OPPO R17 Pro Review; Superfast with SuperVOOC

Anjie lou delos Reyes
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INTRODUCTION:

The OPPO R17 Pro is the latest in the R series smartphones that lands in the Philippines, in fact, if we are not mistaken, it is only the second R device that officially released in the country, the other one being the OPPO R1x.

OPPO R17 Pro Review; Superfast with SuperVOOC
OPPO R17 Pro Review; Superfast with SuperVOOC

The R series is considered as the upper mid-range offerings of OPPO, just one step behind the Find series. The OPPO Find X became the talk of the town because of its all-screen facade dubbed as Panoramic Arc Display, and its Stealth 3D Camera. The OPPO R17 Pro on the other hand, boasts triple rear camera setup, and ultra fast battery charging technology called as SuperVOOC. But, are these enough to shine among its competitor? Let's find out in this review!


PHYSICAL:

The OPPO R17 Pro aesthetic is described by its creator as something dreamy and immersive that moves along with its users. This is because of its Radiant Mist casing that has the colors of deep blue and purple hues, which blends and shifts depending on the amount of lights and shadows around it. This kind of design is not something new, we have seen a similar approach with other phones, but it still pleases and relaxing to look at.

OPPO R17 Pro Back
Back

The gradient back is made of misted glass with matte finish, OPPO said it is fingerprint-resistant, but our experience tells otherwise. The fingerprints and smudges are there, however, due to its gradient design, they are barely visible.

Also at the back of the R17 Pro is where one its main selling point is located, the triple camera set-up, which is stacked vertically, and center-aligned horizontally. Based on our estimate, the camera bump is protruding by about 1mm, making its glass prone to scratches when the phone is resting on its back. Therefore, we recommend to use the free case included in the package to protect not only the camera glass, but the whole device itself.

OPPO R17 Pro Front
Front

Moving on at the front, it looks pretty much like as the OPPO F9, Vivo V11 and One Plus 6T, mainly because of its small notch design above the waterdrop display. Most of us know that there is a big reason behind the design similarities, and that is they belong to a mother company in China called BBK Electronics. Even though they always say that they operate separately with one another, the physical evidences tell us differently.

OPPO R17 Pro Waterdrop Notch
Waterdrop Notch

By the way, the front is mainly occupied by the 6.4-inch display with a Full HD+ resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and topped with the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 6. According to OPPO it has a screen-to-body ratio of 91.5%, which is slightly higher than 90.8% screen ratio of the OPPO F9. Since it has an AMOLED panel, it brings deep blacks and slightly saturated colors, great viewing angles, good outdoor legibility, and high-level of brightness.

Also Read: OPPO Announces PamaskOPPO Raffle Promo

OPPO R17 Pro Display Settings and Info
Display Settings and Info

The display color temperature can be set to default, cooler or warmer, there is also a Night Shield feature that provides comfort to the eyes of the users. Moreover, it scored 10 on the multi-touch test. Meanwhile, for those who can't get over of the notch, there is no option to hide it. Speaking of notch, it holds the selfie camera with the earpiece directly above it.

OPPO R17 Pro Sides
Sides

The top holds the secondary microphone, power button on the right, dual Nano SIM tray, USB Type-C, primary mic, and earpiece grill. It measure 157.6mm x 74.6mm x 7.9mm and weighs about 183 grams, for comparison, these are quite close to 157.5mm x 74.8mm x 8.2 mm and 185 grams of the OnePlus 6T.

OPPO R17 Pro SuperVOOC Charger
SuperVOOC 50-Watt Charger

On a side note, the retail package contains the R7 Pro unit, silicon case, 50-watt SuperVOOC power adapter, USB cable, USB Type-C earphones, SIM ejector tool, and paper documents.

Overall, it is has a very detailed craftsmanship, and every bit of it looks really premium. Its beauty may not be as heart-stopping as the OPPO Find X, but it has its own traits that will surely attract many. One thing I wish, though, is that it has at least an IP67 rating.


