OPPO F3 Plus dual selfie camera first impressions [review]

23990
Buy it now

OPPO F3 Plus black variant
OPPO F3 Plus black variant

The F3 Plus, OPPO’s first smartphone to feature a “dual selfie” camera and the successor to the F1 Plus, is now available in the Philippines. Retailing at P23,990, this brand new offering from the Chinese smartphone maker will appeal to Filipinos who love taking selfies. This could redefine OPPO as a premium brand.

BUY: OPPO F3 Plus (P23,990) on Lazada

OPPO Philippines Executives with Joey Mead King and Lazada CEO Inanc Balci - OPPO F3 Plus Philippines
OPPO Philippines Executives with Joey Mead King and Lazada CEO Inanc Balci – OPPO F3 Plus Philippines

Having proven itself by dominating the market as #1 smartphone manufacturer in China, OPPO is now setting its sights on the Philippines where it currently ranks second.

Joey Mead King and OPPO brand ambassador Alden Richards - OPPO F3 Plus Philippines
Joey Mead King and OPPO brand ambassador Alden Richards – OPPO F3 Plus Philippines

The dual front-mounted cameras work independently, each with its own focal length: a regular zoom lens for selfies and a wide-angle lens that lets you take 120-degree group selfies or “groufies”.

A new selfie master?

We fired off a few shots and immediately noticed the crisp, clear results. Here is one shot taken with the regular “selfie” lens.

OPPO F3 Plus sample selfie photo (unedited)
OPPO F3 Plus sample selfie photo (unedited)

Here is another shot, this time taken with the wide angle “groufie” lens:

OPPO F3 Plus sample groufie photo (unedited)
OPPO F3 Plus sample groufie photo (unedited)

These photos were able to hold their end under the scrutiny of a computer screen. Post processing does not appear to be too aggressive. Saturation levels are higher than normal, though the shots still look natural.

Overall the OPPO F3 Plus easily takes the best selfies that we have seen so far.

It also features a “bokeh” effect on both front and rear cameras:

OPPO F3 Plus selfie bokeh unedited
OPPO F3 Plus selfie bokeh unedited

As you can see, the results are quite underwhelming, and understandably so – it relies purely on software algorithms to create the effect – the dual selfie hardware does nothing to contribute to the effect.

Limitations in edge detection produce artifacts, resulting in unrealistic shots.

This is unlike the iPhone 7 Plus “portrait mode” which actually combines images taken by both cameras to produce more realistic results:

iPhone 7 Plus portrait mode on (unedited)
iPhone 7 Plus portrait mode on (unedited)

Driving the camera is a Sony IMX318 sensor that was co-engineered by OPPO. It features a dual-PDAF (phase detection auto focus), resulting in faster and more accurate focusing.

Upper mid-tier hardware

Joey Mead King - OPPO F3 Plus Philippines
Joey Mead King – OPPO F3 Plus Philippines

Hardware-wise, the OPPO F3 Plus comes with 4GB of RAM and a 4000 mAh battery. It is powered by a Snapdragon 653 SoC, the latest mid-tier offering from Qualcomm.

Wide selfie shot - OPPO F3 Plus Philippines
Wide selfie shot – OPPO F3 Plus Philippines

Unfortunately, the F3 Plus does not support RAW file format nor does it support video recording above than 30FPS. This is a bit of a letdown since both Snapdragon 653 and Sony IMX 318 supports up to 120FPS video recording in 1080p.

Beautiful in black

OPPO F3 Plus white and black
OPPO F3 Plus white and black

The OPPO F3 Plus comes in black and gold. It looks and feels solid, though a little dated especially compared to the Mi Mix, LG G6, and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8.

Personally, the black variant is absolutely elegant. It reminds us of a matte black iPhone 7 Plus.

OPPO F3 Plus price and availability (Philippines)

OPPO Philippines Executives with Joey Mead King and Lazada CEO Inanc Balci - OPPO F3 Plus Philippines
OPPO Philippines Executives with Joey Mead King and Lazada CEO Inanc Balci – OPPO F3 Plus Philippines

Partnering with Lazada for its fifth anniversary sale, the OPPO F3 Plus can be pre-ordered online for P23,990. Freebies include Bluetooth headphones and selfie stick worth P2,000.

OPPO F3 Plus tech specs

  • Dimensions: 163.6 x 80.8 x 7.4 mm (6.44 x 3.18 x 0.29 in)
  • Weight: 185 g (6.53 oz)
  • SIM: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
  • Display: 6.0″ 1920 x 1080 IPS LCD with Gorilla Glass 5
  • OS: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
  • Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8976 Pro Snapdragon 653
  • CPU: Octa-core (4×1.95 GHz Cortex-A72 & 4×1.44 GHz Cortex-A53)
  • GPU: Adreno 510
  • Memory Card slot: microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
  • Memory: 4GB RAM / 64 GB ROM
  • Camera (rear): 16 MP, f/1.7, PDAF, OIS, dual-LED flash
  • Camera (selfie): Dual 16 MP + 8 MP, f/2.0
  • USB: microUSB v2.0
  • Features: Fingerprint (front-mounted)
  • Battery: 4000 mAh Li-Ion
  • Colors: Black, Gold

OPPO F3 Plus photos

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