Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro vs OPPO F3 Specs Comparison Review, Price Fight in the Philippines

The Korean Giant's 2017 mid-level powerhouse release Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro is now up for pre-order in the Philippines and will officially become available in stores across the country come July 15, 2017. Once that model lands, it will go head to head with the very popular OPPO F3 Selfie Expert, which is the best-selling upper midrange smartphone in the Philippines for the first half of 2017.

For those who are currently trying to decide which of these two to get with their Php 15,990, which is the exact official suggested retail price of either models, I made this blog entry for you.

To make it easier for all of us to spot the key differences between these two midrange selfie-centric handsets, let's check out the TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specifications Comparison Table below:

Dimensions

OPPO F3 measures 153.3 x 75.2 x 7.3 mm while Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro has dimensions of 152.4 x 74.7 x 7.9 mm. OPPO's phone is slimmer while the Samsung's offering has a smaller footprint -- both by a bit. I'd say they're pretty even in this department.

Design and Construction

Both handsets flaunt a real metal shell and an overall aesthetic that's frankly reminiscent of the Apple iPhone. Which one looks better? It depends on the user's preference. Though, I want to note that the J7 Pro does have a unique looking U-shape antenna band design at the back, which - for me - makes it appear more interesting.

Display Quality

OPPO F3 and Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro both have similar 5.5-inch screen with Full HD resolution. In terms of size and pixel density (clarity), they're practically the same. Make makes them different is the display type. The Galaxy release feature's Samsung's very own SuperAMOLED display while the OPPO handset has IPS. Both look good in various viewing angles but SuperAMOLED has more vibrant colors with greater saturation while IPS shows more realistic hues, which some consumers might prefer.

Rear Camera

On paper, this is an area where the Galaxy J7 Pro can have clear superiority over its rival largely because of its 13 MegaPixel PDAF camera's very wide f/1.7 aperture, which allows it to perform very well in low light conditions. I'd love to try the camera first, though, to confirm this since software is also essential in boosting a cameraphone's low light capabilities.

Front-Facing Selfie Camera

The key-selling point of the OPPO F3 is its Dual Front-Facing Camera module which is comprised of a 16 MegaPixel autofocus f/2.0 lens plus an 8 MegaPixel fixed focus wide-angle f/2.4 optic; A Set-up that comes in handy for taking both standard selfies and groufies. Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro, on the other hand, has a 13 MegaPixel f/1.9 front cam with Soft LED flash that boosts its performance in low to zero lighting conditions. While I think both phones have stellar Beautification Modes for selfies, I personally believe OPPO F3 would be a finer choice for users who particularly enjoy taking photos of themselves alone or with their friends and loved ones; This is largely because of the Dual Camera module makes the Chinese handset maker's phone more flexible for this purpose. Also, it has bright screen flash which can somehow compensate for a lack of a Soft LED front-flash.

Internal Hardware and Gaming Performance

Apart from the selfie-camera set-up, this is an area where OPPO F3 is obviously superior to the Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro. The Chinese model's innards include the 64-Bit Octa Core ARM Cortex A53 based MediaTek MT6750T processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of expandable storage. In comparison, the Korean release has a 64-Bit Octa Core ARM Cortex A53 based Exynos 7870 Octa chipset and just 3GB of RAM plus 32GB of expandable storage. I don't have to tell you which one would give you smoother multitasking experience and more storage space for your files. Also, OPPO F3 - on paper - should be able to deliver better 3D gaming performance with its more powerful Mali-T860 MP2 GPU versus just Mali-T830 MP2 inside the Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro.

Battery Size

The Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro is the winner in this department - albeit not by much - as it has a 3,600 mAh Li-Ion battery versus just 3,200 mAh powering the OPPO F3. What's interesting to find out, though, is if J7 Pro can indeed last longer with regular use. We have to remember that uptime is also a function of the processor's energy efficiency apart from the battery capacity.

Notable Similar Features

Both handsets are equipped with a Fingerprint Scanner for quickly unlocking the interface with but a touch of a finger, a dedicated microSD card slot so the user won't have to sacrifice Dual SIM capability to get more storage space, Full HD 30fps video recorder, and 4G LTE support.

So based on their specs alone, which handset is a better purchase at Php 15,990?

It's a mixed bag, really. Studying their specs sheets, it would be hard to say which model is clearly superior across the board compared to the other. Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro sports a rear camera with wider aperture that's supposed to perform better in low light plus it has a larger battery pack. On top of that, some users might prefer its brilliant SuperAMOLED display over IPS. But we also have to consider that OPPO F3 has a Dual Front Facing camera, which should be more powerful and flexible in snapping selfies and groufies plus it has a far better set of internal hardware that ensures a butter smooth mobile experience. As a wrap-up, I'd say that it's good that the two phones have their own unique strengths and main selling points so the consumer just needs to weigh which specs and features are more important to him or her when making the big decision.

