Oppo N1 - Cyanogenmod, Sanctioned

Overview

Oppo is a Chinese-based handset manufacturer and a relatively new player in the international smartphone arena. While it has been manufacturing and releasing phones in China since 2008, it is only now starting to make waves internationally with the release of the N1, Oppo's 5.9-inch flagship smartphone, which launches in Singapore today for S$769.

The N1 includes a number of unique features, such as a swiveling 13MP camera, which can be rotated to the front of the phone for high-quality selfies, and an interesting rear touchpad, but what truly caught the attention of the world is its official support for Cyanogenmod. Cyanogenmod is a very well known variant of Android OS that's popular with power Android users. Yet, there is always the issue of voiding the phone’s warranty, whenever one wants to flash Cyanogenmod onto a device. The Oppo N1 is the first device which allows users to officially choose between Oppo’s own ColorOS or Cyanogenmod - all without voiding the warranty.

With all of the N1's unique features, will Oppo be able to win the hearts of Android users?

Before we start, here's a quick look at the N1's specs:

Design

The Oppo N1 is a huge phone, or to be more accurate, a "phablet". The phone sports a matte white, polycarbonate (plastic) unibody exterior, with chrome-colored accents lining the perimeter that actually is part of the phone's metal aluminium alloy inner frame.

Three capacitive buttons (menu, home, and back) are located at the bottom of the phone, outside of the usable screen area. The  The loudspeaker, headphone jack, and micro-USB port are all located at the bottom of the phone. Despite the plastic build, the N1 exudes a classy, elegant feel, and we liked the matte finish. One has to be careful with stains though, as they cannot be easily cleaned from the white finish.

The N1 weighs 213g, which makes it quite a bit heavier than other phablets in the market, such as the 168g Galaxy Note 3 and 177g LG G Flex. In fact, it even feels heavier than the 212g Sony Xperia Z Ultra, even though they are approximately the same weight. Despite this, we didn't feel that the weight of the phone was much of a burden in the pocket, rather, it gives the user, particularly those with butter fingers, a sturdy feel, as opposed to the flimsy feel that can be experienced with some of the lighter phones.

As the Oppo N1 is of a unibody build, the battery is non-removable. The micro-SIM card is inserted through a SIM card tray, which is located at the side of the phone and requires a sharp pin for ejection. Fortunately, the package comes with a SIM tray ejector, thus new users can set up their phones right out of the box.

Display

The Oppo N1 sports a 5.9-inch Full-HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution IPS display, yielding a screen density of 373 ppi. With such a high screen density, coupled with good viewing angles, text and images are rendered in a very crisp manner, making reading on the Oppo N1 a pleasure.

Oppo has certainly spared no expense in the N1’s display. Colors are rendered very naturally and, while the blacks are not as great as some AMOLED displays, color are well balanced - not overly saturated, and not whitewashed, which makes viewing photos and videos an overall pleasant experience.

Storage

The Oppo N1 is manufactured with 16GB and 32GB internal storage versions, but the model that will retail locally is the 16GB edition. After taking into account system files, the device is left with about 13GB of user storage. Interestingly, the Oppo N1 further partitions this storage space into a 3GB 'internal storage' space, and the remaining 9GB as 'SD Card' space - reminiscent of how Android phones were back in 2011, when the latest Android OS was Gingerbread.

All of this points to one very disturbing fact: eventually, one has only about 3GB of space to install apps. As such, even if the processor is powerful enough to power graphics intensive games, what is the use when there is insufficient storage space to install them? Especially when you consider that some games can take up to 2GB of storage space.

Fortunately, you can choose where you would like apps to be installed by default. This option can be found at Settings > Storage > Preferred Install Location. Still, you would much rather if the file structure was modernized and the device sees one seamless storage area that can be used without concerns.

