One of the few Chinese mobile companies that attained international notoriety, Oppo has made a name for itself thanks to innovative designs and top hardware. From its first products, MP3 players and Blu-ray units, Oppo transitioned to creating smartphones like the Find 5 and Find 7, N1 and N3, and the crazy-thin Oppo R5.
Now the phone maker is celebrating its ten-year anniversary with the launch of the Oppo R7 and R7 Max, a duo of sleek phones featuring metallic designs and solid specifications.
While Oppo revealed the R7 and R7 Plus a few days ago in a set of official renders and a TV commercial, it’s only today that the specs and features of the two devices are fully revealed. Our Darcy LaCouvee and Josh Vergara are in Beijing for the launch event and they will soon bring you their hands-on impressions and comparisons with top competitors. For now, let’s take a look at what we know so far about the Oppo R7 and Oppo R7 Plus.
Design and build
Both the R7 and the R7 Plus feature metallic unibody constructions with chamfered sides and sculpted profiles that Oppo compared to the smooth curves of a violin. The front is covered by 2.5D glass, and the metallic back features similar curved edges, which should make for a nice feel in hand.
The smaller R7 features physical capacitive keys for back, home, and menu, just like the Find 7, while the 6-inch R7 Plus adopts on-screen navigation keys like on stock Android.
Specifications and features
The Oppo R7 is considered a “super mid-range” offering, while the R7 Plus goes a bit more upscale. The smaller device features a 5-inch 1080p display, while the Plus goes all the way up to 6 inches 1080p. Both devices feature Snapdragon 615 64-bit processors, with 3GB of RAM. The R7 Plus packs 32GB of storage, expandable by up to 128GB via microSD, while the R7 comes with 16GB of storage.
US Version:
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz
LTE Bands: 1/4(3)/7/17(20)
The R7 Plus packs a massive 4,100 mAh battery, which coupled with Oppo’s VOOC fast charging technology should ensure that it will stay up for days and days.
The R7 Plus also features a fingerprint sensor on its back; this appears to be a touch-based sensor, so you won’t have to swipe across it like on some older devices.
Oppo is very excited about the R7 and R7 Plus’ cameras. The new 13MP RGBW-type sensor can take images that are 32% brighter and with 78% less noise; features include Flash Shot, laser-assisted Phase Detection Autofocus, and Anti-shake.
Software
The Oppo R7 and R7 Plus are running the KitKat-based Color OS 2.1. Fourteen months in the making, the operating system is smoother than ever, claims Oppo, with fewer instances of lag and freezes. Optimization is also visible in the boot time, which Oppo brought down to 18 seconds, from the previous 33. Oppo was keen to compare this figure to the higher boot times of stock Android, Xiaomi’s MIUI 6, and Huawei EMUI 3.
In terms of UI design, everything is a bit flatter and more modern looking, with fewer skeuomorphic elements like gleams and 3D effects. But overall, this is still distinctly Color OS; continuing the optimization theme, a number of unnecessary features have been pared down.
Confusingly, Oppo lists both the R7 and R7 Plus as running Color OS 2.1, but in the case of the R7 it’s supposedly based on Android 4.4 KitKat, while on the R7 Plus, it’s based on Lollipop.
Price and availability
The Oppo R7 will cost 2499 RMB, which translates to around $400, while the R7 Max will cost 2999 RMB or $480. Overall, these look like good prices for the specs, though international prices will likely be higher. Color options are silver and gold.
The Oppo R7 and R7 Plus will become available for preorer on JD.com and Oppostyle.com from today. The R7 will be released from June 15, while for the R7 Plus you will have to wait until August.
Developing… Stay tuned for hands-on coverage.
Show Press Release
OPPO Launches the OPPO R7 with Full Metal Unibody and Flash Shoot Technology
Beijing, May 20, 2015 – The eagerly awaited OPPO R7 smartphone has arrived, celebrating the 10th anniversary of technology and electronics company OPPO. With its exquisite design, flawless workmanship, and powerful performance, this dynamo device is the latest edition in the OPPO R series of smartphones and embodies the immaculate functionality we have come to expect from OPPO.
