When the Oppo F5 Youth was released, it was a little bit confusing as to the reason behind its existence. With a price tag very close to its Oppo F5 sibling it was a choice that many would likely pass up to choose its better and more pricey brother. I was given a choice whether to review the Oppo F5 Youth or the Oppo F5 and let me tell you how glad I am to have chosen the former.
At Php 13,990, the Oppo F5 Youth required some thought, but the recent price drop at the turn of the new year – two months after it had been released to Php 12,990 has made it a solid choice within this price bracket.
Along with this price drop comes the red version of the Oppo F5 that retails for the same original price at Php 15,990 as well as an enhanced version in the 6GB Oppo F5 Red that retails for Php 21,990 available since the 18th!
But for now, let’s get back to the Youth ^^
In terms of aesthetics, the Oppo F5 Youth shares almost all aspects with the Oppo F5 and that is a good thing as most specifications on both devices are practically the same. The surprise came to me when I finally had my fingerprint registered onto the device – the response time is instantaneous – and it isn’t an exaggeration. Waking up the device from its locked state was so fast you’d never think that it was asleep in the first place – it’s important because the lack of delay actually gives it preferential treatment over other devices when something needed to be done… and this includes taking photos.
Even though the optics on the F5 Youth are a bit lower specced compared to the Oppo F5, you’d hardly feel you lost anything because of how good the output is. The algorithms that the F5 uses for its AI beautification and overall camera operations also reside within the F5 Youth so it’s a matter of minor fidelity loss that is pretty negligible especially when using it for social media. Here’s a recent selfie to prove it:
The Oppo F5 Youth holds its own using either front or rear cameras in all types of situations. Be mindful however that when you take photos using the full screen of the Oppo F5 Youth, you’ll actually be getting an output that matches the 18:9 aspect like this one:
You can use the camera in low light situations with not much problems also, here is a video captured by the Oppo F5 Youth demonstrating just that:
High-speed situation? The Oppo F5 Youth has got you covered on that front as well! This next sample was taken behind the windshield of a vehicle… just look at how the algorithm handles the data it gets – it really is quite impressive. This shot alone made me confident in shooting from the hip with the Oppo F5 Youth.
I tried to game on it as well, seeing as this would be the first time I’d be playing on an 18:9 aspect screen. It was revealed to me that the games would normally box itself into 16:9 putting black bars on either side to display content properly (in landscape) or with the on-screen navigation buttons (in portrait) present at the bottom of the device. The gaming performance was good enough – you wouldn’t expect buttery graphics from a device at this price range but in terms of playability, the Oppo F5 Youth was able to compete.
Many users wouldn’t notice it, but the 18:9 aspect actually forces some of the apps to display content differently so while you do “see more” with it, the app might actually be displaying less because of the rules it is working with. Eventually, as the trend becomes more mainstream, apps will better respond to the 2:1 aspect and it should happen in a few short months and a number of updates. It’s all praises the way the screen renders colors and i’d rank it among the best of em.
I also used the F5 Youth for going around the metro and I’m glad to report that despite it having a Mediatek chipset, the F5 Youth maintained a GPS lock on me and was a reliable companion on the the road as well. Truth be told, I was really adamant about it at first.
The Oppo F5 Youth also has impeccable battery management. So much so that if you had not opened it for a few hours… days even, it’d literally not have dropped a percentage in battery life – it’s that reliable.
All in all I’d say that the Oppo F5 Youth is a fantastic and well rounded package and I was sad to part with it, but for those who’re looking for a nice all around driver, it ranks among the solid options up for consideration. It isn’t the finest in its family of devices, but it’s a fantastic performer.
#OppoF5Youth
#CaptureTheRealYou
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