OPPO Find 7: Unknown Gem
First impressions
The OPPO Find 7 is a device that has the looks and on-paper specs to rival to the best in the market. How well does it run in real life?
For starters it has an impressive high-resolution 5.5-inch "Quad HD"2,560 x 1,440-pixel display. Flick it on and the intensely packed 538ppi screen pops to life. Bright and sharp even under strong sunlight. While that's a lot more pixels than Apple offers, it appears as sharp as the best of the bunch.
The dimensions are huge but it is easy to grip. It has an interesting faux carbon fibre texture to the back that appeals to the car guy in me. The metal band that barely borders the edges exudes class. There's no gimmicky chrome like Samsung's products and that's a relief. Chrome is yesterday, especially when it peels. It's easy to type even with one hand but the placement of the power button is a little lower than where it should be.
THE JUICE
It's powered by a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and 3GB of RAM. 32GB of built-in memory and an additional microSD card slot means you can store tons of media. The con is that it is a little difficult to take off the back cover through which you get access to the SD card. There have been no issues regarding performance. It worked flawlessly no matter what I threw at it. Load the highest res games and you're good to go.
SOFTWARE AND FEATURES
It uses a skin over the Android 4.3 called Color OS. And throughout my so-far month long existence with it, the UI proved to be lag-free at all times. It includes a gesture panel that can be activated by pulling down from the top left. The gestures work well every time and you can make your own to open preferred apps. The gestures also work when the screen is off such as a double tap to wake the phone.
And one thing I like is that there is a cool notification light that pulses gently along the bottom of the device. Retro cool? Yes.
CAMERA
This is the crowning achievement for this device. The 13-megapixel camera has a quick shutter based around a Sony Exmor IMX214 BSI 1/3.06" CMOS sensor. It performs brilliantly in most lighting conditions thanks to the F/2.0. A little noise is present in low light conditions. A dual LED works as a fill light instead of just a typical flash. This helps in providing muted light that illuminates details without creating harsh brightness. There is a special Ultra-HD mode that works most of the time but I preferred shooting using better lights. Mount it on a tripod and the HD feature really pops. The pictures came out showing good contrast and very little JPEG artifacts. There are a lot of similarities with the G3 but the OPPO's camera trumps the latter. The photos weren't heavily compressed or filtered providing a very natural color output. This is perfect for the Facebook and Instagram aficionados.
It also excels at video with 2160p and 1080p video capture at 30 frames per second plus. You also get supper smooth slow motion at 120fps if you record at 720p. Comes in handy recording the current hartal activities.
PERFORMANCE
In my benchmark tests, I got a roughly consistent 38100 on Antutu which was couple thousand higher than the S5. The Sony Z2 and LG G3 fared under 33000 in this
BATTERY LIFE
The exceptionally high res screen meant some battery performance suffered. The 3,000mAh battery often struggled to go a full day but then you have to consider the factor that this device was put through some extreme usage involving full Wi-Fi and 3G support non-stop. It's a small caveat as the brilliance of the screen is a joy to behold. I could live with the slightly shorter charging intervals. And then the OPPO comes with a charger capable of giving 75 percent juice in under 30 minutes. I wasn't given the charger with the handset but a friend who has the same device confirmed the numbers.
Specs
Display: 5.5 inches, IPS LCD capacitive Gorilla Glass 3
Camera:13 MP, 4128x3120 pixels, 5MP secondary
OS: Android OS 4.3 with ColorOS Processor: Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400
GPU: Adreno 330 Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass
ROM: 32GB, RAM: 3GB Battery: 3000 mAh
Price: Tk. 49,900/- and two year warranty
CONCLUSION
It has a high price tag. But it also comes with very high specifications. It looks good, works great and has a display that you can stare at all day. It's still an unknown quantity in Bangladesh although it is making massive inroads in many developed countries. Chinese phones are generally considered budget phones with often dubious reliability. But recently there have been several game changers bringing quality and flagship specs strong enough to scare the big names. The OPPO Find 7 is just such a phone with the right specs and a smart, contemporary design.
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