OPPO is scheduled to bring the premium midrange R-series in the Philippines next month. But while we’re waiting for the official launch happening on the 7th of November, we were given a preview of what we can expect from the OPPO R17 Pro.
In front, it’s hard to differentiate the OPPO R17 Pro from the OPPO F9 because they have almost the same screen size and resolution. Even though the former has a small edge on the display size, they surprisingly have similar dimensions. In terms of weight, the R17 Pro is undeniably heavier, probably because of its two batteries.
Thanks to the tiny waterdrop notch, the screen-to-body ratio of the R17 Pro has jumped from 90% of the R15 Pro to 91.5% — currently one of the highest in the world right now. Covering the whole front is the new Corning Gorilla Glass 6.
While it’s strikingly identical in front, the back is a different story. The OPPO R17 Pro has a 3D misted glass back metal black panel which is very resistant to fingerprint markings and smudges. It’s radiant mist color option is also very beautiful, surpassing each and every other OPPO phone ever made.
Different angles produces a different shade depending on where you are looking from. In our case, there are instances where it looks blue while there are also scenarios when it looked completely purple. But most of the time, it’s mix up of the two colors.
Another addition is the inclusion of the in-display fingerprint scanner. To make it work, OPPO had to use an AMOLED screen instead of IPS because of its technological limitations. This means that it has better contrast, deeper blacks, and colors pop-out more than common displays. The fingerprint reader is located at the bottom part of the screen where the thumb finger naturally rests.
The in-display fingerprint sensor works the same way as Vivo’s implementation. It’s reasonably fast and fairly accurate, although I would still say that it is nowhere as reliable as a traditional one at this point in time. But in terms of convenience and style, it’s definitely the choice between the two.
As a premium midrange smartphone, we don’t really expect the OPPO R17 Pro to be a full-blown flagship-caliber device since there are corners that need to be cut in order to attain a more reasonable price point. With the OPPO R17 Pro, its primary highlight is its triple rear camera setup on the back similar to the Huawei P20 Pro.
Great cameras are one of the key selling points of a smartphone, so it really makes sense why manufacturers are hard at work in improving their performance further.
Even though OPPO is a selfie-first brand for the most part, they are now shifting their focus on a broader scope which includes the rear cameras. The company has seemingly perfected the selfie but the same can’t be said for the shooters on the back — at least for now.
Dual cameras used to be the thing for 2018, but now that we’re finally entering 2019, triple cameras are starting to take over. This is probably OPPO’s answer to Huawei, however, the implementation is vastly different.
The OPPO R17 Pro’s camera is a 12-megapixel 1/2.55″ sensor with variable f/1.5 to f/2.4 aperture, 20-megapixel Samsung sensor, and a TOF (time-of-flight) 3D stereo camera. For selfies, it uses a 25-megapixel f/2.0 aperture lens. We’re not going to go into specifics here yet, but here are some photos we took in Shenzhen, China.
Performance is not the OPPO R17 Pro’s greatest strength. However, it’s probably more than good enough for most users. It’s equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 710 processor together with a massive 8GB of RAM and Adreno 616 GPU.
Another interesting feature of the OPPO R17 Pro is its two (2) 1,850mAh batteries which equates to 3,700mAh in total. Each battery charges with OPPO’s new proprietary Super VOOC fast charging technology which can it go from 0% to 40% in as fast as 10 minutes. We haven’t tried it out yet because we only had a limited time with it, but we’re definitely looking forward to testing it out soon.
OPPO R17 Pro Specs
- Android 8.1 Oreo, ColorOS 5.2
- Dual SIM, Dual Standby (Hybrid)
- 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~402ppi
- Corning Gorilla Glass 6, 91.5% screen-to-body ratio
- 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 octa-core processor
- Adreno 616 GPU
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 256GB
- 25-megapixel front camera, f/2.0
- 12-megapixel (f/1.5-2.4, OIS) + 20-megapixel (f/2.6) + TOF 3D camera, dual-pixel PDAF, OIS, LED flash
- In-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- HSPA+, 4G LTE
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi hotspot, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.0
- GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- NFC
- USB Type-C
- Dimensions: 157.9 x 74.6 x 7.9mm
- Weight: 183g
- Colors: Stream Blue
- 3,700mAh Li-Po non-removable battery, Super VOOC charging
That’s it for now. We’ll get to know the OPPO R17 Pro more once it launches in the Philippines. Regarding the pricing, we currently have no information about it but it costs around Php34,000 in China. OPPO R17 Pro will be available in stores by the end of November.