Oppo A5 2020 review: a smartphone with good features and price

Friends, we are testing another inexpensive smartphone. This is OPPO A5 (2020), a representative of an affordable line of phones with interesting qualities, pleasant appearance, a huge screen and an impressive battery capacity.

The model is very popular: OPPO A5 is among the top ten best-selling smartphones of 2020. Considering that there are a lot of affordable phones on sale, being on this list can be considered an achievement for the model.

Glossy monoblock

The phone is long and elongated; the designers took into account the structural features of the fingers and deliberately moved the volume and power keys closer to the middle of the body. This makes it more convenient to control the device and you don’t have to intercept it when you need to turn up the volume on the player.

Gloss black OPPO A5 (2020)

Since OPPO A5 (2020) represents a line of inexpensive models, its finish is appropriate: the sides and back of the glossy body are made of plastic. It gets dirty very quickly: fingerprints inevitably remain on the branded surface if you carry the phone without a case.

The included silicone case protects the OPPO A5 (2020) body from scratches

The fingerprint scanner is located at the back, you get to it almost without errors: sometimes you accidentally touch the camera lens located next to it. Otherwise, everything is fine: it responds quickly to touches, no delays were noticed.

Cameras and fingerprint scanner OPPO A5 (2020) are located next to each other

Specifications

• Model: OPPO A5 2020;
• Case material: plastic;
• Screen: IPS, 6.5″, 1600×720;
• Communications: 4G, Wi-Fi, BT, GPS/Glonass;
• Processor: Snapdragon 665;
• Memory: 3 GB+ 64 GB;
• Operating system: ColorOS 6.0.1, Android 9;
• Camera: 12MP + 8MP + 2MP +2MP;
• Battery: 5000 mAh;
• Support for microSD memory cards: yes, up to 512 GB;
• Additionally: fingerprint scanner, OTG;
• Dimensions, weight: 163.6 x 75.6 x 9.1 mm, 195 g.

Huge display

The display is impressive in size: it is elongated vertically and has an aspect ratio of 20:9 with a diagonal of 6.5 inches and a resolution of 720 × 1600 pixels. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, with a factory film glued over it.

OPPO A5 (2020) has a high-contrast IPS screen

The phone has a good brightness reserve, the picture has good viewing angles. Yes, the resolution is not the highest, but if you are not chasing the pixel density per inch, then there is no need to worry about this.

OPPO A5 (2020) with a small cutout at the top of the screen

Good filling

The processor is modern: there is a Snapdragon 655, but there is only 3 GB of RAM, 64 GB of built-in memory, and there is a separate tray for a memory card. An update to Android 10 is in OPPO's plans, but I can't say when it will arrive.

OPPO A5 (2020) received a convenient card tray

The phone works quickly, the shell is fast, it doesn’t slow down in games like PUBG, you can while away a couple of hours in the evening in a shooter. Although I would like more RAM, OPPO has a simple answer to this: pay extra and buy the A9 (2020).

OPPO A9 2020 review: color reflections

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As usual, OPPO A5 (2020) uses its own ColorOS 7 interface with design themes, a quick access panel to applications, and gesture control - there is something to do after the purchase and customize the phone for yourself.

Several tests for benchmark fans.

There are also auxiliary features: in the game mode, all efforts will be focused on maximum performance, and in the children's mode, the child will not be able to get out of the limits of a certain program. It’s also convenient that the voice recorder can be launched during a conversation, without having to install a separate application.

The phone has modern Bluetooth 5.0; if you pair it with headphones with the same version, you will get a more stable connection and an increased range. Everything is fine with the GPS, the NFC chip also performs its duties without any questions: you can pay for purchases or top up your Troika balance.

Interface and features of OPPO A5

The OPPO A5 smartphone runs on the Android 8.1.0 operating system and the proprietary Color OS 5.1 interface, the additional functions of which we talked about in the reviews of OPPO F7 and A3S.

The branded shell is made in white and green colors. The settings have interesting additional features - settings for navigation buttons, a multitasking panel in the area next to the cutout in the screen, gestures, movements and other small add-ons.

