When I am about to finish it's review, OPPO Philippines paved the way for me to also check their OPPO A57 so expect some comparisons with the F3
On body and display, the one-hand control is more possible on this one over the F3 Plus. The F3 is missing 4 antenna lines which I never missed it (details on the connectivity section). There were some instances that I thought that I had an F1s but the thin factor and lightweght feel reminded me that this is the F3
On UI, it was almost the same thing that I expected on the ColorOS inside. The MT6750T octa-core processor worked a-ok on simple tasks alongside with the 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal memory but I noticed that as time passes, the amount of RAM remaining was slowly decreasing which is not the case when I had the OPPO A57. There are times that I had to reset the phone (oops, there is no reset option on this one) so I had to turn it off and on to get as much RAM as I need. There is no app freeze feature on the F3 unlike on the OPPO A57
On connectivity, it was the first OPPO phone with Mediatek chipset that I encountered with 4G+ mobile net - a plud definitely. Calls, texts, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and OTG were also good on my case. Speaking of WiFi, I almost never missed the 4 antenna lines that the F3 Plus have based on the same Speedtests that I did on the same areas that I tested the F3 Plus
On battery, I wish that it was a bit better. With a 3,200 mAh battery inside, it only survived for 12 hours and 20 minutes in my video battery rundown test. Less 2 hours compared to it's closest rival selfie phablet with 200 mAh battery disadvanytage. In my heavy load with mixed usage, I can't help but to top it up at dinner time with 5 hours of screen on time. I was able to full charge at an average of 165 minutes with it's 5V 1A charger.
On benchmarks, thanks to that letter T in the SoC, it notched higher number than it's MT6750 brother on Antutu. Seven out of nine sensors were present on this phablet. On gaming, it was a-ok on high settings on Modern Combat 5 and Asphalt 8. In terms of frameskips, I experienced a bit more on the said racing game over the A57
On camera, there is no presence of a Sony sensor on this one but the camera produced good on auto mode. In low light, there is a very minimal noise. In terms of selfie camera, the F3 has the edge in almost of the all types of environment that I tried to shoot compared to A57. The same quality of wide angle selfie camera that I experienced on the F3 Plus was also there on the F3.
OPPO F3 rear camera samples
OPPO F3 selfie camera sample versus wide angle camera sample
On extras: I am sad that the F3 does not have FM radio which is already a need for me when I am outside.
The F3 Plus has a bit high price tag and a display size that may not fit to most people with small hands so the F3 was there to fill the void of those who want to join the dual selfie camera revolution. The price is on the right direction if you are paying for the hardware and the given prowess of the cameras. The RAM management issues, battery life and absence of FM radio were my cons on this phablet. I will rate the OPPO F3 at 3.75 out of 5.
