The Oppo F series has been in India for more than 10 years. The tech firm recently celebrated a decade of its mid-range smartphone lineup in India by launching the new Oppo F35 series. Positioned as the “selfie expert”, the lineup’s focus has been clear from the start: affordable, value-oriented smartphones with industry-first selfie camera features. It all started in 2016 with the arrival of the Oppo F1 Plus, the first smartphone equipped with a 16-megapixel front camera.
With its popularity, many OEMs began focusing on selfie-capturing capabilities, making it one of the unique selling points of their offering. The latest lineup brings the Oppo F35 Pro 5G to India. Staying true to the essence of the first Oppo F1 series, the smartphone aims to deliver a great selfie-capturing experience, going even further than most flagships on the market. With a clear focus, the phone has a lot more in its armoury. But at a cost that’s notably higher than its predecessor. Should you consider buying it?
Oppo F35 Pro 5G Design and Display: The Display Upgrades Steal The Show
- Dimensions and weight – 162.6 x 77.6 x 8.4mm; 210g
- Durability – IP66 + IP68 + IP69 + IP69K ratings for dust and water resistance
- Colours – Sunset Orange, Twilight Brown, Wave Blue
- Display – 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED display; up to 144Hz
The Oppo F35 Pro 5G looks identical to the Oppo F33 Pro 5G, which was launched earlier this year. With a gap of mere months, the two iterations not looking far apart is not surprising. It sports a flat rear panel, with the Smile Curve Design camera module placed at the top. The camera island is made of glass, slightly raised from the rest of the panel. A glittery, sparkle-like effect sits under the glass. The company markets it as the Starry Sea element.
Oppo calls the horizontal deco the Smile Curve Design
My opinion of the deco design remains largely unchanged. It is polarising and not everyone’s cup of tea. Yet I can see how it might appeal to a younger audience. Moving slightly lower, the back panel is finished in matte, which repels fingerprints, smudges, and other unwanted eyesores. Depending on how the light falls, the panel creates a cloudy, shimmery, lava-like visual feel that is great to look at.
Brands taking risks with their designs are always welcome, especially when smartphone designs have become monotonous and look like a copy of a copy. The flat metal frame also brings the overall design together quite well, offering a decent in-hand feel. The Oppo F35 Pro 5G is larger and heavier than the Oppo F33 Pro 5G. Still, you don’t feel the added weight or heft. The power and volume buttons remain within easy reach, and the in-display fingerprint scanner is still placed too low.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G’s back panel changes colours depending on the light’s angle
The Oppo F35 Pro 5G is also 0.1mm thicker than its predecessor, but the marginal difference is barely noticeable. The phone comes in Sunset Orange, Twilight Brown, and Wave Blue. None of these shades is subtle. However, the brown finish blends better than the other two. I got to test the Sunset Orange option, which is the flashiest, most eye-catching, and most conspicuous. But if you liked the orange-crimson shade of the iPhone 17 Pro, the Sunset Orange is definitely worth considering.
Up front, the Oppo F35 Pro 5G now gets a 6.78-inch AMOLED display, larger than the 6.57-inch panel on its predecessor. The 1.5K resolution, higher 144Hz refresh rate, and deep blacks deliver a great content-consumption experience. The display is a clear upgrade over the one on the F33 Pro, not just in size and refresh rate, but also in quality.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G features a much better display than its predecessor
I watched the Guy Pearce-starrer Memento on Zee5 and Game of Thrones on Jio Hotstar. The scenes with darker settings and cooler blue hues look largely accurate and decent. For its price, the Oppo F35 Pro 5G is a good content consumption machine, which is rounded off well by its 300 percent volume boost option.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G Performance, Software: A Good Daily Driver
- Chipset – MediaTek Dimensity 7360 Max
- RAM and storage – 6GB + 128GB, 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB
- Software – Android 16-based ColorOS 16
In terms of performance, the Oppo F35 Pro 5G gets a clear upper hand over its recently released predecessor. The phone is powered by a more capable MediaTek Dimensity 7360 Max chipset. However, the base model gets only 6GB of RAM, compared to 8GB of RAM on the F33 Pro 5G. This reduces the value quotient a bit. The lack of 2GB of RAM could be aided by the memory swapping support for select multitasking scenarios, but it might not come in handy when you are running low on onboard storage.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G gets a notable performance upgrade
I tested the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which was sufficient for daily use. It also offers a noticeable performance boost over the F33 Pro 5G. Still, minute stutters occur here and there. Cold-starting apps also takes a few seconds, but fewer than the F33 Pro. I ran multiple synthetic benchmark tests to get a clearer, more quantitative picture, and here are the results.