SOFTWARE:

It was shipped with ColorOS 5.2 out of the box, which is based on Android 8.1 Oreo, and the same version found on the OPPO F9. It has a Smart Bar that you can always access wherever you are in the interface. Initially hidden in the upper right hand of the UI, it basically holds the Quick Tools (shortcut buttons to take screenshot or screen recording) and Apps that you can access anytime and anywhere by simply swiping it our from right to left.

OPPO R17 Pro User Interface
User Interface

It also has lots of useful features like Game Space wherein it optimizes the graphics as well as the sounds of the game you are playing, App Split-Screen to run two applications at the same time, and other smart settings that can help provide convenience to the users.

OPPO R17 Pro Software
Software

To learn more, you can visit https://www.oppo.com/ph/coloros/.


PERFORMANCE:

One of the main concerns raised by many of our readers, and consumers alike is the chipset used inside the OPPO R17 Pro, which is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710. Yes, this is indeed not a flagship chip, that category belongs to the Snapdragon 8 Series Mobile Platforms, wherein the current and widely used in the market is the SD 845.

OPPO R17 Pro CPU-Z Info
CPU-Z Info

For comparison purposes, both chips are made from a 10nm FinFET process, however, the SD845 uses a slightly more powerful octa core Kryo 385 CPU and Adreno 630 GPU, while the SD710 has octa core Kryo 360 CPU and Adreno 616 GPU. We do not know exactly the reason or reasons of OPPO for using the SD710 over SD845, but we think, it is to have a clear separation in terms of market positioning between R17 Pro and Find X. Anyway, the SD710 chip being less powerful than the SD845 gives it at least one advantage that we know of, that is power consumption, which is just 26mW over 34mW of the latter.

It comes with 8GB of volatile memory to make handling multiple tasks a lot easier, while the ROM is pegged at 128GB, wherein only 108GB are available to the users. It has no MicroSD card slot, making storage expansion only possible through the use of cloud or external drives.

Below are the scores it got in several popular benchmarking tools.

Antutu - 169,484
Geekbench - 1,848 (single core)
Geekbench - 5,914 (multi core)
Geekbench - 7,442 (RenderScript)
PC Mark Work 2.0 - 8,444
PC Mark Storage 1.0 - 6,452
PC Mark Computer Vision 1.0 - 5,902
3D Mark Sling Shot - 2,713
3DMark Sling Shot Extreme - 1,852 (OpenGL ES 3.1)
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited – 31,637
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme - Max

OPPO R17 Pro Benchmark Results
OPPO R17 Pro Benchmark Scores
Benchmark Scores

Based on the results above, we can say that the R17 Pro is far better when compared to devices that uses mid-range chips like MediaTek Helio P60, HiSilicon Kirin 710, Exynos 7885, and even SD660. Of course, these are still behind than devices with flagship chipsets like SD845 and Kirin 980.

OPPO R17 Pro PUBG Graphics Settings
PUBG Graphics Settings

In real life usage, the Snapdragon 710 and 8GB RAM combo are more than capable to run even resources-heavy applications and games. Playing titles like Asphalt 9, NBA2K19 and PUBG Mobile in high settings are smooth and lag-free, in fact, we did not encounter dropped frames when testing these games. Therefore, expect to have a buttery-smooth performance when running light to moderate tasks as the R17 can operate them with ease.

OPPO R17 Pro In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
In-Display Fingerprint Sensor

The in-display fingerprint scanning works pretty fast, it is almost as fast as the usual exposed sensor mounted on the home key or at the back of the phone. The same is true with with Face Unlock feature, it is quick, and unlocks that phone almost in an instant. The audio quality is also good, both through the loudspeaker and using the wired earphones.

See Also: OPPO A3s Now Available at Sun Non-Stop LTE Plan 599

Long story short, we love the gaming experience and the overall smooth performance of the OPPO R17 Pro.


CAMERA:

As mentioned earlier, the triple camera set-up of the R17 Pro is one of its main selling points, it is composed of a 12MP dual pixel sensor with variable aperture, f/1,5 to f/2.4, and Optical Image Stabilization, a 20MP module with an f-stop of f/2.6, and a 3D TOF depth sensor. This is a bit different than the implementations found in other phones - that is either RGB+BW+Depth and RGB+Wide+Telephoto.

