Beebom
Rating8
Oppo F35 5G might look like a delicate flower, but it is built to weather any storm. It brings a grippy holographic design, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, a smooth AMOLED screen, and a dependable battery that easily stretches into the second day. The single speaker, lack of HDR support, and occasional frame drops while gaming are things that hold it back. But if endurance and durability top your list, the Oppo F35 makes a strong case in the midrange segment.
Pros
- Durable build quality
- Crisp and fluid display
- Strong battery backup
- Decent performance for the price
- Polished OS experience
Cons
- Can struggle with gaming
- Brightness not quite high
- Underexposed main camera shots
Oppo F35 5G is a tough new entry in the midrange segment carrying IP 68/69/69K ratings, a 120 Hz AMOLED display for a smooth viewing experience and a massive 8,000mAh battery to ensure that the fun doesn't stop soon. But in a price-sensitive midrange segment, does it do enough to stand out from the crowd? I have been using it as my primary phone to find out, and I will answer that in this Oppo F35 5G review.
Oppo F35 5G Unboxing
Here is everything that comes in the box with the Oppo F35:
- Oppo F35 5G smartphone
- Clear silicon case
- 80W charging adapter
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- SIM ejector tool
- Paperwork
Before diving into the detailed review, do take a look at the key specs of the Oppo F35 5G.
Oppo F35 Key Details
Note: Our testing, opinion, and rating for this review are based on the phone's launch price. We recommend checking the current price before making a purchase decision.
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Design and Build
- 8.8 mm thickness, 205 grams weight
- Plastic frame and back
- IP 66/68/69/69K rating for full-proof dust and water protection
I have been using the Wave Blue colour variant of the Oppo F35 for this review, and it is easily one of the prettiest phones in the segment. It has a holographic effect engraved on it, which Oppo calls the Dynamix Wave texture. But honestly, it looks more like a flower to me.
Whichever it is, I quite enjoy this effect and kept tilting the phone just to watch it change more times than I will admit. It's a toned-down version of the effect we saw on the Oppo Reno 15 Pro Mini. As for the build, the phone has a plastic frame and back, yet nothing about it feels cheap or hollow in the hand.
The back also has a soft matte texture that makes the phone easy to grip, and it doesn't attract fingerprints. The phone sports flat sides, but thanks to chamfered edges, I did not experience much discomfort while holding it during long calls or while scrolling through Instagram in bed.
And while the design looks delicate, the F35 is anything but. It can handle dust, a dunk in water and even high-pressure water jets. This turned out to be helpful, as I was caught in a surprise rain shower on my way to work during my Oppo F35 review period.
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Display and Audio Quality
- 6.57-inch (1080 x 2372) Full HD+ AMOLED display
- 120 Hz refresh rate, 10-bit screen, HDR not supported
- 1400 nits peak brightness (claimed by the brand)
The Oppo F35 5G comes with a 6.57-inch Full HD+ panel, which is impeccably sharp for its size. Being an AMOLED panel, colours appear vibrant, and the blacks carry a rich, deep tone in darker scenes.
I spent a good chunk of my evenings re-watching Spider-Man movies and YouTube videos on this screen during my Oppo F35 5G review period, and the experience was pretty enjoyable for my needs.
However, what bugged me is that it does not support HDR, which is a strange omission for a mid-range phone in 2026. And I also pointed out this issue in my Nothing Phone 4b review.
The brightness is not apt for outdoor usage, as I did find myself squinting from time to time to make out what was on the display, especially outside in harsh afternoon light.
The audio is where the F35 cuts a corner. It comes with a single speaker, and while it gets loud, the sound lacks any depth or texture. It is audibly flat compared to phones like the Oppo K14 Plus. It works fine for calls and YouTube videos, but I would recommend switching to earbuds for music.
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Performance Tested
- MediaTek Dimensity 6360 Max processor
- Up to 8 GB LPDDR4X RAM + 256 GB UFS 2.2 storage
Under the hood, the Oppo F35 5G runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 Max chipset. It is a close sibling of the Dimensity 6360 Apex that I tested in my OnePlus N6 review, which is a budget SoC but delivers serviceable performance for daily use, and here are its benchmark results.
During my Oppo F35 review period, the phone held up better than the numbers suggested. Apps open and run without a hitch, and animations and scrolling feel fluid. My usual apps – Instagram, Slack, WhatsApp, and YouTube, ran smoothly throughout the week, and I didn't run into any major stutters.
Memory management is pretty decent. Even BGMI stayed open in the background while I jumped between other apps, and I could return to the game without it reloading from scratch.
