In August, OPPO released a new smartphone that sport new hardware not found in their previous devices like the Snapdragon 710 chipset and triple rear cameras which includes the TOF 3D stereo camera, the OPPO R17 Pro. Now that it is finally available in the Philippines, we’ve tested it out to see what it can offer for its price. Check our full review below.
Table of Contents
At first glance, the OPPO R17 Pro looks like the OPPO F9 mostly because of the display design. It has a 6.4-inch waterdrop screen with a tiny notch at the top that houses the 25MP selfie camera. Hiding under the display by the lower part is the in-display fingerprint scanner which I find a bit slower compared to a traditional scanner. Protecting the entire front is Corning Gorilla Glass 6.
The similarities end there though as the rest of the body feels different but in a good way. For starters, the body is now made of metal with indents at the top and bottom just like the OPPO Find X. The back panel curves to the edges which makes it easier to grip and better to hold. It feels cool, has a nice heft to it and definitely feels premium.
Looking at the rest of the body, we have the volume keys on the left, while on the right is the power/lock button. The buttons feel solid and clicky. They’re also easy to reach as they are positioned almost in the middle of the frame.
At the top is the secondary microphone, while down at the bottom are the loudspeaker, main microphone, USB Type-C port, and the dual-SIM tray which accepts nano-sized SIM cards. Sorry, there’s no microSD card support here, but given the 128GB storage, I think that’s fine.
The back part is glass with this “3D misted glass” effect which resembles that of frosted glass or condensation on metal. It also provides this attractive gradient effect that shifts between purple and blue. Also found here is the triple camera setup which I will discuss later.
Like with most devices with this kind of build, the R17 Pro is not immune to smudges. Good thing OPPO included a high-quality clear case in the package so you can also protect it from bumps and scratches, and to preserve its cool paint job.
The OPPO R17 Pro packs a Full HD+ (2340 x 1080) resolution which equates to 402ppi. It also has an AMOLED panel that produces rich colors and deep blacks. The screen is sharp, with good viewing angles, and good outdoor legibility. As for the notch, there’s an option to hide it but only works with apps and not with the home screen.
The R17 Pro has some really good audio for a single down-firing speaker. It’s loud with some faint bass and crisp trebles. In my experience, it’s more than enough for some casual listening to Spotify tunes and Netflix movies.
If that is not enough, it also has the Music Party app which syncs several OPPO phones that also has the same feature to stream the same song for that stereo or surround sound experience. Do note though that it doesn’t have a 3.5mm audio jack but has USB-C earphones included in the package.
The OPPO R17 Pro is a promising smartphone especially when it comes to photography thanks to its triple camera setup consisting of the 12MP F1.5 / F2.4, 20MP F2.6, and TOF 3D Stereo cameras. It has OIS and AI ultra-clear engine, which means night shots are less prone to blurring. As for features, it has light effects, Stickers, animated emojis, Panorama, Slow-mo, timelapse, and Expert mode.
If you have checked our previous articles about this phone’s camera, you’ll know that this phone can perform really well, especially in low-light. Our most favorite feature is the Night mode which captures multiple photos and stitches them into one image that is clear and free from blur and noise. You can check out the samples below:
You can also check out more photos, including night shots, here.
As for selfies, the 25MP front camera can produce sharp images with nice colors even in a dim environment. In Portrait mode, it has Smart Beauty to remove blemishes and enhance your facial features.
When it comes to video recording, the R17 Pro can shoot at a maximum of 4K resolution at 30fps. Quality is nice, with sharp details, good contrast, and colors. Videos are stabilized which is good. Watch the sample below:
You might be wondering about the TOF camera. Unfortunately, we can’t test its capabilities on our review unit as it doesn’t have the feature yet but will be available via an update.
Running the software of the R17 Pro is a ColorOS 5.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. The interface is similar to other OPPO phones like the Find X and uses multiple home screens to house applications.
It has Smart Assistant which displays the weather, steps tracker, photos, events from your calendar, as well as favorite contacts. There’s Phone Manager, Smart Sidebar, Theme Store, and a slew of security features. For travelers, it has ORoaming which provides data packages from 65 countries and regions.
When it comes to storage, the R17 Pro has 128GB with 107.52GB of usable space which is a good starting point considering the memory can’t be expanded.