An elegant full metal unibody
The OPPO R7 has been designed to fit perfectly in one’s hand. With its unibody design, the smartphone’s dimensions sit at 143 mm x 71 mm x 6.3 mm, whilst weighing just 148 grams, making it perfect for one-handed use. The OPPO R7’s magnesium-aluminum alloy unibody obtains its unblemished finish thanks to 48 polishing processes using the new anodizing technology. Painted with fine particles of zircon sand, the phone’s extremely smooth metallic surface delivers a luxurious feel. The unique external antenna design also enables the metallic body to act as the antenna for the entire phone, as 92.3% of the device is pure metal.
With a full metal unibody, the OPPO R7 is both clean and smooth in touch.
Besides the stunning metal composition, the R7 also boasts a superb exterior design. For the first time,OPPO has decided to use a 2.5D curved screen,which makes slidingyour finger much more natural than compared with using a flat plane. The rear of the R7 features the first “violin arc” design, while the entire phone has been created in accordance with OPPO’s dual line philosophy. This ensures elegant minimalism in appearance and natural comfort in the hand. With these two brand new features of the curved screen and “violin arc” design, the R7 truly encompasses both detail and elegance.
8-core 64-bit processor and 3GB RAM
With aQualcomm MSM8939 1.5GHz 8-core 64-bit processor, the OPPO R7 offers a strong performance while eating up minimal power. The phone is also the first among its kind to offer 3GB RAM, run multiple apps simultaneously, and increase app loading speed by up to 100%. It is further equipped with a 16GB ROM, giving 10GB of remaining memory space to the user. The smart design of the SIM2 slot allows for the nano-SIM card and also the microSD, enabling extensive support of up to 128GB.
The OPPO R7 features a 5-inch AMOLED screen with 1080p resolution (445 ppi), making vivid images a delight to explore. These specifications offer an optimal balance between visual impact and one-handed use.
A 5-inch AMOLED screen with 1080p resolution enables a vivid visual experience for users.
The OPPO R7 is also packed with a 2320 mAh polymer battery and the best charging solution available today, the VOOC flash charging system. This technology accumulates enough power for two hours of conversation after just five minutes of charging, and is capable of charging up to 75% of the battery in just 30 minutes. These features make the R7 perfect for people on the go, as even the shortest charging time can result in extensive phone use.
The VOOC Flash Charging system charges up the OPPO R7 at lightning speed.
Never miss a moment with Flash Shoot Technology
The OPPO R7 is equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera based on ISOCELL image sensor technology and an 8-megapixel Golden Angle front camera. The device’s Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens offers the cultivated, uncompromising quality of German craftsmanship and represents the highest standard of lenses available for smartphone cameras.
Flash Shoot Technology enables the OPPO R7 to take clear photos quickly.
The Flash Shoot technology used exclusively for the OPPO R7 features the new dual-drive hybrid focus system, which includes the standard Contrast Detection Auto-focus (AF) and the new Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF). This ensures rapid launch, fast focus, and stable images.
The R7’s shooting speed is 30% faster than what is found in smartphones of the same class.The camera start-up alone needs just 0.7seconds. Its PDAF function is also equal to that of an SLR camera, with its focusing speed reaching up to an astounding 0.1 seconds. The R7 has further adopted an exclusive, anti-shake optimization algorithm to make photos as clear as possible.
Together with Pure Image 2.0+, the OPPO R7 is capable of taking Ultra-HD photos of up to 50-megapixels. In addition to features such as Beautification 3.0, Super GIF, and Fast Lens, the OPPO R7 is a smartphone dedicated to the art of photography.
Experience the new ColorOS 2.1
The OPPO R7 comes with the latest ColorOS 2.1 operating system, which has been improved to boost practicality and aesthetic value. This latest version of ColorOS seeks to be much more than just a visually pleasing experience – its goal is to help users organize and lead their lives with greater convenience.
With ColorOS 2.1, the OPPO R7 UI has been elevated to new heights of clarity and beauty.
Besides an improved operating system and appearance, ColorOS 2.1 comes with more fun and useful features. For example, the phone’s system can be automatically cleared when in sleep mode, while expanded gesture features make using the phone faster and more convenient. OPPO also offers its users a wide range of attentive customer service options, so that using an OPPO device means making your life easier and forever fun.