OPPO R17 Pro Triple Rear Cameras
Triple Rear Cameras

So, what's TOF? TOF or time-of-flight, is a camera imaging system that resolves the distance of the sensor to an object based on the speed of light it captures after being reflected, thus giving the R17 Pro more information about the subject. However, the Chinese smartphone maker does not go into full detail as to what the TOF can do.

In addition, OPPO does not also explain well the function of the 20MP sensor, whether it is a depth or a monochrome or telephoto sensor. One thing we are certain of, is the application of the smart aperture of the main module, which is used in the Night Mode feature, wherein the aperture adapts its opening based on the amount of light present. This together with the AI Ultra-Clear Engine gives users better low-light camera experience.

Speaking of mode, aside from Night, it has Expert, Panorama, Portrait, Sticker, and of course, Photo and Video. These modes are placed at the bottom of the interface, just below the shutter key, last shot thumbnail, and camera toggle. Meanwhile, at the top of the UI are the option to turn on/off the flash, HDR, Pi Color, and Timer.

Dual-Rear Camera Samples:

OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Morning, Snowman
Morning, Snowman
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Morning, Pool
Morning, Pool
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Morning, Pool, 2x Zoom
Morning, Pool, 2x Zoom
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Afternoon, Christmas Tree
Afternoon, Christmas Tree
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Indoor, Low Light, Innards
Indoor, Low Light, Innards
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Indoor, Low Light, Maki
Indoor, Low Light, Maki
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Indoor, Low Light, Nemo
Indoor, Low Light, Nemo
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Sunset
Sunset
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Sunset, 2x Zoom
Sunset, 2x Zoom
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Night, Hanging Gifts
Night, Hanging Gifts
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Night, Christmas Tree
Night, Christmas Tree
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Night, Construction
Night, Construction
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Night, Pool
Night, Pool
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Night, Playground
Night, Playground
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Night, Snowman
Night, Snowman
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Night, Christmas Tree
Night, Christmas Tree
OPPO R17 Pro Main Camera Sample - Close-up
Close-up

As a camera-centric device that belongs to the upper segment of the smartphone market, it is able to deliver outstanding images, which in our opinion can hold up against other premium phones that cost a lot more, let say Apple iPhone XS or Samsung Galaxy Note9. The point and shoot capability is superb, both under good lighting condition and under harsh of the dark environment (using Night mode). The amount of details is massive as it can clearly identify the edges, and small particulars and components. It gives realistic colors, and nicely resolved brightness, contrast, saturation, and highlights. It also has fast focusing speed and object tracking, the AI Scene Recognition is superb, and Macro and Portrait shots render great bokeh effect.

Related: OPPO R-series Toughens Its Sales Worldwide with the R17 Pro

Of course it is not perfect, there are still little things we hope that will be improved in the future. For one, there should be an option to turn off the AI Scene Recognition. Also, it does not allow you to adjust the aperture manually, just like the latest Samsung flagship devices. Moreover, we hope they will roll out an update soon that will enable the full functionality of the 3 camera modules.

Meanwhile, the standard video quality is set to the default of Full HD or 1080p resolution, however, you can also set it to HD 720p or UHD 4K. The video stabilization works well too. Meanwhile, the slow motion videos can be set to either HD or FHD.

Front Camera Samples:

OPPO R17 Pro Front Camera Sample - Selfie
Selfie
OPPO R17 Pro Front Camera Sample - Selfie with AI Beautification
Selfie with AI Beautification
OPPO R17 Pro Front Camera Sample - Selfie with 3D HDR
Selfie with 3D HDR
OPPO R17 Pro Front Camera Sample - Low Light Selfie
Low Light Selfie
OPPO R17 Pro Front Camera Sample - Low Light Portrait Selfie
Low Light Portrait Selfie

The front snapper offers equally impressive outputs, thanks to its huge 25MP sensor and AI-assisted beautification technology, selfies look natural. The bokeh effect of Portrait Mode works great too, there is almost completely no trace of the fuzzy edges of your face that was captured within the frame, again, thanks to AI as it can easily differentiate the foreground (subject) with the background.


