Over the last few weeks, we have seen a slew of releases in the lower midrange smartphone category. Earlier this month, Nothing stepped into the cutthroat sub-Rs 25,000 segment with the release of the Phone 2a. Established players like Vivo, OnePlus, Poco, and Redmi already have solid contenders in this price range that enjoy a lot of popularity in the Indian market. Amidst all the humdrum, one of the releases that may have gone under the radar is the Oppo F25 Pro. Priced at Rs 24,000, this smartphone flaunts a unique back panel, an impressive set of cameras, and the efficient Dimensity 7050 chipset. Excited to see what the newest midrange Oppo had in store for us, we used this smartphone as our daily driver for a week. Here is our in-depth Oppo F25 Pro review.
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In This Article
Oppo F25 Pro review: Design and Display
Here’s what you get inside the Oppo F25 Pro retail box:
- Smartphone
- 67W power adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C cable
- Clear plastic case
- SIM ejector tool
- Quick Start Guide
- Safety Guide
There are two colour variants on offer – Lava Red and Ocean Blue. Both shades have a unique look, which some may consider flashy. We used the Lava Red variant of the Oppo F25 Pro for this review and had mixed feelings about the shimmering back. While the sparkling effect does feel cool, we prefer having a solid colour on a device that will see a lot of everyday use. The flashy appeal of the back panel wanes very quickly.
The smartphone is incredibly light, weighing just 177 grams. Most of the credit for this goes to the plastic back panel. The matte finish on this panel gives it a nice in-hand feel and doesn’t collect any smudges or fingerprints. The two-step camera island has a glossy finish and houses the three cameras inside two cutouts.
The volume rocker and power button are positioned on the left edge of the plastic frame. The bottom rail houses the primary microphone, USB Type-C slot, and the primary speaker grille. On the left edge lies the hybrid SIM tray while the secondary microphone finds its way to the top of the frame. The F25 Pro does not have stereo speakers.
The 6.7-inch AMOLED display on the Oppo F25 Pro is surrounded on all sides by narrow, uniform bezels. The selfie camera is housed inside a punch-hole cutout. The uniformity of the bezels lends a premium look to the display. The touch response here is very good. We did not experience any lags or stutters while browsing the smartphone. However, the haptics of the smartphone failed to impress us. The blunt vibrational feedback felt like a distraction more than anything while typing on the onscreen keyboard. The vibrations for swipe gestures are okay at best. This is something that we’ve come to expect from the smartphones in this price range.
The AMOLED panel has a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. This refresh rate is adaptive by default and can be set to 60 or 120Hz from device settings. Under direct sunlight, the F25 Pro can reach a maximum brightness of 900 nits, which is enough to make it perfectly legible. Its peak brightness is 1,100 nits. The screen resolution of this panel is 1,080 x 2,412p. It has Widevine L1 certification.
The Oppo F25 Pro does justice to HD video content. We streamed content from apps like YouTube, Netflix, and Prime, and did not face any issues with the image quality. The videos packed vibrant colours and showcased a lot of detail. The bottom-firing single speaker has a tinny output that is significantly lacking on the low end. It can reach a very loud volume but sacrifices a lot of clarity along the way.
An IP65 rating means you can take out the smartphone while it’s raining and not worry about water-related damage. The front panel gets Panda glass protection, which is good enough to absorb minor knocks.
Oppo F25 Pro review: Performance and Cameras
Under the hood, the Oppo F25 Pro is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset. This is a 6nm chipset and a level below the Dimensity 7200 which is a 4nm process chip and powers a few other smartphones in this segment. There are two storage variants on offer – 128GB and 256GB. Both variants come with 8GB RAM. We used the 128GB base variant which is currently priced at Rs 24,000. The 256GB variant fetches Rs 26,000.
In the Geekbench 6 app, the Oppo F25 Pro scored 903 points in the single-core test and 2,338 points in the multicore test. In comparison, the Nothing Phone 2a, which is a direct rival to the F25 Pro scored 1,121 and 2,589 points respectively.
