OPPO R7 Plus Review

Introduction

Oppo's R7 series of smartphones is the Chinese manufacturer's strategic force for conquering the mid-range category, where devices aim to offer quality design and satisfactory performance at a more affordable price point compared to brand-name flagship smartphones. The Oppo R7 Plus is most certainly an example of this trend in motion with its large display, metal construction and modern-day hardware powering it. But does it have what it takes to justify its, admittedly, considerable price tag of $500 unlocked? We'll have a try at answering that by putting the phablet through its paces!

Package includes:

• Oppo R7 Plus
• SIM ejector tool
• Information guides
• Clear silicone protection case
• Earbuds
• Charging and data microUSB cable
• VOOC Charger

Design

Not messing with the good stuff, Oppo oversized the delightful looks of its R series handsets.

The Oppo R7 Plus is a plus-sized smartphone for serious phablet lovers only – for ones that wouldn't mind carrying a 6-inch screen behemoth out and about. Still, its dimensions of 6.22 x 3.23 x 0.31 inches (158 x 82 x 7.75 mm) are pretty reasonable for such a literal heavyweight – the R7 Plus weighs 6.8 oz (192 g), feeling solid and definitely heavy! Also of note is that Oppo managed a very good screen-to-body ratio of nearly 77%, successfully eliminating much of the unwanted fluff around the R7 Plus' screen.

The Oppo R7 Plus is also a good-looking and tightly constructed smartphone. It is rectangular, with rounded corners for a better grip, and its sides are decorated with chamfered grooves. The body is fashioned out of a magnesium-aluminum alloy that's supposedly undergone 48 polishing processes. Yet, plastic still plays part in the formula, for there are two plastic bands on the back where the antennas are positioned. Meanwhile, the display is covered in shapely Arc Edge 2.5D glass, which is a fancy way of saying that the glass is contoured along the smartphone's edges for an elegant "flowing" effect.

Aside from the camera, the R7 Plus has a fingerprint scanner on its back, along with a single loudspeaker. The scanner is shaped as a rounded rectangle. Reaching for it feels easy and natural with the index finger, but the fingerprint recognition isn't as immediate as we hoped. Getting it to accurately respond upon the first try is really a question of touching the sensor at the precise right spot. Sometimes it takes us two to three tries to unlock the device, so we have to rate the scanner as average and not entirely reliable. Then again, perhaps a software update could improve its performance?

While it may not have the iPhone 6's precise contours or the HTC One M9's hand-polished sheen, the R7 Plus certainly has its charm and has been built with attention to detail. But excellence in appearance isn't always a sign of practicality. Thankfully, the gripes we have with Oppo's phablet are hardly deal-breaking. Firstly, the R7 Plus is completely flat and doesn't lend itself to your hand quite like other big smartphones, such as the LG G4, do. Also, the volume buttons (set to the left) are stiff and shallow, although they do give out a nice click.

The Oppo R7 Plus is a dual-SIM smartphone with a catch. The SIM card tray houses either two Nano SIM cards or one Nano SIM card and one microSD card simultaneously. Now, there are more refined designs out there – the dual-SIM Sony Xperia Z3+ can fit two Nano SIM cards and a microSD card on a single tray thanks to Sony's clever engineering. Hopefully, Oppo and others in the business will catch up to that.

Display

A display that gets the job done, though not a very true-to-life one.

The Oppo R7 Plus flaunts a 6-inch 1080x1920 resolution Super AMOLED display with a pixel density of 367 pixels per inch. This makes for a crisp image, although not as crisp as what you'd see on a Quad-HD resolution screen of similar size. We can easily tell you this is a display that gets the job done, but there are many areas where we were hoping to see better performance out of it.

The display's color temperature measures at 8149 Kelvin, which is quite cold. This results in a blueish tint that isn't distracting, but stands in the way of natural color reproduction. The average gamma value of 2.14 indicates that the grayscale brightness is rather accurate, but the unwanted blueish hue observed when displaying shades of grey is noticeable.

The maximum brightness level we measured was 329 nits, which is workable, but not entirely sufficient for comfortable use under bright sunlight. Also, the glass cover on the R7 Plus is quite reflective. On the other hand, we measured a minimum brightness level of 4 nits, which is adequate for bedtime reading. Mind you, the R7 Plus has a built-in feature for reducing the overly stimulating blue light emitted by its display.

