While the whole world’s been going gaga over the Find X and its funky pop-up camera, I’ve had my SIM card stashed in a completely different Oppo phone - the fresh new Oppo F9, or F9 Pro as it’s known in India. The F9 actually packs many of the same features as the Find X, including a massive front-filling display - although that peekaboo camera is replaced here with a bit of waterdrop notch action instead.
So, is the Oppo F9 a worthy affordable alternative to that Find X, and how does it stack up to competition like the Honor 10 and Zenfone 5? Here’s my full Oppo F9 review - and don’t forget to poke the ol’ subscribe button for loads more smartphone shenanigans. Cheers! Now, so far in 2018 I’ve reviewed well over a dozen glossy 6-inch-plus smartphones - I’ll be honest, I started counting and then I kind of got bored and started looking for photos of cats dressed as sushi instead.
Anyway, my point being that a LOT of oversized glass-backed mobiles have been launched this year, and the Oppo F9 is the latest to join that list. Still, Oppo has done enough to make the F9 pretty interesting. For one, that mighty 6.3-inch display practically fills the front end, with a teeny waterdrop notch concealing the selfie cam. Definitely not quite as swish as a motorised camera grille, but hopefully even dedicated notch despisers won’t be too aggrieved.
And while that glass rear gets smeared to buggery in no time at all, same as its glossy smartphone siblings, you do get a snazzy gradient design that can be snatched up in a selection of colours. With its subtle diamond pattern finish, this is a good-looking mid-range mobile for sure, to rival the likes of the Honor 10. At 169g, the Oppo F9 ain’t exactly crazy heavy - especially as I’ve been playing with the Find X, Xperia XZ2 Premium, stuff like that lately. That said, it sure isn’t easy to fondle with one hand either, despite those teeny bezels. Oppo’s one-handed mode does help out considerably at least, shrinking everything down so it’s more easily managed.
That rear-mounted fingerprint sensor lies almost completely flush with the surface, which was a little concerning - but thankfully there’s just enough definition so you can find it without fumbling around. And more often than not, I just use the face recognition instead - more on that in a bit. Now, the F9’s IPS display isn’t just a whopper, it’s rather dashing too. Colours are quite poppy for a non-AMOLED panel, rivalling Motorola’s top notch screens on its Moto G series. If you like shutting out the world with some YouTube or Netflix, the Oppo F9 definitely works. The screen’s stretched aspect ratio and Full HD resolution makes for an immersive experience, and on top brightness you’ll have no trouble seeing in harsh daylight. Oppo’s ColorOS software which sits proud as punch on top of Android Oreo adds quite a bit of bonus customisation, scattered all over the place.
For instance, you can manually tweak the F9’s colour temperature and activate the sexily-titled Night Shield mode to make things easier on the eyes when things get dark. I’ve already gone into some detail about the best ColorOS features found on the Oppo F9 so go check out my full tips and tricks guide for all you need to know. However, while the level of customisation is great, and some of the additions such as the Kids Space are great, Oppo has committed a cardinal sin - taking away the apps drawer. While the likes of Huawei now let you easily reinstate the apps tray through the phone settings, you get no such option here.
That means you’ve got no option but to stash your least-used apps away in folders on your desktops, like this is a bloody iPhone or something. Still, Oppo has made up for it somewhat with the brilliant facial recognition. This thing is pretty much infallible - it didn’t matter if the room was pitch black or I was wearing glasses, or brushing my teeth, or even gurning up a storm. The F9 recognised me and unlocked in a heartbeat each time. Bonkers. Driving the Oppo F9 is a Mediatek chipset - but don’t switch off just yet. The Helio P60, backed by a decidedly generous 6 gigs of RAM, actually does a solid job here. Everyday running is smooth and I found I could play PubG on medium settings with a decent framerate, using the GameSpace acceleration.
Although take note that overlaid notifications from the likes of Facebook Messenger will still pop up during gameplay so you'll want to sign out first. Benchmark scores are good too, rivalling mid range Snapdragon smartphones. Battery life is a definite highlight of the Oppo F9. That energy-efficient Helio platform works a charm, so I regularly managed a full two days of use without charging back up. That’s with pretty full-on use too, although don’t expect to last quite that long if you do a lot of Skyping or anything like that.
The VOOC quick-charge tech seemed to do its job too - I found that an hour at the plug was enough to almost fill the F9’s 3500mAh battery and the phone didn't seem to overhear during it either. Now sat there on the back of the Oppo F9 is a dual lens camera, you get a 16MP primary lens with f/1.85 aperture, and that's backed by a simple 2MP depth sensor. Go check out our full Oppo F9 camera review for all you need to know. In conclusion, the Oppo F9 once again proves that this exciting manufacturer can really churn out some solid smartphone hardware.
And while the F9’s software might irk some users, especially with quirks like the lack of an apps drawer, ColorOS adds in some great stuff too such as that excellent facial recognition. The brilliant battery life rounds off a satisfying user experience, albeit one that isn’t quite an all-round solid effort. So are you tempted by the Oppo F9 after all of that shenanigans? Let us know in the comments down below and don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more on the latest and greatest mobile tech. Also, people, why are you dressing your cats as sushi? You’re just making things worse for when they inevitably rise up and take control, you fools!