The OPPO R7 Plus hits the market at the same time
OPPO R7 Plus
Today, OPPO also announces the R7 Plus. In addition to the full metal unibody, 2.5D curved screen, VOOC rapid charging, and powerful hardware, the smartphone offers a 6-inch display screen, advanced laser focus features, and a larger capacity battery for a more charming and dynamic experience.
ReVault looks just like any ordinary smartwatch, but its main feature’s quite different from others in the category: it has wireless local storage you can access like a private cloud. According to its Indiegogo page, the storage is accessible from your phones, tablets or laptops using an app (like Dropbox and other cloud services) that works on Android, iOS, Mac OS X, Windows and even Linux. You can even program a trusted device to auto-sync every time you save new images or download files — anything you store will be encrypted, and you can also set up a password and two-factor authentication for added security. The watch connects to those devices via WiFi and Bluetooth, and since it can make its own WiFi network, you can upload files even without internet connection.
Here’s another nice touch: In case you’re not really attracted to smartwatches (and you’re not alone there), you can use the converter it comes with to turn it into a necklace or a keychain. Plus, you can choose among quite a few watchfaces if the default one doesn’t do it for you. You can get a 32GB or a 128GB ReVault if you pledge at least $169 on Indiegogo, but like every other crowdfunding project, it’ll ship out (in January 2016) only if it reaches its goal. Note that if it does, you’ll still have to buy a separate Qi wireless charger if you want to use the watch beyond its initial three-day battery life.
It’s getting real for Sony’s Project Morpheus. The electronics giant has posted job listings (eight, all told) for veteran animators, level designers and a few others to fill out a studio dedicated entirely to making virtual reality games. “Based in the North West of England, we aim to build a small but highly experienced team who want to build great games to showcase this exciting new immersive technology,” the postings say. As Eurogamer reports, the Morpheus-exclusive studio should wind up in Manchester, and staff that formerly worked at Driveclub‘s Evolution Studios are involved here. Perhaps that’s why the available positions are somewhat limited in number. Regardless, if you were questioning how serious Sony’s push into VR was, this might sate your curiosity a bit.
Last November, Samsung introduced Flow, which lets users seamlessly share activities between devices. (Yes, much like Apple does with Continuity.) And while the software still isn’t fully baked, the South Korean company is now letting people give it a try — so long as they have compatible Android hardware. The beta application, available on Google Play, offers a taste of what Flow can do, like allowing you to start reading an article on your smartphone, pause it and pick up where you left off on, say, a tablet. Flow Beta is only available to some Galaxy devices at the moment, and Samsung’s encouraging developers to make their apps compatible with its new feature as soon as possible.
Tiny quadcopters that fit in the palm of your hand have been around for a few years now, but very few of those drones can also fit in your pocket; what with their easily snapped rotor spars. However, a pair of researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology recently unveiled a clever and unique mini-UAV design that keeps the rotors safely tucked away until it’s ready to fly.
Designed by robotics researchers Stefano Mintchev and Dario Floreano, the teensy drone can snap its 0.3mm rotor arms out in a flash before lifting off. It’s actually the spinning rotors themselves that generate the momentum to swing out the spars. They stay locked in place thanks to a set of magnets in each joint. “Compared to traditional multi-joint foldable structures, origami allows us to embed complex folding patterns in a lightweight design,” Mintchev said in the video above. “A desired folding behavior can be easily encoded in the crease pattern of the origami.”
The drones clearly aren’t build to carry heavy loads but could eventually be developed into stealthy surveillance platforms. Its inventors are reportedly currently working on a means of automatically retracting its arms which would allow you to, as Florentino states, “carry many of these robots in your backpack, and go and use them wherever you need.”
Earlier today Twitter made an announcement that they have teamed up with Google to help make your Twitter searching a bit easier. The search giant and the 140 character social network now brings you real-time tweets to Google search results on mobile devices, both iOS and Android, made through the Google App and mobile web. Like most cool news that involves Google, the new feature is only landing in the U.S. for now and only if you are searching in English. Pretty specific really.
