Oppo R819 Review

Introduction

Those big phone makers better get used to the increased competition coming from Chinese brands, because if they get asleep at the wheel, phones like the dual-SIM Oppo R819 might eat their Android deserts pretty soon.

Sporting a 4.7” HD display, the Oppo R819 is the next representative of the new thin and light Chinese midrange warriors, like the Huawei Ascend P6, which wrap decent specs in fine design, and slip those to us users at a modest price tag. Sounds like a recipe for success, but has Oppo managed to get the overall experience right? Read on to find out...

In the box:

• Wall charger
• In-ear stereo headphones
• microUSB cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Warranty and information leaflets

Design

At 3.88 oz (110 g), the Oppo R819 is the lightest in the midrange category, and one of the thinnest with its 0.29 inches (7.3 mm). Granted, the 4.7” Huawei Ascend P6 is even thinner, and made out of premium materials, unlike than the plastic shell of the R819, yet Oppo's engineering chops are still to commend here.

Because of the plastic build, the Oppo R819 doesn't exude any upscale pretenses, and the metallic ring around the lens that matches the side rim of the phone can't really change that perception. Still, it feels feathery in the palm, and is easy to operate with one hand. The glossy white plastic is rather slippery, though, despite the etched slight diamond pattern on the back, and since the phone is so thin, the firmness of your grip on it diminishes further, so you have to hold the light handset tighter than usual while handling it.

The dual SIM handset actually has a removable back cover, if you really force to pry it open, but underneath it sports a sealed battery compartment with attached cables and such, so not much to do inside anyway.

Oppo provided a SIM tray for both cards on the lower left side, which is easy to push out with a pin. The main SIM is at the bottom of the tray, so you can pull out only half of it, and replace the second SIM quickly – it is not hot-swappable, though, and the phone prompts you to reboot. Unfortunately, the maker couldn't find place for a microSD slot as well, so you'll be stuck with the phone's 16 GB internal memory.

The power/lock key on the left, and the volume rocker on the tight are placed somewhat lower than they should be for completely comfortable operation, and feel rather iffy when pressed, with shallow feedback. We found no issues with the response of the capacitive navigational keys underneath the display.

Display

The 4.7” IPS-LCD panel sports 720x1280 pixels of resolution, which bring about a very good 312ppi pixel density, so you'd be hard-pressed to wish for something more in that department. The color representation is accurate, and the tone doesn't lean overly to the warm or cold sides.

The display is very bright, north of 600 nits, which aids outdoor usage significantly. When the sun shines directly on the panel, though, it is rather reflective, though, which diminishes the visibility of the otherwise luminant panel.

There is some brightness and color shift when you tilt the phone strongly, as usual, but overall the viewing angles are in line with what you'd expect from a decent IPS panel, meaning you won't have any glaring issues in that respect.