So, is the Oppo F9 a worthy affordable alternative to that Find X, and how does it stack up to competition like the Honor 10 and Zenfone 5? Here’s my full Oppo F9 review - and don’t forget to poke the ol’ subscribe button for loads more smartphone shenanigans. Cheers! Now, so far in 2018 I’ve reviewed well over a dozen glossy 6-inch-plus smartphones - I’ll be honest, I started counting and then I kind of got bored and started looking for photos of cats dressed as sushi instead.
Anyway, my point being that a LOT of oversized glass-backed mobiles have been launched this year, and the Oppo F9 is the latest to join that list. Still, Oppo has done enough to make the F9 pretty interesting. For one, that mighty 6.3-inch display practically fills the front end, with a teeny waterdrop notch concealing the selfie cam. Definitely not quite as swish as a motorised camera grille, but hopefully even dedicated notch despisers won’t be too aggrieved.
And while that glass rear gets smeared to buggery in no time at all, same as its glossy smartphone siblings, you do get a snazzy gradient design that can be snatched up in a selection of colours. With its subtle diamond pattern finish, this is a good-looking mid-range mobile for sure, to rival the likes of the Honor 10. At 169g, the Oppo F9 ain’t exactly crazy heavy - especially as I’ve been playing with the Find X, Xperia XZ2 Premium, stuff like that lately. That said, it sure isn’t easy to fondle with one hand either, despite those teeny bezels. Oppo’s one-handed mode does help out considerably at least, shrinking everything down so it’s more easily managed.
That rear-mounted fingerprint sensor lies almost completely flush with the surface, which was a little concerning - but thankfully there’s just enough definition so you can find it without fumbling around. And more often than not, I just use the face recognition instead - more on that in a bit. Now, the F9’s IPS display isn’t just a whopper, it’s rather dashing too. Colours are quite poppy for a non-AMOLED panel, rivalling Motorola’s top notch screens on its Moto G series. If you like shutting out the world with some YouTube or Netflix, the Oppo F9 definitely works. The screen’s stretched aspect ratio and Full HD resolution makes for an immersive experience, and on top brightness you’ll have no trouble seeing in harsh daylight. Oppo’s ColorOS software which sits proud as punch on top of Android Oreo adds quite a bit of bonus customisation, scattered all over the place.
For instance, you can manually tweak the F9’s colour temperature and activate the sexily-titled Night Shield mode to make things easier on the eyes when things get dark. I’ve already gone into some detail about the best ColorOS features found on the Oppo F9 so go check out my full tips and tricks guide for all you need to know. However, while the level of customisation is great, and some of the additions such as the Kids Space are great, Oppo has committed a cardinal sin - taking away the apps drawer. While the likes of Huawei now let you easily reinstate the apps tray through the phone settings, you get no such option here.
That means you’ve got no option but to stash your least-used apps away in folders on your desktops, like this is a bloody iPhone or something. Still, Oppo has made up for it somewhat with the brilliant facial recognition. This thing is pretty much infallible - it didn’t matter if the room was pitch black or I was wearing glasses, or brushing my teeth, or even gurning up a storm. The F9 recognised me and unlocked in a heartbeat each time. Bonkers. Driving the Oppo F9 is a Mediatek chipset - but don’t switch off just yet. The Helio P60, backed by a decidedly generous 6 gigs of RAM, actually does a solid job here. Everyday running is smooth and I found I could play PubG on medium settings with a decent framerate, using the GameSpace acceleration.
Although take note that overlaid notifications from the likes of Facebook Messenger will still pop up during gameplay so you'll want to sign out first. Benchmark scores are good too, rivalling mid range Snapdragon smartphones. Battery life is a definite highlight of the Oppo F9. That energy-efficient Helio platform works a charm, so I regularly managed a full two days of use without charging back up. That’s with pretty full-on use too, although don’t expect to last quite that long if you do a lot of Skyping or anything like that.
The VOOC quick-charge tech seemed to do its job too - I found that an hour at the plug was enough to almost fill the F9’s 3500mAh battery and the phone didn't seem to overhear during it either. Now sat there on the back of the Oppo F9 is a dual lens camera, you get a 16MP primary lens with f/1.85 aperture, and that's backed by a simple 2MP depth sensor. Go check out our full Oppo F9 camera review for all you need to know. In conclusion, the Oppo F9 once again proves that this exciting manufacturer can really churn out some solid smartphone hardware.
And while the F9’s software might irk some users, especially with quirks like the lack of an apps drawer, ColorOS adds in some great stuff too such as that excellent facial recognition. The brilliant battery life rounds off a satisfying user experience, albeit one that isn’t quite an all-round solid effort. So are you tempted by the Oppo F9 after all of that shenanigans? Let us know in the comments down below and don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more on the latest and greatest mobile tech. Also, people, why are you dressing your cats as sushi? You’re just making things worse for when they inevitably rise up and take control, you fools!