Design of Oppo F9
In terms of sides and size, both Oppo F9 and Oppo F9 Pro are similar. To differentiate between the two models, different finishes have been used in both. The F9 Pro sports a flashy color scheme with different patterns and gradients. Whereas F9 has Realme 1 (review) is given a diamond cut pattern. Customers can buy the phone in Mist Black and Steeler Purple colors. It is not necessary that the pattern be 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 handset of Oppo 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. In order to make the notch smaller, 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 get the phone cover and a screen protector already installed on the phone. The body of F9 bulges slightly outwards. Although the back panel is plastic but it is giving a glass look. If a cover is not applied on the back panel, scratches can easily occur. The power button is on the right side, and the volume up and down buttons are on the left. When the phone is held properly in the hand, the finger easily reaches the fingerprint sensor present on the back panel. There is a horizontal rear camera setup and LED flash just above the fingerprint sensor. As you can see in the picture, metal has been used all around the camera module to protect it from scratches. At the bottom of the phone, instead of Type-C, there is a micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, loudspeaker and microphone. SIM tray is present on the left side of the phone, two nano-SIM and microSD card slot is provided.
Oppo F9 specifications and software
F9 Pro and F9 have a lot of similarity 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, the 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 install VOOC charger in Oppo F9 but it was not charging the F9. 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.
Dragging the home screen from the right side will open the smart assistant, at the top you will see the search bar, shortcuts to some apps, weather and step counter widget. Like iOS, in this smartphone of Oppo too, if the home screen is swiped downwards, the universal search function will open. Many menus and sub menu options will be found in the Settings app. We did not see the search function in the app. This means if you want to find any function, you will not be able to find it with the help of the search bar. Many pre-installed applications are already provided in the phone. Oppo will also suggest you to install several apps on the App Store. We found during the review 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 using the phone in outdoor light. Compatible apps work in full screen mode and non-compatible apps work in 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 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 was slowing down.
We tried playing the PUBG game on the F9, we would recommend keeping it at medium quality while playing the game on the phone. The phone did not slow down but it started heating up quickly. We noticed that the battery was draining rapidly while playing games. The battery was seen reducing by about 10 percent in 20-25 minutes. In HD video loop test compared to F9 Pro, we found that the F9 smartphone gives a backup of 14 hours 39 minutes. The phone gives one day of battery life after playing games, using WhatsApp account and watching online videos. Power saving mode is also provided to save battery.
You may miss the absence of VOOC charging technology. The phone was charged only 29 percent in 30 minutes and 62 percent in one hour. It took 2 hours 20 minutes for the phone to be fully charged. On the back panel of the phone, there will be a 16-megapixel front camera for selfies and video calling along with a 16-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Apart from the standard photo and video modes, the camera app has Portrait mode, Sticker, Pano, Time Lapse, Slo-mo and Expert. You can apply filters before clicking the photo, Google Lens is also integrated into the stock camera app. The phone is fast in focusing on anything, and in daylight the photos are quite sharp and accurate.
Focusing takes a while when shooting macro. Not only does the picture come out sharp, it also keeps the person and the background separate. Camera performance fades a bit in low light. Portrait mode uses the secondary camera, but there’s no option to adjust how much blur you want. But you will definitely get many lighting options. Portrait mode blurs the background more due to which the photo looks artificial. F9 Pro has a 25-megapixel front camera for selfies, while the company has given a 16-megapixel front camera in F9. Beautification mode and AI are already 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 video at 1080p. Video stabilization is available when shooting at 1080p with the rear camera.
our decision
The most attractive feature of Oppo F9 is the waterdrop notch present in the phone. Oppo has designed the handset better. The battery life and performance of the phone is excellent at this price. If the look or design of the phone impresses you more than the specifications, then Oppo F9 is for you. On the other hand, phones from other companies in the same price segment can be a better bargain. If you want maximum performance then Xiaomi Poco F1 can also prove to be a great option. We have not reviewed Vivo V9 Pro yet, but the hardware of this phone is also better.