Today, we have two heavy-hitting contenders from both the Android and iOS ecosystem. Fighting it out today would be OPPO’s second 18:9 display-equipped smartphone that just released this Saturday, the OPPO F5 – going against Apple’s fastest sub-5-inch smartphone, the iPhone 8.
Missed our review of the OPPO F5? Check it out here!
Before we jump to design, let’s have a quick peek at their specs. With the iPhone 8 being over twice the price of an F5, does it equate to such?
| SPECS | OPPO F5 | Apple iPhone 8 |
| Display | 6.0″ 1080 x 2160 LTPS IPS LCD (~402 ppi)
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
4.7″ 750 x 1334 LED-backlit IPS LCD (~326 ppi)
Wide-color gamut |
| Dimensions & Features | 156.5 x 76 x 7.5 mm, 152g
Dedicated dual SIM & MicroSD tray, pre-installed screen protector, metal + plastic unibody |
138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm, 148g Dedicated SIM tray, Front/Back Glass + Aluminum Frame |
| Chipset | Mediatek MT6763T Helio P23 | Apple A11 Bionic |
| CPU | Octa-core (4×2.34 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53) | Hexa-core (2x Monsoon + 4x Mistral) |
| GPU | Mali-G71 MP2 | Apple Triple-Core GPU |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM, 32GB (expandable up to 256GB) | 64/256 GB, 2 GB RAM |
| Connectivity | LTE Cat. 5/4, 802.11n, BT 4.2, GPS, microUSB 2.0 + OTG, 3.5mm audio jack | LTE Cat. 12, dual-band, 802.11ac, BT 4.2, GPS, Lightning Connector, NFC (Apple Pay only) |
| Cameras | Rear: 16 MP, f/1.8Front: 20 MP, f/2.0 |
Rear: 12 MP, f/1.8Front: 7 MP, f/2.2 |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 3200mAh | Non-removable Li-Ion 1821mAh |
| OS | ColorOS v3.2 (Android 7.1) | iOS 11 |
| Price | PhP 15,990.00/$320 | PhP 42,500/$850 |
Design
Right off the bat, just holding both phones in both hands gives the iPhone 8 an automatic win with its more solid and premium feel. With what is basically a combination of plastic and metal for its unibody build, the F5 perfectly constitutes a midrange smartphone. Adapting the mainstream rear-positioned fingerprint scanner as with most 18:9 display-equipped phones, the OPPO F5 does a bit more on ergonomics.
Buttons do meet on the same spectrum for these two, being satisfying to click and all. And off the front, with the so-called “full-screen display” of the F5, any physical button is absent, as opposed to the iPhone 8’s 3D Touch Home Button.
Well, as familiar as similarities go, both do have protruding rear cameras at the same spot with their supporting LED flashes. As for trays, the F5 can accommodate two SIMs and a microSD at the same time while the iPhone 8 can only hold a single nano SIM.
Display
Going with the numbers, the F5’s 18:9 display looks sharper, crisper and is obviously larger. Viewing experience may vary, considering that colors do look similar even with the LED-backlit IPS panel on the iPhone 8.
Against direct sunlight though, the iPhone 8 fares better with its brighter display. And thanks to True Tone, on-the-fly color optimization is present to make colors ‘look’ natural most of the time under any lighting condition.
User Experience
As with most Chinese ROMs, a lot of iOS elements are still present even with OPPO’s latest – ColorOS v3.2. With these integrations for the Android ecosystem, it is pretty safe to say that Apple users who are looking into having a secondary phone – an Android phone, may want to check the likes of the OPPO F5.
Smooth is what the iPhone 8’s middle name would be compared to the F5’s ColorOS v3.2. Albeit similar, the responsiveness, snappiness, and overall intuitiveness that iOS 11 provides with Apple’s latest hardware give a valuable and lasting impression.
Even up to their cameras’ UI’s, similarities are present. But with the iPhone 8’s smaller display, tapping and swiping options are significantly easier in both two-hand and one-hand operation.
Cameras
There’s no denying that cameras are still very much an integral part of smartphones. And as the prices go higher, it is only natural for the cameras to be better.