| Benchmark | Oppo F35 Pro 5G | Oppo F33 Pro 5G | OnePlus Nord 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display Resolution | 1.5K | Full-HD+ | 1.5K |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 7360 (4nm) | MediaTek Dimensity 6360 Max (6nm) | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 (3nm) |
| AnTuTu v10/11 | 9,47,048 | 6,44,677 | 22,66,546 |
| PCMark Work Performance 3.0 | 8,557 | 9,032 | 12,132 |
| Geekbench 6 CPU Single Core | NA | 782 | 2,083 |
| Geekbench 6 CPU Multi Core | NA | 1,987 | 6,437 |
| Geekbench AI CPU (Quantized) | 2,093 | 1,074 | 3,760 |
| Geekbench AI GPU (Quantized) | 574 | 931 | 2,637 |
| 3DM Wild Life | 3,142 | 1,300 | Maxed Out |
| 3DM Wild Life Unlimited | 3,151 | FTR | 17,246 |
| 3DM Steel Nomad Light | 352 | 145 | 1,730 |
Gaming on the Oppo F35 Pro 5G remains largely the same. As expected, you can run arcade, lighter titles with ease. However, the overall experience drops noticeably with Asphalt Legends and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). Especially in Asphalt Legends, after a few introductory races, you’ll notice animation stutters and frame drops.
For day-to-day use, like navigation, videography, and photography, you will find barely any issues. It is ideal for casual users but definitely not for competitive gamers. The phone gets a little warm around the camera module during extended gaming, navigation, or videography. It was most noticeable when I recorded a 10-minute video during a jungle safari in Jim Corbett National Park on a relatively cold morning.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G ships with Oppo’s ColorOS 16.5
The Oppo F35 Pro 5G ships with ColorOS 16.5, which is based on Android 16. The software experience is the same as that with the F33 Pro 5G, which you can read here.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G Cameras: Selfies Are in Focus
- Rear camera – 50-megapixel (f/1.8) main + 8-megapixel (f/2.2)
- Selfie camera – 50-megapixel (f/2.0)
Here’s where things get interesting for the advertised selfie expert. The Oppo F35 Pro 5G gets a dual rear camera unit with a 50-megapixel main and an 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter. The primary camera does the job. It captures decent-looking pictures, ready for your Instagram profile. Daytime images look quite vibrant. It also offers decent dynamic range, especially for its price. Across scenes, the phone delivers consistent-looking images day in and day out.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G daylight camera performance
In portrait mode, the Oppo F35 Pro 5G gets the job done. It is much better than its predecessor, which produced artificial-looking images with smooth skin and bright skin tones. Oppo’s new F35 Pro 5G tries to iron out these issues and delivers more natural-looking skin tones. It is not perfect, but it is better.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G zoom and portrait samples
The 8-megapixel ultrawide camera should be reserved for specific scenarios, as it takes sub-par photos. The images seem quite noisy and lack detail. You can snap occasional group photos, but it is best to use it sparingly. Further, the Oppo F35 Pro 5G handles artificial-light flares quite well. Distortion is minimal, and you won’t be disappointed.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G low-light camera performance
Equipped with a 50-megapixel selfie camera, the Oppo F35 Pro 5G shines at taking great selfies. The images look rich in detail and largely noise-free. The sensor captures skin tones accurately. With sunlight falling on one side of the face, it defines darker and brightly lit areas well. Similarly, in portrait mode, the phone performs well and offers decent depth. While I am not sure about the Selfie Expert title, it is definitely a really capable device.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G selfie camera performance
Oppo F35 Pro 5G Battery: Lasts Forever
- Capacity – 8,000mAh
- Fast charging – 80W wired
- Charging Adapter – Included
Apart from the selfie sensor, one of the major highlights of the Oppo F35 Pro 5G is its battery and charging speed. The phone packs an 8,000mAh battery, which lasts almost forever. With Wi-Fi, 5G, Bluetooth, and location services on, I got about 8 to 9 hours of screen-on time with ease. You can play games, watch movies, use the camera, and still have juice left to scroll Reels at the end of the day.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G provides impressive battery life
This real-world performance showed up in the PC Mark Battery Life tests, where the Oppo F35 Pro 5G lasted 22 hours and 41 minutes. In terms of charging, the phone also performed really well. It charged 50 percent in 30 minutes, 92 percent in an hour, and charged fully in 1 hour 11 minutes.
Oppo F35 Pro 5G Verdict
The Oppo F35 Pro 5G, starting at Rs. 45,999, is definitely more expensive than its predecessor, especially with 6GB of RAM on the base model. Still, with an upgraded chipset, a much better display, a larger battery, faster charging, and a new selfie camera, the Oppo F35 Pro 5G justifies the premium over the F33 Pro.
If you recently bought the F33 Pro (review), you might want to keep it. However, if you have an older model, it is definitely worth upgrading. The OnePlus Nord 6 (review), with comparable battery life and charging support, decent camera performance, a better chipset, and a similar price, is also worth considering.
