Oppo F21 Pro 5G Review Summary
Editor’s Rating- 3.75/5
Design
Display
Battery
Camera
Performance
Pros
- Elegant design
- Android 12 OS
- IPX4 Rated
- 64MP camera is good
- Long Battery life
- Good CPU Performance
Cons
- Gaming Performance average
- Loads of bloatware
- Low refresh rate
Oppo recently has launched a new mid-range F series for the Indian market. The Oppo F21 Pro series consists of a 4G and 5G device and the one we will be talking about today is the Oppo F21 Pro 5G. The device comes in 2 colors- cosmic black and rainbow spectrum and has an oppo glow design with orbit breathing lights around camera lenses at the back. The smartphone promises to give a professional photography experience at an affordable price, but does this claim hold any truth? Let’s find out.
Specs | Unboxing | Price & Availability | Design | Display| Battery | Camera | Performance | Verdict
Oppo F21 Pro 5G: Specs
- Processor- Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G
- Display- 6.4-inch AMOLED display
- Refresh rate- 60Hz
- RAM- 8GB
- ROM- 128GB
- OS- Android 12 with ColorOS 12
- Rear camera- 64MP+2MP+2MP
- Front camera- 16MP
- Battery- 4500mAh
- Fast charging- 33W SuperVOOC
- Weight- 173 grams
- Thickness- 7.55mm
- Connectivity- 5G
Oppo F21 Pro 5G: Unboxing
Oppo F21 Pro 5G comes in a box that is black in color and has an additional greenish-blue sliding outer cover. The outer cover has specs and some useful information written on the backside whereas the front side has the name of the device with a big F representing the F series. The black box has all the information on the top edge. The box contains-
- Oppo F21 Pro 5G handset
- Adapter/charger
- USB Data cable
- SIM ejector tool
- Quick guide
- Safety guide
- Protective case
Oppo F21 Pro 5G: Price and availability
Oppo F21 Pro 5G is available in a single 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant for Rs. 26,999 in India. It comes in 2 colors- Cosmic Black and Rainbow Spectrum and will be up for sale from 21st April.
Oppo F21 Pro 5G: Design
The Oppo F21 Pro 5G has a premium-looking design. The phone comes in 2 colors- Cosmic Black and Rainbow Spectrum and I have experienced the Rainbow Spectrum variant up close. The back panel of the device has a matte finish with a glittery appearance that looks a fine draw. Rainbow color meant the shade of the device was a mix of blue, red, yellow, and green. It changed shades when under light and did not catch smudges easily. Oppo Glow design featured on this device makes it look pleasing to the onlookers even from a distance.
The left edge of the device has volume rockers while the right edge has the power button. The bottom houses a USB Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and speaker grille. The front side has almost no bezels but has a selfie lens at the top while the back side has a rectangular camera module that houses 3 camera lenses. The 2 main camera lenses are heavily protruded outside the camera module which means when the device is kept on a flat surface, it cannot be evenly placed and thus feels imbalanced while typing.
The lower end of the backside also has Oppo branding. The two primary cameras also feature Oppo Orbit Lights which blink in different shades of blues depending on whether the device is charging, receiving a call, has an unread notification, etc.
Oppo F21 Pro 5G has curved edges and a good feel in hand. The device feels lightweight (173 grams) and sleek (7.55mm) and is very comfortable to operate with one hand. The 6.4-inch display size makes the smartphone give a good screen size but compact in operation.
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Oppo F21 Pro 5G: Display
Oppo F21 Pro 5G has a 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90.8% screen-to-body ratio. The visuals on it were crisp, clear, and vivid making the viewing experience immersive. It has a 60Hz refresh rate which is very low compared to the 120Hz refresh rate that we find in most devices these days. The effects of the low refresh rate can be felt while scrolling as the text or the visuals is not as clear as they are on a 120Hz screen. However the touch response is good, so no complaints there.
Oppo F21 Pro 5G is Amazon Prime Video HD and Netflix HD certified which makes the OTT streaming experience decent. The smartphone has an in-display fingerprint sensor which works well.
Oppo F21 Pro 5G: Battery
The Oppo F21 Pro 5G comes with a 4500mAh battery under the hood. The battery is strong enough as it lasts a day and a half with moderate usage. If one is a gamer who regularly has hour-long gaming sessions, then you will need to charge the device once a day otherwise you are good to go for around 35 hours without charging.
Even if you have to charge the device, it comes with a 33W SuperVOOC fast charging speed which charges the device from 0 to 50% in about 28-32 minutes and from 0 to 100% in about an hour. So even if you have 20-25 minutes, the battery will charge up to 45% which will last half a day. Overall the battery performance and charging speed are good.