Before we get into comparing the results, let us have a bit of a peek at the specs, shall we?
| Phone | Rear Camera | Front Camera |
| OPPO F5 | 16 MP, f/1.8, phase detection autofocus, LED flash
Video: |
20 MP, f/2.0, 1/2.8″ sensor size
Video recording: up to 1080p@30fps |
| Apple iPhone 8 | 12 MP, (28mm, f/1.8, OIS), phase detection autofocus, 2x optical zoom, quad-LED (dual tone) flash
Video: |
7 MP, f/2.2, HDR
Video recording: |
Going by pure numbers, it would be a nice assumption that the OPPO F5 will have a lead mostly on photos, especially with that beastly front camera. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s start with daylight shots!
Right off the bat, the iPhone 8 produces more spectacular shots with vibrancy and color accuracy working hand-in-hand. As for OPPO’s end, details are more discernible, especially with distant objects.
After sunset, both still perform admiringly. As with Apple’s iconic no-noise-reduction setup, shots in the evening are noisy. On the plus side, this allows the iPhone 8 to produce sharper details. The F5’s f/1.8 rear camera doesn’t let up by providing sufficient lighting and better contrast.
Indoors, the iPhone takes the lead back with better details and top-notch contrast. Even during tap-focusing, the iPhone 8 is the faster of the two even in low-light situations.
With the introduction of HEIC, this year’s iPhones are able to capture videos up to an astounding 4K resolution at 60FPS. This translates into smoother videos coupled with EIS. The F5’s 1080p30 output is, needless to say, subpar at most. Shaky footage and poor live AF just elevates the iPhone’s ranking further.
Moving to the front camera, here is where the F5 shines. With OPPO’s in-house AI, the user’s face is analyzed, memorized, then beautified naturally for the best you possible. The iPhone puts up a fight but with severely over-detailed outputs.
Bokeh shots are less-than-stellar with halos and artifacts all around the subject, even under daylight shots.
And with videos, although the F5 shares the same case of stabilization for the front camera, it produces more pleasing footages. Colors are definitely better, and the Beautification mode makes sure to make you look refreshed all the time.
Performance
Since the OPPO F5 that we have is not the retail version, benchmarks that require an internet connection either run poorly or do not even initiate due to manufacturer restrictions.
| Device | AnTuTu | 3DMark SlingShot Extreme |
| OPPO F5 | 62500 | 70 |
| Apple iPhone 8 | 198454 | 2269 |
This ended up in a WYSIWIG situation, and can be felt thoroughly in highly-intensive games or just in daily usage. The iPhone 8 is in a different league of its own, considering its flagship specs.
Battery
| Device | Battery | MS Battery Rating | Charging-Time (0-100) |
| OPPO F5 | 3200mAh | 37h 28m | 1h 49m |
| Apple iPhone 8 | 1821 mAh | 35h 22m | 1h 24m |
With what we got for the battery stats, it isn’t surprising that the F5 holds the lead in our battery testing suite. What’s surprising is despite the iPhone 8’s significantly smaller capacity, it performed closely with the F5’s 3200mAh (read: thirty-two hundred milliamp-per-hour) pack.
Even with the F5’s larger pack, charging time from nil to full takes just about 30% more time than the iPhone 8.
Audio
Hands-down, the iPhone 8’s stereo setup kicks ass and takes names quite elegantly. Even at max volume, the stereo separation works well to not drown out any frequency group. The OPPO F5’s does well, too, but to a lesser extent with its limited single-speaker output.
What the F5 has going for itself is its customizable EQ and Real Sound Tech, co-developed with Dirac. And if you’re into karaoke or recording vocals with your phone, the F5 allows for live monitoring.
Verdict
With smartphones having new features here and there, the F5 does not do well to fend for itself against the beasts of the market. Sufficient to say, if you’re in the market for one of the best selfie cameras and 18:9 displays, the OPPO F5 is never going to be a bad choice for this year’s lineup.
As always, this has been Caesar of ManilaShaker, and thank you for reading! ‘Til then!
