Oppo’s a brand that Sri Lankans are falling in love with. Who’s to blame us? Phones like the F11 pack a serious punch. So, is it the best mid-ranger out there? Keep reading to find out.
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The F11’s certainly a mid-ranger.
Its price is influenced by the warranty you get it with. You could either get a seller’s warranty or a company one. Know that a seller’s is cheaper. Onboard memory also affects the final price, just so you know.
The phone’s shiny. It comes with a metallic-chrome finish that can catch quite a bit of light. Before you get too worried, it’s not blinding, but will certainly turn a few heads. Something that amps up the effect is the F11’s polycarbonate back. It’s very glossy, which we love.
If you know anything about glossy phones, you’d know that they’re huge fingerprint magnets. Luckily for you, Oppo includes a jelly case with the device. On a side note, it also comes with a screen protector already installed.
Let’s not forget that plastic isn’t the most premium material. If the F11 had a metal frame, we’d feel better, but it comes with a plastic one. Thankfully, the device has a premium heft to it. It weighs 188 g.
It comes in 3 different colours: purple, green and white. We think the purple looks the best. This seems to be a popular opinion, and you’d probably agree too.
Although the F11 is big, the placement of its buttons is just right. They’re clicky and are fun to play with.
On the top is its headphone jack and on the bottom is its USB port. Get ready to be disappointed as the F11 uses a microUSB to charge itself. There’s no reason why USB-C couldn’t have been used.
You’ll see a dual camera set up on its rear. The cameras are towards the top of the phone. Right under them is the fingerprint sensor which has a metal border. The border elevates the phone’s appearance, easily.
We mentioned that the phone is big. So, how big is it? Its screen is 6.53 inches, making it a phablet. If you have smaller hands, you’ll struggle with one-handed use. However, phones over 6 inches are the norm these days.
It packs a punch. The F11’s screen is IPS LCD and FHD+. So, the colours are vibrant. However, we would’ve loved an AMOLED display. Considering that the F11 isn’t the cheapest phone out there, this could have easily been done.
Thankfully, it has a great screen to body ratio. It’s 85.3%, so you’ll barely see any bezels.
Its back is plastic, and so its frame. It would’ve been nice if the phone made up for this with a Gorilla Glass display, but it doesn’t. All you get is regular glass.
Knowing how bright the daytime can get here, you’ll love that the F11 has great viewing angles. They’re certainly not the best though. If it was AMOLED, the angles would’ve been better.
You probably want to know what its screen resolution is like. Well, it’s 1080 x 2340 pixels. This means its PPI is 394, which doesn’t allow for the most detailed experience.
In other news, the F11 has a waterdrop notch that isn’t in-your-face. If you hate notches, this is an extra incentive to get the phone.
It comes with a 4020 mAh battery. The more expensive F11 Pro comes with a 4000 mAh one. Although it’s better, a 20 mAh difference isn’t much.
The F11 can last about 2 days with moderate use. With heavy use, about half a day, to a day is expected. The cherry on top is the fact that it uses VOOC 3.0 to charge itself. This means it’s seriously fast. From 0-100%, the device only takes an hour and a half.
Although its back is plastic, you can’t remove its battery. This shouldn’t be a surprise as this has become commonplace.
And no, the phone doesn’t come with wireless charging. If it was more expensive, we’d be mad about this.
Out of the box, you get Android 9. Unfortunately, the F11 isn’t getting the Android 10 update. For a lot of us, this is a major drawback.
The F11 is expected to receive ColorOS 11 somewhere in December 2020. Considering that the new user interface is aimed at a global audience, we are excited to see what Oppo has in store.
At least its storage capabilities are good. There are 64 and 128 gig variants of the device. What’s even better is that you can expand its storage with a microSD card.
In terms of RAM, you can either get the F11 in 4 or 6 gigs. This isn’t bad at all, so you shouldn’t have a problem dealing with some heavy use.
It comes with the Helio P70 chip. The P70 is seen in mid-rangers and allows for some smooth performance. For comparison’s sake, you can compare the chip with the Snapdragon 660. The 660 performs better, but by a small margin.
