Oppo’s F1 snaps a mean selfie, looks absolutely perfect in polished aluminum, and it only costs $250. Most will know Oppo for its outrageous camera phones, like the Mad N3 with its rotating camera module. However, it also produces sleek, good-looking hardware, and now it’s bringing that same aesthetic to the mid-range with the new F Series. The first phone out of Oppo’s factory is the F1 — a camera-focused phone, although not in the way you may expect — that costs just £170 in the UK, or $250 in America. Making a big deal out of cheap phones can feel strained, but it’s easy when the hardware is as delectable as the Oppo F1. It has a gorgeous aluminum body that is polished to give it a finish you just want to caress. It feels like the back of an iPhone, a remarkable feat considering how little the F1 costs. The front has a piece of 2.5D Gorilla Glass, while the edges have been chamfered to a 60-degree angle. It may sound like the usual press release guff, except I’ll be on the look out for more 60-degree angles in the future, because it nestled in the palm of my hand like a tiny and very content kitten. Related: Our review of the Huawei Honor 7 The overall size of the phone helps. The 5-inch screen has always been a smartphone sweet spot, and although it did look a bit small — a byproduct of staring at massive screens for the past few months — it makes the device very manageable, without sacrificing too much real estate. If there’s a problem, it’s the 720p resolution, which although fine for browsing the Web and viewing the UI, isn’t so great when it comes to checking out your recently taken pictures. Made for selfies Oppo has made an effort with the camera, but it concentrated most on the selfie cam. Apparently, Oppo’s research says front cams are used more often than rear cams these days. The f/2.0 aperture and 8-megapixel sensor are surprisingly effective. Taking a few test selfies in the slowly setting UK sun produced startling results. The obligatory beauty mode isn’t invasive either, and has three different settings, ranging from natural to Kim Kardashian. An LG-style selfie gesture control works really well. Rather than contort your hand to tap the shutter release, you raise your hand in front of the camera. Instead of making a fist like on an LG phone, the Oppo simply activates a timer when it sees your open palm. Even in challenging lighting, it worked each time. Andy Boxall/Digital Trends Andy Boxall/Digital Trends Andy Boxall/Digital Trends Andy Boxall/Digital Trends The rear cam has 13-megapixels and it’s made by Samsung. It was hard to get a feel for its performance, due to failing light during our hands-on, but we really liked the Slow Shutter mode. It takes the pain out of learning a manual camera mode, and simply opens the shutter for a pre-defined amount of time. Put the F1 on a tripod, and you’ll take some cool photos. The Ultra HD mode was harder to judge. It supposedly combines several images to come up with a single 50-megapixel photo, but any quality differences were impossible to see on the 720p screen. Related:- 10 great smartphones you can buy for $400 or less Sadly, there’s no optical image stabilization on the rear cam. Instead, Oppo has its own form of digital stabilization, which takes a collection of six stills each time the shutter is activated, then automatically chooses the best for you. The idea is, one of those six will be the most in-focus, or steadiest, and that’s the only one you’ll want to see. It’s a feature that runs in the background, so you’ll have to trust the software is making the right decision. Tough competition Oppo installed Android 5.1 on the F1 and covered it with ColorOS, its own Android skin. There’s no app tray and the notification draw has been modified, which will annoy purists, but there’s almost no bloatware or pre-installed apps no one wants. It was also smooth and fast. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 616 processor and 3GB of RAM definitely help here, and the addition of a MicroSD card slot makes the phone more versatile than many alternatives that cost twice as much. We’re always having the concept of a ‘premium’ phone shoved down our throats, and told that we need to spend a fortune to get such a device; but that’s not really the case anymore. The Oppo F1 feels as ‘premium’ as any $500 phone — It’s only the specs that don’t match up. Oppo’s facing some tough competition, though, particularly from the OnePlus X, and Huawei’s newly launched Honor brand. The Honor 5x costs less and is made to work properly on U.S. networks, plus it has an equally exciting spec sheet, including a fingerprint sensor. Where the Oppo F1 wins is on the UI, and how the phone looks and feels. Not that we can recommend U.S. buyers run out and slam $250 down on the counter for the F1, because like the similarly premium and low-cost OnePlus X, it doesn’t have full support for U.S. 4G LTE bands. It’ll work all across Europe without a problem, though, and for a £170 phone, it left a good impression even after just a couple of hours use.- Oppo’s releasing the F1 at the end of January, and pre-orders are open now. If you pick one up early enough, you get a free selfie stick, which is particularly appropriate. The F1 is a great start to Oppo’s F Series. Highs Aluminum body Excellent selfie cam Perfectly sized, and very comfortable Competitive price Lows Limited U.S. 4G LTE bands 720p screen



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