OPPO F9 vs Nokia 7 Plus – Comparison Review

The Nokia 7 Plus came here on our local shores on mid-April this year with the aim of entering the competition in the Philippine market as the new upper midrange contender. On the other hand, the OPPO F9 came in strong with the claims on 5-minute charge equals 2 hour talk time.

• OPPO F9 Review – A midrange phone with a waterdrop notch
• Nokia 7 Plus Review – Is it really the flagship hero for everyone?

Here, we finally get our hands on these two to test which is the right smartphone for you.

Design

The OPPO F9 has a dimension of 156.7 x 74 x 8 mm built in the glass back and front weighing 169 grams. Meanwhile, the Nokia 7 Plus has a dimension measurement of 156.7 x 74 x 8 mm sporting a front glass and aluminum body weighing 169 grams. Both are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass with OPPO F9 having version 6 whereas Nokia 7 Plus with the 3rd version.

Now going to the back panel, the OPPO F9 sports the signature poly pattern that consists of the smartphone’s essentials such as the fingerprint scanner, dual camera with LED flash, and the company branding. Meanwhile, the Nokia 7 Plus has also added orange highlights on the frame and around the dual camera setup that is vertically aligned which also comes with an LED flash placed on the side. It also has the fingerprint scanner, company branding at the middle with android one embedded at the bottom.

At the top of the OPPO F9 is a sensor whereas the Nokia has decided to place the 3.55mm headphone jack at the same location. Moving on at the bottom of the OPPO F9 consists of the micro USB 2.0 charging port, speaker grille, microphone and the headphone jack. Meanwhile, Nokia 7 Plus also has the same except the Type-C charging port and the placement of 3.5mm headphone jack.

The power buttons of both devices are placed at the right together with the volume rockers of Nokia 7 Plus while the OPPO F9 is on the opposite side with the SIM tray. The Nokia 7 Plus’ SIM tray is also at the usual spot at the left.

Display

The OPPO F9 features 6.3-inch LTPS IPS LCD display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6. On the other hand, the Nokia 7 Plus 6.0-inch IPS LCD display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9 protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Turning these two on the maximum level of brightness, it appears that these two are good under broad daylight. As of the visual experience, both can deliver a vibrant display which is a big plus for gaming, web browsing and media playback.

However, when you’re watching videos in OPPO F9 on full-screen can be bothersome for other as the notch takes a small space on the video itself and it’s uncontrollable as OPPO didn’t add a hide notch option.

OPPO F9

Nokia 7 Plus

Camera

Moving on to camera capabilities, we tested outside the two phones under the gloomy weather. The Nokia 7 Plus seems to have more exposure than the OPPO F9 leaving more shadows and sharper details.

Now taking a closer look at the leaves, OPPO F9 photo shows that it is more vibrant than the Nokia 7 Plus that is more on color accuracy. Although most of the time we prefer the close to natural photos, this time OPPO F9 has proved itself by showing a sharper result than the other.

Looking all the way up sure looks nice on OPPO F9 as it looks more alive compared to the Nokia 7 Plus that has a different take on color production in photos. Talking about the details, the two seem to prove itself by taking a detailed cloud formation.

Testing on low-light, it is not surprising that Nokia 7 Plus struggled. It is obvious in some photo that its weakness its lack of good lighting. However, looking at it from the different angle, the photo gives an eerie feeling which is a good thing since taking photos with a story is a plus. On the other hand, OPPO F9 has handled this lighting well as what we can see on photo result.

To completely see the difference, we place the four photos side by side, The one without any mode used and the other with Super Vivid and HDR.

Indoors, the Nokia 7 Plus seem to have more exposure, however, the subject looked dull even with the HDR. On the other hand, the OPPO F9 is consistent in delivering a vibrant photo even without the Super Vivid mode.

Just like their rear camera performance, OPPO F9, and Nokia 7 Plus color production on their own photos are noticeable. The OPPO F9 has made the subject’s skin on cooler tone than Nokia 7 Plus which is on the yellow-ish side. Aside from that, everything on OPPO F9 side is vibrant as compared to Nokia 7 Plus. Nonetheless, both were good in details.

Beauty mode on, these two have improved the subject with OPPO F9 making the subject’s skin clearer with soft finish while Nokia 7 Plus has enhanced the skin making it brighter as compared to the one without any added filter.

Going to the portrait mode, the OPPO F9 and Nokia 7 Plus did its job well on making the subject stood out. Looking back to the original selfies, nothing has changed with the quality as the color and details remain consistent. 

In low-light, it’s obvious that OPPO F9 has won this category as the subject is more visible than the Nokia 7 Plus.

Using the screen flash, Nokia 7 Plus has redeemed itself by making its subject clearer on the low-lighting situation. Meanwhile, OPPO F9’s result is what we’re expecting with a 25-megapixel front-facing camera. It’s no surprise that selfies are better with OPPO F9.

Features and User Experience

The OPPO F9 is powered by MediaTek MT6771 Helio P60 paired with Mali- G72 MP3 carrying 4GB/6GB variants of RAM and 64GB internal storage. Meanwhile, the Nokia 7 Plus is fueled by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 coupled with Adreno 512 that carries 4GB RAM + 64GB storage.

Upon unlocking both phones, the OPPO has added an option for face recognition for full control over the feature.

On the other hand, Nokia 7 Plus facial recognition is found on Smart Lock that also offers a variety of security settings.

As for the fingerprint scanner, the two devices also responded well. Although, OPPO F9 is a bit quicker than Nokia 7 Plus. But going to reality, speed won’t matter that much as the user will get used to its device.

Security really is a big deal as OPPO also added other features to ensure safety and privacy.

It’s not just about the user’s privacy but also the security of user’s life as they added the Smart Driving option where you can control calls, notifications, and other activities for convenience while driving.

In terms of gaming, OPPO F9 seem to have an advantage with the OPPO Game Space where the system improves for the better gaming experience.

Meanwhile, playing high graphics games on the Nokia 7 Plus is also decent. We didn’t encounter any lags as long as there is a stable connection.

Benchmarks

We tested both smartphones using the following benchmarking tools and here are the results:

Battery

The OPPO F9 is packed with 3,500 mAh battery whereas Nokia 7 Plus has a bigger battery with 3,800 mAh.

One of the OPPO F9’s major selling point is its VOOC flash charge that can give 2 hours talk time in just 5 minutes of charging. We tested it and it stood to its promise. Also, it took us 42 minutes to fully charge starting from 20%.

While OPPO F9 took a day to completely drain, the Nokia 7 Plus took us 27 hours to reach 0%. That is 3 hours longer than OPPO F9.

Audio

As we tested these two on various music genres and videos, we noticed that OPPO F9 is louder, however, a bit ear-splitting. On the other hand, the Nokia 7 Plus sounded decent for a smartphone. Overall, both do not sound scratchy and will work fine for music jamming and gaming.

Verdict

The OPPO F9 is priced at PHP 17, 990 while Huawei P20 Pro is slightly cheaper with PHP 21, 990.

We know that every smartphone has its own strengths and weaknesses. In this case, OPPO has a great advantage on battery and the system that is great for gaming. On the other hand, we liked the Nokia 7 Plus for the display interface that is enjoyable for media playbacks and web browsing.

All in all, these two can deliver a smooth mobile experience. What can be another major factor in choosing the phone is the price. In this comparison, the Nokia 7 Plus is in an uncertain position as it is more expensive than OPPO F9 which can also offer a lot of new features. But it all compensates with the display interface which makes it feel more premium as compared to OPPO F9.

How about you? What do you think of the OPPO F9 and Nokia 7 Plus? Tell us in the comments below!