Oppo R17: Plans | Pricing | Specs

If you're looking for an affordable iPhone alternative, the Oppo R17 has you sorted.

Fans of the Apple school of design don't have it cheap. The sleek and simple design of the iPhone comes at a steep premium compared to similar smartphones from the Android side of the market, and Apple seems fiercely reluctant to tarnish its brand by selling lower-cost iPhone handsets that sacrifice a few high-end features for the sake of affordability.

This is where Chinese electronics brand Oppo comes in. The company has made a name for itself by applying Apple's design ethos to Android smartphones, producing stylish handsets that sport many of the iPhone's key features without the astronomical price tag.

Latest in this line of iPhone alternatives is the Oppo R17, a handset with its sights set firmly on the Apple iPhone XR. While it's not quite as powerful or feature-packed as its Apple counterpart, the R17 is a formidable high-end smartphone that delivers an iPhone-like experience at a price that won't leave your bank account as dry as the Sahara.

Design

• Edge-to-edge screen provides plenty of real estate for videos and games.
• ColorOS remains as close to iOS on Android as you're going to get.

• Read more on the Oppo R17's design

  

  Like Apple, Oppo puts a lot of stock in the style of its smartphones. The design of the Oppo R17 highlights this. Its slim, curved body captures the sleek look expected of a premium smartphone, while its range of distinct colour options help it stand out from the pack. The popular "notch" makes its appearance at the top of the R17's screen, though it's smaller than many notched phones which allows for more screen space.

  Speaking of the screen, the Oppo R17 opts for an all-face display that actually does stretch all the way from edge to edge. It's a big screen, too, measuring in at 6.4 inches with a not-quite-full-HD resolution of 1,520 x 720. Rather than shifting the fingerprint sensor to the backside of the phone, Oppo has incorporated it directly into the R17's display, allowing you to unlock the phone and authorise transactions by simply pressing your thumb to the screen. Another nice touch is Oppo's integration of Corning Gorilla Glass 6 to reinforce the screen against drops, bumps and scratches.

  Unfortunately, in taking cues from Apple, Oppo has decided to ditch the 3.5mm audio jack on the R17. Instead, it bundles in a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter for connecting traditional wired headphones via the R17's USB-C port. Alternatively, you can sync up a pair of wireless headphones thanks to the R17's support for Bluetooth 5.0. You've got 128GB of onboard storage to play around with, too, so there's plenty of room for carrying around your music collection or for downloading games to pass the time on your daily commute.

  Much of the iPhone's appeal stems from the streamlined nature of its iOS software. Oppo has sought to emulate this with its ColorOS software, a custom spin on the standard Android operating system. With the R17, ColorOS has hit version 5.2 and incorporates features like new gestures for quick navigation, full-screen multi-tasking and screen recording. As with other versions of ColorOS, the visual design will be familiar to anyone who has used iOS, with all your apps accessible from the home screen and core functions handled by built-in apps for the sake of simplicity. Those looking for the deep customisation options of stock Android may find this a little restrictive, but it makes for an experience much more in-line with the iPhone.

Camera

• 25MP front-facing camera allows for seriously sharp selfies.
• Beauty Mode makes it easy to tweak and touch-up photos on the fly.

• Read more on the Oppo R17's camera

  

  To compete in the premium smartphone space these days, a phone needs to pack serious camera hardware. The Oppo R17 doesn't disappoint here, serving up a dual-array camera at the rear with a 16MP primary sensor plus a 5MP secondary sensor for enhanced depth and clarity. These sensors feature apertures of f/1.7 and f/2.4 respectively, with the former tuned for performance in low-light situations.

  Selfie-lovers benefit from even higher fidelity thanks to the 25MP sensor at the front of the R17. Not only that, Oppo's AI-powered Beauty Mode makes its return, incorporating features like dynamic face slimming, virtual makeup and other image-enhancing techniques. And because it's all driven by artificial intelligence, it's able to learn from the photos you take and the settings you tweak so that it can better match your needs in the future.

  Taken as a whole, the Oppo R17's cameras should have no trouble delivering top-quality photos under most conditions, even if you're not the most experienced photographer this side of Instagram.

Performance

• Snapdragon 670 delivers a smart balance of power and price.
• 6GB of RAM is plenty for gaming and multi-tasking.

• Read more on the Oppo R17's performance

  To undercut the steep premium of Apple's iPhones, not to mention the vast majority of other Android-based high-end smartphones on the market, you have to make a few compromises. Oppo plays it smart here, equipping the R17 with a relatively affordable yet still capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor.

  Compared to the Snapdragon 800 series chips found in the likes of the Google Pixel 3 and Huawei Mate 20 or Apple's custom Bionic processors, the Snapdragon 670 may seem somewhat underpowered, but in reality it's likely most people wouldn't notice the difference even in a side-by-side test. Pegged at roughly 15% faster than the already-solid Snapdragon 660 chip, the Snapdragon 670 packs more than enough power to handle heavy-duty phone activities like gaming, multi-tasking and high-resolution video capture.

  Combine this with the R17's 6GB of RAM and you've got yourself a highly-capable smartphone that should deliver a snappy and responsive experience no matter what you throw at it.

Battery

• 3,500mAh battery should survive a full day even under heavy use.
• VOOC flash charging is both swift and safe.

• Read more on the Oppo R17's battery

  At 6.4 inches, the Oppo R17 has a whole lot of screen to light up. That's going to take a serious toll on battery life, so it's no surprise that Oppo has crammed a hefty 3,500mAh battery into the R17's slim frame. For comparison, 3,500mAh is the same capacity as Samsung packed into the Samsung Galaxy S8+, a phone that topped our battery life tests back when we reviewed it.

  The Galaxy S8+ is a little smaller than the Oppo R17 at 6.2 inches, but its processor is decidedly more power-hungry, so it's still a solid benchmark for what you can expect to get out of the R17. That means all-day battery life is pretty much a given, even under heavy use.

  Charging the Oppo R17 is equally convenient thanks to its support for VOOC flash charging. When using the included charger, this allows for delivery of two hours' worth of talk time in just five minutes. If safety is your concern, you'll be glad to know that the VOOC charger monitors the charging process and adjusts voltages to avoid damaging the battery or the phone.

Pricing and availability

Oppo R17

The affordable iPhone alternative

By making smart trade-offs, the Oppo R17 delivers Apple appeal at a price the average person can actually afford.

Buy Now

• The Oppo R17 is available from The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi and Officeworks, as well as on contract through Vodafone.