OPPO F29 Pro review

Read my full review to find out.

A mid-range phone with premium looks

The OPPO F29 Pro, compared to its predecessor, has a simple yet elegant design. In fact, the circular camera island on the F29 Pro is similar to that of the company’s flagship Find N5. I have been testing the granite black variant of this phone, which has a stealthy look, and the phone looks and feels very premium.

The back panel of the phone is made using fiber fabric. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Starting with the 6.7-inch quad-curved display at the front to the ever-so-slightly curved plastic mid-frame with a reinforced armour body, the phone looks a class apart. Unlike the brand’s flagship Find X8 Pro featuring Gorilla Glass 7i, the F29 Pro comes with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which makes it slightly more scratch-resistant and durable. If you are familiar with OPPO phones, the F29 Pro will feel like home. This is easily one of my favourite-looking phones under Rs 30,000.

I froze the OPPO F29 Pro

The OPPO F29 Pro comes with IP66, IP68, and IP69 ingress certification. While I have used many phones with these capabilities, I had never fully tested these claims myself until now. OPPO’s product presentation was quite reassuring about its quality, so I decided to freeze this phone for over a day in my refrigerator, followed by a hot shower.

The device can survive high-pressure, high-temperature water. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Even after staying in the freezer for over 24 hours, the device was still on, and I did not notice any touch issues. There was also no condensation in the camera island, a major issue even on high-end models, and even the optical fingerprint sensor worked as expected.

Next, I poured a bowl of boiling water on the phone, and again, no issues whatsoever.

While we don’t quite recommend doing any of this to your OPPO F29 Pro, if something like this happens by accident, the device is most likely to survive. Also, note that despite the ingress protection rating, if the device suffers water damage, it will require an out-of-warranty repair.

Good primary camera, but that is about it

The OPPO F29 Pro has a 50 MP main camera that can shoot up to 4K videos and a 2 MP depth sensor. At the front, the phone has a 16 MP selfie camera that can capture up to 1080p video. The camera app feels snappy, and while the phone takes a few seconds to process images, once done, it offers good details, even in low-light situations. However, the final output does look a bit different from what you see on the viewfinder, and in my experience, the final results were mostly good.

The phone has a 50 MP main camera. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

I do feel not having a telephoto or at least an ultra-wide angle camera is a missed opportunity, especially considering devices like the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro (review) and Realme 14 Pro+ (review) include a periscope zoom lens.

Here are some camera samples straight from the OPPO F29 Pro:

OPPO F29 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
OPPO F29 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
OPPO F29 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
OPPO F29 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
OPPO F29 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
OPPO F29 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
OPPO F29 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
OPPO F29 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
OPPO F29 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Smooth and user-friendly ColorOS 15

ColorOS 15, based on Android 15, is one of my favourite custom Android skins of 2025, and the OPPO F29 Pro ships with the same. The device will receive two major OS upgrades and three years of security updates. While the MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Energy isn’t the most capable chip in the segment, it is good enough to handle day-to-day operations and even a bit of gaming.

Circle to Search on OPPO Find F29 Pro. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The device also offers at least 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage, and in my three weeks of usage, I haven’t noticed any major lags or sluggishness. However, just like most phones in this price range, the OPPO F29 Pro does come with a bit of bloatware, though most of those third-party apps can be easily uninstalled.

Excellent battery life and connectivity

The OPPO F29 Pro doesn’t look like a phone that packs a 6,000 mAh battery, and the device also supports 80W fast charging. The phone can easily last for up to one and a half to two days, and when it comes to charging time, it takes around 25 minutes to charge up to 50 per cent, with the fast charger included in the box. Similarly, the device also offers excellent cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity, and I had no issues accessing the network both indoors and outdoors.

A well-made smartphone

A regular-looking rugged smartphone. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The OPPO F29 Pro is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a mid-range smartphone under Rs 30,000 and doesn’t care about benchmark performance. Despite being a rugged device, the OPPO F29 Pro doesn’t look like one and features almost two days’ worth of battery life, fast charging, and a quad-curved display that makes it feel like a high-end device from the inside out.

Pros	Cons
Very tough (IP69 rated)	Basic camera setup (no ultra-wide/zoom)
Premium look and feel
Long battery life (up to 2 days)	Has unwanted apps (bloatware)
Very fast charging (80W, charger incl.)	Camera preview isn’t accurate
Strong screen (Gorilla Glass Victus 2)
Smooth software experience
Good software update plan
Affordable for its ruggedness
Great network/Wi-Fi connection