OPPO launches R9s, announces partnerships with Virgin and Vodafone

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OPPO has announced the Australian availability of its latest smartphone, the R9s. Launching on January 30, the $598 handset will be sold through two new partners - Vodafone and Virgin - in addition to longstanding OPPO retailers including JB Hi-Fi, Optus, and Woolworths Mobile.

The R9s succeeds last year's R9, which notably, is barely seven months old. While the phones look quite similar, the R9s' flagship feature is improved 16MP front- and rear-facing cameras. The rear-facing shooter uses a new Sony sensor with a f/1.7 aperture lens. OPPO says this will improve low-light performance, a task that more affordable smartphones often struggle with.

The only major aesthetic change between the R9 and R9s is thinner antenna lines. Rather than having two plastic strips on the back of the phone, the R9s has six super-thin bands (three at the top, three at the bottom) measuring in at 0.3mm each.

Other key specifications include a 5.5-inch 1080p display, eight-core Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, dual SIM slots, fast-charging, and a front-facing fingerprint reader. Once again, the R9s runs OPPO's somewhat Apple inspired take on Android - ColorOS - but this time, it's now based on Android Marshmallow, rather than Lollipop.

The R9s will be available in a choice of gold or black. Virgin, Vodafone, and Optus will only have the R9s in black, while JB Hi-Fi and Woolworths will have the R9s in both black and gold.

In terms of contracts, Virgin will be offering the R9s on a $40 plan with no additional handset repayment fees. Subscribers get 2GB of data, and unlimited talk and text.

Vodafone will sell the R9s on its $40 plan with an additional $5 per month handset repayment. This includes 2GB of data, unlimited talk and text, and access to $5 per day roaming. Customers who pre-order the R9s between the 23rd and 29th of January will get two months of free access.

Optus will also have the R9s on a $40 plan, with an additional $5 per month handset repayment fee. This includes 1GB of data, and unlimited talk and text. 

We'll have more information about on-contract pricing as it becomes available. 

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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