Oppo R15 Pro: Worth the Buy?

You might have never heard of Chinese smartphone brand Oppo. Odds are good you’ve heard of their sibling company, OnePlus, though. Oppo, ironically, is the bigger brand in China, but OnePlus tends to steal headlines with their bold designs. The newest Oppo phone, the Oppo R15 Pro, is out now. Is it a worthy competitor in the crowded Android market, or is the brand’s obscurity in the US warranted? Let’s find out. 

Design 

The R15 Pro is a very clean, modern-looking phone, with a big 6.28-inch display. It sports an iPhone X-style notch, and, in fact, is very much an homage to the iPhone. The Color OS spin on Android OS is pretty much a one-to-one recreation of iOS 11, which isn’t exactly a bad thing. It does make the phone feel unoriginal, but it doesn’t detract from the end user experience. 

The Oppo R15 Pro has asolid make, too. The phone sports a headphone jack, unlike some newer phones, and has a metal back. That somewhat old-fashioned design decision is underscored by the phone’s charging port, which is micro-USB. The charging port works fine, but it is odd to see such an old port when USB-C is officially the preferred charging method of other android phones. 

Cameras 

The cameras on this phone are quite solid. It has two back-facing cameras for portrait mode, and pictures taken in it look fine, if a little washed out. The back cameras are both 20-megapixel, while the front one is 16. Pictures taken normally look pretty good, considering this phone has a mid-range price! It even sports automatic HDR that looks really great.  

Oppo R15 Pro Performance 

While design and camera quality are important, the actual phone performance is the big deal. The R15 doesn’t disappoint, but it’s certainly no powerhouse. Sporting a 2.3GHz octa-core Kirin 970 processor, the phone does okay in most tasks. Gaming and other processor-intensive tasks are a little less snappy than on higher-end phones, but it’s usually fine.  

The battery life is rather excellent, only a fraction worse than the OnePlus 6, which is still impressive. You’ll likely finish the day with a good chunk of battery left, which is great.  

Bottom Line 

The final word on the R15 Pro? It’s an excellent phone for its mid-level price. Coming in around $515, this phone has no glaring drawbacks and works reasonably well in most tasks. If you like the look of iOS but want to stick with an affordable Android, consider getting an R15 Pro. You’ll also get a ton of odd looks from people who have no idea what phone you have, which is cool!  

Feature Image Credit: Android Authority