The phone’s CPU has the Mali G72 MP3 GPU in it. When graphics get high, games stutter, especially PUBG. That being said, the F11 comes with a game optimization mode so when push comes to shove, gaming isn’t unbearable.
The Oppo device has dual cameras on its back. The primary sensor is 48 MP, with a secondary a 5 MP sensor that records depth. Everything is crisp and detailed, but what’s so great is the phone’s ultra night mode. It lets the F11 take some impeccable shots in dim settings, while still retaining sharpness.
In terms of camera UI, you’ll notice that it works a lot like the more expensive F11 Pro. As a result, the device has the same filters, HDR mode, AI scene recognition, and digital zoom.
Its selfie camera is a 16 MP sensor. It’s amazing in good lighting but produces less than great shots when the room dims out. Moreover, its portrait mode is iffy. We noticed that it refuses to capture certain details, which is unfortunate.
Without a doubt, the F11 is a device that’s worth your while. However, we promised you a review and more. So, let’s go through the phone’s best alternatives.
The A9 is as big as the F11. They both share a 6.5-inch screen. Unfortunately, the A9’s display isn’t as great. It’s IPS LCD, with a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. To a lot of us, this makes the device less interesting as details aren’t as clear.
Its screen to body ratio is 82.5%. It falls short when compared to the F11, but not by much.
Both phones have a plastic back and frame. Unlike the F11, the A9 comes with a Gorilla Glass front. Although appreciated, it’s only Gorilla Glass 3, which isn’t that strong.
If you’re expecting the Android 10 update, we have some bad news for you. The A9 won’t be getting it. Considering that the F11 won’t either, this isn’t the end of the world.
On a more positive note, the A9 has a better memory. It comes with 128 GBs of storage, and 4, plus a variant with 8 gigs of RAM. The 8 GB version is smoother than any of the F11s.
You don’t get the Mediatek chip. Instead, the Snapdragon 665 processor is used. If the 660 beats the Helio 720, comparing it to the 665 would be overkill.
Speaking of overkill, the A9 annihilates the F11 when it comes to battery power. It has a 5000 mAh battery, after all. it doesn’t have fast charging though.
The device has a 16 MP front camera. When it comes to the back one, the A9 wins again. It has 4, with a 48 MP primary sensor, an 8 MP ultra-wide, a 2 MP depth, and another 2 MP sensor.
Both phones have 6.53-inch screens. Unlike the device above, the Pro shares the same screen resolution as the F11. It also has a screen to body ratio that’s 84.9%.
The Redmi Note 8 Pro is superior when it comes to build. It has Gorilla Glass 5 on its front and back, making it feel premium. However, a plastic frame is present on the device.
If you’re thinking about getting the F11, know that the Pro is getting the Android 10 update. This will make you reconsider, surely.
The phone has a larger battery, at 4500 mAh. This makes it more tempting. However, it takes about 2 hours to fully charge. The F11 takes less time to charge, so it wins this round.
A Mediatek chip is in the device. It’s the Helio G90T. If you know anything about processors, you’d know that the G90T out beats the P70.
When it comes to memory, the 8 Pro has a 64, 128 and 256 gig variant. In terms of RAM, you can choose 6 or 8 gigs.
Don’t get me started on cameras!
The Redmi device wipes the floor as there are 4 on its back, with the primary sensor being 64 MP. Its selfie camera is better too as it rocks a 20 MP sensor instead of a 16 MP one.
The verdict’s in. The Oppo F11 is worth your money!
The phone looks great, no one can deny this. It’s pretty big too, so its viewing experience is noteworthy. This is especially true as it comes with an FHD+ display. However, it’s not AMOLED, so the colours aren’t as bright.
Although it looks great, the F11 is made from plastic. Some buyers may not mind though.
Its battery is something to write home about. Compared to some phones on the market, its charging time is very good. If you’re always on the go, this makes the device more appealing.
Performance-wise, we have no complaints. And its camera is something we’re fond of.
In no way did the Oppo device make us go ‘Appo’. So, it has our approval.
