Shruti Dhapola

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo, which made its debut in the Indian market with N1 in February this year, has launched a new smartphone for the Indian consumers. Like the N1, the Oppo Find 7 has high-end specs and interesting pricing, so it does tick the right boxes. Of course, whether a brand like Oppo can actually convince Indian users still remains to be seen.

Oppo has launched two versions of the device: Oppo Find 7 which was a Quad HD screen, 3 GB RAM, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor clocked at 2.5 GHz, Adreno 330 for GPU and is priced at Rs 37,990. There's another version of the device called Oppo Find 7a which has a full HD display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB RAM and 2,800mAh battery. This smartphone is priced at Rs 31,900 and will be available in India from tomorrow.

The Find 7 will hit the Indian stores in early July, according to the company's statement at the launch. We got a chance to play with QHD-sporting smartphone at the launch and here's our first impression.

Design and Screen

In terms of design, the smartphone has simple, slim design (the phone is only 0.36-inch thick). The buttons on the side don't stand out prominently, which could be an issue in day-to-day use. It might not look very different from a lot of other premium smartphones in the market, but the fact that Oppo has kept the design so simple works in its favour. It has a body frame made of a titanium-aluminium alloy and the back cover can be opened. Users can press a clip in a hidden slot and change the SIM card, memory card as well as the battery. Being able to remove the battery is a big plus.

Then of course there is the 5.5-inch screen which deserves a special mention. With a Quad-HD resolution of 2560x1440 pixels and 538 pixels per inch, this is the standout factor for the Find 7. It is the first Quad HD phone in India, and for users who want an extra sharp screen Oppo Find 7 could definitely be an option. Given that it is priced at Rs 37,990, it's not too high a price for a smartphone with such a screen. Users can also work on the screen even if their hands are wet as it has an Ultra-Sensitive coating. Add Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to this and it's also scratch proof.

Hardware

As far as specs go, the Oppo Find 7 comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor clocked at 2.5 GHz and Adreno 330 for GPU. The smartphone also comes with 3GB RAM which is more than what the Samsung Galaxy S5, the HTC One M8 have to offer. More importantly it comes with 32 GB storage space and a microSD slot which can take in up to 128 GB, which is massive. So if you are planning to use this smartphone to record a lot of 4K resolution videos (yes, it supports 4K shooting), you are at least assured of some space.

If you are one to shoot, record, take a lot of pictures on your phone, or want to watch HD videos on the go, Oppo Find 7 with its extra space sounds like an excellent option given that it is not priced over Rs 40,000. It's also a 4G-enabled smartphone, has support for Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi and micro-USB support.

Battery

This is one hardware feature that really helps the Oppo Find 7 stand out from the crowd. The smartphone comes with what the company calls the VOOC Flash Charge which basically ensures that your smartphone will go from 1 percent battery to 75 percent in just half an hour. The smartphone has a 3000 mAh battery with customized circuits, battery cells, 7-pin USB port, data cable and a smart adapter. According to the company, users can make a call for 2 hours with just five minutes of battery left.

For everyone who's been complaining about how bad battery is on modern high-end smartphones, the Oppo 7 looks like a great alternative. However, given that it has a QuadHD screen, it is likely that the device will use up the battery fast. In such a scenario, fast-charging seems an absolute necessity.

Camera

The smartphone comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera, and a five-megapixel front camera. The Find 7 comes embedded with Sony IMX214 sensor which will ensure smoother motion scenes. The smartphone has an aperture of F2.0 and can shoot at 30 frames per second in the 4K mode.

The UltraHD picture mode allows the smartphone to take ten pictures in quick succession (within 5 seconds) and then stitch them together into one 50 MP UltraHD image. We did try out this feature, but the resulting picture was always a little blurry, although that could be due to the lack of our steady hands as well.

From the demonstration that was shown in the launch event, one could see even minute details on a building in the 50 MP picture. Although how many people actually end up using the feature remains to be seen.

The Find 7 camera also has a slow shutter feature with a 32-second exposure time for pictures, which could result in some interesting long-exposure shots. Other features include HDR shooting, White Balance correction, which users might end up playing with more than using the UltraHD mode.

Audio

This is another aspect that the company discussed at length given that the smartphone comes with MaxxAudio effects, an audio solution that has won Grammy Awards and is used by recording artists. This is part of the audio enhancement experience on headphones and promises to offer really clear and crisp sound.

Part of this Maxx Audio enhancement is "Psycho-acoustic technologies" which claim to offer improves input and output sound quality on the mobile and thus make sure that if you are watching a movie on the phone, the sound really comes alive. Where the audio is concerned, we'll really have to listen to this a lot more to determine whether it lives up to the hype.

In conclusion, the Oppo Find 7 does tick all the right boxes when it comes to specifications. The only problem that Oppo faces is that it is a relatively unknown brand in India and for many users paying Rs 37,990 for a new brand might not come so easily.