The Oppo F3 really does come off as perfectly manageable compared to its bigger 6-inch sibling. Despite the ongoing trend of growing display sizes, 5.5 inches still hits the sweet spot for many people.
With a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, the screen has a pixel density of about 401ppi, which is great and most of all, pleasingly sharp to the naked eye.
The brightness, on the other hand, is pretty average, even a tad dim for an LCD, maxing out at 449 nits.
Display test | 100% brightness | ||
Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
0.343 | 509 | 1485 | |
0.364 | 449 | 1234 | |
0.032 | 411 | 12844 | |
0.348 | 475 | 1365 | |
0.466 | 476 | 1021 | |
0.00 | 353 | ∞ | |
0.00 | 484 | ∞ | |
0.38 | 439 | 1158 | |
0.322 | 484 | 1503 | |
0.321 | 579 | 1804 | |
0.377 | 522 | 1385 | |
0 | 346 | ∞ | |
0 | 510 | ∞ | |
0.383 | 521 | 1360 | |
0.00 | 408 | ∞ | |
0.00 | 352 | ∞ | |
0.34 | 457 | 1344 | |
0.614 | 463 | 754 |
Sunlight legibility is also disappointing, even by LCD standards. Still, it might serve as some consolation that competitor Vivo's V5 pair is even worse in this department. Granted, it's hardly a meaningful victory, since number comparisons won't help you see the screen any better on a sunny day.
Color accuracy is not really Oppo F3's forte. In all fairness, the bigger F3 Plus suffers from similar issues as well. The display has sort of a purplish, bluish tint to it. Blues, purples and cyans are way off, with a deltaE of around 11 to 13 measured against the sRGB color space. Overall, we measured an average deltaE of 8.3 and a maximum deviation of 14.2 - even worse than on the F3 Plus. Sadly, if you don't like the default screen calibration, you can't really do anything about it, as Oppo doesn't have a screen adjustment setting.
Equipped with a 3,200mAh non-removable battery, the Oppo F3 doesn't exactly stand out in the longevity department, but still does alright for itself. It's a clear bump down from the 4,000mAh in the bigger F3 Plus. Then again, the screen size difference between the pair is significant as well.
On a more positive note, the F3 has managed to pack more juice than the Oppo R9s and its 3,010mAh unit. It's a rather short-lived victory, since the R9s is noticeably thinner, at 6.6mm, and its 14nm Snapdragon 625 and AMOLED panel make it a lot more power-efficient.
The MediaTek MT6750T used in the F3, on the other hand, is made on a 28nm fabrication process. It also has to drive a more power-hungry LCD panel.
Surprisingly, all of these potential shortcomings didn't prevent the phone from posting a decent endurance rating of 68 hours in our standardized battery test. In comparison, the F3 Plus got 79 hours' worth of an endurance rating out of its 4,000mAh battery.
The regular F3 holds its ground well in our 3G call test, as well as in web browsing. Video playback seems to be the weak link in this package. This might have something to do with the video app itself, which we will come back to later in the software chapter.
Still, we can't really complain. The Oppo R9s only managed a few hours more on its 3,010mAh pack, despite the help of the efficient Snapdragon 625 and AMOLED panel combination. The same goes for the Vivo V5 Plus, a prime competitor to the Oppo F3, which also uses the Qualcomm chip and a 3,160mAh battery. In a more "apples to apples" comparison against the basic Vivo V5 and its MT6750, 720p, 5.5-inch LCD and 3,000mAh battery, the Oppo F3 really dwarfs the vivo's 60 hour endurance rating.
On another positive note, the F3 seems to run pretty cool even under stress. Charging is an almost heat-free process as well. Speaking of which, it might as well be that way, since the phone is only capable of drawing a mere 2A/5V current from the charger. This is exactly half of what Oppo's excellent VOOC parallel charging solution delivers on devices like the F3 Plus and R9s. It's a real shame that the feature is entirely absent from the regular F3.
The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
The Mediatek MT6750T is a bit underpowered compared to modern midrange processors, and it doesn't really strain itself too much to please in the connectivity department either. Unlike the F3 Plus and its Cat.9 LTE modem, the regular F3 has to make do with Cat.4 speeds of 150 Mbps of download and 50Mbps of upload.
Still, you do at least get LTE on both SIM slots simultaneously.
In terms of local connectivity, there is a Wi-Fi a/b/g/n module. No dual-band or ac support. You do get Bluetooth v4.1 and a GPS receiver, with support for A-GPS. NFC is one notable omission. Also, you are only stuck with the slower USB 2.0 transfer. OTG is supported, although you have to explicitly enable it in the settings.
You also get a good old 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom of the Oppo F3.
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