Gaming is where the chipset shows its limits. BGMI supports 60 FPS on Smooth graphics, while Call of Duty: Mobile can do 60 FPS on Low or Medium graphics. The gameplay is fine to begin with, but minor frame drops creep in here and there as the action gets intense. The good news is that the phone never showed signs of excessive heating, even after prolonged gaming sessions.
So, it can handle casual gaming, but if gaming is your priority, the Nothing Phone (4a) or the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion offer more headroom at a similar price.
| Game | Settings |
|---|---|
| BGMI | Smooth + Extreme (60 FPS) |
| CoD Mobile | Medium + Max (60 FPS) |
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Software and Updates
- ColorOS 16 based on Android 16
- 2 years of software updates + 3 years of security patches
The Oppo F35 5G ships with ColorOS 16 based on Android 16 out of the box. That's a small letdown, since the Oppo K14 Plus already arrived with Android 17, and I would have liked to see the same here.
That said, the experience itself is smooth and polished, as I have come to expect from ColorOS. Animations effortlessly flow throughout the UI, whether it's pulling down the notification shade or switching between tasks. And there are plenty of customisations to make the phone feel like your own.
Like how you can change the app drawer sorting, icon style, and colours; apply different themes; add several live wallpapers and depth effect lockscreen styles; and even the fingerprint animations.
However, it packs with a bunch of bloatware, which I have come to expect in ColorOS at this point. There is the regular sight of dozens of pre-installed fluff apps, along with Hot Apps and Hot Games on the home screen. Besides this, the overall OS experience can be summed up as feature-rich and pleasant.
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Cameras Reviewed
- 50 MP (main), f/1.9, OIS, video recording up to 2.5K @ 30 FPS
- 50 MP (selfie), f/2.0, video recording up to 2.5K @ 30 FPS
- 2 MP depth camera
The Oppo F35 comes with a dual camera setup at the back with a 50 MP main shooter, complemented by a 2 MP additional lens. There's surprisingly another 50 MP ultra-wide front cam for immaculately detailed selfies. So let's take a look at how this camera setup performs.
Main Camera
Starting with the main camera, it takes a very controlled approach to images by underexposing a lot of shots. Whether it's outside during the day or inside in well-lit scenarios. Everything from the IKEA building to the IKEA board looks dull and dark.
I took similar shots for my Oppo K14 Plus review, and you can see the difference between the images compared to the F35. This could be due to a larger sensor. I also noticed a jelly effect in the viewfinder when trying to focus on a subject. But I like the natural tone in colours and decent levels of detail.
At night, the underexposed images do a 180-degree backflip and overexpose images, especially with strong light sources. I did manage to get some good shots, like the one of the cafe, but I had to manually handle the exposure levels. The good thing is, details don't falter at 2x crop.
Front-Facing Camera
Given the 50 MP sensor, selfies come out sharp and rich with detail. But the best part is that this is a proper ultra-wide camera, allowing you to fit in an entire room full of people.
The texture is clearly visible on my skin, and the tones also lean towards a natural look, but it tends to overexpose highlights in some shots, like the image of me with my peers. The portrait mode is also decent, and the background blur cutouts are pretty good as well.
Video Quality
Both the front and the back cameras can record videos at 2.5K at 30 FPS, which is not as sharp as 4K, but cutting some slack to Oppo, it isn't a downgrade either. Especially since most devices in the segment max out at 1080p recording for the front cam.
Battery Life and Charging
- 8,000 mAh battery capacity
- 67W wired charging support
- 0-100% charge in 1 hour 30 minutes
The Oppo F35 5G is backed up by an 8,000mAh battery, which gave me around 11 hours of screen-on time on average throughout my review period. This included taking calls, texting, video calling, an hour or two of gaming, answering Slack messages, and scrolling on Instagram.
Charging is just as impressive. The bundled 80W charger took the phone from 0–100% in about 1 hour and 28 minutes, which is quick for a battery of this size.
Oppo F35 5G Review Verdict: Should You Buy It?
The Oppo F35 5G gets the fundamentals right. The large battery, fast charging, dust and water resistance, and the smooth 120 Hz AMOLED screen make it a dependable daily driver. And the holographic Wave Blue design makes sure it doesn't look like every other midrange phone out there.
The performance is enough for light and medium workloads. But the camera does need some improvement, and the single speaker feels out of place in this segment.
That said, if you are getting the Oppo F35 at a good price, then it is not a bad bet. Especially in the current market with rising smartphone prices. But if you are flexible with your budget, you can consider the Oppo K14 Plus, which offers the same battery, a better camera and stereo speakers, or the Poco X8, which lasts even longer.
