Oppo's R11s offers premium smartphone features for a fraction of the cost

The Oppo R11s is a seriously sexy device, writes Matthew Dunn. Photo / Oppo

You don't need to spend $1249 on Apple's iPhone 8 when you can buy a Chinese clone for almost half the price.

I know you are thinking that buying a Chinese iPhone clone sounds dodgy as hell and there's no way you are going to be getting quality for that price.

But I can tell you that's not the case, with Oppo's R11s delivering outstanding quality and ultra-premium features for its $799 price tag.

The device might be shamelessly "inspired" by Apple's products, but that's because the company is trying to attract those who want an iPhone without the expensive price tag.

Having used the device for the past couple of weeks, I can say you will not be disappointed for choosing an Oppo phone over other expensive flagships.

DESIGN

Following the lead of other major flagship releases from 2017, Oppo's Full HD+ 6.01-inch display has been made to offer an 18:9 aspect ratio.

The exterior of the phone has kept a slick metallic unibody with a gentle matte finish, while less intrusive antenna lines make it look cleaner than its predecessor.

Despite the large display, the device is very slim and lightweight when compared to some of its competition — it measures 155.1 x 75.5 x 7.1mm and weighs just 153g.

To ensure minimal distracting bezel, Oppo has removed the fingerprint sensor from the bottom of the front-facing display and placed it on the rear like most other Androids, which I believe is superior as it feels more natural.

Alternatively, you can also log in using facial identification which Oppo has introduced for this model.

As Apple is still denying access to an iPhone X review unit, I cannot compare the security and consistency to the company's FaceID system, however I can attest it's as fast and responsive as the facial identification found in the Samsung Note 8 and LG V30+.

The R11s has a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom of the device, with the volume rockers located on the left.

While impressive and sleek, I do feel the device is let down by the large protruding camera which makes it a struggle to balance it on a flat surface.

CAMERA

It might stick out on the back, but Oppo has included an impressive dual 20MP+16MP camera setup, with a large dual f/1.7 aperture.

Oppo said the 16MP had been designed to meet the requirements of regular portrait photos in the daytime, while the 20MP camera had been specially designed for shooting in the dark.

"In the night, the 20MP camera will intelligently identify the dark scenes, and rearrange

the pixel combination, making a 2.0μm super pixel for a four times more photosensitive area," the company explained.

The device also includes Oppo's custom-built "Portrait Lab", which offers a number of suggestions on adjustments and photo effects to improve the quality of shots.

Having tested the claims, I can safely say the camera is capable of enhancing picture quality in any environment regardless of whether it's day or night, with the shooter able to rival the more expensive models from the competition.

The exceptional 20MP forward-facing selfie camera has also seen improvement and is backed by Oppo's self-learning AI Beautify software.

"By setting up an extensive selfie database that uses A.I. neural network algorithms to collect 254 facial features and analyse the features from multiple dimensions including gender, age, skin texture, skin colour, expression, and physical condition," the company explained.

What this means is the R11s will intelligently apply the appropriate beauty treatment to make pictures that have that extra level of quality.

EVERYTHING ELSE

The device uses Android with its own ColorOS skin, which offers an iOS-like experience that shouldn't be too much of a stretch for people coming to the phone from an Apple.

Oppo's user interface offers the ability to swipe up from the bottom of the screen like an iPhone X, although you can also have traditional on-screen buttons.

The R11s has 64GB of storage, dual-SIM capabilities and MicroSD expansion, which is something Apple doesn't include with its iPhones.

Everything is powered by a Qualcomm 660 series Octo-Core processor and the R11s has a 3,205mAh battery, which is more than enough for use during the day - it also uses VOOC Flash Charge that promises two hours talking time from five minutes of charging.

Sadly the device still uses Micro-USB charging and hasn't moved to USB-C like most other models on the market.

Oppo has also not included NFC or water and dust resistance, which could be a deal breaker for some customers.

All in all the device is hugely impressive and offers most of the features of top-tier phones for a fraction of the cost.

I believe this is the perfect device for people on a budget or those looking to get a teenager their first phone.

The Oppo R11s will be available for purchase from February 8 at Noel Leeming, 2degreesmobile, JB Hi-Fi, PB Tech, Smith City and available online at The Warehouse and Warehouse Stationery. The recommended retail price is $799.