Oppo R17 Pro

A REFINEMENT OF VALUE AND STYLE.

OPPO IS CERTAINLY prolific – it was only halfway through 2018 that the R15 Pro launched and the novel Find X handset landed shortly afterwards, but is it too soon for another flagship?

The flashy, rounded glass back returns from the Find X and is available in some rather striking gradient finishes, while the almost all-screen front has incorporated a much more sensible compromise than a pop-up camera, instead opting for a subtle “teardrop” notch. While it doesn’t sport the Find X’s 3D facial recognition, this handset is one of the first to feature an in-screen fingerprint sensor – an elegant solution once you adjust to its rather low placement. Oppo’s SuperVOOC charging is the fastest we’ve seen, allowing you to bring the phone up from 0 to 40% in about 10 minutes, and the series’ microUSB port has finally been swapped out for USB-C.

From our benchmark testing, it’s not a huge improvement over the R15 Pro in the way of performance, but it’s still more than enough grunt for the average user, media-watcher and light gamer, and the battery life outshines much of the competition. The dual camera set-up is quite impressive for the price, and the third TOF (Time-of-Flight) lens assists with some depth-perception and night-shooting tricks, but don’t expect it to compete with the likes of the Google Pixel 3.

Although the R17 Pro costs $120 more than the R15 Pro did at launch, there’s no doubt that it’s Oppo’s most focused and realised handset to date, making it a safe bet for the style- and wallet-conscious.