Introduction
The Oppo F9/F9 Pro is yet another installment in the hugely popular Oppo mid-range series. It's the first phone in the family with a dual-camera on the back and backtracks on the screen cutouts by moving to a tiny waterdrop notch. You have probably noticed we are using the F9/F9 Pro inscription for this review and there is a reason for that. Oppo has chosen a rather awkward approach to the naming of its mid-ranger.
In India - one of the key markets for the F-series - the F9 is available in two versions. There is the F9 Pro with 6GB of RAM, a 25MP selfie camera and VOOC flash charging, and the regular Oppo F9 with 4GB of RAM, a 16MP selfie shooter, and no VOOC charging.
Yet in every other market Oppo is selling only the F9 but with specs matching the Indian pro version(6GB, 25MP, VOOC). So, the phone we got for review is called F9, but specs-wise it's identical to the F9 Pro as seen in India. We hope this clears it up and we'll refer to the phone as just F9 from here on.
Looking beyond the confusing naming, the Oppo F9 is actually a very attractive phone that comes with the trendy gradient paint jobs freshened with star or diamond patterns.
The internals are well chosen too - the Helio P60 chip has already proven as a solid mid-range performer, you get a dual-camera on the back with bright lens and a super high-res selfie snapper. Add the large battery with VOOC support and it looks like a great package. Sadly we are still seeing a dated microUSB port.
The Oppo F9 is also among the first to come with the latest and toughest to break Gorilla Glass 6. The new glass is shatter-proof for a dozen of drops from one meter, giving you some welcome peace of mind.
Oppo F9 (F9 Pro) specs:
- Body: Gorilla Glass 6 body, plastic frame, 156.7 x 74 x 8 mm, 169g
- Screen: 6.3" 2,340 x 1,080px (19.5:9) LTPS IPS LCD, 409ppi, notched
- Chipset: MediaTek Helio P60 chipset - octa-core processor (4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A53), Mali-G72 MP3 GPU
- Memory: 4 or 6 GB RAM, 64GB of storage, (dedicated) microSD slot
- Camera: Dual: 16MP (f/1.8) + 2MP for depth sensing, phase detection autofocus; 1080p @ 30fps video
- Selfie cam: 25MP (f/2.0), 1080p video
- OS: Android 8.1 Oreo with ColoOS 5.2
- Battery: 3,500 mAh, 20W VOOC flash charging
- Connectivity: Dual Nano-SIM; microUSB (USB 2.0), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS, FM radio
- Misc: Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, bottom-firing loudspeaker, 3.5mm audio port
The Oppo F9 stopped short of implementing the under-display fingerprint reader of its vivo V11 cousin, but at this point of the development of the technology it's unclear if we should count that against it. The F9's rear mounted sensor may lack the geeky appeal, but is always-on, accurate, and blazing-fast - three things you can't say for the V11's reader.
We have the cool Twilight Blue model of the Oppo F9 Pro for this review and it's time we proceed to unbox it.
Unboxing the Oppo F9
In addition to the Oppo F9 unit, you will be getting a VOOC-compatible microUSB cable, the 20W VOOC charger itself, and an EarPod-like headset. The non-VOOC supporting non-Pro Oppo F9 in India comes packed with a 10W regular charged instead.
The Oppo F9 retail box also includes a soft transparent case for some extra protection. And even though the phone is shielded with the latest Gorilla Glass 6, Oppo is still applying screen protectors in its factories, just in case
Design
If your want a beautiful mid-range smartphone has to be beautiful and an instant eye-catcher, the Oppo F9 is the right device for the job.
The almost bezelless front is a welcome sight and the waterdrop-like notch is far less objectionable than the large cutout on the F7. It wastes far less screen estate and some might even argue that it looks like a cool accent.
Just don't put too much faith in those official press renders as they show the screen going nearly edge to edge, which is not quite the story in real life. Still, the F9 offers some of the highest screen-to-body ratios in the price range and that's already a huge thing the phone has going for it.
Upon closer look next to the 25MP selfies camera you can also notice a tiny aperture for the proximity sensor.
The earpiece grille is almost invisible up at the top - in-between the frame and the display itself.
Moving on to the back, the Oppo F9 manages to impress again. A gradient paint job, a diamond-like pattern, and besides the Oppo logo - no inscriptions to spoil the looks.
The colors also change depending on the available light with our Twilight Blue model going from light cyan to dark blue and even black. The shimmering diamond pattern is clearly visible if sufficient is available but disappears almost completely in the dark.
The same is valid for the Sunrise Red model, though it looks a bit flashier with a palette of lilac, pink, orange and red.
The Starry Purple has a lot in common with the vivo V11 - it also has a gradient in the purple shades, but instead of a diamond pattern it has tiny dots, which look like thousands of stars.
The always-on fingerprint scanner and the dual-camera are the only things of real interest at the back. The snappers are accompanied by a single LED flash and while it all forms a small hump, it's not big enough to make the phone wobble.
The Oppo F9 is among the first smartphones to make use of Corning's toughest Gorilla Glass to date - the sixth revision. It's supposed to survive a dozen of drops from up to one meter.
The frame holding those pieces of Gorilla Glass, is made of plastic but painted in the same cool gradient as the back, sans the diamond-pattern, of course. It has a glossy finish and is slippery, but its slightly curved shape and the bulging screen enclosure improve the depth of the phone and help provide decent overall grip.
The Oppo F9 has everything as far as connectivity features are concerned - there is a 3.5mm audio port and it features a triple card slot. The latter accommodates two nanoSIMs and a microSD card slot, so you won't have to choose between dualSIM functionality and memory expansion.
The only letdown is the old-school microUSB slot, but it supports VOOC flash charge, so at least from a functionality standpoint it's not too bad.
The Oppo F9 spreads at 156.7 x 74 x 8 mm and weighs 169g - almost identical footprint to the Ft to the F7, but 11g heavier.
Handling the Oppo F9 is a pleasure, but not as immersive as looking at it. You can tell the frame is plastic, and the grip is mediocre. The F9 is also a fingerprint magnet and it will be smudgy all the time - maintaining those great looks will take some effort, we are afraid.Handling the Oppo F9 is a pleasure, but not as immersive as looking at it. You can tell the frame is plastic, and the grip is mediocre. The F9 is also a fingerprint magnet and it will be smudgy all the time - maintaining those great looks will take some effort, we are afraid. .
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