Oppo F21 Pro is meant for those Oppo fans who mainly care about the phone’s camera performance, battery life, and design. The phone comes at a starting price of about €280 which approximately converts to $302. With all specifications considered, it feels overpriced. The phone’s sole variant has 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. The device has a triple card slot which is meant for two Nano-SIM cards and an SD one. It can support connections from 2G to 4G.
The lack of 5G connectivity is an obvious and a major con of owning this device. What it really shines in is the design. The phone comes in two colors, Cosmic Black, and Sunset Orange. The orange variant has a leather finish on the back, which gives the phone, a unique look and a premium in-hand feel. On the other hand, the black variant has the Oppo Glow design, which makes the back look glossy. Also, it gives a color-changing effect when you look at it from different angles and in diverse lighting conditions.
The two variants differ in terms of thickness as well. The orange and black variants measure 7.54 and 7.49 mm respectively. It is 159.9 high and 73.2 mm wide, though. Oppo F21 Pro is not only slim and lightweight but also IPX4 water-resistant. A unique aspect of this phone is that it has an RGB ring light around the camera that blinks when you get a notification or call, but stays completely on during charging. Speaking of charging, the phone has a 4500 mAh Li-Po non-removable battery that supports 33W fast charging.
While it would have been better if the phone had a bigger battery or a faster-charging feature, the battery backup more than makes up for it. The gadget will last you for one and a half days on average use, which is quite good. What’s also exemplary is the Oppo F21 Pro’s display quality and multimedia experience. The phone has a 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It has a screen-to-body ratio of 85.3% and a PPI density of 409. The device has a refresh rate of 90 Hz, and it can go up to 800 nits of brightness.
While the refresh rate of 90 Hz is appreciated, you may find phones that offer a refresh rate of 120 Hz at this price. In the sound department, Oppo F21 Pro has a loudspeaker and a 3.5 mm headphone jack but lacks stereo speakers. Qualcomm SM6225 Snapdragon 680 4G ensures a lag-free performance in regular day-to-day tasks. If you are into more demanding tasks, it’s better to look elsewhere. The Adreno 610 GPU is responsible for the phone’s gaming experience. Oppo F21 Pro runs the latest Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1 on top.
The device does have bloatware, but it can be uninstalled. However, Oppo’s inbuilt apps do send unnecessary notifications. On the bright side, the user interface is easy to use. Coming to the cameras, the phone’s overall performance is adequate, especially the primary camera. The phone has a 64 MP wide-angle, 2 MP microscope, and 2 MP depth sensor camera on the back. For selfies, the device has a 32 MP wide-angle camera. It can record 1080p videos and has gyro-EIS besides the usual camera features. Similarly, the phone also has all the usual sensors. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Hotspot, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, USB Type-C 2.0, and USB On-The-Go. NFC is surprisingly absent on Oppo F21 Pro.