As for color balance, our test results show that the green and cyan shades, in particular, are rather overblown. The white point drifts into blue, red is under-represented, and green is far from the reference values. This isn't a deal-breaker, though, for the color balance is still tolerable. The image isn't washed out or overly dynamic.

Still, the Oppo R7's panel does exhibit a fair bit of brightness drop and color distortion when viewed at a 45-degree angle, typical of AMOLED screens. But the image still holds up well compared to the average IPS LCD screen. You can trust it to remain clear and visible under all but the most extreme viewing angles.

Interface and functionality

ColorOS is a lively user interface with many user-centric features.

At present, the Oppo R7 Plus runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, which is technically the most up-to-date build of Android as version 6.0 Marshmallow isn't quite ready to launch. There's no word yet on whether an update to the latter is planned for the R7 Plus. Android is skinned with the ColorOS 2.1 interface, which we're okay with for the most part. Like most Chinese user interfaces of today, it borrows design bits from Apple's iOS. The familiarities are evident in aspects foreign to Android, such as the lack of an app drawer. We also find a very iOS-like camera app and a horizontal card-based app switching menu.

While the UI is reminiscent of iOS, we're noticing an attempt to preserve and promote Android's customization spirit. An example of that is the Theme Store with pre-made themes to spice up your lockscreen and homescreen with new sets of icons and backgrounds. Unfortunately, it has been a long while since new themes have been published, so despite having plenty of them on offer, the place seems abandoned. But if you don't want to download pre-made themes, just hit Personalize, and you'll be presented a weekly-updated gallery of wallpapers in all sorts of categories. There are also some lockscreen themes to enjoy as well, but overall, Oppo needs to inject more life in the Theme store.

Oppo's stock apps and menus look simplistic, and they don't compromise functionality or user pleasantries. Oppo has seemingly rebuilt almost each app from the ground-up, presenting fresh, yet not "all sorts of better" takes on AOSP and Google apps such as Contacts, Email, Calendar, Clock, Calculator, Files, and anything in between. There is also a built-in performance optimization app called Security Center. It is reasonably competent for a stock app, and it could easily take care of your system clean-up and maintenance needs, unless you favor a specific application or look after “power user” functionality.

While the screen is turned off, one can double-tap on it to wake the phone up, draw an O to start the camera app, or control music playback. Thankfully, these work quite reliably! Also, with the screen on, you can take a screenshot using three fingers, use two fingers to adjust the volume, double tap the display to lock the screen, activate the camera with a finger gesture, and swipe from the bottom left/right to launch or exit apps. These gestures work well too, and are actually pretty cool, but it's up to you to decide whether they'll become essential functionality. And while we're at it, one can also set specific hours where the smartphone will power on or power off.

A notable addition is fingerprint security. After taking a reading of your unique finger pattern, you can use that to unlock the smartphone and open locked applications. Again, the fingerprint scanner on the R7 Plus isn't the most seamless one we've pressed an index finger against. Sometimes it works just fine, but in some cases, it might require two to three tries to register your input.

Processor and memory

Solid processing, but bad graphics performance and some UI stutter.

The Oppo R7 Plus sports the same hardware configuration as the smaller R7 before it. We're talking of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC (octa-core 1.5GHz CPU, Adreno 405 GPU) and an ample 3 gigabytes of RAM. Oppo is providing you with 32GB of internal storage, which you're able to increase via a microSD card, provided you don't want to take advantage of the dual-SIM functionality. You'd be left with about 23GB of usable storage space, and whatever your preferred cloud service may have in store.

In performance benchmarks, the Oppo R7 Plus performs identically to the Oppo R7, giving out solid processing scores, but bad 3D graphics performance. The phablet can handle casual titles and most 3D games, but don't expect smooth frame rates in really advanced stuff, such as Gameloft's Asphalt 8 and Modern Warfare. In general, the R7 Plus is competent at handling the essential everyday tasks. Applications generally start fast and we didn't experience any random reboots, crashes, or RAM management problems. However, we must note that the user interface is prone to some lag and stutter — nothing outrageous, but you might be annoyed at times.

Internet and connectivity

Competent enough for reliable browsing, but a B+ experience overall.

