Dispatch: Oppo’s Australian launch

Before this week I’d barely heard of Oppo, to be perfectly honest.

Sure, I’d seen a few YouTube videos regarding their flagship phone (MKBHD’s video on the Find 7 springs to mind), and I’d read brief snippets of info from other tech blogs, but I’d never actually endeavoured to find out more about the Chinese electronics manufacturer.

Apparently I wasn’t alone though, and to my surprise on Tuesday I attended an early morning event, or soft-launch as Oppo described it, which would mark the manufacturers first real steps into the Western market.

With a crystal-clear view from Sydney Tower, the handsets, which range from mid-tier to flagship, reflected the clearing, cloudy sky. On small tables a dozen of each phone were available to mess around with.

As with any creatively bankrupt marketing department, the first phone I saw, the N1 mini, was being heralded as the ‘selfie-phone’. Though, admittedly, the gimmick in question for this handset was pretty interesting. See, most phones have a two cameras, one for landscape shots, and another for self-profiles, whereas the N1 Mini includes a single camera which can rotate 195-degrees. This is actually a smart move, with the same camera quality available for both shooting styles. In terms of software, included is an equally self-aware set of tools that likely shouldn’t exist, such as a “beautify” mode, which allegedly twists reality to give you clear skin and a thin figure. A GIF-making option is pretty cool, as is the 4K-capable video sensor and 13-megapixel photo resolution. A 720p screen, measuring in at 5″, is the N1 Mini’s main offering, though I found the quality of this component to be a bit lacking, at least with my review unit, which features a brown discolouration at the bottom of the screen. The physical buttons are also a little annoying, being a bit too sensitive for my taste. Also, the phone comes with 16GB of storage, though no SD card slot, which is a bummer. Overall it isn’t too bad though, especially considering its outright price-tag of $539.

Source: grossiste en ligne