Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be the new buzzword among handset makers these days. Innovative features powered by this niche technology will become a critical product differentiator for handset makers that will help them to acquire new customers while retaining current users, says Gartner. The research firm predicts that by 2022, 80% smartphones shipped will have on-device AI capabilities, up from 10% in 2017. While AI is slowly emerging in high-end devices, the Chinese device maker Oppo is aggressively bringing it mainstream, especially in the mid-segment. AI is already an essential part of Oppo’s Selfie Expert series; it introduced AI Beauty Recognition technology first in its F5 smartphone, making selfies more real, natural and personalised.
In India, Oppo has already established a reputation as the top smartphone choice for millennials who are obsessed with taking selfies. Despite its stable hold of the market, Oppo continues to outdo itself, surprising fans and tech enthusiasts here. Early this week, this fast-growing brand, dubbed the selfie expert, introduced Oppo F7, its latest flagship powered by AI technology and packed with a vast array of new features. I had a marathon session with the F7 and got an opportunity to explore some of its new fun features. For youngsters especially, I am sure this new device will be some kind of a personal beauty artist. The F7 will not only take selfies to the next level, producing the most refined and vibrant photos, but also make them a lot more fun.
Price-wise, the F7 retails for Rs 21,990 and is available in two colour options— Solar Red and Moonlight Silver with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of in-built storage. There are also special edition variants—Diamond Black and Sunrise Red—which feature 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of inbuilt storage, and priced at Rs 26,990. The OPPO F7, 64GB and 4GB RAM will be available in three colors – Solar Red, Diamond Black and Moonlight Silver. On the other hand, the OPPO F7, 128GB and 6GB variant will be available in two colors – Solar Red and Diamond Black.
Under the hood, the F7 runs on the latest 64-bit octa-core processor, with a much refined operating system. Based on Android 8.1, ColorOS 5.0 has AI built into the software for better systems management. The Color OS 5.0 AI power manager allocates processing power accordingly to the right app, making sure the phone runs at its best. As such, F7 runs 80% faster than its F5 predecessor when running multiple apps together. Additionally, it also allocates power usage appropriately, extending the average daily usage of battery life.
Performance-wise, the F7 makes judicious use of improved AI technology for selfie photography in addition to many more AI-powered operational features. Together with the 6.2-inch FHD+ Super Full Screen and upgraded multi-tasking software—the first in the industry with hand gesture operations—the device offers consumers a better user experience. It comes with an improved 2280 x 1080 resolution and the larger screen has an 88% screen-to-body ratio, yet fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. The F7 is also one of the first smartphones with a customised 19:9 aspect ratio, giving the user a larger area of effect for popular role-playing and strategy games. For instance, the App-in-App feature allows the user to pick up an incoming call while continuing gaming or watching a movie.
On the camera front, the F7 features a high-resolution 25 MP front camera with real-time High Dynamic Range (HDR) sensor. Take my word, images taken with the F7 have a significantly high range of details, luminance and colour levels when shot in bright sunlight or the shade, similar to images taken with good quality digital cameras. The net result: An ordinary user has a lot more control regardless of whether photos are taken in bright or low light environments. The HDR images, together with AI Beauty 2.0 with its ability to make improved age and gender beautification effects, promises to give selfie addicts a much-enriched experience.
The F7 has second-generation AI Beauty 2.0 technology that pushes the envelope on selfie photography even further. New advances include more accurate facial recognition capability, better beautification effects for gender and age; self-learning capabilities based on user preferences plus added fun features. Technical-speak, the AI Beauty 2.0 technology scans 296 facial recognition points, a 20% improvement from the first-generation technology, allowing for a more precise and accurate facial recognition capability. Thanks to AI learning, now your selfies can be exactly just as you like. AI learning identifies your beautification preferences, based on the most common edits made to photo album images, and automatically creates similar adjustments to new photos. So next time you take a selfie and want that perfect skin tone, exotic eye shape or other fun facial feature, F7 knows precisely what to do.
New features are also built into the F7 making it much more attractive and fun. Vivid Mode gives the user the opportunity to play with more colour saturation of a selfie, enhancing the colour of clothes and backgrounds, for example. Selfies can be touched up, much like taking a cover shot for a glossy magazine. The AR (Augmented Reality) Stickers function allows you to have fun with selfies, adding cute animal or movie star like features, ready for social media sharing. In my whirlwind review, I can confidently say that the F7 is a top-notch smartphone with a good set of features under the hood. It has a gorgeous design, great camera and good overall performance. Highly recommended.
