Even though the Oppo R5 was launched only late last year, Oppo has already taken the wraps off its successor. At a press event in Beijing earlier today, Oppo unveiled its two latest “premium mid-range” offerings, the R7 and the R7 Plus, with the latter getting a significant bump in screen size as well as a few additional hardware features when compared to its smaller sibling.

What does the larger of the two have to offer? We find out, as we go hands-on, and give you our first impressions about the Oppo R7 Plus!

When it comes to the design language, there are some similarities with the iPhone 6 Plus and the Huawei Ascend Mate 7, with the R7 Plus looking almost like a cross between the two. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, with the device boasting a full metal unibody construction, with a prominent lip around the chassis. Subtle curves are to be found all around, with a 2.5D glass covering the 6-inch display, and what Oppo is calling the “violin arc” on the back, with a curve that matches what is available with the 2.5 D glass up front.

With such a large device, handling is of course going to be a concern, but the thin bezels around the sides of the display, and other elements, do help with the overall handling experience. The touch-type fingerprint scanner on the back found just below the 13 MP camera module is ideally placed within reach of where the index finger would rest, and the power button and volume rocker, found to the right and left respectively, are also within easy reach.

Overall, the Oppo R7 Plus is a very elegant device, that manages to be impressively thin, with a thickness of just 7.8 mm, while avoiding the camera bump that has plagued other similarly thin smartphones out there. Available in silver and gold, the simplicity of the R7 Plus really speaks to how well the device has been designed.

The R7 Plus comes with a 6-inch AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 367 ppi. You get the deep blacks, high contrast, and vibrant colors we’ve come to expect from AMOLED screens, and with its large size, this display will make for a fantastic media viewing experience.

Under the hood, the Oppo R7 Plus packs a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, clocked at 1.5 GHz, backed by the Adreno 405 GPU and 3 GB of RAM. In our short time with the device, the performance was very smooth and snappy, and moving around the various elements of the latest iteration of the Color OS was a breeze. The Snapdragon 615 has proven itself to be a very reliable processor in the affordable smartphone segment, and that continues to be the case here.

32 GB of on-board storage is available with the R7 Plus, further expandable by up to 128 GB via microSD card. Users will have to make a choice between dual SIM capabilities and microSD expansion though, with one of the slots functioning as either a SIM slot or a microSD card slot. On the battery front, the R7 Plus packs a massive 4,100 mAh unit that is non-removable, that should make for some impressive battery life. Oppo’s VOOC fast charging is also available, and that should allow for the battery to be charged up to 75% in just 30 minutes.

When it comes to the camera, we’ll have to save our thoughts for when we can perform our testing with our own unit, but the camera application is quite simplistic and easy to use, with very few elements on the viewfinder itself. All of the different features are accessible via a single button on the side, with the various modes you may be familiar with from previous Oppo flagships. The biggest addition when it comes to the camera of the R7 Plus is that it now comes with a laser-guided auto focus system, and that should make fast, accurate focusing a breeze on the R7 Plus. The sensor is a RGBW type, and the addition of white pixels should result in less noise in images, as well as more accurate color reproduction.

On the software front, the R7 Plus runs Color OS 2.1, based on Android 5.0 Lollipop. The latest iteration of the Color OS retains some of the elements of its previous versions, including the absence of an app drawer. But the skin seems to have received a much-needed boost in speed and optimization, resulting in a smooth and snappy experience. Just a few Lollipop elements make their way over to this version, and these can be seen mainly in the notification drop down. The R7 Plus also employs on-screen navigation keys instead of the capacitive keys that can be found on its smaller sibling.

Specifications

Display 6-inch AMOLED display

1080p Processor 1.5 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615

Adreno 405 GPU RAM 3 GB Camera 13 MP rear camera f 2.2

8 MP front-facing f 2.4 Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n

Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, USB 2.0 Storage 32GB, expandable up to 128 GB Software Color OS 2.1 Battery 4,100 mAh Colors Silver, Gold Dimensions 158.18 x 82.3 x 7.75 mm, 203 grams

Freqencies International Version:

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz

WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz

LTE Bands: 1/3/7/8/TD-40



Taiwan Version:

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz

WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz

LTE Bands: 1/3/5/7/8/28/TD-40



US Version:

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz

WCDMA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz

LTE Bands: 1/4(3)/7/17(20)



Gallery

So there you have it, our first look at the Oppo R7 Plus! Despite its mid-range tendencies, the large AMOLED display, what looks to be a solid camera, optimized software, and premium build quality makes this sub-$500 device a steal, and we can’t wait to run it through its paces as we give it the full review treatment.