There is no denying that the Oppo R5 is a pleasure to look at. The manufacturer did not rely just on the slim profile for aesthetics, but on a beautifully crafted matte silver-finished metal frame and back, intertwined with the white, non-glossy plastic bezels. Indeed, the R5 looks and feels like a well-built, premium handset; despite its thickness, it is absolutely sturdy, with no bends and creaks. As every slim handset to come out these days, this one also has a protruding camera on the back, though, it is housed in a nicely looking, rectangular bulge, so as long as one is used to this "feature" on modern smartphones, it will be a non-issue.
Measuring at 5.86 x 2.93 x 0.19 inches (148.9 x 74.5 x 4.85 mm) and weighing 5.47 oz (155 g), the R5 does not feel very different to hold, compared to other top-line handsets in the market – its footprint is familiar to the hand, and, while the slender profile does make it feel less bulky, the device still weighs just about the same as other, more traditional phones. Accessing the power button and volume rocker is easy, as both are placed in a comfortable spot on the right side of the frame, and while their feedback is not the best, they still feel clicky enough to not be awkward to use.
Due to the size constraints, Oppo was unable to pack a 3.5mm headphone jack on the device and hasn't equipped it with a dedicated speaker for audio – its earpiece doubles as a loudspeaker. The lack of these components actually contributes to the device's uniform look, as there are no excessive grilles or openings to disrupt its solid lines. Fear not, the phone comes with its own proprietary headset, which connects via micro USB.
Display
The Oppo R5 has a 5.2" display with a 1080 x 1920 resolution, which results in a 424 ppi density, giving us a clear and crisp image. The panel uses AMOLED technology, which results in vivid, punchy, though, also – rather inaccurate colors. Its brightness levels range between a minimum of 2 nits, to a maximum of 339, making it comfortable to view in pitch-darkness, but troublesome when out in the sun.
The display's color temperature measures at 8011 K, quite a ways off from the reference value of 6,500 K. That, combined with an apparently skewed color reproduction, results in the picture looking cold, with a bluish/greenish tint visible throughout. The typical for AMOLED screens color over-saturation is also present here.
Interface and Functionality
The Oppo R5 comes loaded with Android 4.4.4, heavily skinned to become what the company calls "ColorOS" – a simplified interface that does away with the app drawer, adds customizable gesture controls, themes, and a few other small, but useful functions. Users of the Find 7, Find 7a, N1, or N3 who have used ColorOS v2.0.1i will instantly feel at home, while others will have to traverse only a minor learning curve. On the R5, the software does not stutter or exhibit huge hangups, but there is an ever-present and very minor delay when scrolling through home screens – it doesn't feel as if the hardware is having a hard time drawing, though, so we wonder whether Oppo went a bit over the top with trying to make the animations feel buttery smooth, and accidentally overdone them to feel sluggish. That being said, users will enjoy scrolling around, though, those coming from snappier interfaces will need a little time to adapt and not feel constantly annoyed.
The gesture controls include the well-familiar double-tap to wake, but barely end there. When the screen is off, the user has a choice to draw a circle, which will open the camera app, or draw a V-shape, which starts up the flashlight. Swiping downwards with two fingers will play / pause music playback, and drawing a > or < shapes will skip to the next or previous song, respectively.
Once the display is on, the user can control volume, by swiping up or down with two fingers. Swiping with three fingers will snap a screenshot. If these are not enough, one can call up a gesture board by pulling up from the bottom of the screen. Here, the user can draw the "O" or "V" gestures for camera / flashlight, or enter the Settings and create their own gesture commands for a select group of predetermined functions or apps.
In our experience, gesture app-launching was generally slower and more unreliable than just scrolling to the needed app and tapping its icon, but we did enjoy using the touch-controlled music playback, volume set, and screenshot features.
Processor and Memory
One of the first smartphones to come with a 64-bit Snapdragon
Not only is the Oppo R5 one of the thinnest smartphones in the world, it's also one of the first to come with an octa-core, 64-bit, Qualcomm-made SoC on board, ready to enter the Android Lollipop era with full force (and we are assuming that Oppo will update its newest devices to the new OS, sooner or later). Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 615 in February, 2014, and this is our second taste of the new SoC (the first one being HTC's Desire 820).
