. Oppo is very proud of its cooling technology thanks to a liquid-metal-like material called phase-change metal (PCM).

Oppo R5 at a glance:

• Dimensions: 148.9 x 74.5 x 4.85mm; 155g
• Display: 5.2" AMOLED touchscreen, 1,080 x 1,920 resolution; around 423ppi; Gorilla Glass 3
• Chipset: Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 chipset: octa-core @1.5GHz; Adreno 405 GPU; 2GB RAM
• OS: ColorOS 2.0 based on Android 4.4 KitKat
• Camera: 13MP main camera, IMX 214 sensor, f/2.0 aperture; 5MP front-facing camera
• Connectivity: LTE, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS + GLONASS; microUSB 2.0
• Battery: 2,000mAh, VOOC rapid charging
• Misc: Phase-change metal cooling

The AMOLED display got some quality time on stage too. Oppo claims it has the highest brightness, lowest reflectance, highest color rendition and infinite contrast ratio - all of which characteristic of AMOLED technology, save for the impressive brightness.

The Oppo R5 has a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset and LTE. It will cost $499.