Ever since we heard of the confirmation that Oppo is launching a new camera-centric flagship device called the Oppo N1, we have been genuinely excited to see what kind of camera innovation the company is going to bring forward. After the confirmation of the product, the company had released an array of teasers, which have revealed quite a lot about the device that is going to launch today. Incidentally, today, or perhaps five years back, was the same day the first ever Android phone(HTC Dream G1) released, and Oppo’s event today is a gentle nod, how cool is that!
Anyway, after looking at all the teasers, we couldn’t help but raise our expectations, especially since the company is already known to produce great handsets like the Find 5. So, we’ve compiled a list of things you need to know about the N1 and what to expect from the launch, read on.
This is what the Oppo N1 will look like –
With bezels as thin, the phone might sport software touch buttons instead of capacitive ones, owing to the lack of enough space in the bottom bezel. Still not sure about the bezel? Watch this teaser –
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1IfgqRKcdE
A turned off screen shows how pitch black the display is, making us think it would be as impressive as it was on the Find 5.
It has a 5.9 inch full HD 1920x1080p screen –
The Oppo N1 is confirmed to have a massive 5.9inch screen. While Oppo have not confirmed the resolution, it is simply logic of the Find 5 having a 1080p screen points to the N1 having it too, no doubt. Also, the Find 5’s display was legendary in terms of viewing angles, colours and brightness, so we expect something similar with the N1 too. And now about the amazing camera, we have some speculations to do –
But, what about the camera?
Here is where Oppo has kept its cards close to its heart and haven’t told us much about it, yet. But we did see a few teasers from them –
First up, we have a teaser that claims to have a huge lens on the back and the tag line from their social networks goes like “Blurring the lines between DSLR and Phone”. A really bold claim, but we still don’t think it would be possible for a camera that is botched on the back of a phone, and then they went ahead and released this teaser –
“Get ready for a new photo experience” said the post, but we were now struck by this new development. Is this something similar to what Sony did with the QX10 and QX100? We scoured through the internet to find this image –
This was teased on the company’s Chinese Social Networks and it is clearly a Oppo-branded camera unit. Considering it has the circuitry open, we expect this to be in some sort of a casing as shown in the teaser above, but how will it work? We are not so sure. Will this work exactly like the QX10, like how the lens itself is a camera, and just attaches to the back of a phone, making the display a viewfinder? Also, isn’t this too small to get easily lost? What about the primary camera? We have a lot of questions that need answering and we hope the company can deliver today. Very much looking forward to the camera part.
But enough of forward, lets talk about the back. The Oppo N1 was confirmed to sport a touch sensor in the rear, so that you can navigate the phone using a single hand easily, as the phone is too huge to operate in the first place. This garnered a lot of attention, because this is one of a kind definitely. This is how it will work –
As you can see above, the functionality is pretty self explanatory even though it is in Chinese. A swipe will do the usual swipe actions that happens on the front while a long press can be configured for opening various apps and full screen widgets. While it is still left to be seen whether this will be effective in usage, we think it is definitely something new in the world of mobile.
So far, the other specifications in terms of leaks haven’t been spot on, so we cannot vouch for the authenticity of them, but this is what various rumours pointed to –
- Qualcomm 8064pro processor (quad-core 1.9GHz)
- Professional camera ISP + Fujitsu chips
- 5.9FHD screen (Visual is 6 inch) – Confirmed
- 13 MP camera – Unconfirmed
There was no mention of a separate lens attachment too, and not a lot of the other details have emerged yet, but our wait ends today, with the company ready to reveal its all new flagship at an event in Beijing today – 5 P.M IST. And last but not least, we have the software, which is also a bit puzzling, ever since Oppo released this teaser –
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV1c8nzDp5s
All the Oppo devices, including the Find 5, come with an unlocked bootloader and comes with support for various community ROMs like CyanogenMod and Paranoid Android. Oppo was at XDA’s DevCon conference with the Cyanogen mod team to promote their devices. So, the association might be just the fact that the ROMs are officially supported for the N1, but since the guys at CM announced their own Cyanogen Inc. partnership program, it has us thinking whether Oppo will be their launch partner with the N1. Highly possible, but since the company has also teased the availability of its own beautiful Color ROM, we are led to think that CM might be one of the options just like before.
So, are you excited for the Oppo N1’s launch today? The company has already confirmed its innovations on various fronts, like the rear touch sensor, the lens attachment, a “PureImage” camera and a strikingly small bezel. Will it have more to show today?
In the end, we just have this to say – “Oppo, you had our curiosity.. now you have our attention.”