Oppo’s new F29 series caters to users who prioritise ruggedness in a smartphone. The concept of a rugged smartphone is not foreign to Oppo. Last year, we were highly impressed with the toughness of the Oppo K12x. Both variants in the F29 series are compliant with MIL-STD-810H standards. The vanilla variant is priced at Rs 23,999 while the Pro model demands a premium of Rs 4,000 over that price. We got our hands on the base model and used it for a week. Here is our review of the Oppo F29.
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In This Article
Oppo F29 Review: Design and Display
Before we talk about the design, let’s take a look at what you get inside Oppo F29’s retail box:
- Smartphone
- 45W power adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C cable
- Opaque silicone cover
- SIM ejector
- Quick guide
The Oppo F29 is available in two back panel variants – Solid Purple and Glacier Blue. The former has a fiberglass back while the latter comes with a fiber fabric panel. We used the Solid Purple variant for this review. The matte finish on the fiberglass back prevents it from registering smudges and fingerprints. Oppo claims that the smartphone can withstand drops from pockets, desks, and stairs. The camera panel is aligned to the top-centre and has a very minimal bump. As a result, the smartphone does not wobble when placed on a flat surface.
The flat back panel merges seamlessly with the plastic frame. On the right edge of this frame lie the volume rocker keys and the side button. The SIM tray, primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and primary speaker find their way to the bottom. The secondary microphone and speaker are housed up top. The smartphone is rated IP68/69 for dust and water resistance. It can withstand high-pressure water jets and is immersible up to 1.5m for 30 minutes.
The 6.7-inch AMOLED display on the F29 has a 120Hz refresh rate and can hit 1,200 nits in High Brightness Mode. It is surrounded by slim and uniform bezels. The touch response of the display is smooth, and the optical fingerprint scanner is quite snappy. It holds up well in bright outdoor conditions. This display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i.
We used the Oppo F29 as our primary media streaming device during the review period and were very happy with the viewing experience. Its AMOLED display produces rich visuals, ripe with colour and details. The dual speaker setup produces a loud and well-rounded audio output.
Oppo F29 Review: Performance and Cameras
Powering the Oppo F29 is the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset. The smartphone is available in 2 storage (UFS 3.1) variants with 8GB RAM (LPDDR4X):
- 128GB: Rs 23,999
- 256GB: Rs 25,999
On the Geekbench 6 app, the smartphone scored 940 points in the single-core test and 2,741 points in the multi-core test. While there are more powerful processors in this price bracket, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 on the Oppo F29 puts up a decent everyday performance. Tasks like video calling, media streaming, instant messaging, and web browsing are handled with expertise. The overall browsing experience is smooth, but not as snappy as other smartphones in the segment. On the bright side, this smartphone has a better haptic motor than its rivals.
The Oppo F29 does a decent job of running gaming titles like Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt Legends Unite. There are no frame drops to be seen when you stick to medium graphics and a 60fps frame rate. However, the gameplay takes a significant hit when you move to high graphics. The internal thermal management system of the device is passable. We felt the back panel warm up after 20 minutes of gameplay.
The Android 15-based ColorOS 15 handles the software duties on this smartphone. Oppo’s Android skin takes a lot of inspiration from Apple’s iOS, be it the layout of the notification shade and Quick Settings Menu or the Dynamic Island-like animation around the punch-hole cutout. The AOD style, settings panel, and lock screen effects are also heavily inspired by iOS.
The F29 runs Google’s new Gemini AI assistant out of the box. On top of that, ColorOS 15 offers photo-editing AI features like AI clarity enhancer, AI reflection remover, AI eraser, and AI unblur. The Smart Sidebar has a handy screen translation tool, but summarisation and writing features are notably absent. There are a lot of bloatware apps on this device, and we recommend taking the time to delete all of them. Oppo has promised 2 major OS upgrades and 3 years of security patches for this smartphone.
Packed with a massive 6,500mAh battery pack, this smartphone keeps your battery anxieties at bay. It can easily last an entire day of heavy usage. During the review period, our daily tasks on the Oppo F29 included calling, texting, gaming, media streaming, web browsing, and emailing. The smartphone coasted through the day comfortably, hitting the 20% mark after 6 hours of screen time. The 45W power adapter provided in the box takes just over an hour to charge the smartphone.
Oppo F29’s rear camera panel houses a 50MP primary shooter and a 2MP depth sensor. There is no ultrawide sensor in this array, which is a significant miss in this price bracket. A 16MP front-facing camera is nestled inside the punch-hole cutout on the display.
The 50MP primary shooter takes good pictures in outdoor daylight conditions. The images flaunt natural colours and pack a lot of details. If you like balanced colours and images that do justice to the scene in front of you, this camera will be right up your alley. Images taken in limited lighting conditions are dim and noisy. The Night Mode brightens up the subject, but it often leads to overexposed images.
The primary shooter also takes good portrait shots. The smartphone does a good job of separating the subject from the background and applying a strong background blur. The native camera app offers 1x and 2x zoom levels in portrait mode. The 16MP front-facing camera takes good selfies but tends to lighten the skin tone. The selfie camera can record 1,080p videos at 30fps. Meanwhile, the primary sensor can shoot in 4K at 30fps.
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Verdict
The Oppo F29 is built for rugged use. It can withstand a tumble down the stairs or a dip in the water. Its smooth software experience nicely complements the tough exterior. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset at the heart of this device is not the most powerful processor in this category, but it handles everyday tasks with ease. The lack of an ultrawide sensor is a letdown, but the primary camera takes good pictures in daylight conditions. The icing on the cake is the splendid battery life offered by the massive 6,500mAh Si/C unit.
Oppo F29: Pros
- Tough exterior
- IP68/69 rating
- Great audio output
- Versatile battery life
Oppo F29: Cons
- No ultrawide camera
