There's something magical about holding the Oppo R5, a smartphone so impossibly thin that you wonder how it functions at all. It conjures up memories of the original Motorola Razr, but feels wholly futuristic, seemingly lifted straight off of a sci-fi movie set. This triumph of design would impress even if the phone itself was a complete functional dud—thankfully, it isn't. And at $499 unlocked, it's surprisingly affordable for a phone this beautifully crafted. Predictably, though, there are some caveats. The R5 is missing crucial LTE bands for T-Mobile and AT&T, while performance lags behind some competitors. I can live with the slightly slower performance, but that high-speed mobile data deficiency is pretty glaring. The R5 is a design piece more than anything, suitable for those who value form over function. It's worth a look, but the Google Nexus 5 is a better value, while the Motorola Moto X offers better specs and customizable designs for the same price as the R5.

Design, Features, and Network Performance

If you had any doubts about the design chops of rising Chinese phone manufacturers like Oppo, the R5 will put them to rest. At 5.86 by 2.93 by 0.19 inches (HWD) and 5.47 ounces, the R5 is one of the thinnest phones in the world—the title was recently usurped by another Chinese company, Meizu—and also one of the best built. To put that thinness in perspective, the R5 is over 30 percent thinner than the Galaxy S5 (0.31 inches). Even more impressive, Oppo managed that feat without compromising the structural integrity of the phone. With an industrial-grade steel frame and airtight build quality, the R5 yields absolutely no flex. There's a slight camera bulge around back, but it's tolerable and only a bit unsightly.