There are no questions regarding the operation and convenience of the interface - all sections and functions of the menu work and open quickly, there are no delays or slowdowns.

A couple of suggestions about functions. The smartphone does not have NFC, and this is very frustrating - there are already enough gadgets on the market that support contactless payments in the price segment up to 20 thousand rubles. The OPPO A5 does not support fast charging, but this is not so critical.

To guard the security of personal data there is a fingerprint scanner located on the rear panel. It works even when the screen is inactive, but there is still a slight delay.

Another unlocking technology is facial recognition. This function only works after the screen is activated, but at least you don’t have to swipe across the screen afterwards. The technology works quite clearly and quickly, but some slowdowns are possible, mainly in poor lighting.

Juicy sound

Stereo speakers are rarely found in affordable models, but the OPPO A5 (2020) has them. The sound is loud, you will always hear the call melody, and if you want to watch a video without connecting headphones, you will feel the volume.

Silicone case for OPPO A5 (2020) with high sides protects the screen when dropped

I would also like to note the presence of a built-in FM radio. In my opinion, in the era of streaming audio, the function is already strange. Moreover, the recording of programs does not work, there is no RDS and no timer. Just left for show, it turns out.

Multi-chamber

The fashion for phones with multiple camera modules continues to gain momentum. So OPPO A5 (2020) received five cameras at once, including the front one. I’ll provide the technical specifications at the end of the review, but for now, my impressions.

There are few additional bells and whistles: you can turn on manual mode and try to zoom objects using digital zoom. The phone does not have a separate night mode, so the quality of pictures in low light is not so great. However, this applies to most inexpensive smartphones.

A couple of examples of shooting in room lighting:

If you shoot during the day in clear sun, you will get good detail, decent colors and an overall nice picture:

About the additional modules, I will say this: the auxiliary camera does not have a very strong effect on portrait photography, and the wide-angle one also does not shine with quality. But you can achieve interesting effects, after all, this is the beauty of ultra-wide-angle optics.

And what would a review be without a self-portrait:

Cameras and photos on OPPO A5

The smartphone is equipped with a dual main camera of 13 MP (f/2.2) and 2 MP (f/2.4). The second module is responsible for portrait mode and bokeh effect. The camera is assisted by autofocus and an LED flash, but there is no optical or electronic stabilization.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to evaluate smartphone cameras - much depends on the user’s expectations, comparison with other competitive smartphones and the subjective perception of the images. We can say that the OPPO A5 camera is average because it is difficult to get the wow effect from photos. Obviously, in its price segment, the tested gadget is inferior to Huawei P20 Lite and Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, but for a complete understanding, we recommend studying sample photos.

With flash

The front camera is represented by a standard 8 megapixel module with f/2.2 aperture and built-in software to improve the appearance of photos.

The full gallery of photos on OPPO A5 is collected on Yandex.Disk.

Works for a long time

It’s good when the phone works for a long time and you don’t have to worry whether the device will last until the evening on one charge. In the case of the OPPO A5 (2020), things are going great: it has a high-capacity 5000 mAh battery, so the phone is very difficult to discharge even after a day of active use.

On average it took me about 2-2.5 days. The kit comes with a regular 10W charger, so a full charging cycle for the phone takes more than three hours.

OPPO A5 (2020) is charged via USB Type-C connector. Moreover, if necessary, you can charge other devices from it, turning it into a Power Bank. True, in this case you need a cable, it is better to take care of this in advance.

Other Features

The new product runs Android 10 with the proprietary ColorOS 7.1 shell. OPPO did a good job on its appearance and optimization, so it’s a pleasure to use the device. The interface works smoothly, applications open quickly, but if there are a large number of background processes, the smartphone forcibly unloads them from memory.

The hardware platform of the new product is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset, made using an 11-nanometer process technology. It consists of eight Kryo 260 cores with a frequency of up to 2 GHz, an Adreno 610 graphics accelerator and a coprocessor for running neural networks.

The SoC is complemented by 4 GB of LPDDR4X RAM. The internal storage capacity of UFS 2.1 is 64 GB. If necessary, it can be expanded via microSD up to 256 GB.

