Oppo F23 5G Review: Performance, style and a dose of Nomophobia vaccine

Oppo F23 5G Review: Oppo F23 5G stands out with several factors like 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of security updates, good battery life - thanks to a 6nm chip - and decent camera performance.

The device boots on ColorOS 13.1 based on Android 13. Photo credit: Raghwendra Shukla

Oppo F23 5G Review: Oppo has added one more device to its popular F series - Oppo F23 5G. Oppo's F series is well-known for its mid-range smartphones with a unique combination of performance and style. The smartphone is available only in 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variants and is priced at Rs 24,999. The company has also stated that this smartphone can help people tackle Nomophobia or low-battery anxiety by providing all-day battery backup with a single charge. While all these specs look promising on paper, let's find out how it performs in real-world usage.

Oppo F23 5G Review: Design

Oppo F23 5G is available in two colour variants - Bold Gold and Cool Black, I am using the former one as a review unit. The smartphone has a triple-camera setup that is packed inside two large rings which are protruding from the body of the device, making it wobble when kept on a flat surface. The body of the smartphone is of plastic but the Oppo Glow design makes it look premium. Also, the rear surface of the phone is fingerprint-proof. The frame too is of plastic but has been given an aluminium-like finish. While it has a flat frame, the 3D curved back cover makes Oppo F23 comfortable to hold.

On the right side is the power button which doubles up as a fingerprint sensor and is quite responsive. SIM tray and volume rockers are on the left. On the bottom end, you will get a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microphone and a speaker grille. There's one more speaker on the top. On the front, you will have a punch-hole display which encompasses the selfie camera.

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Oppo F23 5G Review: Display

The smartphone has a 6.72-inch LTPS LCD display and has thin bezels except for the chin. It offers a 91.4 per cent screen-to-body ratio, FHD+ resolution and a peak brightness of 680nits. The best thing about the display is that it offers a refresh rate of 120Hz. This makes navigating through the display very smooth and the experience of content consumption on the smartphone is quite good. The display is vibrant and offers a good level of contrast. What adds to it is the presence of the dual stereo speaker, which is loud enough and totally immersive. Also, Oppo F23 comes with Ultra Volume Mode 2.0 which boosts the level of sound by 200 per cent. Playing video games on this smartphone is also fun.

Oppo F23 5G Review: Performance and software

Oppo F23 5G is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 system on chip (SoC) which is based on a 6nm fabrication process - making it more power-efficient, rather than more powerful. It has 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and can be extended by another 8GB by borrowing from device storage. It has 256GB UFS 3.1 internal storage and can be expanded up to 1TB through a dedicated MicroSD card slot. Overall, you can be multitasking on this device with ease and it won't stutter much. The device won't lag even if you are playing heavy games like Asphalt 9.

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The device boots on ColorOS 13.1 based on Android 13. ColorOS offers a host of customisation but at the same time comes with lots of bloatware. The good thing is that most of them can be easily uninstalled from the device. The best part about Oppo F23 5G is that it promises 4 years of Android and 5 years of security updates, something that is only available in flagship smartphones.

Oppo F23 5G Review: Battery and charging

This is one area where Oppo claims to have worked really hard and promises to address the problem of nomophobia - the fear of being detached from your smartphone, especially triggered by dying batteries. The smartphone has a 5,000mAh battery and supports 67W fast charging, which the company claims can juice up the device from zero to 100 per cent in just 44 minutes. While the actual time varied during my usage, it was still very close to what it claims. On top of that, the company offers features like Battery Health Engine, Super Night-time standby mode and others that extend battery lifespan.

According to the company, the Battery Health Engine increases battery lifespan and supports 1600 charge cycles - making it more suitable for long-term usage.

Oppo F23 5G Review: Camera

The smartphone has a triple-camera setup at the rear with a 64MP AI primary sensor. It is paired with a 2MP depth and a 2MP microlens. For selfies, Oppo F23 has a 32MP sensor at the front. While the depth camera is not of much use, the microlens produces some amazing images, just like the main camera. The images are vivid with a decent amount of contrast. Portrait and night modes too work well and produce good-quality images. The selfie camera too clicks decent images and the skin tone looks natural. Portrait images have a decent amount of background blur. However, edge detection could have been better.

Oppo F23 5G Review: Verdict

While there are several options when it comes to mid-level smartphones, Oppo F23 5G stands out with several factors like 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of security updates, good battery life - thanks to a 6nm chip - and decent camera performance.

While the smartphone is priced at Rs 24,999, one can buy this at an even lower price by clubbing certain exchange offers and loyalty points. All these things make it one of the best smartphones for long-term usage in this price range.

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Oppo 5G Smartphones