 |
| OPPO F9 versus Huawei Nova 3i |
Moreover, various mobile manufacturers dropped its mid-rangers' asking price to keep up with the game. Among them is OPPO, who aggressively slashed its OPPO F7 price tag from Php17,990 to only Php14,990. However, the Nova 3i effect wasn't done yet, until the Chinese smartphone brand was pushed to launch the F7's successor – the OPPO F9, which also made a buzz through its latest offerings.
Both packed with trendy features and powerful specs to meet users' demands, which of the two smartphones matches you best? Let's dive in and find out!
| Device | OPPO F9 | Huawei Nova 3i |
| Dual SIM | Yes, Nano+Nano | Yes, Hybrid |
| Display | 6.3-inch LTPS IPS LCD (2340 x 1080), 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | 6.3-inch IPS LCD (2340 x 1080), 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi |
| Dimensions | 156.7mm x 74mm x 8mm | 157.6mm x 75.2mm x 7.6mm |
| Weight | 169 grams | 169 grams |
| O/S | Android 8.1 Oreo with ColorOS 5.2 | Android 8.1 Oreo with EMUI 8.2 |
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio P60, 12nm FinFET | HiSilicon Kirin 710, 12nm FinFET |
| CPU | 64-bit 2GHz octa core (4x2.0GHz Cortex-A73 + 4x2.0GHz Cortex-A53) | 64-bit 2.2GHz octa core (4x2.2GHz Cortex-A73 + 4x1.7GHz Cortex-A53) |
| GPU | 800MHz Mali-G72 MP3, 16nm FinFET | 650MHz Mali-G51MP4, 28nm HPM |
| RAM | 6GB | 4GB |
| Memory | 64GB | 128GB |
| Storage Expansion | up to 256GB, uses dedicated slot | up to 256GB, uses SIM2 slot |
| Main Camera | 16MP f/1.8 + 2MP f/2.4 PDAF with LED flash | 16MP f/2.0 + 2MP with AF, Master AI, and LED flash |
| Front Camera | 25MP f/2.0 with AI Beauty Technology and screen flash | 24MP f/2.0 + 2MP with AF, Master AI, HDR, PRO, and screen flash |
| Radio | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS | Yes with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS |
| Data | GSM, HSPA, LTE | GSM, CDMA, HSPA, LTE |
| WiFi | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band | 802.11 b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | v4.2, A2DP, LE | v4.2, A2DP, LE, EDR, aptX HD |
| NFC | No | No |
| Infrared | No | No |
| USB | Micro, 2.0 | Micro, 2.0 |
| OTG | Yes | Yes |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Face Recognition | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | 3500mAh Li-Po, non-removable | 3340mAh Li-Po, non-removable |
| Fast Charging | Yes, VOOC Flash Charge | No |
| Wireless Charging | No | No |
| Price | Php17,990 | Php15,990 |
OPPO and Huawei share the same target consumers. Both banking on great camera setups, the two brands made sure that their bets can do more aside from being a plain millennial device.
Let’s begin with the display. The OPPO F9 and Nova 3i both come with 6.3-inch panel. However, OPPO got an extra point for having a smaller notch, thus, larger screen-to-body ratio. Moreover, the F9 sports a Corning Gorilla Glass 6, as well, which is the latest protection in the market today.
The two had a tricky fight under the hood. The OPPO F9 is still powered by MediaTek Helio P60 octa-core processor paired with Mali-G72MP3 graphics. It loads a bigger 6GB of RAM but it has a shy 64GB of internal storage. Good news, it has a dedicated slot for your MicroSD card to expand your ROM up to 256GB.
 |
| OPPO F9 |
On the other hand, the Nova 3i is geared with the new Hisilicon Kirin 710 octa-core chipset complemented with Mali-G51 GPU. Although it has smaller 4GB of RAM, the phone can still intimidate its rival through its whopping 128GB of expandable storage. The downside? Huawei didn’t equip it with a dedicated MicroSD card slot, which leaves the consumers to choose between dual SIM functionality or storage expansion.
By the way, if we were the ones to be asked between bigger RAM or larger ROM, we will pick bigger RAM anytime of the day. Besides, RAM in smartphones is not expandable, while in most cases, storage can be upgraded.
Going back to the chipset used, both the Helio P60 and Kirin 710 are built on 12nm FinFET process, this simply means that both chips are power efficient. And, even if the Kirin 710 processor is clocked 200MHz faster than the Helio P60, their benchmark scores are almost the same. However, the P60 has some edge when it comes to the graphics processing unit. The Mali-G72 GPU, which is built on 16nm FinFET process, is superior than the Mali-G51 GPU of the Kirin 710, which is built on 28nm HPM process.
Meanwhile, on paper, we could tell that the Nova 3i battled out OPPO when it comes to its camera department. Huawei mounted its new Nova Star with four AI cameras composed of 16-megapixel f/2.0 + 2-megapixel main shooters with AF, Master AI, and LED flash, and 24-megapixel + 2-megapixel selfie snappers with AF, Master AI, HDR, Pro, and screen flash.
See Also: Huawei Nova 3i Review; The New Mid-Range Star!
 |
| Huawei Nova 3i |
OPPO also carries a dual rear camera setup similar to the Nova 3i, but it only comes with a single 25-megapixel front camera with AI Beauty Technolgy.
Nevertheless, the F9 bounced back through its 3500mAh battery that supports VOOC Flash Charge. The latter promises to give two hours of talk time in just five minutes of charge.
For security options, both devices are packed with fingerprint sensor and face recognition technology. The OPPO F9 loads ColorOS 5.2, while the Nova 3i flashes EMUI 8.2. Both are based on Android 8.1 Oreo OS.
The OPPO F9 is priced at Php17,990, while the Huawei Nova 3i has an SRP of Php15,990.
Having these things on your mind, let us know which side are you on!
VERDICT:
OPPO F9 - Corning Gorilla Glass 6, faster GPU, bigger RAM, has dedicated slot for MicroSD card, larger battery that supports fast charging
Huawei Nova 3i - bigger internal storage, better front camera setup, lower asking price