Oppo has officially released their next smartphone F21 Pro in the subcontinent. New features have been introduced in the F21 Pro from the previous model. Innovation has been brought in the design. However, today it will be discussed whether it is the best handset in the medium range or other smartphones will be better. The F21 Pro will be reviewed in light of my personal experience.
What’s in the box:
- Oppo F21 Pro smartphone
- Handset cover
- 33 watt first charger
- USB type A to C cable
- SIM Ejecting Tool
- Necessary documents
Smartphone design
The Oppo F21 Pro has achieved unique features in design. Orange and black phones have been released in the market. Although black color is widely used in smartphones, orange handset is not available in the market. Since the light is an excellent reflection, it is premium when taken in hand. I used it for 2 weeks. Yet no dust or sand has accumulated.
The design of the camera has been beautiful enough. Two round camera bumps have been used. There is also a flashlight system. Separate lights have been provided for notification. The back of the handset is made of plastic. The power button and volume button are used on the right. The SIM card slot is installed on the left. There is also a microphone, headphone jack, USB TYPE C slot and speaker grill. Excluding the camera space, the handset will be 8.54 mm thick. Besides, since it is a 165 gram mobile, it will not be a problem to hold it in hand for a long time.
Display and sound
Oppo F21 Pro uses AMOLED display and the size of the phone is 6.43 inches. 1080P resolution is used which is right in the price ratio. However, the phone failed to get HDR certificate. However, the mobile can not always maintain a 90 Hz refresh rate. Some software-based issues have been reported. However, I believe that the next update will be optimize software issue.
The HDR feature will be missing while watching videos on YouTube. Besides, FHD videos are not available on Netflix and Amazon videos. However, it has been reported that this problem will not exist in the future. Besides, only one speaker has been used in this model. Sound quality would be better if there were dual speakers. You won’t get headphones with the box. So you have to arrange the headphones.
Hardware and software
The Oppo F21 Pro is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680. The chipset comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. ColorOS 12.1 is based on Android 12. Oppo has used ColorOS in other models as well. I did not notice any difference. However, it seemed a bit slow. There are some unnecessary applications that you cannot delete.
The software takes quite a while to load. However, it is not significant. However, the speed of Oppo’s competing handsets is much higher. You will not have any problem with daily use. You will not get a good gaming experience because the phone is not suitable for gaming.
The Camera
The Oppo F21 Pro is equipped with a triple camera setup on the back. The system has a 64MP OmniVision sensor, as well as two 2MP Galaxycore sensors. A 32MP Sony IMX709 sensor is installed on the front for selfies. Depth sensors do not play as important role here as other smartphones. The user may be annoyed after a few days of use.
The same sensor that was used in the previous Oppo Reno 6 Pro smartphone has been used in the primary camera. However, there are some differences in the functionality of the smartphone software. In previous Reno handsets, the image of human skin was not clear. There was also criticism about this. But this time it has been solved. In reality, the camera picture you see is admirable. The Oppo F21 Pro device is capable of taking interesting pictures.
The picture should have been clearer in low light. And night mode will not work. Selfie camera performance is disappointing. Despite using Sony’s lens, the picture is not clear due to software issues. The difference in skin color is noticeable. Hopefully Oppo will solve the problem with the update.
Video recording is limited to 30fps. However, the device is capable of 1080p FHD video. However, in the case of focusing, it is quite slow. The handset can provide adequate lighting. Audio quality is very good. However, noise cannot be canceled.
Miscellaneous topics
The handset is limited in 4G connectivity, no 5G support. However, this is not a problem as 5G has not been launched in the subcontinent yet. And even if it is launched, it will take a long time to spread it all over the country. Mobile data works well and so does mobile hotspot. There is no problem with the audio from the headpiece and the quality of the microphone can be said to be just right. Similarly, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work fine. I didn’t have any problems.
The versatile use of LED lights for cameras is noteworthy. It can be used for notifications, call alerts, charging and even gaming. While this is great to look at, I didn’t find any significant use of it.
Battery and charging
The Oppo F21 Pro is powered by a 4,500mAh battery. On a full charge it can easily last one day. With the option of first charging, it is possible to give full charge in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The last word
Oppo F21 Pro is not for everyone. Other than design and processor, it is like the average nature of other things. If you want a smartphone of good design and excellent battery life, you can take Oppo F21 Pro.