Boasting a powerful front-facing camera and AI beauty recognition technology, the OPPO F5 brings a Galaxy-esque bezel-less design at a fraction of the cost.

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We gave you a glimpse of the OPPO F5 just a few weeks ago, the company’s latest Selfie Expert smartphone. Today, the Guangdong-based Chinese electronics manufacturer has officially taken the wraps off the device, and I have to say, it makes me wish I were in Asia right now.

Let’s start with the design: unlike the previous Selfie Expert phones – namely the OPPO F1, F1 Plus, F1s, F3, and F3 Plus – the OPPO F5 boasts a fully immersive screen with minimal bezels. In fact, this is the company’s very first “full-screen” phone, equipped with a 6-inch Full HD+ display with the increasingly popular 18:9 aspect ratio. The result is one sleek and minimalist phone that is reminiscent of Samsung’s flagships but costs a third of what you’d pay for a phone like the Galaxy Note 8.

The F5 is the first phone to feature the all-new AI Beauty Recognition Technology, developed in conjunction with professional photographers and make-up artists.

Of course, this being an F-series smartphone, we must talk about its front-facing camera – and its rear-facing one as well, I suppose. On the front, we no longer have a dual-lens camera set-up. Instead, there is now a single-lens 20-megapixel camera sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The company emphasizes that the F5 is the first phone to feature the all-new AI Beauty Recognition Technology, developed in conjunction with professional photographers and make-up artists. According to the OPPO, the technology can “emulate those professional skills… [and] help selfies look more attractive. In addition, the A.I. would recognize the subjects’ skin tone and type, gender and age, match them against its database and subsequently make beautification enhancements that are personalized.” Here are two sample selfies from OPPO:

I’m not sure how I feel about this beautification technology. If you’re into these types of effects (à la Samsung devices), the OPPO F5 might be the perfect fit for you, but if this skin smoothing process seems way too unnatural, just know that you’re not alone. I’m hoping that there is an option to disable these so-called enhancements. Also, one thing to note is that the OPPO F5 does not come with a front-facing LED flash, which is odd given that this is marketed as a selfie-centric phone. On the back of the device is a 16-megapixel camera with f/1.8 aperture.

The OPPO F5 does not come with a front-facing LED flash, which is odd given that this is marketed as a selfie-centric phone.

The phone is powered by an octa-core processor, 4 GB of RAM (with a special 6 GB version available for purchase), and a 3,200 mAh battery. OPPO claims that with its Continuous Optimizing technology, users should, in theory at least, be able to get 12 hours of continuous use on a full charge.

The OPPO F5 is available in the Philippines right now for around US$305 and will come to other markets like India, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam later in November. The company will also release a premium version of the F5 with 6 GB of RAM as well as the F5 Youth (whatever that means) although we don’t have any information regarding pricing and availability for those as of now.

What are your thoughts on OPPO’s all-new selfie phone? Do you think the company’s AI technology will be useful or is it more of a gimmick? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

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