
The Samsung Galaxy C5 is the new mid-range Android from the company that features unibody metal design and new camera setup. Technically, this put the Galaxy C5 in the same category to the Oppo F1s that promises the same fancy cameras.
With a small price difference, surely, picking the better phone between the two is a tough task for most. However, after putting these two in our comparison and review, we may have already a clear and considerable winner to buy. Find out which phone is that below.
Although we have two iPhone copycats, the Samsung Galaxy C5 resembles less but remains sleeker and more premium over the Oppo F1s. Thanks to the unibody aluminum build and sleeker form. The streamlined curves do stand out over the chunky plastic and metal build of the Oppo F1s.
What we liked on the Oppo mid-ranger is the dedicated secondary SIM card and microSD card slots compared to the hybrid trays of the Galaxy mid-ranger. However, we still find the former lacking because of the missing LED notification while present to the Galaxy C5 and C7.
Both fingerprint scanners embedded on the home buttons are snappy while all ports remain standard on either device.
If we were to pick a better-looking iPhone imitation, that would be the Samsung Galaxy C5 with its sleeker and more premium design.
The 5.2-inch FHD 1080p Super AMOLED of the Galaxy C5 is a few notches brighter compared to 5.5-inch of Oppo F1s that packs disappointing 720p or HD resolution. And as usual, we have an over saturated screen on the AMOLED and accurate color reproduction on the IPS LCD. The extra vividness on the AMOLED, however, gives more pleasing output plus the higher resolution on the Galaxy C5 easily trumps the Oppo F1s’ below Retina screen.
For the main cameras, we have a 16MP f1.9 rear shooter on the Galaxy that takes decent photos with slightly oversaturated colors and off white balance. Compared to the 13MP rear shooter of Oppo F1s, the Galaxy camera is just better overall because of color accuracy and extra details over the noisy and pale output of the Oppo.
In selfie shooting, it’s a different story. The Oppo F1s’ 16MP f1.9 front-facing camera outshines the 8MP f1.9 of the Galaxy. There’s just more detail and extra brightness, though overexposed in some shots, for the “selfie expert” of the latter.
In terms of video, the two cameras maxed out at 1080p while we prefer again the color on the Galaxy.
Overall camera credit goes to the Galaxy C5 but the Oppo F1s is undoubtedly a better selfie shooter.
Though packing octa-core processors, the Galaxy C5 extra memory and more efficient TouchWiz UI give a few miles lead in our actual benchmark and speed test over the Color 3 OS of the Oppo that resembles the iOS. The choice of the chipset is also smarter on the former with a Snapdragon 617 compared to the Mediatek 6750 that’s a bit dated.
Perhaps, the only other solid advantage of Oppo’s selfie expert is the battery life. The 3000mAh juice inside easily lasted more than a day with a few hours longer in endurance and screen-on time. The measly 2600mAh juice on the Galaxy C5 barely lasts a full day use.
On charging time, the fast adaptive charging feature on the Galaxy provides convenience than on the Oppo that takes more than 2 hours to fill.
The speakers on the two are bottom firing and sounded tinny. There’s no high-res audio upscaling on either phone making the two tie in this category.
With Oppo F1s retailing at P12,990 price, the clear useful features we could consider are the selfie camera and solid battery life. Overall, we think the Samsung Galaxy C5 priced at P16k to P18k is still a better deal due to more premium design, sharper display, and Marshmallow OS out-of-the-box.
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Full Specs |
Oppo F1s |
Samsung Galaxy C5 |
Display | 5.5-inch 720p HD display IPS LCD, 267ppi | 5.2-inch Full HD 1080p Super AMOLED, 424ppi |
Design | Metal + Plastic, Gorilla Glass 4 | Unibody metal, scratch-resistant |
Chipset | Mediatek 6750 octa-core | Snapdragon 617 (2016 mid-range chip) |
CPU | Octa-core Cortex A53 @ 1.5GHz speed | Octa-core Cortex A53 @ 1.5GHz speed |
Chipset | MT860MP2 graphics | Adreno 410 graphics |
Memory | 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, dedicated microSD card slot | 4GB RAM, 32/64GB internal storage, hybrid microSD card slot |
Camera | 13MP f2.2, dual tone LED flash, 1080p video | 16MP f1.9, dual tone LED flash, 1080p video |
Selfie | 16MP f2.0 | 8MP f1.9 |
Connectivity | Dual SIM, 4G LTE, WiFi n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC | Dual SIM, 4G LTE, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC |
Security | Fingerprint scanner | Fingerprint scanner |
OS | Android 5.1 Lollipop, TouchWiz UI | Android 6.0 Marshmallow, TouchWiz |
Battery | 3000mAh battery capacity, fast charging | 2600mAh battery capacity |
Ports and charging | microUSB 2.0, USB OTG | microUSB 2.0, USB OTG |
Audio | Mono speaker, standard | Mono speaker, standard |
Release Date | August 2016 availability in the Philippines | August 2016 availability in the Philippines |
Official price | P12,990 SRP for 64GB model (US$280) in online stores | P15,990 to P17,990 for 32/64GB model (US$350+) in Samsung PH / online stores |
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