Oppo K1 first impressions: Premium features on a mid-range budget device

Oppo brings premium to the mid-range budget segment with an in-display fingerprint sensor and gradient design. Here’s our first impression of the Oppo K1.

Oppo K1 comes in two colour options of blue and black with a gradient finish. (Oppo)

Oppo has a healthy cycle of launching smartphones globally and in India. The latest offering is the Oppo K1 which brings in-display fingerprint sensor to the budget segment, making it the cheapest phone to offer this technology. Oppo K1 is priced at ₹16,990 and is available exclusively via Flipkart.

Oppo K1 competes in this category with features like a 25-megapixel selfie camera, Snapdragon 660 processor and a premium design. We used the Oppo K1 for some time, and here are our initial thoughts on the smartphone.

Oppo K1 features the familiar gradient colour design in two colour options of black and blue. The 'Astral Blue' design of Oppo K1 blends blue and magenta pink colours with gold camera rims. The smartphone does give a premium look with a glossy and reflective finish.

Another familiar feature is the dewdrop-styled notch on its 6.41-inch Full HD+ display. The smartphone comes with an AMOLED screen topped with Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The volume keys are placed on the left, and the power key sits on the right side. The buttons are well within reach and comfortable to use.

Oppo K1 runs on ColorOS 5.2 based on Android Oreo, a UI I'm not a fan of. The animated icons seem like overkill and take up too much space on the screen. Software preference is subjective and users who do not prefer this can opt for launchers.

Speaking of its highlight, Oppo K1 features an in-display fingerprint sensor. Setting up the in-display fingerprint is easy and similar to the traditional one. During my brief usage, I found that the in-display fingerprint worked pretty fast and there were no hiccups while registering it. There are three animation styles for the in-display fingerprint sensor to choose from. In addition to this, users have face unlock for biometric security.

Like most Oppo smartphones selfies stand out on the K1 with its AI-based 25-megapixel camera. Oppo K1 offers AI-based beautify which automatically sets up the filter. You can also choose the beautification level from 1 to 6. I fiddled with the selfie camera for some time and the results were pretty decent.

Surprisingly, I wasn't very impressed with the selfie camera as it couldn't adjust well the background light. At the rear, the smartphone sports a dual-camera setup of 16-megapixel and 2-megapixel cameras. Some camera features include portrait mode with effects like studio, film and monotone, and AR stickers.

For performance, Oppo K1 uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 660 processor backed by a 3,600mAh battery. The smartphone comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage. Oppo offers only one variant of the K1 in India. Overall performance of the Oppo K1 can be determined only after a full review. Although my brief usage of the smartphone was good enough with no lags as such.

Summing up,

Oppo K1 does look to be a promising smartphone with its premium design and bonus feature of an in-display fingerprint sensor. It will however face tough competition from smartphones like Xiaomi's Redmi Note 6 Pro and Mi A2, Nokia 6.1, and Realme 2 Pro.