The Oppo R7 Plus is 4G LTE Cat. 4-capable, and works with the essential GSM, UMTS, and FDD/TDD LTE spectrums thanks to its Qualcomm modem. Therefore, chances are you won't find yourself out of range in most parts of the world. The Oppo R7 Plus is also a dual-SIM device, but with a catch. The SIM slot can house either a microSD card and a single Nano SIM or up to two Nano SIM cards simultaneously. Additionally, the Oppo R7 Plus supports HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, EDGE, and GPRS connectivity. Of course, it also has built-in GPS.

The stock Oppo browser is competent enough for reliable browsing. It's got typical options, such as choosing a default search engine and adding favorites, along with stuff like traceless browsing, No Picture and Night modes, and a built-in download manager. However, the browser is a bit sluggish while displaying and scrolling pages. It's nothing too terrible, as the browser is still useful — just not very, shall we say, exciting. Chrome, which is available from the orderly Google apps folder, tends to be a bit faster, but not incredibly so. Overall, browsing on the Oppo R7 Plus is a B+ experience, although that fine 6-inch display does a great job massaging all that lovely content into your retinas.

Camera

Decent photography with something to be desired from image quality.

On the R7 Plus' back there's a 13MP Sony IMX278 camera accompanied by a dual LED flash and laser autofocus system, while the front camera is an 8MP one. It's a competent camera setup that's able to deliver very satisfying photos despite the seemingly average megapixel count.

We took the Oppo R7 Plus out for a spin on a sunny morning, and we're pretty happy with the results that we produced. First off, we observed fast auto-focus, probably assisted by the laser focusing system. Also, the automatic white balance is very accurate in general. The color balance is natural, with the camera successfully capturing the warm tones of the morning sun. Noise is filtered moderately, and we would say fine details hold up pretty well.

When shooting dynamic scenes, you're free to enable the camera's built-in HDR mode in hopes of getting a more natural shot. Although that's not a guarantee that you'll end up with a pretty picture. You see, the mode's performance is a hit or miss. In particular, some HDR scenes appear more contrasty than non-HDR ones, which is rather odd. And it is weird how highlights that look fine in a non-HDR image could be rendered overblown by having HDR enabled. In addition, moving objects in the frame are likely to come out blurry, especially when light conditions are less than ideal.

Indoor photography produces decent results, although the less light you have at your disposal, the more smeary your photo will turn out as the resulting noise triggers heavier filtering. Still, there's nothing notable to complain or be in awe of. In low-light scenarios, though, the R7 Plus's dual-LED flash truly, and quite literally shines. The artificial light is strong and the scene is illuminated in a neutral tone. Fine details appear mostly fine, hardly anything to have any major complaints of. And if there is no strong source of natural light, one could certainly go way worse than the Oppo R7 Plus's dual-LED setup.

Overall, the Oppo R7's cam is capable of pulling off very satisfactory shots, especially if you take matters in your own hands. In fact, you should definitely take the time and explore all the imaginative modes and effects Oppo has built into the camera app. The ones that come pre-installed are the self-explanatory Colorful filters, HDR, GIF, and Slow Shutter. But Oppo's 'Camera apps' web shop also includes modes such as Audio photo, Double exposure, Super macro, and RAW as downloadable add-ons. You can freely install and uninstall different camera modes, although you are not free to re-arrange the order in which they appear inside the app.

Of note is the Ultra HD mode, which is able to blend a few shots into a 25MP (5824x4368) resolution image that appears a little more detailed than 13MP shots. The difference is hardly stark, but those who prefer to crop images will appreciate this mode's ability to squeeze additional detail out of the camera sensor. Just keep in mind that Ultra HD shots aren't instant as regular ones. The camera needs to be pointed at the object for several seconds per each Ultra HD shot it captures.




With that massive 8 megapixel front cam, the Oppo R7 takes very good selfies. Although self portraits don't appear as sharp as rear cam photos due to the absence of auto-focus, the cam does a very, very good job with selfies. Moreover, the camera app is rich with filters and modes that let you land Instagram-ready selfies like nobody's business! Taking photos in the dark is also an option, as Oppo makes the screen substitute for a LED flash and illuminate your face. The effect is quite acceptable.