I hope you found this TechPinas Specs Comparison Review helpful. If you did, kindly share this entry with your friends on social media so they can benefit from it too. Thanks!

OPPO is PH's Best-Selling Php 15,000 to Php 20,000 Smartphone Brand - GFK

Despite stiff competition coming from other international smartphone brands, Chinese handset company OPPO Mobile retains its position as the leading upper midrange handset vendor by a large margin -- enough for the brand to still be second most profilic phone seller in the Philippines currently.

Based on a study done by GFK Philippines during the earlier part of this year (the results of which were published on the research agency's May 2017 report), the popular OPPO F3 has emerged as the Philippines' No.1 smartphone in the Php 15,000 to Php 20,000 price bracket with an overwhelming 48.5% market share.

The upper midrange model OPPO F3 became an instant success when 22,000 unit of which were sold within the first three days of its availability last May 2017.

More: OPPO F3 Philippines

Hot on the heels of OPPO F1s' overwhelming market performance in 2016 and earlier this year, OPPO F3 was able to likewise capture the fancy of Pinoy consumers with its selfie-centric features, great design, more than decent set of internal hardware, and fairly affordable price tag.

According to Mr. Stephen Cheng - OPPO Philippines Brand Marketing Manager, "The OPPO F3 is a well-received smartphone since the beginning, our competitive package, sleek design and trending dual selfie camera setup are the reasons why it is successful."

With the success of OPPO F3 and the stellar sales of the company's other handset models, OPPO was able to remain as the Philippines #2 best-selling smartphone brand for the first half of 2017.

Last June 16, 2017, the Chinese handset maker released the OPPO F3 Black edition, which catered to the taste of consumers who are looking for other 'elegant yet subdued' color options.

More: OPPO F3 Black Edition

The OPPO F3 is available at all OPPO Concept Stores and Partner Retail Outlets across the Philippines for a special discounted price of Php 15,990 via the brand's generous Back-to-School Promo, which will run until July 31, 2017. Retail units come with a pre-installed screen protector as well as a soft-transparent jelly case.

Best Gadget Gifts for Moms That You Can Buy in the Philippines

Are you planning to give your techy mom a cool gadget gift this Mother's Day? This post for you.

My mom is pretty techie herself. She loves playing casual games and snapping groufies with me and my younger brother using her smartphone. In fact, I think I got my love of gadgets from her -- or is it the other way around? Hmm. Anyway, like most of you, I'm now also trying to choose which new electronic items I should give her as present on this special day. I thought I'd share this list with you for inspiration.

1. Beautiful New Smartphone with Good Front Cam for Selfies and Powerful Rear Camera That Performs Well in Low Light

These days, smartphones - especially those in the upper midrange to high-end price brackets - can already work as a digital camera substitute. If your mom also loves taking photos of food or landscape and even selfies, you might want to give her a new cameraphone that she'd be proud to carry around whether at home, in the office, or when she's with you or her friends. My current recommendation for this is the OPPO F3, which sells in the Philippines for Php 16,990. I'm sure she'll love the Dual Front-Facing Camera feature with secondary wide-angle lens for great groufie shots.

2. A Sleek and Light Ultrabook That's Easy To Carry Around

As empowered women, our moms take on many roles. If your mom has a career that requires her to work on documents or to be online regularly, you might want to get her a slim and powerful laptop that she can easily travel with. Right now, my favorite ultrabook is the Php 69,990 Acer Swift 7, which still holds the record as the Thinnest Laptop in the World Today.

3. A Posh and Classy Fitness Tracker

Help your mom stay active and healthy by giving her a Fitness Tracker. My mom recently told me that my Fitbit Blaze looks amazing so I'm now thinking of getting her a Fitbit Alta HR, which is just as reliable but more feminine looking and more affordable at just Php 8,490.

4. A High-Capacity Powerbank with Extra Function

Many powerbanks with 10,000 mAh capacity are now flooding the market. If you're planning to give one to your mom, then I would suggest picking a model that has an extra functionality just to make her feel more special. For instance, you can choose the Php 995 Jumpu Duo that already has built-in microUSB and Lightning cables so your mom won't have to carry those wires separately.

You might also want to check out Jaguar Powerbank with Large LED Torchlight, which is available at Kimstore for just Php 550, as well the Asus ZenPower 2 with Flashlight that goes for Php 750 at some gadget shops in malls. Our moms are the light of our lives and I'm sure that they'll appreciate having any of these two powerbanks in their bags or pouches.

