From bokeh shots to fast charging: What the Oppo F9 gets right

There are some phones that compel you to get a protective case – not for caution but to conceal a design that only a mother could love. The Oppo F9 is, fortunately, not one of these phones.

The design of this handset is impeccable and the device oozes quality as far as looks are concerned. Unfortunately, the feel of the phone is not as premium as its looks. With what appears to be a polycarbonate finish, the phone is light and feels a tad bit chintzy, betraying the great-looking finish as just that, a look. It, however, feels good in the hand and the lightness allows for long hours of easy use with minimal hand or finger aches.

And then there’s the screen. The Oppo F9 features a 6.3-inch full HD screen that covers 84 per cent of the front.

This being the year of the notch, the Oppo F9 has not been left behind. It sports a teardrop-design notch that harbours the front-facing camera. It is barely noticeable and the implementation allows for a front-facer that packs quite a punch.

The screen is an LCD, and as much as it doesn’t deliver the inky blacks and saturated colours of the more expensive OLED screen, it fits the bill for this mid-tier phone.

The down-firing speakers make content consumption that much better, and you’ll not be in want as far as volume is concern. Adding to the experience is a fantastic battery life and charging technology. The Oppo F9 packs a 3500 mAh battery that promises a full day of functionality, and then some. The battery is mated to an HD screen and efficient processor, with power-saving software features embedded into the operating system.

The phone also features VOOC charging, a proprietary rapid charge technology by Oppo that fills up the battery from 0 per cent to 75 per cent in just half an hour.

Social media

At the back, the phone features a duo of a 16 megapixel f1.8 aperture camera, and a 2 megapixel depth-sensing camera to aid in portrait or bokeh-effect shots, which is where the subject of the photo seems superimposed on a blurry background.

In good lighting, the photos will definitely suffice for whatever your social media needs are. However, it does overblow the highlights, particularly when the subject is next to a bright background, though the HDR helps to reduce this.

All in all, the colours are good, the clarity is spot on and it features most of the popular graphic effects, from stickers to beauty mode.

The front-facing camera, however, is the true hero of this story. It has a 25MP sensor with a wide lens that makes group selfies a breeze. With a pixel size of 0.9µm, this camera is a low-light champ. 

The phone I reviewed had a 4GB/64GB RAM and storage combo that’s enough for many users. If by any chance you need more, you can use a memory card. Embedded in the same tray as the memory card slot is a dual SIM tray that gives you extra flexibility as far as your communication needs are concerned. 

On the security front, you have the choice of a fingerprint sensor and facial recognition. The latter choice, much as it may not be the most secure, is quite convenient.

The software is also packed with sensible privacy and security add-ons, such as Kids Space, which allows you to manage and monitor what your child does on the phone. Other notable security options are private safes where you can safeguard your content, and an anti-harassment feature that you can use to block unwanted communication.

In all, the Oppo F9 is a pretty good deal at Sh35,990 for the 4GB version and Sh37,990 for the 6GB one.