Photo: Artyom Bagdasarov / Lifehacker

One of the features of the model is a 5,000 mAh battery. Such an impressive capacity should provide at least one day of active work, and the included 18-watt adapter will allow you not to spend a lot of time at the outlet. In 45 minutes, the smartphone restores 50% of its charge.

Alternatives

Competition among inexpensive smartphones is very intense: every ruble counts, so buyers meticulously study every offer. In turn, manufacturers, trying to attract the attention of the audience, rely on the price or characteristics of smartphones.

I'll start with the unchanged Redmi 8. The smartphone can be bought for 9-10 thousand rubles, but it does not have NFC, and the performance is lower than that of OPPO A5 (2020):

Xiaomi Redmi 8 review: cheap, but not cheerful

Alexander Pobyvanets

19 October 2019

As a more interesting alternative, you can look towards the Redmi Note 8T, but it will cost 14-15 thousand rubles, if you take phones from official supplies for comparison:

Redmi Note 8T review: the secret of success

Alexander Pobyvanets

January 21, 2020

Samsung has the Galaxy A30s, but it costs more, about 14 thousand rubles, and is inferior in characteristics to the hero of our review:

Review of the inexpensive smartphone Samsung Galaxy A30s

Alexander Pobyvanets

October 1, 2019

Review of the OPPO A5 smartphone: a fashionable middle class or an overrated middling? (page 2)

OPPO A5 review: software and firmware

OPPO A5 runs Google Android 8.1 OS with ColorOS version 5.1 shell

We have already reviewed it several times in previous reviews of OPPO smartphones (for example, OPPO F7, OPPO Find X). This is a powerful and highly customizable shell; the manufacturer even calls it a full-fledged operating system. And, unlike many analogues, it can really be used fully and without suffering.

There is even its own intelligent assistant:

Updates arrive regularly - there were two of them during the test. And this despite the fact that the smartphone initially worked stably and without any problems. Literally: despite the heavy load with numerous tests and a comprehensive check of the functionality of the device’s functions, there was not a single freeze or crash of the application, not to mention the device reboots.

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And there is not even a standard ability to reboot the smartphone - apparently, the manufacturer is so confident that it will not be needed. Shutdown only:

There are all the necessary functions for basic customization.

Compared to more expensive models, the wide range of security features has not disappeared (we wrote about them in more detail earlier).

With the software part, everything is not bad, but the only noticeable advantages so far are the design of the case. OPPO smartphones are known for their excellent sound quality on headphones. Perhaps something interesting awaits us here?

OPPO A5 review: multimedia

Remembering the experience with the OPPO Find X, the first thing I did was go into the sound settings and turn off the “enhancer”, which traditionally makes the results in RMAA “very bad”.

So the results turned out to be “good”:

The smartphone, as usual, was tested using an ASUS Xonar U7 sound card with a recording signal-to-noise ratio of 110 dB.

And real listening confirms this: the device plays well, cleanly, with a full frequency range, and even quite expensive and high-quality in-ear headphones (like the Sennheiser IE 80) reveal well.

The performance of OPPO A5 is enough for trouble-free playback of any video formats (for any kind of MKV it is better to install a universal player). And the sound will be fine. Although there is only one speaker, it is loud enough and does not produce the worst sound (although, of course, you won’t get full highs or any noticeable lows from a simple phone speaker).

The situation is similar with the earpiece: it is loud enough, the interlocutor’s voice sounds natural. And he, despite the lack of a hardware noise reduction system, will hear you normally in most cases.

OPPO A5 review: wireless interfaces and connectivity

There was no full-fledged big and fat plus in the multimedia part. But here it will be small, but in modern times really bold:

Yes, we have a tray with three separate slots for two SIMs and a MicroSD memory card.

For a pair of SIM cards, all basic settings are available, and the interface of the telephone and SMS clients is optimized for them - there is no need to make unnecessary movements.

LTE is supported, although not as many bands as it could be (and as we saw in the same OPPO Find X). They are all listed on the box:

As a result, in many cases you will see a 3G connection and data transfer rates like these:

Wi-Fi is also supported only by the old 2.4 GHz 811n standard. So the speeds are far from record (although decent):

Everything is fine with geopositioning without any reservations. Here everything is traditional for the Qualcomm SoC: satellites are “caught” quickly even during a “cold” start without the help of an active Internet connection, the accuracy is good, and the tracking is smooth.

