Smartphones are no longer just tools for communication, because these gadgets are probably one of the most personal items we own. But these aren’t just because of the data it has on us and the world around us. These are in a lot of ways, our window into our world. It has given us the power to reach out to people beyond our immediate vicinity. It is also one of the things we use to show the world who we are and what we care about.
And that’s what the newest smartphone from OPPO hopes to bring its users—a capable device that can both bring the world to you and help you express yourself to the world.
Introducing the OPPO F7
The OPPO F7 builds on the success of the F5 series and brings improvements for those looking for a bang-for-your-buck midrange device.
At first glance the F7 is quite the looker—it comes in Solar Red, Moonlight Silver, and Diamond Black. The phone sports a metallic paint finish on it that makes it look like it’s made of glass, even if it’s made with polycarbonate material. It feels good in hand and doesn’t feel as slippery, but it is a bit of a fingerprint magnet.
While it has a big 6.23-inch screen, the 19:9 display comes with 88 percent screen-to-body ratio, making it look smaller than it actually is. The screen fits into the body of a typical 5.5-inch phone, which makes it easy to hold. OPPO makes the most of the screen by using capacitive buttons in place of actual physical buttons in front. You also get extra protection from Gorilla Glass 5-coated screen.
And yes, you get a notch up top to house the front camera and ear piece. Unfortunately, you can’t hide it in the same way you can with the Huawei P20. But OPPO isn’t closing its doors on bringing in a software feature that can do just that in the future.
On the left you get the volume rocker, while on the right you get the power and lock button as well as the dual nano SIM tray and separate microSD slot. You get the secondary microphone up top and the bottom houses the loudspeaker, main microphone, 3.5mm audio jack, and microUSB port (no USB Type-C port here, sadly).
The F7 is the first OPPO device to use the new MediaTek Helio P60 processor, which the company claims is 70 percent faster than the Helio P23 and promises 12 percent overall power savings. It’s MediaTek’s first AI-infused processor from MediaTek and it promises to maximize performance and energy for the devices it powers.
OPPO pairs this with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage, and 3,400mAh battery.
The main thing people will be paying attention to here will be the cameras, specifically the 25-megapixel front camera. But you also get an adequate 16-megapixel rear shooter. OPPO refined its AI Beauty Technology to capture more details off your face and give you an enhanced yet somewhat natural looking photo. It now detects more points on your face (from 260 to 296 points) and hones in on three segments: your t-zone for your forehead and nose, your eyes, and now your u-zone which is your chin and cheeks. It works hard to detect things like beards and stubble on men.
As OPPO Philippines Public Relations Manager Eason de Guzman explained, “Each and every area is personalized by preference. Overall, we have eight million possibilities to beautify your face according to your skin type, age, gender, and skin tone. That’s Beautify 2.0 for OPPO. It’s not just [about] the skin, it’s also the eyes. We have more traits to personalize your beauty in terms of male, female, even the stubble and beard are detected for males. [Plus] It’s really differentiated for up to four people in one frame.” The F7’s cameras also get features like scene detection, which automatically identifies things in your surroundings like sunset, grass, indoor, food, sky, snow, night, dog, portrait, baby, firework, beach, scenery, text, cat, and stage light. It has HDR, Panorama, Depth Effect, and Expert mode (a.k.a. Manual mode), too. You also get AR stickers, Vivid mode, and Beauty filter with six adjustment levels.
When asked what it would take for consumers to pick up the F7 against its competitors, de Guzman said, “The OPPO F7 is a competitive smartphone in its price range. We have aggressive colors: Solar Red, Moonlight Silver, and the new Diamond Black. Our colors are very attractive to the youth, not only in terms of design but also in preference. Aside from that, [we have the] 25-megapixel camera and AI Beauty Technology. Our overall package for the F7 is more than just the looks, we have the world’s first 12nm processor inside the OPPO F7. It’s actually 80 percent faster than its predecessor, it even has two dedicated AI cores for better AI functionality.”
“It’s an overall improvement. It’s a big jump from the F5. If they want a smartphone that can last all day, strong processing power, and of course, better selfies.”
Both Smart and Globe are offering the F7 under their 1499 plans. The 4GB/64GB model retails for P17, 990 and comes in Solar Red, Moonlight Silver, and Diamond Black, while the F7 6GB/128GB model retails P21, 990 and is available in Solar Red and Diamond Black.
Response has been positive so far as OPPO as the brand was able to break its first day of sale record with the F7 by selling 37,687 units over the 33,000 units sold of the F5 back in October 2017.
Capture the Real You campaign
On top of launching the new phone, OPPO is looking to spark conversation about a pretty important and timely topic: bullying and online bashing. The company is using the new faces of the F7—Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia—to help tell this story. The two celebrities being in the spotlight have had their share of trolls and bashers, Barretto especially coming from a big celebrity family. She has had everything from her looks, talent, to personality scrutinized online.
“This project with OPPO is so timely,” she said. “Standing up against online bashing is something that Joshua and I feel is relevant because the audience will be able to relate to it. I think a lot of them are curious about how celebrities deal with negativity directed at us online. I’m so glad that OPPO has allowed us to share this story with more people.”
“Nangyayari talaga ‘to sa amin [This does happen to us],” agreed Garcia. “And the message of the commercial is really uplifting because people might say a lot of bad things about you online, but you shouldn’t feel bad about yourself because the people who know you in real life will know the real deal, the real story, and will always value you for being who you really are.”
The loveteam chooses not to dwell on the negativity though and would rather be on the brighter side of things.
“I feel like the bashers should stop. Their lives will be more positive if they follow the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Focus on yourself, improve, and figure out how you can be a better person. For those suffering from online bashing, it’s a waste of energy to dwell on the negativity. Shrug it off. You know who you are and don’t let other people tell you otherwise,” Barretto advised.
“We can’t really stop the bashers from doing what they want,” Garcia added. “But I suggest that bashers think of their victims. You should get to know them, what they go through, before typing something mean. Madali mamintas [It’s easy to criticize] than finding good things to say to a person. For the online bashing victims, the people who matter most will always love you for who you really are.”