O-Touch

One interesting hardware feature on the N1 is its O-Touch trackpad. Located at the back of the phone, this functions somewhat similar to a trackpad on a notebook. The idea behind the O-Touch is to more easily facilitate one handed operation. Instead of holding the phone in one hand, and using your other hand to flick the display, you can now just swipe your finger down the back of the O-Touch to scroll through content. Unfortunately, using the O-Touch isn't that intuitive, and often results in some quirky results - for example, in Chrome, a flick sometimes causes the browser to switch to the next tab. For those who find O-Touch cumbersome, you can easily opt to deactivate it.

Scrolling quirks aside, the O-Touch does shine when it comes to taking selfies. In other phones, taking selfies can sometimes be a wrist-wrangling experience, as the shutter buttons are either located at the bottom of the display or, if you use the volume buttons, on the side of the phone. With the Oppo N1, one can configure the O-Touch to take a photo by pressing it, holding a while, and then releasing, allowing you to keep a firm grip on your phone. In this aspect, it's quite similar in functionality to the rear buttons of LG's G2 and G Flex smartphones.

The O-Touch can also be used as a shortcut to launch an app, as well as to auto-launch, record and send voice recordings over various popular SNS (social networking services) and IM (instant messaging) apps.

O-Click

One interesting accessory that is available for the N1 is Oppo's O-Click. When paired with the Oppo N1, its primary function is to act as a remote shutter for the camera. This is especially useful if you want to take a group photo together and a selfie won't include everyone in the shot.

You can also use the O-Click as a proximity check device: should the N1 be taken out of the specified range of the O-Click, the phone will ring at its loudest volume, which can be useful if someone tries to steal your phone, or if you just happen to misplace it somewhere.

The first 388 customers that purchase the N1 locally will get an O-Click for free. After that it will be sold separately for about S$50.

Interchanging OS

What does interchanging OS mean? A primer: Android OS, being open source, is open to modification. Many modified versions are available on the web, with Cyanogenmod being most popular. Handset manufacturers usually curate their own version. The Oppo N1, for example, ships with ColorOS, which is Oppo’s take on Android OS.

After incorporating as a company, Cyanogenmod, seeking to further legitimize their OS customization efforts, collaborated with Oppo to officially offer users an option to load Cyanogenmod into Oppo N1, without voiding the warranty.

As such, the N1 is currently the only smartphone with two official OSes: Oppo’s own ColorOS, which is based on Android 4.2, and Cyanogenmod 10.2 (CM10.2), which is based on Android 4.3. Savvy users may find delight in knowing that this version of CM10.2 has passed the Google compatibility test, and thus includes Google Apps, eliminating the need to flash another "Gapps" package. You will of course have to flash the phone's ROM with the appropriate package as the only difference with the Oppo N1 is that it allows you to make the switch officially as you feel fit.

ColorOS

ColorOS can be summed up in one word: Colorful. As a means to ease new users in using an Android phone, it presents a playful user interface. The ColorOS comes preinstalled with a number of useful apps, such as Kingsoft Office. There are also other functions like App Backup, Guest Mode, Permissions Monitor, and more:

App Encryption

Want to show off your new Oppo N1 to your friends, yet do not want them to stray and open your Facebook app? With App Encryption, one can set a passcode on the app, such that whenever one tries to access the prescribed app, one will need to input the passcode.

Permissions Monitor

To a savvy user, this is an important feature. Ever wondered which app is allowed to send SMS? With this, one can see the list of apps that requested a particular Android permission.

Misoperation prevention

For those that are not in the habit of setting a passcode on their phones, whenever the lockscreen gets accidentally unlocked in the bag, or in the pocket, the Oppo N1 automatically prevents the main launcher from displaying. This is done through a check in the proximity sensor; should the phone be in a pocket, the sensor will be covered.

Cyanogenmod

For those who prefer to have an Android experience closer to stock, look no further than Cyanogenmod.

OS tinkerers will have a field day experimenting with the Cyanogenmod version of the Oppo N1. One interesting function, shown only after unlocking Developer Settings, is the ability to tweak CPU performance. Unfortunately, the maximum CPU speed is still capped at the phone’s rated speed of 1700MHz, and therefore cannot be overclocked.