Video quality

The Oppo R7 Plus can shoot 1080p video with the front and rear cameras. The rear cam video is passable, but not without apparent problems. The image lacks pop and sharpness, and the video is very shaky, even while holding the smartphone still in our hands. We also have to complain about the microphones' noise cancellation. In a noisy environment, such as the side of a busy road, the effect is incredibly harsh, turning the ambiance into unpleasant filtered mush as voices sound clear, but also very filtered. Same goes for the video we shot indoors in a very quiet environment, and while we're talking indoor video, image quality is, in short, unpleasant. Even in moderately strong lighting, the R7 Plus goes for too slow of a shutter speed, making even gentle movements appear extremely blurry.

Multimedia

Great options for multimedia users, but a very questionable choice of bundled earphones.

With its big display and decent loudspeaker and headphone output, the Oppo R7 Plus is great for multimedia consumption. The device plays 1080p DivX, H.264, MPEG-4, Xvid, and possibly most modern day video formats without a hitch. For music listeners, the R7 has a special trick up its sleeve – Dirac HD Sound. This is a sound processing engine that optimizes the audio signal to sound its best on the bundled pair of stereo earphones.

The difference in music reproduction quality isn't mind-blowing, but it's there. The sound becomes somewhat fuller and more expansive with the feature turned on. But the Dirac enhancements are only available while wearing the stock earphones. You may enable it while wearing your favorite pair of buds, but whether you'll like the resulting sound is up to you.

A few words of opinion on the bundled earphones are due. They resemble the Apple earpods in style and character, which is supposed to be fine for most people. But for some reason, three of us here at PhoneArena tried and couldn't get them to stick inside their ears and actually wear them. Maybe we have a collective ear shape problem, but nevertheless, these earphones are awkward!

Reading books is another type of multimedia consumption that's been mostly overlooked by manufacturers. Oppo, however, paid attention where it's due, and added an 'Eye protection' display mode. When activated, it automatically filters out overly intense blue light to take the edge off the visuals, reducing the amount of light and color information your retinas are being blasted with. Coupled with the screen's ability to get really dim at a minimum brightness output of 4 nits, this makes the Oppo R7 Plus a pretty good choice for avid bookworms.

Call quality

A phablet that lets you do the talking.

The Oppo R7 Plus sounds pretty good on both sides of the conversation. Due to the noise cancellation employed, voices from it appear slightly muffled, but it's nothing too terrible. The earpiece is plenty loud, and so is the loudspeaker, so chances are you won't have trouble carrying out a conversation in noisy environments.

Battery life

A big battery and efficient processor make for excellent battery life. Bonus – fast charging!

Oppo was smart to take advantage of the larger footprint allowed by a smartphone with a 6-inch display and stuffed the R7 Plus with a sizable 4100mAh unit. This is certainly a respectable capacity, but what really matters here is whether the device is engineered to make the most of it or not. Well, the Oppo R7 Plus lasted an impressive 9 hours and 58 minutes of constant on-screen use in our battery test, which is a very good result – one that many high-end phones can't achieve.

Moreover, the Oppo R7 Plus takes a pretty reasonable 107 minutes to fully charge its battery with the bundled cable and charger. You have to thank Oppo's VOOC fast charging technology for that. However, wireless charging doesn't come on this phone, so if you like that piece of technology, you should probably look elsewhere.

Conclusion

Overall, the Oppo R7 Plus is a smartphone for users who insist on having a seriously large display for Internet and multimedia consumption, and also have design as a priority over premium-tier specifications. For this type of smartphone user, Oppo's phablet should tick nearly every mark. In addition, the R7 Plus has a camera that's very good, at least for the most part, and its battery life is excellent. But that's about all that makes the phablet great.

The complaints we have are quite substantial. Basically, The R7 Plus's display characteristics don't live up to its price tag, which revolves around the $500 mark. The phone's performance also leaves a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to graphics performance.

For the same amount of money Oppo asks for the R7 Plus, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 offers a better display, significantly faster graphics, a better camera, and additional functionality over the Oppo R7 Plus. Then there's the Google Nexus 6, which is more responsive with its performance and packs a better screen, all while costing less than 400 bucks. And while we're at it, we can also recommend the sub-$500 LG G4 as a high-end smartphone that may be a bit smaller and lack that metallic lustre, but has a higher-resolution display and is likely superior to the Oppo R7 Plus with its camera performance. We think these three phones make for more sensible buys.