Powering the R17 Pro is Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 710 octa-core chipset with Adreno 616 GPU, and 8GB RAM. The SD710 sits below the SD800 premium series but above the SD600 mid-range, so basically we call this a premium mid-range chip. Performance is good all the way as everything is smooth and fast. We never encountered any lags or crashes when switching between apps, taking photos, or playing games.
Speaking of gaming, if you want to optimize the R17 Pro for such tasks, you can activate Game Space to increase performance and block notifications that can disturb gameplay. When playing PUBG Mobile, we can set it to High graphics and frame rates with Anti-Aliasing enabled, and it will run without any hitch and excessive heating. Check out the benchmark scores below:
• AnTuTu – 167,110
• 3D Mark – 1,831 (SSE – OpenGL ES 3.1)
• PC Mark – 8,598 (Work 2.0)
• Geekbench – 1,846 (Single-Core), 5,980 (Multi-Core), 7,251 (RenderScript)
• Androbench – 506.48 MB/s (Read), 196.2 MB/s (Write)
The R17 Pro has almost everything you need when it comes to connectivity. There’s dual-SIM with 4G LTE, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and GPS. Calls are loud and clear while mobile data is fast as long as you have a good signal at your location.
Providing power to the R17 Pro are two 1,850mAh batteries for a total of 3,700mAh capacity. It uses a bi-cell design because it’s a hardware requirement for OPPO’s SuperVOOC Flash Charge and safe charging as well. Charging is impressive as it only took around 40 minutes to replenish the battery from 0 to 100%.
So far, we get around 11 to 12 hours of battery life when mostly connected to WiFi with light gaming, moderate photography, and heavy social media, which is not bad. PC Mark’s battery test rated it at 11 hours and 28 minutes while our video loop test (Airplane mode, 50% brightness and volume, with headset plugged) got us 20 hours of playback. Overall, good battery life.
OPPO has been known for the selfie-centered smartphones. It’s different in the case of the R17 Pro, although still good in taking selfies, as it is more marketed towards photography especially in low-light. And we’re happy about it because it was able to deliver. In some cases, we even find it better than the pricier Find X. Also, it has a good performance, premium build and design, and long battery life with high-speed charging.
It’s not perfect though, as the TOF camera is not yet ready, and most importantly, it’s pricey. At PHP 38,990USD 664INR 56,325EUR 633CNY 4,839, it’s almost in the same league as other smartphones with flagship chipsets. It’s a challenging sell, but if you’re looking for something from OPPO but don’t want to splurge on the Find X, then you’ve come to the right place.
OPPO R17 Pro specs:
6.4-inch Full HD+ (2340 x 1080) AMOLED waterdrop screen, 402ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 6, 430 nits, 60000:1 contrast
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 2.2GHz octa-core CPU
Adreno 616 GPU
8GB RAM
128GB storage
12MP (f/1.5 / f/2.4) + 20MP f/2.6+ TOF 3D stereo camera, LED flash
25MP front camera
Dual-SIM (nano)
4G+ LTE
WiFi 2.4G / 5.1G / 5.8G
Bluetooth 5.0
NFC
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
USB 3.1 Type-C w/ OTG
Under-display fingerprint scanner
ColorOS 5.2 (Android 8.1 Oreo)
3,700mAh battery (2x 1,850mAh) w/ 50W SuperVOOC charging
157.6 x 74.6 x 7.9 mm
183 g
What we liked:
• Attractive design
• Premium build
• Great cameras
• Good performance
• Long battery life
• Really fast charging
What we didn’t:
• Non-expandable storage
• No 3.5mm audio port
• No water or dust resistance
• Pricey!
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Freeje says:
Better and cheaper alternatives exist.
Freeje says:
Xiaomi 8!
kramark says:
Overpriced POS
Phil says:
Not an oppo promoter, but credit should be given where credit is due. That superfast charging tech is THEIR innovation. Sammy and Huawei couldn’t beat that in charging tests. You wanna flaunt that 1hr 10min charging time? Ye gotta pay for it.
Freeje says:
For that much money? Not my priority. I’d rather get 1+ or Xiaomi.
Bien says:
Wide angle na po ba ang oppo r17 pro?