Review of OPPO R17 Pro Smartphone
Bluetooth 22/1/2019
The OPPO R17 Pro was release late last year but it is still one of the sought after smartphones by enthusiast who focuses on night photography.
The OPPO R17 Pro comes with a 6.4” AMOLED, Waterdrop screen and has a FHD+2340 x 1080 91.5% Screen Ratio, It came as a surprise though as OPPO chose to pair it up with a Snapdragon 710 with 8GB RAM + 128GB ROM memory.
The OPPO R17 Pro comes in two colours- Emerald Green (Green gradient) and Radiant Mist (Purplish Red). I like the gradient green when it reflect the surrounding lights.
Qoo10 SG $999 (With Freebies)
Lazada SG $999 (with Freebies)
Amazon USA USD 578
The R17 Pro comes packed with a 2*1850mAh bi-cell design for up to 50-watt charging power that radically boosts battery performance. Capable of reaching 40% charge in just 10 minutes, and with five – core smart protection providing all-round monitoring, it’s built to run safely at top-speed.The R17 Pro also carries SuperVOOC flash charging technology, allowing users to enjoy the safest and most efficient charging technology in the industry. The device uses USB-C connector for charging. The R17 Pro also support NFC wireless payment, making the transition to mobile payments easy and convenient.
Night photography is a MUST these days and every brand is trying their best to incorporate the best sensors and software to compete with others. On the R17 Pro is a software AI Ultra clear engine that a software-level AI Ultra-clear Engine that processes pictures to improve image quality to produce amazing night shots.
The R17 Pro is equipped with a variable smart aperture of f1.5/f2.4 which can
automatically adjust to the lighting conditions making images sharper and clearer in
both bright and low light situations. The R17 Pro has OIS (Optical Image
Stabilisation), which can stabilise images and guarantee a longer exposure time to
brighten night-time photography, especially with a 7P lens module. The combination
of these two features further heightens precision in night-time photography.
Front: 25MP (f/2.0)
Rear: 12MP f/1.5-f/2.4) +20MP (f/2.6) + TOF 3D Camera
For those who are more particular about the sensors used, you will be delighted to see that the R17 Pro uses a Sony IMX362 as its main camera, which has 12 MP with dual-pixel for quick and accurate focusing, and 1.4- micron pixels size and 1/2.55 sensor size, for brighter night shots and lower noise level.
Powered by Android 8.1 Color OS 5.2, the OPPO R17 Pro has customised the experience with Smart Side Bar. With Smart Side Bar, you can slight from the side the screen to access apps.There is also a hidden fingerprint sensor on the screen which you can use it to unlock the phone with fingerprint. You can also swipe 3 fingers from bottom to the top of the screen to enable App split screen. You can now WhatsApp and Email or check the calendar at the same time a split screen environment. You can also enable Google Assistant by holding the power button for 0.5s (you need to enable that option in settings).
Another feature is the Clone App which allows you to have 2 copies of the same messaging app. It seems that only selected apps can be cloned. Here is a screen shot of the settings. You have to enable it as the default is OFF.
[nextpage title=”Performance in PCMark and AnTuTu benchmarks”]
PC Mark
Qoo10 SG $999 (With Freebies)
Lazada SG $999 (with Freebies)
Amazon USA USD 578
As it runs on the Snapdragon 710, we were surprised that the phone is quite responsive. Benchmark wise, it is definitely not a match for the Snapdragon 845 smartphones.
As we can see the performance in PC Mark shows that it runs around the same as Sony Xperia XZ Premium and essential PH-1 which are based on Snapdragon 835.
AnTuTu
AnTuTu benchmarks score 156807 which is comparable to the Samsung S8 and LG G6. Again, we can more or less that the performance is acceptable as a mid range phone.
[nextpage title=”Speedtest”]
Speedtest
Qoo10 SG $999 (With Freebies)
Lazada SG $999 (with Freebies)
Amazon USA USD 578
With Zero1 MVNO which runs on Singtel. We are able to use the 4G+ which gives a boost to the downlink speed to 211 Mbps.
[nextpage title=”Camera Options”]
Camera options
Activating the camera gives you the default PHOTO option which you can start snapping pictures. Settings like Flash, HDR, timer and settings are available.
At the bottom of the screen, you can choose Expert mode, Panorama, Video, Photo, Portrait, Night and Sticker.
If you are go the the EXPERT mode, you will see the options for setting White Balance, EV, ISO, Shutter, AF. With such settings, taking night trails is possible.
[nextpage title=”Sample Pictures taken by OPPO R17 Pro”]Sample pictures
Pictures are resized to 1024×768, shots are taken in Night mode.
More photos can be viewed here at our Facebook page (LIKE IT)
Qoo10 SG $999 (With Freebies)
Lazada SG $999 (with Freebies)
Amazon USA USD 578
[nextpage title=”Normal vs Night mode shots”]Normal vs Night Mode shots
The night mode shots brings out the dimmed background. It adds more details to the pictures taken. Although night mode help but it will tend to increase the contrast, sharpness and brightness of the picture taken.
Qoo10 SG $999 (With Freebies)
Lazada SG $999 (with Freebies)
Amazon USA USD 578
How does it compare with the Pixel 3 XL ?
From the pictures, we can see that the contrast is not as high as the Pixel 3 XL in both normal and night modes. One thing we noticed is the shades of the clouds are captured on the Oppo R17 Pro but it is less apparent on the Pixel 3 XL.
In terms of brightness, the OPPO R17 Pro is brighter in Night mode as compared to the Pixel 3 XL Night mode. That results in losing the contrast, but we can see more details of the building in the background.
(click to enlarge)
[nextpage title=”4K Videos shot using the OPPO R17 Pro”]
Sample 4K VIdeos
[nextpage title=”Conclusion”] CONCLUSION
Qoo10 SG $999 (With Freebies)
Lazada SG $999 (with Freebies)
Amazon USA USD 578
After weeks of testing out the OPPO R17 Pro, we find that the OPPO R17 Pro is a well designed phone with smooth edges and a nice gradient back. Not only does it look fashionable, it is a phone that is ahead of technology with it’s SuperVOCC flash charging. It is impressive to get a phone fully charged at 39 minutes while most others take more than 1 hr 30 minutes to get a full 100% charge.
Taking night shots is a breeze with the OPPO R17 Pro as it has one of the widest aperture and bigger sensor size smartphones available in the market. We took quite a few shots and the image quality is very good. For dark scenes, the night mode is pretty impressive too but in pitch darkness, the Pixel 3 XL performs better.
In terms of raw performance, the OPPO R17 Pro uses a Snapdragon 710 which is a high-mid range processor. In terms of the competition, the price is a bit high at S$999 while some manufacturers are offering a Snapdragon 845 for that price.
Pricing
Qoo10 SG $999 (With Freebies)
Lazada SG $999 (with Freebies)
Amazon USA USD 578
Pros :
- Night mode
- Super VoCC
- Smart Sidebar
Cons:
- No MicroSD slot
- No IP rating for dust/water resistance
- No Wide angle lens, macro
Ratings
Score : 9 / 10