5. Cute, Colorful Earphones with Good Sound Quality

My mom loves watching music videos and TV series on her smartphone so I thought of getting this colorful Japan-made pair for her. I got it at Elecom for only Php 900 and what's nice is that its sound quality is already comparable to that of Apple Earpods, which is more expensive, and it already has tangle-resistant flat wires, four pairs of ear caps, and it even comes with a free cord keeper! Sweet, right?

So there you have it! For me, these are the best gadgets that we can give our moms this year. Do you have additional recommendations or suggestions? Feel free to to share them with us via our Facebook comments section below. Thanks!

OPPO F3 Philippines Price, Specs, Official Release Date in the Philippines

I've just arrived home from the official launch of OPPO F3 in the Philippine held at the Grand Ballroom of Conrad Hotel Manila earlier this evening, May 4, 2017.

Apart from unveiling the much awaited selfie-centric midrange handset at the event, the Chinese handset maker also took the opportunity to introduce their latest celebrity endorsers and influencers.

Pinoy celebs who are now promoting OPPO handsets include Sarah Geronimo, Alden Richards, Robi Domingo, Gretchen Ho, Ronnie Alonte, Ruru Madrid, Rocco Nacino, Ella Cruz, Kris Bernal, and Joshua Garcia, Jeron Teng, among others.

To put it simply, OPPO F3 is the smaller and more affordable version of the best-selling OPPO F3 Plus released in April 2017. For whereas F3 Plus sports a larger 6-inch display and sells for Php 23,990, this new release sports a smaller 5.5-inch Full HD IPS screen and dons an official SRP of just Php 16,990.

The OPPO F3 shares many similarities with its larger sibling -- two of which are its svelte form factor and metal-clad enclosure, which work together to give this model an air of understated elegance and corporate sophistication.

Frankly, just like the extremely popular OPPO F1s and F3 Plus, OPPO F3 looks like the iPhone 6s when viewed from some angles, which is certainly not a bad thing when we talk about aesthetics.

Nothing at the top panel but a pinhole for one of the microphones. I like it; Neat.

The microUSB 2.0 port, 3.5mm combo jack, the other microphone, and loud speaker are all located at the rear of the handset.

On the right panel, you'll find the power button and the tray for the Dual nanoSIM slots and the dedicated microSD memory expansion slot.

At the back, OPPO F3 sports a 13 MegaPixel autofocus camera with f/2.2 aperture, LED flash, and 1.12 µm pixel size. I got to play with this shooter at the exhibit area and I'd say that it focuses on subjects fast - thanks to PDAF - and performs relatively well indoors.

Just like the OPPO F3 Plus, the main selling point of the OPPO F3 is its Dual Front-Facing Selfie Camera module, which is made up of a 16MP f/2.0 optic for standard selfie shots plus a secondary 8MP f/2.4 wide-angle lens for groufies.

If you enjoy taking groufies with your family and friends, you're sure to love this feature!

The two optics also work together to add interesting bokeh and double exposure effects on selfies to make them look even more visually pleasing.

Under the hood, OPPO F3 runs its Color OS 3.0 flavored Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with a 64-Bit Octa Core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 and Mali-T860MP2 GPU based Mediatek MT6750T chipset, has 4GB of RAM for multitasking, and comes with 64GB of expandable storage; A decent set of internal handset for a 2017 Android smartphone in this price echelon.

According to Mr. Stephen Cheng, OPPO Philippines' Brand Marketing Manager, "We at OPPO always strive to reinvent the mobile experience, and the release of the F3 reflects our relentless passion for even better smartphone photography. Through our continued innovation, we hope to cement our brand’s position as the leading camera phone in the industry." He added, "Our latest Group Selfie Expert is a total package that comes at an affordable price. With its combined features from the front and back cameras to the aesthetics and battery life (from a rather large 3,200 mAh pack), the F3 holds great potential in taking the groufie trend to new heights."