For example, if you’re interested in hearing more from Taylor Swift, a quick search on Google will pull up her most recent Tweets. Or, if you’re a TV buff, a search for #MadMen will bring up the most relevant news and Tweets about Sunday’s series finale.
Once you catch the Tweet you are interested in you can tap on it and head straight into twitter to do the usual twittery things like retweet and favorite.
The news announcement post does say that a desktop web version is coming shortly and that they have plans to bring it to more countries in the coming months.
The Motorola DROID Turbo was one of those devices that I got fairly excited about. The battery life claims, turbo charging, the screen, the build quality with kevlar, and knowing it was pretty straight forward Android got me looking. However, it was only a Verizon released device, with other international locations under a different name. The released variant of the device is still waiting for Android Lollipop, but Motorola and Verizon have said that the device is supposed to skip straight to Android 5.1 soon. The first DROID Turbo made its debut on big reds network back in October of 2014. Granted that only makes the device 6-7 months old, but it is still aging compared to the onslaught of other devices on the market in the last 3 months. Verizon is looking to get people excited about the device once again with a new set of metallic color offerings for the Turbo.
The new colors will bring Metallic Blue, Metallic Orange, and Metallic Violet. The awkwardly down side to the new metallic editions, they are only accents. As you can see in the image above, the accent is around the camera lens and the DROID logo. While the device is powerful enough to get the eyes looking, I am not sure a swap out on a metal ring and logo will be the ticket to getting more devices into users hands.
If it happens to get pique your interest then you won’t have to wait long for them to be available as they are scheduled for release on May 28th. You will find them online and in stores with a full retail price tag of $499.99 and on Edge for $20.83 a month.
Customers that pre-ordered the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 will soon begin to see the handset arrive on their doorsteps. The company notified us this evening that orders placed through the Alcatel OneTouch site and Amazon will ship on May 21. The Idol 3 was announced in April with an impressive price of $249 that should capture the attention of people looking to unlock themselves from carrier restrictions.
Hit the break for more.
Steve Cistulli, Senior Vice President and General Manager of North America for Alcatel OneTouch, commented on how software updates will be approached with the Idol 3:
“We’re committed to ensuring that we always have the very best user experience possible and plan to have IDOL 3 software updates available to consumers via over-the-air updates. Timing on these updates will be on a rolling basis as needed.”
As long as Alcatel OneTouch remains true to delivering consistent updates, customers will see huge benefits as being unlocked means that carriers cannot get in the way.
Stay tuned for our review of the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3.
About a month ago, we reported that AT&T, the second largest mobile service provider in the U.S., was planning to move away from two-year contracts towards the end of May 2015. Under the codename “Project Alice”, new and current customers would only be able to sign up for the carrier using AT&T’s Next program. Though details were a tad scarce when we first reported this news, thanks to a new rumor, we’re getting a few more purported details on the new initiative.
According to the report, AT&T will begin to move away from two-year contracts on Monday, June 1st, pushing customers to sign up for service with AT&T Next. These changes will reportedly take place at local dealer and national retail locations. However, if you don’t want to sign up for Next, there may be another option for you. Apparently, local dealer locations will still be able to sign you up for a two-year contract via Direct Fulfillment, which means the representative will have to order the phone for you and it will ship it to your house a few days later. The report also states that you’ll be able to sign up for two-year contracts at company-owned retail locations, through customer service and through AT&T.com. Two-year agreements will also be available for tablets, feature phones and IoT products as well.
Of course, this isn’t the first carrier to move away from two-year contracts. More than two years ago, T-Mobile first announced that it was getting rid of the two-year contract standard, and it has definitely shaken up the wireless industry ever since. The Un-carrier has since (unofficially) surpassed Sprint as the third-largest mobile carrier in the U.S., and has pushed Verizon, AT&T and Sprint to adopt new contract alternatives to help get more consumers on board.
Keep in mind that these are all just rumors for now, so be sure not to treat this as official news quite yet. If AT&T happens to shy away from the two-year contract standard and (pretty much) only provide its Next plans to consumers, would you be interested in signing up for the carrier?
![AT&T logo [aa] (3)](https://i1.wp.com/cdn02.androidauthority.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ATT-logo-aa-3.jpg?resize=700%2C438){kind=logo}
AIVAnet 