Oppo R7 review: Changing course

Oppo browser and Chrome

The Oppo R7 comes with a proprietary web browser, which has an address bar on top and a navigation bar on the bottom always visible when you scroll. There's a fullscreen mode, though, which hides both and replaces them with a single menu button that makes them reappear when desired.

Another handy feature is Night mode, which re-renders web pages so that black-on-white texts are displayed as light gray-on-darker gray to make it easier on the eyes in darker environments.

Google Chrome is also on board with all the familiar features we've come to like and take for granted like seamless integration with its desktop counterpart, data saver, extensive settings and overall uncluttered interface.

Built-in browser • Google Chrome

Other pre-installed apps

Security Center is a do-it-all app that lets you control all sorts of features from call/message privacy and Quiet Time settings, to phone optimization and app permissions, app encryption, to network and battery usage. The phone's Guest Mode is also activated from within this app.

Security Center

The Oppo R7 comes with WPS Office (Previously Kingsoft Office) preinstalled. It's a pretty powerful office editor, now with a redesigned interface, as we have to admit the old one was getting rather outdated.

The app can handle Word docs, PDFs, Spreadsheets and Presentations. It can link to cloud storage, email files, and create a shared view with other users and more. There's editing enabled, too, so you can get some work done on the go, if need be.

Kingsoft Office

The calendar app has three views that you can switch with a toggle on top. First is the Year view, which is not a problem on this diagonal and resolution, yet some manufacturers omit it. Then comes month view, with little white dots for days with events. Week view frees more space for the agenda, which is a vertically scrollable grid of events.

Calendar

The clock app supports multiple alarms, each with its own repeat time, ring tone, volume, snooze interval and note. The app also offers a world clock, a stop watch and a timer.

Clock

The Tools folder is preloaded with a few apps that you usually get from the market. There's a Flashlight app, a sound recorder and a 3D compass. A calculator app is also on board.

Flashlight • Compass • Voice recorder • Calculator

The phone comes with a capable file manager out of the box. Its interface is laid out over two tabs, the first one organizes files by category, while the second is a traditional folder browser.

Files and folders can be copied, moved, deleted, renamed and compressed to ZIP (and ZIP files can be extracted). Batch operations are supported. The folder browser has list and grid views and you can change the sorting method. The system can be encrypted and password protected too.

Files app

The file browser also has built in DLNA and FTP server support, which makes it easy to access multimedia and general files on another device.

Backup and restore can perform scheduled or on-demand backups of your contacts, messages and calendar. It doesn't stop there and can also save copies of your settings and launcher layout as well as apps, music and images, making it one of the most thorough manufacturer-supplied backup apps.

Backup and restore