OPPO F3 will be available at all OPPO Concept Stores and official dealers across the Philippines starting on May 13, 2017. Budget-conscious consumers may opt to purchase the phone via installment through Home Credit.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)Name : OPPO F3
Type : Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category : Upper Midrange
Dimensions : 153.3 x 75.2 x 7.3 mm
Weight : 153 grams
Available Colors : Gold, Rose Gold
Operating System : Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Color OS 3.0
Display : 5.5 inches (~72.3% screen-to-body ratio), 1080 x 1920 pixels (~401 ppi pixel density), IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 2.5D Curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Processor : 64-Bit Octa Core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53, Mali-T860MP2 GPU, Mediatek MT6750T chipset
RAM : 4GB RAM
Internal Storage : 64GB ROM, expandable via dedicated microSD card slot supporting up to 256GB
Camera : Back: 13 MegaPixels, f/2.2 aperture, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), LED flash, 1/3" sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size
Front: Dual Camera Module = 16 MegaPixels (1/3.1" sensor size, f/2.0) + 8 MegaPixels, f/2.4
Video Capture : Rear: Full HD 30 frames per second, Front: Full HD 1080p 30 frames per second
Audio and Video Playback : MP3, WAV, eAAC+, FLAC, MP4, H.264
Ports : microUSB 2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1 with A2DP, EDR, 3G HSPA+; 4G LTE Cat4
GPS : A-GPS
FM Radio : No
Sensors : Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity, Gyroscope, Fingerprint Scanner
Network : 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 and SIM 2,
3G HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100
4G LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
SIM Card Type : Dual nanoSIM
Battery : Non-removable 3,200 mAh Li-Ion battery
Uptime : TBD
Value-Added Features : Dual Selfie and Groufie Camera Set-up, Color OS features, Premium Build
Announcement : Philippines - May 4, 2017
Availability : Philippines - May 13, 2017
Price : Official SRP in the Philippines - Php 16,990

OPPO F3 Specs, Teased! May 4, 2017 Launch in the Philippines, Confirmed!

OPPO Philippines has just confirmed the final date for the media launch of the 2017 follow-up to the best-selling OPPO F1 from early 2016.

On May 4, 2017, the Chinese handset maker will formally unveil the new OPPO F3, which is expected to be more affordable the popular OPPO F3 Plus all while still sporting a number of compelling features and having a solid set of technical specifications.

Over the past few days, the company had released a few digital posters on social media that gave OPPO fans an idea about the key specs and features of this upcoming midrange Android smartphone.

The most exciting main selling-point teased is OPPO F3's Dual Front Facing camera module, which incorporates a 16 MegaPixel optic plus a wide-angle lens for Group Selfies.

OPPO F3 will be the second handset by the company to have a Dual Front Cam set-up for 'Groufies', following OPPO F3 Plus.

One of the things about mid-level and flagship OPPO smartphones that made them a big hit in the Philippines is that have a real metal shell. This feature allowed these devices to be both elegant and durable. And what's good is that, just like its predecessors, the OPPO F3 will also have a finely crafted and beautifully detailed sleek metal body.

In terms of display, internal hardware, and battery size, OPPO F3 definitely represents a clear upgrade coming from the OPPO F1.

Whereas the older model only had a 5-inch HD screen, this new one will have a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS panel, which is not only bigger but is also clearer, delivering more crisp details.

Last year, OPPO F1 had 3GB of RAM for multitasking and only 16GB of internal storage. This year, OPPO F3 will have 4GB of RAM and - get this - 64GB of ROM!

And finally, compared to OPPO F1 that was powered by a 2,500 mAh non-removable battery, the OPPO F3 now had a larger 3,200 mAh pack, which is expected to deliver longer uptime with regular use.

Now, as for official pricing details, we don't have word on that yet. I'm personally expecting this model to be a bit more expensive than the OPPO F1s 4GB version, which should put the fresh release in the price range of Php 15,000 to 16,000 -- but that's just my guesstimate. Like you, I'm also hoping that it would be more affordable. Anyway, we'll know the SRP for sure on the above-mentioned date -- so stay tuned!

OPPO F3 and F3 Plus, To Be Launched in the Philippines on March 23, 2017

Great news for OPPO fans not just in the Philippines but all around the world!

The leading smartphone vendor in China and the second best-selling handset brand here in Pinas is just about ready to launch the much awaited follow-up to the very popular OPPO F1 and F1 Plus Selfie Expert Android phone models.

As yet, we know very little about the upcoming OPPO F3 and F3 Plus -- other than the fact that their local launch date is on March 23, 2017 and that at least one of them will have a Dual Selfie Camera set-up in front.

Based on the image above, it appears that the Dual Selfie Cam module will allow the user to take better wide-angle selfies so they can easily include their friends and loved ones in their selfies. Nice, eh?

According to an official email that I got from our friends at OPPO Philippines, the OPPO F3 Plus will simultaneously debut next Thursday - March 23 - in five key markets, including India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and our very own. In line with this, a large billboard has been displayed at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, as well as other landmark buildings in Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and even in Times Square in New York.

From F1 to F3? Why is OPPO skipping F2? Actually, I'm also wondering -- especially since the number 2 is a pretty auspicious or lucky number in Chinese culture. I'll have to personally ask our friends from OPPO about this interesting twist in their product nomenclature. Remind me on social media, if you will.