A Quick Unadulterated Review of the Brand New Oppo R9s

If you’ve noticed the likes of Apple and digital darlings OnePlus slapping on an ‘S’ onto last year’s phone and calling it a day, and thought it didn’t really surprise you because you’d gotten accustomed to it… well,  for those with their eyes wide open this tendency to-not-even-try is fast becoming a mark of shame, to say the least.

It’s as though they imagine you’d be content with a few speed upgrades here, and a camera tweak there. It certainly isn’t enough to get phone geeks excited any more, now is it?

Let’s take a quick look at Oppo’s follow-up to the R9. It doesn’t take a geek to figure out that it falls into the same shame-faced category of just-a-little-better. But the rudimentary question is does the R9s actually shine on its own? Agreed, we see some thoughtful tweaks that pull it out of the shadow of its predecessor, but would you go shouting from the roof tops?

Awfully reminiscent of an iPhone, the R9s is slim and has a glinty, chamfered edge running around its 5.5 inch screen. Which, I’m sure you’ll agree, is typical of smartphones nowadays anyway.

There is a difference that stands out, though. You’ll spot it around the back. Even the thick antenna lines that Apple can’t hide on the iPhone have been split into three fine lines here. Arguably, a small detail, but it does add considerable elegance to the overall look of the phone, and means you don’t need a case or cover to hide the antenna line-scarred rear.

Needless to say, isn’t it SO obvious that by simply moving your thumb onto the home button the R9s more than reminds us of the iPhone 7! Quintessentially, it’s not actually a button. It’s more of a solid state one that hides a bizarre fast fingerprint sensor.


Anthony J. Namata
Freelance Creative Writer