It’s just been a month since we checked out OPPO’s F19 Pro+. The F19 lands in the Rs 15,000 – Rs 20,000 price segment where OPPO hopes this new device can carve a niche. Usage patterns and purchase drivers have witnessed a sea change across gadget categories in a post-pandemic world. It’s same in the smartphone space. Most of us are likely to travel lesser, do more work and study from home with fewer opportunities to flaunt our gadgets in a world where social distancing has acquired a whole new meaning. Smartphones are now more about the user experience and not so much about affirmation from peer groups. It’s why we’ve seen a whole new cost: value equation emerge. That’s the market context for new devices like the OPPO F19.
We were impressed with the design direction OPPO has taken with devices like the F19 Pro and Pro+. It’s the same with the OPPO F19; it’s one of the better looking devices at this price range. We checked out the Midnight Blue colour option (it also comes in Prism Black) with a glossy finish. Icy blue might be a more accurate colour description for this gorgeous colour that is an interesting blend of blue and silver. Like most smartphones with a glossy back, this one has a predilection for smudge and fingerprints. OPPO seems to have found the sweet spot in terms of heft. Many of its recent launches land in the 170 to 180 gm zone; the F19 is no exception. This is a device that feels good and just right in your hand.
A lightweight device used to mean a trade-off with battery life. More and more devices like the OPPO F19 have found the balance. This one comes with a 5000 mAh battery under the hood and it should comfortably last you over a day. There’s a 33W fast charger (OPPO Calls it Flash charge) in the box and it can fire up your device from 0 to 54% in 30 minutes flat. There’s also a cool AI Night Charge feature that adapts to your sleep habits, pauses at 80% battery and continues charging just before you wake up. We were not able to put this feature to test but it’s a great use of AI based on your sleep cycles and charging patterns.
OPPO has clearly chosen style and functionality over raw power. This device is propelled by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor (that also powers quite a few devices under Rs 15,000) that teams up with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory (expandable with a Micro SD card). It’s certainly not the fastest in class but the F19 still managed a decent score of 1254 in our Geekbench test.
The 6.43-inch full HD+ AMOLED display (1080 x 2400 pixels / 20:9 aspect ratio) stretches the screen: body ratio beyond 90% and offers a clean, immersive experience. It doesn’t boast of a 90Hz refresh rate that is soon becoming a standard even for devices under Rs 20,000. The other odd and rather bold decision from OPPO was to skip an ultra-wide lens that differentiates this device from the F19 Pro twins that come with a quad rear cam. The F19 features a similar 16MP selfie cam and the same primary lens (on the rear cam) – a 48MP with a f/1.7 aperture, as the F19 Pro devices. It’s a solid cam for this price and shoots reasonably good images in lowlight. A 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor complete the triple rear cam.
The OPPO F19 is worth checking out if you’re in the market for a sub Rs 20,000 smartphone that looks good and doesn’t cut too many corners on features that matter for most average users.
The OPPO F19 costs Rs 18,990 (6GB/128GB) and comes in Midnight Blue and Prism Black
