Oppo Find 7 Review

Interface and functionality

Double-tap-to-wake is a must for this form factor, and the Find 7 has it; it's also packing a skinned, but ultimately simplistic and user-friendly mod of Android.

Powering the Find 7 software-wise is Oppo's ColorOS interface, on top of of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. We felt like ColorOS strikes a fine balance between offering extra functionality and keeping things simple and accessible. Considering the size of the device, we're definitely happy to see that Oppo is offering double-tap-to-wake type functionality to the 7.

We also dig Oppo's inclusion of gestures. Two of those come by default, and can be drawn directly on the screen when it's locked – a shortcut to the camera (draw an “O”) and one for the flashlight (draw a “V”). You can create your own gestures and define their behavior (i.e. open a specific app, or directly call your mom), but these won't work if the screen is off. Instead, you'll have to swipe the top left side of the status bar to open the so-called gesture panel, which kind of defeats the idea of quick access.

The third and last more interesting feature of the 7 is its access to the very extensive treasure troves of themes available right through a built-in app. You can change the look and style of both your home and lock screens – for example, you can easily transform to Find 7 to look alike to stock Android. Of course, the settings menus and built-in Oppo apps will only see a change in icons – everything else will look as the manufacturer initially intended it.

Speaking of those, ColorOS leaves no stone unturned. Essential apps like the Dialer, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, and E-mail, all have seen intervention from Oppo, but we, again, like their simplistic, down-to-the-point, but modern look and standard functioning. Of course, Oppo hasn't missed the opportunity to add some extra apps. For example, we found that the built-in Guest mode is one of the better implementations of the functionality: you essentially can get two unlock patterns working simultaneously – one for you, and one for your children. In the same vein, we found the pre-loaded App encryption app handy – it essentially allows you to lock certain apps, like the Gallery, where you may have sensitive content. Last, but not least, the Permission Monitor app allows you to keep track of which apps are making use of what kind of data and functionality on your phone. What's more, you can deny certain privileges on a per-app basis.

Processor and memory

The Find 7 offers more power than you'll know what to do with – the interface is smooth as silk, and even 3D games are not a challenge.

Despite the Quad HD display, the Oppo Find 7 is busting our synthetic benchmark charts with the fastest Snapdragon 801version – the 2.5GHz quad-core MSM8974AC chip - and 3 GB of RAM. It's the same processor found in the Galaxy S5 and LG , and neither apps, nor games, can manage the feat of pressuring the silicone inside. In addition, we noticed that the Find 7 powers through everything, from the basics, like navigating around the UI, through heavy gaming titles without a hitch.

You'll find the generous 32 GB of storage on board with the Find, but you do have the option to expand through a microSD card, for up to 128GB more.

Camera

The 13-megapixel camera on the Oppo Find 7 is a good one, with a few extra options like stitching a 50 MP photo, and 4K video recording, thrown in for a good measure.

As soon as we managed to unbox the Find 7, we went outside straight away, with the idea of putting the 13-megapixel rear camera through its paces. The rear camera on the 7 comes with a wider-than-average, f/2.0 aperture, a dual LED flash config, and a 1/3.06'' sensor (which is about the average for today's smartphone). This 13 MP sensor is Sony's newest IMX214 BSI kit, which is a step up from the IMX155 found in current flagships and midrangers.

Looking at the software first, we appreciate the simplistic nature of the camera UI, which is ergonomically spaced out. This is not the most functional camera of all, but it has a few notable tricks up its sleeve. Namely, you get the usual shooting modes, like Panorama (which is quirky, and offers average results) and HDR, but also extras, such as Slow shutter, which is great for working out artsy-looking night shots; HD picture, which creates massive, 50MP snaps; and lastly – a RAW mode, which outputs shots in a .dng format for easy post-processing.

Call quality

Voices are properly transmitted and more than loud enough.

Both the microphone and the in-ear speaker on the Oppo Find 7 proved most capable in our testing. For its part, the microphone transmitted our voices pleasantly to the other side, with minimal distortions, which were only noticeable when we raised our voices. That wasn't needed however, as the other side was hearing us very loudly already. As for the in-ear speaker, it's similarly top-notch. Voices' timbers were properly carried over to the other side, and you and your caller both will know who's on the other side instantaneously.

Battery life

You just gotta try the Rapid Charger, but battery life is pretty average.

Keeping the lights on is a 3000 mAh Li-Po battery, which should offer at least a day of moderate usage. Oppo doesn't cite official talk and standby time for the Find 7, but we ran our standardized battery test, and the phone barely lasted four and a half hours of screen-on time at our standard test brightness, putting it at the bottom of the flagship endurance this season, and indicating that the Quad HD display is indeed a battery hog - at least the panel that is in the Oppo find 7.

What sets the phone apart here, however, is the inclusion of what Oppo is calling the Rapid Charger. That's a larger-than-average wall charger, which outputs 4.5A of current (instead of the average 1A to 2A), and is able to very rapidly juice the battery. In one instance, we managed to replenish the whopping 56% of charge in just 23 minutes, which is really impressive. Still, going from zero to hero takes about hour and a half, which is not that much shorter than topping up the LG G Pro 2, or the G3, for instance, which take less than two hours to charge completely.