Benchmarks don’t mean everything, so we hit the F25 Pro with a bunch of diverse tasks. Browsing Instagram while watching YouTube in split-screen mode did not present any issues at all. The entire process was seamless and the phone did not break a sweat. Routine tasks like video calling, instant messaging, emailing, media streaming, and navigation were handled very well.
While gaming, the Oppo F25 Pro does well when it is not being pushed to the limit. We played games like Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt 9 in medium settings and were happy with the results. The phone did a good job of managing the internal temperature and delivered a smooth and enjoyable gameplay. However, in high graphics, we did experience some stutters and lags on certain occasions. With that being said, if you’re a casual gamer, the Oppo F25 Pro will not disappoint you.
On the software front, Oppo’s Color 14 OS does a good job on this device. We like the privacy and security features like the hidden folder, app locker, private safe, and system cloner offered by the OS. The private safe can be accessed from device settings as well as the file manager and the photo gallery. Other than that, there are a bunch of customisation options for the home screen, always on display, quick settings, menu, and more.
There is a significant amount of bloatware on the device, which does marr the OS experience a bit when you pull the phone out of the box. The infamous ‘Hot Apps’ and ‘Hot Games’ ads disguised as folders are present on the app drawer as well as the home screen. Luckily, these ads can be hidden from the home screen and all of the bloatware apps can be removed from the device.
The 5,000 mAh battery inside the phone can power it for an entire day. We got between 5-6 hours of Screen On Time from the device. Our daily tasks on the Oppo F25 Pro during the week-long review period included emailing, texting, video calling, music playback, video streaming, web browsing, and light gaming. We were left with a 10-15% charge at the end of each day. The 67W adapter provided in the box can fully charge the phone in 50 minutes.
One of our favourite things about the Oppo F25 Pro is its camera performance. The rear camera module on the device comprises a 64MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP macro sensor. Up front, the 32 selfie camera lies inside the punch hole cutout.
In daylight conditions, the 64MP primary camera does an excellent job of capturing what’s in front of it. The pictures are detailed and flaunt colours that ‘pop’. The smartphone does a good job of not overprocessing the images. While the colours certainly are punchier than normal, they do justice to the scene you are capturing. We particularly like how the smartphone captured the colour tone of the sky while taking pictures in the daytime. We were happy with the dynamic range and contrast in the images as well.
The 8MP ultrawide lens also does a good job in daytime conditions. The images taken with this lens retain the punchy colours from the primary shooter. The photoprocessing is on point. However, the level of detail isn’t the same and the pictures are slightly soft. The dynamic range could have been better as well. Having said that, this is still one of the better ultrawide cameras in this category and certainly not meant to be ignored.
In limited lighting, you need to rely on the Night Mode. The primary shooter takes decent pictures which need a good amount of photo processing to be brightened and smoothened out. The images still appear to be a little grainy. However, the smartphone does a good job of illuminating the subject and assigning it the appropriate colours. In Portrait Mode, the Oppo F25 Pro takes decent close-up shots. The subject separation is okay but the background blur effect leaves a little more to be desired.
Images taken with the 32MP selfie camera are well-composed and pack a good amount of details. We like that the smartphone does not overcorrect the skin tones and keeps the pictures closer to reality. This selfie camera can also record 4K videos at 30fps, a first in this category. The main sensor at the back can also record 4K footage at 30fps.
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Verdict
The Oppo F25 Pro is a consistent performer across the board. Be it the stunning AMOLED display or the powerful 64MP main camera, the F25 Pro always has your back. Its shimmering back panel may not be everyone’s cup of tea but the matte finish and lightweight design deserves praise. Its flat form factor gives it an amazing in-hand feel. 4K video recording support on the front camera, makes this smartphone an exciting option for vloggers and content creators who are looking to get the most value out of their money.
Oppo F25 Pro: Pros
- Lightweight
- Front camera can record in 4K
- Good camera performance
- Minimal bezels around the display
- Fast charging
Oppo F25 Pro: Cons
- The sparkly back panel may not be for everyone
- Not the best chipset in the segment
