OPPO has been known, especially with their recent smartphones, to stick to a similar design language when it comes to new devices. Just take a look at the F1 compared to the R7 series of smartphones — they’re nearly identical.
However, the keyword here is “nearly”, as there are some noticeable physical features that separate the two smartphones. If we’re looking at the recent slew of photos shared by OPPO Malaysia CEO William Fang of the supposed F1 Plus, the same distinction can’t be made because it looks exactly like the newly announced R9.
There’s no denying it, it’s identical from the rounded camera hump all the way to the front mounted fingerprint sensor. What’s peculiar here is that when the F1 Plus was announced in Mumbai early this year, there was no mention of a fingerprint scanner at all.
You would think that a fingerprint scanner on what should likely be a mid-range device to be a big deal, but there was no mention of it in the slides. It could then simply be a home button, but that seems unlikely.
With smartphones that share a similar design, it isn’t too uncommon for companies to sometimes get them mixed up, so it is possible that William simply made a mistake. But, with each subsequent post, it seems more and more likely that this isn’t a mix-up and could indeed be the F1 Plus.
If it isn’t a mix-up, what could it be then? Our guess is that the F1 Plus could be a rebranding of the R9. They line up in terms of specs with a 5.5-inch full HD display and 4GB of RAM, but we can’t say for certain as no further specifications have been revealed.
Earlier, we reported that OPPO Malaysia was bringing in the R9 to Malaysia a month after the device’s official launch on the 17th of March. However, with OPPO Malaysia’s latest teaser posted on their Facebook page, it seems more likely that the next device that they’re launching is the F1 Plus.
So this opens up the question: Will the R9 be arriving in Malaysia as the F1 Plus?
To us, the name doesn’t really matter as long as the device is solid. What do you guys think?
