Today in specs comparison, we’re going to put two mid-range devices side-by-side and see which one comes out on top in different key smartphone aspects. Will it be the OPPO F9 or the ASUS ZenFone 5 (2018)? Let’s start!
The OPPO F9 is the successor of the F7, which first sported the Helio P60 processor. It comes with a 6.3-inch display with 2340 x 1080 resolution, that same Helio P60 chipset, 4GB/6GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, 16MP + 2MP dual rear cameras, 25MP front camera, and 3,500mAh battery with VOOC fast charging.
ASUS ZenFone 5 (2018) is the reboot of the pivotal smartphone of the company four years ago. It sports a 6.2-inch display with 2246 x 1080 resolution, Snapdragon 636 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, 12MP + 8MP dual rear cameras, 8MP front camera, and 3,300mAh battery with BoostMaster and Smart Charging.
Here are the detailed specs:
| Specs | Oppo F9 | ASUS ZenFone 5 (2018) |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.3-inches FHD+ 19.5:9 LTPS IPS display@ 2340 x 1080 | 6.2-inch FHD+ 19:9 IPS display @ 2246 x 1080 |
| Glass protection | Didn't State | Gorilla Glass (didn't specify) |
| CPU | MediaTek Helio P60 2.0GHz octa-core | Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 1.8GHz octa-core processor (w/ multi-core AI) |
| GPU | Mali-G72 MP3 | Adreno 509 |
| RAM | 4GB / 6GB | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB | 64GB |
| Rear Camera | 16MP+2MP dual rear camera | 12MP + 8MP dual rear cameras w/ LED flash |
| Front Camera | 25MP front camera | 8MP f/2.0 front camera |
| LTE | 4G LTE | 4G LTE |
| SIM Card Type | Dual SIM (nano) | Dual SIM (nano) |
| WI-FI | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Audio feature | - | Dual speakers with Smart Amp Audio Wizard |
| OTG | Yes | Yes |
| 3.5mm audio port | yes | yes |
| Sensors | -Fingerprint Scanner -Face Unlock | -Fingerprint Scanner -Face Unlock |
| OS | Color OS 5.2 (Android 8.1 Oreo) | ZenUI 5.0 (Android 8.0 Oreo) |
| Battery | 3500mAh battery (VOOC Fast Charging) | 3,300mAh battery with BoostMaster & Smart Charging |
Here are their benchmark scores:
| OPPO F9 | ASUS ZenFone 5 (2018) | |
|---|---|---|
| AnTuTu v7 | 138,091 | 136,645 (w/ AI Boost), 124,293 (w/o AI Boost) |
| AndroBench | 298.77 MB/s (Read), 211.52 MB/s (Write) | 281.08 MB/s (Read), 203.73 MB/s (Write) |
| 3DMark SSE - OpenGL 3.1 | 1,072 | 949 |
| PCMark Work 2.0 | 7,824 | 5,749 |
| PC Mark Battery Test | 10 hours and 19 minutes | 12 hours and 9 minutes |
| Video playback time | 14 hours and 32 minutes | 12 hours |
Here are the advantages of each smartphone:
OPPO F9
- LTPS IPS display
- Slightly larger screen size
- Higher screen aspect ratio
- Higher horizontal resolution
- Better performing CPU
- Slightly Better performing GPU
- Higher main rear camera resolution
- Higher front camera resolution
- Slightly larger battery capacity
- Longer lasting video playback time
ASUS ZenFone 5 (2018)
- Gorilla Glass
- Higher secondary rear camera resolution
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Smart Amp Audio Wizard
- Longer lasting battery life (PC Mark)
Starting with the display, The F9 is the clear victor based on providing a better viewing experience. The LTPS IPS is basically an upgrade to the IPS display due to its power efficiency (read more about smartphone displays here). Don’t get us wrong, the ZenFone 5 is still a good device for watching videos but the former just had it better.
Base on AnTuTu, the F9 yielded a higher score compared to the ZenFone 5 even with AI Boost enabled. Also, all of the benchmark scores indicate that the former wins in overall performance.
Camera performance is a bit tricky. The F9 may have a higher main rear and front camera resolution but do note that it doesn’t mean that it automatically wins. The ZenFone 5 scored 90 in DxOMark’s camera performance test and placed 11th in the overall smartphone ranking which means that this device has excellent photo and video capabilities. We’ll let you be the judge by taking a look at our sample shots. (OPPO F9 and ASUS ZenFone 5 2018)
Another tricky part of this comparison is battery performance. The F9 may have a slightly higher battery capacity but based on our PC Mark battery test, the ZenFone 5 lasted longer. However, in our video loop test, the former lasted longer than the latter. From this, we can deduce that in terms of intensive tasks, ZenFone 5 wins while in normal operations like video consumption, the F9 is a better choice.
To summarize, if consumers want to have a better viewing experience, performance, and gaming, the OPPO F9 is the clear pick. However, the ASUS ZenFone 5 2018 is the better choice when it comes to audio quality, rear camera quality (based on DxOMark), and daily medium to heavy usage (battery life).
The OPPO F9 is priced at Php17,990 while the ASUS ZenFone 5 2018 is priced at Php19,995. What do you guys think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Asus Zenfone 5 has USB type C while Oppo F9 sadly has the ancient micro USB.
Btw great review. ?