There are a lot of smartphone companies in India and they're hitting the right nodes to thrive. But there are some brands pacing ahead of others and OPPO is one of them.

Ahead of the festival of lights, the Chinese smartphone maker is marking the occasion with a special edition of its popular OPPO F3 smartphone, which was the top-selling smartphone in the Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 30,000 price range in India for the Q2 2017. OPPO launched the F3 Diwali Edition smartphone in India on Tuesday.

Oppo F3 Diwali Edition
Oppo F3 Diwali EditionInternational Business Times, India

It's the same old smartphone in a whole new avatar, which connects to Indians on a personal level. Along with the festive spirit, OPPO has also engaged with the Indians by roping in India's favourite cricket players, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin and Shikhar Dhawan, to endorse the new smartphone as "your best Diwali gift."

At the heart of the F3 Diwali Edition, the specs remain unchanged. A 5.5-inch Full HD display, dual front cameras with 16MP+8MP sensors, a 13MP rear snapper and a metal unibody. If you doubt the OPPO F3's performance, it comes with a MediaTek 1.5GHz octa-core chipset, 4GB of RAM, Android Marshmallow, 64GB storage and a 3,200mAh battery.

We have already reviewed the original OPPO F3, which you can read in detail in case you are curious on knowing how it performs in the real world.

Oppo F3 Diwali Edition
Oppo F3 Diwali EditionInternational Business Times, India

But what's unique about the OPPO F3 Diwali Edition is its bright red hue combined with some preloaded themes and wallpapers. The new shade is certainly a breath of fresh air in the same old colour palette, which includes either black or gold.

OPPO F3 Diwali Edition is priced at Rs. 18,990. It will be available exclusively on Amazon India and in OPPO offline stores across India from September 29. Along with the phone, buyers will also get an exclusive cricket bat, signed by the Indian Cricket Team.

Should you buy?

OPPO F3 Diwali Edition also has a hint of fine gold lines running along the antenna lines and OPPO logo at the back, which gives it a much-refined look. The display area is pretty standard with ultra-slim bezels and black bars at the top and bottom to accommodate sensors, front cameras, and home button with a fingerprint scanner.

Oppo F3 Diwali Edition
Oppo F3 Diwali EditionInternational Business Times, India

The new red and black combination certainly looks great. We did notice some irregularity at the back red panel. Due to the polycarbonate top and bottom bars, the red colour doesn't match the metallic side. It appears pinkish, but only when you look closely. 

The performance of the handset remains unchanged as all the specs, including the software remains intact. If the F3 smartphone was on your wishlist, the new Diwali Edition is a must-buy. Even though the specs aren't changed, the F3 is still one of the most competitive smartphones in the sub-Rs. 20,000 price range.