Flashing Cyanogenmod does come with some sacrifice; most of the additional bells and whistles that you can find in ColorOS will no longer be there. Many camera functions will also be missing, especially the burst mode. One will then have to rely on getting third party apps to replace those missing functions.

Fortunately, O-Touch and O-Click still work in Cyanogenmod, however, we've noticed that various O-Touch gestures may differ from that of ColorOS. For one, the O-Touch gesture to trigger a photo is to double tap in Cyanogenmod, while in ColorOS, the gesture is to hold and release. 

The frustrating thing about the O-Touch function in Cyanogenmod is that unlike ColorOS, the option to enable this function is hidden deep within Settings. In fact, it is hidden under Language and Input settings - which seriously does not make sense and isn't intuitive. The function is disabled by default, henceforth Cyanogenmod users who want to play with O-Touch, you now know where to find the option.

ColorOS or Cyanogenmod?

To a casual user who just wants to utilize all the fun features of the phone, without the hassle of downloading additional launchers or utility apps, ColorOS will certainly be the way to go. Cyanogenmod is more suited to users who have previously flashed and used Cyanogenmod OS on other phones, liked it, and will want to relive the same experience in the Oppo N1.

Swivelling Camera

Perhaps what readily distinguishes the Oppo N1 from other Android smartphones is its 206-degree swiveling 13MP camera. Instead of using some low resolution front facing sensor, now one can just swivel the camera unit, and take a full resolution selfie! The swivel snaps the camera in place, and auto orientates itself such that the image will not be upside down.

Of course, with the camera swivel, one can also take photos with the line of sight parallel to that of the phone’s length. While such a feature may look rather redundant to the average user, combined with its wide aperture, it actually eases certain forms of macro photography, such as below:

In terms of camera quality, the Oppo N1 does not disappoint, producing crisp and sharp images in bright daylight. Even in low-light areas, the images produced are still fairly good, thanks to the camera’s f/2 wide aperture.

For dark or night shots, the photos produced fare well against its competition of the same class. Even in a moving medium, in this example a subway train, it manages to capture details at an exposure time of 1/20s - definitely a far cry from standard DSLRs, but close to most high-range point and shoot compacts.

One letdown of the camera is that it takes too long to get a focus lock, sometimes even focusing inaccurately. For some shots, one has to retake two or three times in order to get the right focus.

There is also a major issue with the HDR function of the camera. When exposed to overly bright areas, the colours in the resulting HDR composition appears to be rendered incorrectly. This is probably a software issue that can be fixed in a future update.

Benchmarks

Despite being Oppo's flagship device, the N1 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor - a notch down from the Snapdragon 800 processor found commonly in many other brands’ flagship devices. Another rather unpleasant surprise is that the Oppo N1 comes only in 3G flavour. This is disappointing, especially where one will expect a recent high-end phone to be equipped with LTE support. In this review, we will be benchmarking the Oppo N1 against various other phablets including Samsung's Galaxy Note 3, Sony's Xperia Z Ultra, ASUS' Fonepad Note 6, and LG's G Flex.

To see if either OS holds a performance advantage, we'll also be benchmarking the N1 on Oppo's own ColorOS, as well as the Cyanogenmod variant.

Sunspider Javascript

SunSpider Javascript measures the browsing performance of a device. It not only takes into consideration the underlying hardware performance, but also assesses how optimized a particular platform is at delivering a high-speed web browsing experience. Curiously, Oppo N1's performance is one the worst of all the devices. What is interesting is that the Cyanogenmod edition of the Oppo N1 fares worse than its ColorOS version.

3DMark (2013)

Originally developed as a PC benchmarking tool, 3DMark is now expanded to support multiple platforms including Android OS. The Ice Storm benchmark is designed for smartphones, mobile devices and ARM architecture computers.