Oppo F21 Pro 5G: Camera
Oppo F21 Pro gets to flaunt a triple camera setup at the back. It includes a 64MP main camera, a 2MP depth, and a 2MP macro sensor. The phone camera has features like selfie HDR, AI scene enhancement, ultra-clear 108MP image, and dual-view video.
The Camera UI is simple and user-friendly. It has a circular virtual shutter button in the middle with an option to rotate the camera and view clicked images on either side. The topside of the screen has various options like HDR, flash, AI, 108MP mode, and more to choose from. Swiping right from main camera mode can change modes to portrait and more whereas swiping left can change it to video and night.
When I used the camera in daylight, the images came out to be detailed, clear, and vivid. The shots taken had slightly boosted colors which makes images social media worthy. The 108MP mode doesn’t give much of a difference from the regular main camera’s functioning. The pictures below are taken in daylight in a park. The greens and the browns have an apt balance of being sharp and soft while the colors of the flowers look vibrant.
In artificial light and indoor settings at night, the camera gives decent shots. The images are detailed and have character. In the pictures below, the colors of objects were beautified by lighting and they looked good when clicked by the main 64MP camera. Clicking panoramic images is easy but the quality of these clicks is not up to the mark.
The only issue I have with the camera setup of the Oppo phone is the lack of Optical Stabilization which makes camera prompts tell me to keep my hand stable. Despite my best efforts F21 Pro 5G prompted me to hold my hand still for better images. This was also the issue I faced with Oppo Reno 7 and now Oppo F21 Pro 5G also follows the same line.
The 2MP depth sensor gives an average performance as the images clicked by it lacked detailing and were not very focused. The 2MP portrait sensor works well as it takes good close-up shots. Here are some shots from the portrait sensor.
There is a 16MP front camera which is good for selfies and video calls. The selfies clicked in daylight are clear, precise, and have adequate detailing. The focus is kept on the subjects in the frame and the background feels secondary but doesn’t blur out.
Overall, the camera performance of the Oppo F21 Pro is above average.
Oppo F21 Pro 5G: Performance
Oppo F21 Pro 5G is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G mobile chipset and has a configuration of 8GB RAM with 128GB storage. The processor along with 8GB RAM makes sure the device runs smoothly. The apps load quickly, multitasking is easy, and switching between various apps doesn’t lead to crashing or lagging. There is ample storage provided to store audios, videos, photos, documents, and all the important apps you need.
The device is 5G enabled which will be useful when the technology rolls out in the country but for now, 4G SIM works well as it gives good connectivity. The signal strength remains decent even when one is in a double basement. The audio quality is strictly average but that depends on the signal strength of the person at the other end as well, so distortion invoice sometimes can be overlooked. Thankfully there were no call drops, though the audible voice was very low sometimes.
What about gaming? Well, I tried several games to check if it could handle top titles. I tried playing Call of Duty Mobile, Asphalt 9, and other games on the device with high frame rates and HD graphics and the game ran smooth. The touch controls, as well as gesture controls, were up to the mark but the only problem was the heating up of the device. Yes, after about 20-25 minutes of gaming, the device started warming up which dissuaded me from having a longer gaming session.
We performed some benchmark tests on Oppo F21 Pro 5G. Here are their results.
Coming to the software department, the smartphone runs ColorOS 12 based on Android 12 which is colorful and interactive. It has various options for customization and personalization. The device has loads of bloatware like Snapchat, Josh, Amazon, Phonepe, etc. but it can be removed if you don’t need it. There are certain apps like Tips that can help one understand their device better if need be. The device has 3D icons which make the device look even more interactive. Oppo has also optimized the way text is displayed in different languages which makes the text on the screen look different.
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The device can be controlled with air gestures but this feature sometimes lags and is not up to the mark. Omoji helps you create your own personal avatar with your choice of facial expressions.
The loudspeaker built in the device gives good audio quality while streaming any kind of content. The device is IPX4 rated for water and splash resistance which makes rough and tough use easier.
Oppo F21 Pro 5G: Verdict
Oppo F21 Pro 5G is a stylish device that can be a good fit for your everyday needs if you are someone who doesn’t need long gaming sessions. It has an elegant design, good battery life, quick charging, and decent camera performance.
Although there are issues like loads of bloatware, and low refresh rate but those can be overlooked if you are keen to buy a smartphone that is priced under 30k in the country. It has a good CPU performance, Android 12 OS, good call quality, and a good amount of RAM and ROM which make it a smart buy in this budget segment.
