Oppo F3 Plus Review: A bigger, better successor to the F1 Plus, but loses against the competition

Oppo took the selfie-smartphone craze up a notch last year when the company introduced its F1 Plus smartphone. It packed in average specifications that one would find in a budget smartphone, at a not-so budget price tag. Its saving grace was its construction, build quality, design and that front facing camera, which set new standards for the sub Rs 30,000 smartphone segment.

While Oppo retained the good stuff from the F1 Plus in its successor, the F3 Plus, it also managed to bring in some improvements, including a bigger battery, a powerful processor and let’s not forget the highlight, which is a dual-camera on the front. The new Oppo F3 Plus has also grown larger and heavier thanks to the bigger display and a larger battery, and the price has grown with it. It now costs Rs 30,990.

But the competition too has learnt for the success of the F1 Plus, and capable rivals have been on sale for a couple of months now. So how does it compare with what you get on the Samsung C9 Pro, the Xiaomi Mi Max Prime, the Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra, the OnePlus 3T and the Vivo V5 Plus? Let’s find out.

Build and Construction: 8/10

I loved the design of the Oppo F1 Plus, it was not too large and not too small but just right with a 5.5-inch display. With the F3 Plus, Oppo takes things up a notch and seems to be of the opinion that its customers need a bigger display. So this time around, we get a massive 6-inch display, which makes the smartphone a lot bigger to hold and heavier as well.

At 185 g the phone did not feel any lighter or heavier than its competition. But Oppo did manage to make the design quite slim, which makes it more hand-friendly in comparison to the mammoth Xiaomi Mi Max. You still cannot use the phablet with one hand, but it does not feel as big as I expected it to be.

Xiaomi Mi Max, Oppo F3 Plus, Apple iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s

Xiaomi Mi Max, Oppo F3 Plus, Apple iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s

It does not peep out my jeans pocket as much as I expected it to either, meaning that its size does not get in the way of your everyday life which is commendable for a smartphone with a 6-inch display.

The design is not exactly unique or new, with rounded corners and the typical Oppo design language that we have seen since the F1 Plus. In fact from the front it could get hard to tell when viewed from a distance.

The Oppo F3 Plus is quite slim for a smartphone of this size and category. In fact, it is the slimmest phablet I have used so far.

However, it is the back where things get exciting. F1 Plus owners may find that it looks identical to their smartphones, but there is a nice touch here. It features a “six string antenna” that includes 3 at the top and three toward the bottom.

And it almost appears to be a design statement like on the Samsung C9 Pro. So it’s not the first to do this. The antenna bands are supposed to enhance network connectivity and not look ugly in the process and so far, I’m impressed. I initially thought that these fine lines were grooves. Little did I know these were some cool-looking antenna bands.

I like how Oppo has stuck with its philosophy of retaining its quick fingerprint scanner on the front. Unlike the Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra and the Xiaomi Redmi Mi Max, this one’s easy to reach and you can unlock the phone in milliseconds.

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