CONNECTIVITY:

It can accommodate two Nano SIM cards with multiple LTE frequencies, 21 bands to be exact, including band 28 or the 700MHz band. If you do not have a data plan or just want to save your data, you can always rely on its dependable triple band WiFi consists of 2.4GHz, 5.1GHz, and 5.8GHz. It also has NFC that you can use to easily share content via Android Beam, or for tap-to-pay card-less transaction. Other wireless connectivity features are Bluetooth, and GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, and Galileo, while wired connection is just the USB Type-C port with OTG support, no 3.5mm audio here.


BATTERY:

Aside from the 3-camera set-up, the other interesting technology inside the OPPO R17 Pro is related to its power source. It has a total of two batteries composed of two 1850mAh cells for a total of 3,700mAh. These batteries are charge separately, but at the same time. And with the SuperVOOC Flash Charge technology, it only took us about 37 minutes to have it fully refilled from 0% to 100% using the supplied 50-watt (10V/5A) SuperVOOC power adapter and cable. This is the fastest charging phone that we reviewed, and probably competitors will still have a hard time catching up. More surprisingly, the phone stays cool to touch throughout the whole charging process. A truly marvelous feat and remarkable in the smartphone industry globally.

OPPO R17 Pro Battery Stats
Battery Stats

On average, it usually lasts through the day with still a few charge remaining. The typical usage includes web browsing, watching YouTube, social media, taking pictures and/or video clips, reading emails, several minutes of calls, and sending at least 20 text messages. At times that we use it less, the battery power remaining ranges from about 50 to 60% before going to bed. In PC Mark Battery Test, it scored 12 hours and 2 minutes.


CONCLUSION:

The OPPO R17 Pro has several genuine features that are indeed amazing, useful, and at the same time works well. The SuperVOOC Flash Charge technology is really ahead of the competitions, an evidence that OPPO is pushing their limits and capabilities. The in-display fingerprint sensor is quite fast, and reliable too. The camera performs remarkably well, especially when shooting in Night Mode, and we believe it will be further improved in the future when all 3 cameras are fully utilized. Moreover, let's not forget that it is also very enticing and appealing to the eyes.

OPPO R17 Pro Review Philippines
OPPO R17 Pro Review Philippines

However, its asking price might be a hindrance to its full-blown success. Yes, its computing abilities are top notch, but without a real flagship chip, consumers will usually think that it is a tier below the premium segment, at least for those tech savvy ones. To be fair with OPPO, their pricing strategy has work well with them in the past, and even made them the number 1 smartphone brand in the Philippines in Q3 2018.

OPPO R17 Pro Specs (Philippines):

  • Dual SIM, dual standby, supports LTE connectivity
  • 6.4-inch AMOLED (2340 X 1080) capacitive touchscreen, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 6, 402 PPI
  • Dimensions: 157.6mm x 74.6mm x 7.9mm
  • Weight: 183 grams
  • Color OS 5.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo
  • 64-bit octa core (2x2GHz 360 Gold + 6x1.7GHz Kryo 360 Silver) CPU, Adreno 616 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset
  • 8GB RAM
  • 128GB internal storage, non-expandable
  • 12MP f/1.5 and f/2.4 + 20MP f/2,4 + TOF 3D triple rear cameras, with LED flash
  • 25MP front camera with AI Beauty Recognition and screen flash
  • Multimedia Player
  • 3.5mm audio jack
  • Bluetooth v5.0
  • WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual band
  • GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
  • NFC
  • USB 3.1 Type-C, OTG
  • Sensors: accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
  • Others: In-display fingerprint scanner, 3D Face Unlock
  • Battery: 3700mAh Li-Po, non-removable
  • Colors: Emerald Green, Radiant Mist
  • Price: Php38,990

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