Design of Oppo F9
Both Oppo F9 and Oppo F9 Pro are similar in terms of side and size. To differentiate between the two models, different finishes have been used in both. F9 Pro has different patterns and gradients with flashy color scheme. On the other hand, F9 has Realme 1 (Review) has a diamond cut pattern. Customers can buy the phone in Mist Black and Stellar Purple colors. It is not necessary that the pattern is visible all the time, it emerges when light falls on the back panel. We have the purple color variant available for review. This color looks a bit different compared to the black and gold colored smartphones available in the market.
This Oppo handset is made of plastic, the biggest feature of F9 is its display. The notch of F9 is smaller than other smartphones, the company has named it Waterdrop. A 16-megapixel front camera will be available for selfie and video calling. With the aim of making the notch small, the earpiece has been placed just above the selfie camera. A similar notch can be found in the company’s Vivo V11 Pro (Review) and OnePlus 6T.
In the retail box, you will find the phone cover and a screen protector already applied on the phone. The body of F9 is slightly protruding outwards. Although the back panel is made of plastic, it gives a glass look. If the cover is not applied on the back panel, scratches can easily occur. The power button is on the right side, the volume up and down button is on the left side. If the phone is held properly in the hand, the finger easily reaches the fingerprint sensor present on the back panel. Just above the fingerprint sensor is the horizontal rear camera setup and LED flash. As you can see in the picture, metal has been used all around to protect the camera module from scratches. At the bottom of the phone, there is a micro-USB port instead of Type-C, 3.5 mm headphone jack, loudspeaker and microphone. The SIM tray is present on the left side of the phone, two nano-SIM and microSD card slot are provided.
Oppo F9 specifications and software
The F9 Pro and F9 have a lot of similarities in hardware. For speed and multitasking, it has a 2 GHz MediaTek Helio P60 octa-core processor with ARM Cortex-A73 core and Cortex-A53 core. The same processor has also been used in Realme 1 and the recently launched Nokia 5.1 Plus. Oppo F9 has 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage, storage can be expanded up to 256 GB with the help of microSD card. There is a 6.3-inch LTPS display with full HD resolution, whose aspect ratio is 19.5: 9. Connectivity features include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 AC, Bluetooth 4.2, GLONASS and GPS. The battery is 3500 mAh but it is not equipped with fast charging support. We tried to put a VOOC charger in Oppo F9 but it was not charging the F9. The Oppo F9 will come with Color OS skin based on Android Oreo. The handset we have for review is running on the July security patch.
Smart assistant will open when you drag the home screen from the right side, on the top you will see the search bar, shortcuts of some apps, weather and step counter widget. Like iOS, in this Oppo smartphone too, if the home screen is swiped downwards, the universal search function will open. Many menu and sub-menu options will be found in the Settings app. We did not see the search function in the app. This means that if you want to find any function, you will not be able to search with the help of the search bar. Many pre-installed applications are already provided in the phone. Oppo will also suggest you to install many apps on the App Store. During the review, we found that the default browser sends notifications several times a day.
Oppo F9 performance, battery life and camera
The display of Oppo F9 is good, things are clearly visible on the screen when the phone is used in outdoor light. Compatible apps work in full screen mode and non-compatible apps work on 16:9 aspect ratio. But you also have the option to stretch these apps to full screen. This handset of Oppo comes with face unlock security, during the review we found that the feature works fast. When we reviewed the F9 Pro, we found the performance of the F9 Pro to be slow compared to other smartphones available in the same price segment, Honor Play and Huawei Nova 3i. The performance of the phone is better because while using the handset, we did not feel that the phone is slowing down.
We tried playing PUBG game on F9, we would recommend to keep the quality on medium while playing the game. The phone did not slow down but it started heating up quickly. We noticed that the battery was getting consumed quickly while playing the game. About 10 percent battery was seen to decrease in 20-25 minutes. In HD video loop test, compared to F9 Pro, we found that F9 smartphone gives a backup of 14 hours 39 minutes. After playing games, using WhatsApp account and watching online videos, the phone gives a day’s battery life. Power saving mode is also provided to save battery.
You may miss the lack of VOOC charging technology. The phone was charged only 29 percent in 30 minutes and 62 percent in one hour. The phone took 2 hours and 20 minutes to fully charge. On the back panel of the phone, there is a 16-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel depth sensor, along with a 16-megapixel front camera for selfies and video calling. Apart from standard photo and video modes, the camera app has portrait mode, stickers, pano, time lapse, slow-mo and expert. You can apply filters before clicking a photo, Google Lens is also integrated in the stock camera app. The phone is fast in focusing on anything, as well as the photos have come out quite sharp and correct in daylight.
Focus takes a little time when shooting macro. The picture is sharp, but it keeps the person and background separate. Camera performance fades a bit in low light. Portrait mode uses the secondary camera, but there is no option to choose how much blur to apply. But you will definitely get many lighting options. Portrait mode blurs the background more, due to which the photo looks artificial when viewed. The F9 Pro has a 25-megapixel front camera for selfies, while the company has given a 16-megapixel front camera in the F9. Beautification mode and AI are pre-set which decide the beautification level. Apart from this, you can set the beautification level yourself. The rear and front cameras are capable of recording videos at 1080p. Video stabilization is available when shooting at 1080p from the rear camera.
Our verdict
The most attractive feature of Oppo F9 is the waterdrop notch present in the phone. Oppo has designed the handset in a better way. The battery life and performance of the phone is excellent at this price. If the look of the phone i.e. design impresses you more than the specification, then Oppo F9 is for you. On the other hand, phones of other companies in the same price segment can be a better deal. If you want maximum performance then Xiaomi Poco F1 can also prove to be a great option. We have not yet reviewed Vivo V9 Pro, but the hardware of this phone is also better.