This article was published on September 7, 2015

Oppo’s 6″ R7 Plus offers a lightning-fast 13-megapixel camera for less than $500


Oppo’s 6″ R7 Plus offers a lightning-fast 13-megapixel camera for less than $500

Smartphone maker Oppo launched its R7 Plus handset in Bangalore, India today to make waves in the mid-range segment, with a 6-inch display and a metal unibody design.

The dual-sim 4G-capable R7 Plus features a 1080p Super AMOLED display (which tops out at 367 ppi, quite a bit lower than the similarly sized Nexus 6, which manages 493 ppi), runs the company’s own ColorOS 2.1 on top of Android 5.1.

It’s powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core 64-bit processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. A microSD slot allows for an extra 128GB of space.

The Oppo R7 Plus features a sleek metal unibody design
The Oppo R7 Plus features a sleek metal unibody design, as well as a fingerprint reader

The R7 Plus has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel shooter in the front. A fingerprint reader on the back and a large 4,100mAh battery round out the 6.7 oz (192g) package.

Oppo has priced the R7 Plus at about $465 (Rs. 30,990) in India with a launch date of September 25, and at $499 in the US. That’s higher than most of this year’s budget heavyweights like the OnePlus 2, the Asus ZenFone 2 and the upcoming Moto X Pure.

At its current price, it doesn’t have a lot of direct competition, except for last year’s Nexus 6, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha and the Honor 6 Plus.

It’s also significantly cheaper than Samsung’s 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 5, which launched in India today at $806 (Rs. 53,900) for the 32GB model, as well as the Galaxy S6 Edge+ ($865; Rs. 57,990) and the LG G4 ($628; Rs. 42,000).

In order to pique consumers’ interest in the face of stiff competition, the company is betting on its new camera tech, which promises sharp photos thanks to anti-shake optimization, as well as precise focusing in under 0.3 seconds.

I had a few minutes to try it out at today’s launch event; Oppo isn’t kidding about how quick the R7 Plus can focus. It locks on faster than most phones I’ve tried this year, and automatically snaps pictures as it focuses, so you don’t have to worry too much about camera shake.

Oppo also announced the R7 Lite, a 5-inch variant with a 720p display, a 1.3GHz octa-core processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage.

The Oppo R7 Lite is a slim metal 5-inch affair
The Oppo R7 Lite is a slim metal 5-inch affair

It comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front snapper. It’s priced at $299 (Rs. 19,990) and will go on sale on September 10 in India.

It’ll be interesting to see if Oppo can make splash with its new handset, premium materials, clever camera software and larger size. Stay tuned for a detailed review later this month. The R7 Plus launched in China in May; it’s now available for pre-order in the US.

➤ Oppo R7 Plus

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Also tagged with


Published
Back to top