Oppo R9s review – CNET

The Good The Oppo R9s’ 16-megapixel front and rear cameras are all-star performers. It’ll go for days on a single charge, and has custom gesture controls.

The Bad You’ll feel the phone’s midrange design in its sharp-edged aluminium body and some clunky software navigation.

The Bottom Line Oppo’s R9s battery life and camera make it a great midprice buy, even if it isn’t as buttery-smooth as more upmarket phones.

There are some good reasons to look past the Oppo R9s’ alarmingly Apple-ish design. First, this follow-up to the Oppo R9 has got killer battery life. Second, the front and rear 16-megapixel cameras are serious business. And third, you can pick up the R9s for a fraction of flagship prices — AU$600 (around $435 or £350, converted).

The phone does have some shortcomings, like actual rough edges and a needlessly complicated interface, but it’s hard to beat the R9s’ excellent camera, long battery life and price.

Key specs

• 5.5 inch, 1,920×1,080-pixel screen
• 16-megapixel front and rear cameras
• 4GB RAM
• Dual SIM
• Android 6.0 with ColorOS 3.0
• 64GB ROM, expandable to 256GB
• Fingerprint scanner

The big-screen R9s might look a little familiar.

Oppo

A happy snapper

Both front and rear 16-megapixel cameras are some of the R9s’ biggest selling points. Developed in conjunction with Sony, the zippy shutter speed, admirable low-light performance and full slew of features and camera modes hit all the sweet spots. Beauty Mode, which is Oppo’s custom selfie filter, warrants special mention for making you look amazing. Honestly, don’t take selfies without it. Join me in lying to yourself.

Battery

The R9s’ battery life is outstanding. In testing, it clocked in at just under 16 hours of continuous video playback, which puts it on par with our pick of the midrange, the OnePlus 3T, and hours ahead of the Pixel and iPhone 7. Anecdotally, even an obsessive watcher of battery life like me got a very comfortable two days before I was scrambling for the charging cord.

What’s more, the flash charging will give you a couple hours of battery life after just a few minutes of charge. If you’re the kind to stray from your desk through the day, you’ll be glad the R9s’ battery keeps ticking on.

Design

The R9s falls down a little in design. It’s a midrange phone, and you can quite literally feel where it’s rough around the edges. While it’s thin, solid and wraps the big screen with a slim bezel, the tapered sides give the R9s a sharp feel. The aluminium construction stops it from feeling cheap like plastic, but there’s no getting around those slightly uncomfortable edges.