Super Thin, But Are Trade-offs Worth It?

Subsequently using the Oppo R5 as my regular driver for over a week, I'm left all dubious that melt off designs are the best option for today's smartphones. Considering its flagship spirit level damage – $540 unlocked and off-squeeze from Amazon – there are simply too more compromises to make this a worthy high-end competitor.

The biggest issue with the Oppo R5 is its horrendous battery life. This is a device with a passabl expectant 5.2-inch AMOLED display, and contempt using a relatively power friendly SoC, the 2,000 mAh internal battery doesn't cut it. In point of fact it's not even close to organism competent, comfortably recording the rack up assault and battery life of whatever device I've used recently. Stamp battery life is so critical these days that along this aspect alone the Oppo R5 is tall to recommend.

Next up is performance, with Oppo opting to utilization Qualcomm's Snapdragon 615 SoC. Unfortunately this chip isn't in Qualcomm's top tier, recording functioning around the same as the biennial-old Snapdragon 600 used in the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. Atomic number 3 the R5 retails for just every bit much as (if not much than) a Snapdragon 801 flagship suchlike the Sony Xperia Z3, Motorola Moto X 2014 or LG G3, this handset's mid-range performance isn't up to scratch.

The 13-megapixel rear photographic camera can take apart a decent image in ideal conditions, but performance in different situations is decidedly middle-rank one time again. A spate of the time the camera produced dull or lacklustre shots, when really it should be rivalling the high-ending cameras found in other $500+ devices. The television camera app itself and the front-facing selfie camera are commendable, but Oppo needs to work on processing tweaks for their main rear shooter.

Of the things I did like, the Oppo R5 has a magnificent, slim and well-built body. The bezels to the top and bottom of the display are a little large for my liking, but the aluminium back and sides gives the R5 a bounty expect and feel. The 5.2-inch 1080p AMOLED isn't the world-class display I've seen along a high-altitude-closing device, though it gets the job through with a great dividing line ratio and moral wake angles.

On the unusual pass on, the Oppo R5's heavy ColorOS peel practical over the top of Mechanical man 4.4 leaves very much to comprise desired. The skin is visually off-putting, looking at very dated in comparison to Android 5.0's Material Design. Oppo has as wel ready-made some usability changes that disgrace the feel, despite having some interesting features hidden away in the settings menu.

Spell some of the issues with the R5 are corresponding to its quest for thinness, most notably an understandably small battery capacity, not everything can be blamed on this one thing. An average photographic camera, mid-range performance and mediocre software are all separate issues, and for that reason, I find the Oppo R5 effortful to recommend.

Pros: Attractive, radical-slim design with a decent AMOLED display.

Cons: Slim design leads to miserable battery life. High-end price for mid-array performance and camera. Mediocre software. No 3.5mm audio jack or microSD identity card slot.