The 600 series is usually where the upper mid-range class of Qualcomm-made processors resides, and for what it is – we are more than pleased with the SD 615's performance. Web browsing is a breeze and 3D games run smoothly, even on the highest setting. The SoC is paired with 2 gigabytes of RAM, which is now the norm for a phone that takes itself seriously, and we had a hard time making the device exhibit a hiccup.
The R5 does tend to get hot, though, this is expectable with its slim body. Oppo has said that it's used materials that dissipate heat faster and “radically improve thermal efficiency”. Still, we'd keep a watchful eye on any signs of overheating and avoid over-stressing the device (using it while charging, for instance).
Unfortunately, the phone's size shows to be a hindrance yet again, as Oppo only fitted it with 16 GB of internal storage, 4.5 of which are taken by the OS, and there is no slot for an external memory card.
Processor and Memory
One of the first smartphones to come with a 64-bit Snapdragon
Not only is the Oppo R5 one of the thinnest smartphones in the world, it's also one of the first to come with an octa-core, 64-bit, Qualcomm-made SoC on board, ready to enter the Android Lollipop era with full force (and we are assuming that Oppo will update its newest devices to the new OS, sooner or later). Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 615 in February, 2014, and this is our second taste of the new SoC (the first one being HTC's Desire 820).
The 600 series is usually where the upper mid-range class of Qualcomm-made processors resides, and for what it is – we are more than pleased with the SD 615's performance. Web browsing is a breeze and 3D games run smoothly, even on the highest setting. The SoC is paired with 2 gigabytes of RAM, which is now the norm for a phone that takes itself seriously, and we had a hard time making the device exhibit a hiccup.
The R5 does tend to get hot, though, this is expectable with its slim body. Oppo has said that it's used materials that dissipate heat faster and “radically improve thermal efficiency”. Still, we'd keep a watchful eye on any signs of overheating and avoid over-stressing the device (using it while charging, for instance).
Unfortunately, the phone's size shows to be a hindrance yet again, as Oppo only fitted it with 16 GB of internal storage, 4.5 of which are taken by the OS, and there is no slot for an external memory card.
Camera
A 13 MP Sony Exmor IMX214, paired with an options-packed camera app brings us mostly good results
The main camera module houses a 13 MP Sony IMX214 sensor, with an F2.0 aperture size, while the frontal cam has a selfie-afficianado-pleasing 5 MP resolution. The camera app is among the better ones we've seen, offering a rich choice of modes (and a selection of downloadable ones), among which one can find Auto, HDR, UHD, Manual Mode (called Expert Mode), Colorful Night shot, and others. Switching over to the frontal cam automatically activates the Beauty Face function and gives the user a variety of filters to choose from.
In well-lit situations, the camera snaps quickly and gives us generally balanced pictures – colors are represented accurately and the images are neither oversharpened, nor extremely soft. Indoor, the sensor does a great job at capturing a good amount of light and detail, even in darker situations.
The phone's HDR function is a letdown – sure, it does light up all the dark corners in an image, but the whole picture ends up looking like it has its contrast set to low and brightness to high, while also being covered in grain. It is still usable in some dark situations, but is mostly hit-or-miss.
The Expert Mode offers access to manual focus, exposure compensation, shutter speed, ISO, and white balance settings. While its options are not extremely elaborate, users who enjoy tinkering to get the best photos possible will be pleased with it.
Battery Life
The thin profile takes its toll
Having a thin phone is great and all, but a lot of users would agree that the compromise in battery size makes for a bad trade-off. In this case, we are on the fence, as the R5's 2,000 mAh juicer managed to last 5 hours and 8 minutes in our battery life test – quite an impressive feat, since the juicebox has to power a 5.2”, 1080p display, but still – lacking way behind other premium Android handsets.
There is also Oppo's VOOC tech – a technology, which uses a 4.5 A charger, and a circuitry inside the smartphone, which protects the battery from damage. So, the Oppo R5 charges up from 0% to 75% in about 30 minutes, while going to the full 100% will take around 73 minutes, as the last 10% of battery take quite a while to fill up. Super-fast charging is great, though, it doesn't really make up for a mediocre battery life – we doubt purchasing the thinnest smartphone in the world, only to have to lug around its bulky charger, is what users have in mind.
Our real-life experience with the device shows that, with casual use, it can last one through the day. It manages to hold its charge very well in standby mode, and if it's used for the sporadic phonecall / e-mail check / chat / picture share, it will not leave its owner high and dry. Additionally, Oppo has included two tiers of power saving to help users out when in a tight spot and low on power.
Source: Phonearena