For an in-depth understanding of 3DMark for Android, do head over to our article, "3DMark - Android Device GPU Performance Review." In a nutshell, 3DMark consists of two test sections:

• 3DMark Ice Storm is an OpenGL ES 2.0 benchmark test that uses fixed off-screen rendering at 720p then scales the output to fit the native display resolution of your device. Ice Storm includes two graphics tests designed to stress the GPU performance of your device and a physics test to stress its CPU performance.
• 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme raises the off-screen rendering resolution to 1080p and uses higher quality textures and post-processing effects to create a more demanding load for the latest smartphones and tablets.
• 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited is used to make chip-to-chip comparisons of different chipsets, CPUs and GPUs without vertical sync, display resolution scaling and other operating system factors affecting the result.

As Ice Storm Extreme has already been maxed out by some of the devices listed, only Ice Storm Unlimited was conducted.

As you can see, the Oppo N1's 3DMark performance is considered rather mid-range. Its performance in Cyanogenmod is better than that of Oppo N1's default ColorOS. Perhaps it has to do with the better optimization that Cyanogenmod has done for Oppo N1.

Quadrant

Quadrant evaluates a device's CPU, memory, I/O and 3D graphics performance. Once again, it can be seen that the N1's performance can be considered only mid-range, falling far behind the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800-equipped devices. Even when compared to another well known SnapDragon 600 equipped device like the Samsung Galaxy S4, Oppo's performance is far behind.

Battery Life

With a 3610 mAh capacity battery, how does the N1 fare against other current phablets? A battery life test was conducted, using the following set-up:

• Wi-Fi on, Cellular network off
• Brightness and speaker volume at maximum
• 720p video looped continuously

The N1's battery life is rather astonishing. Despite its 5.9-inch screen, it yielded a 667 minutes (or 11 hours) of battery life on the ColorOS variant, with its Cyanogenmod variant coming close. While it can't match the Note 3, it's better than the LG G Flex, keeping in mind that N1's screen resolution is Full-HD, while the G Flex is 1280x720 pixels. It's also far better than the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and a host of other phablets we've tested previously.

When it comes to the portability of the device, we've prepared a portability index where each device is assessed on its ability to balance battery mileage against its size and mass. Judging by the outlook in the below graph, the Oppo N1 seems to fare reasonably despite its heft. Once more, you can compare how it fares with older phablets and it does stay ahead of them.

Conclusion

The Oppo N1 will certainly appeal to smartphone photography buffs, particularly bloggers and "Instagrammers" who take many selfies. Its 206-degree 13MP swivel camera allows selfies to be taken in full resolution, and opens the phone to many new applications and photography angles. In addition, the O-Click accessory is a good companion to the phone, and can complement the N1’s good photography features.

However, the major concern is its price, coupled with the lack of LTE connectivity support. At a recommended retail price of S$769, Oppo will find it difficult to convince smartphone upgraders of the N1's proposition, an upper mid-range performance phone with neither LTE, nor SD card storage expansion and limited storage space. At the same price point, one can easily buy a Sony Xperia Z Ultra, or an LG G2, all with LTE and expandable storage on board. Yes, those are street prices (as can be seen here and here) and not the official retail prices, but having said that, Oppo plans to hold a close grip on their phone prices in retail channels. What this means, is that the Oppo will go head-to-head with the favorable street prices of the competing phone models, which doesn't put it it in a strong position.

While the Oppo N1 allows users a choice between its own OS, or Cyanogenmod, without breaking warranty, whether such a choice will actually be enough to persuade tinkerers to adopt Oppo is doubtful. Many tinkerers first got to know Cyanogenmod, precisely by risking voiding warranty of their phones and flashing Cyanogenmod on it. This seems to suggest that warranty is a non-issue to such users, since the same tinkerers dared to make such a bold step. As such, while the interchangeable OS may be an interesting feature, it's probably not enough to overlook N1's steep price and middling performance. Ultimately, performance and features will still be the top priority for any power user.

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