OPPO A5 review: file system

OPPO A5 has a built-in storage capacity of 32 GB. Of these, about 23 GB are initially available to the user.

Connecting to a PC as a built-in storage device is not possible - only for transferring files and photos as a multimedia device. The standard is USB 2.0, the speed is average for modern times - about 10 MB/s.

OPPO A5 review: battery life

The battery of the OPPO A5 should be the strong point of the device. And overall it lives up to expectations. The 4,000 mAh battery is enough for the smartphone to last until the end of the day in almost any usage scenario. And in most scenarios it will last for two days.

And this is good, because the voluminous (in the literal sense - it is a fairly large, almost regular cube) charger included in the kit is only one-ampere (5 V / 1 A), and the device with it charges for a long time - more than four hours.

Using a two-amp charger allows you to reduce this time to two and a half hours. Faster charging methods are not supported.

Like all “branded” smartphones, there are two energy saving modes, designed to increase the already decent battery life.

OPPO A5 review: camera

OPPO A5 boasts dual main and single front cameras.

Main: 13.0 and 2.0 megapixels. The second is obviously just an auxiliary one, which allows the maximum to be realized in the bokeh effect in the pictures. Or perhaps it is not used at all. At the same time, the declared aperture values ​​for both modules are f/2.2 and 2.4, respectively. In principle, it's fine.

The interface is already familiar to us from the manufacturer’s older models:

Overall convenient, everything is at hand. There are not many modes. There is no full-fledged manual mode, as well as slow motion (but there is accelerated shooting). Of course, you can try shooting in HDR, taking a portrait with the background blurred, stitching together a panorama, and also putting stickers on photos. In addition, there is a digital 2x “zoom”, which should give better results than simple extrapolation.

In daylight you can get some good shots (all photos are clickable, the link opens the original photo):

And even with the same zoom (although, of course, you won’t see new details, but at least the picture remains generally smooth):

As you can see from the sky, HDR doesn't work very impressively, but the detail is good, the white balance is adequate - in general, what more could you want from a mid-range smartphone?

But at night everything becomes not so rosy:

No, unlike inexpensive Chinese smartphones, which in such conditions would simply show a black background with a couple of indistinct spots, in the dim light of street lamps it is quite possible to see the scene, but the photographs cannot be called high-quality and detailed.

A few more examples of pictures in different conditions. On the left are normal ones, on the right – with “zoom”:

In general, we have seen much worse for this money.

Traditionally, the front camera for OPPO is also good – the manufacturer continues to focus on “selfies”. The proprietary AI SelfieTune 2.0 technology is supported, designed to save the smartphone user money on trips to the gym and beauty salons. And the “selfies” even in dim artificial light turn out quite good:

The smartphone also shoots video in Full HD. It looks something like this:

OPPO A5 review: comparison with competitors

OPPO A5 is already on sale at a recommended price of 16,990 rubles. The mid-budget segment is the most saturated with offer. There are inexpensive models from leading brands, as well as mid-range models from slightly less well-known and reputable brands. And dozens, if not hundreds of all kinds of Chinese of varying degrees of “no-name”, often with very flagship (at least on paper) characteristics. As always, let's look at a few typical options:

Take, for example, ASUS ZenFone 5 Lite. A 2020 smartphone (albeit just the beginning) with a six-inch FHD+ display and a more powerful platform now costs about 16 thousand rubles. The absence of bangs will upset some people, but will make others happy. But the overall simple design in comparison with the OPPO A5 is a clear lag. As well as a noticeably lower battery capacity with quite comparable dimensions and weight.

But what about the “major league”? After the release of such smartphones as Huawei P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro, the Chinese manufacturer has finally gained a foothold among the leading brands. And in the middle and mid-budget segments it has been strong for a long time. And here is the current model - Mate 20 lite.

As usual, the “light” version is noticeably simpler than its flagship counterparts. However, in most respects, the Mate 20 lite is still at least as good as the hero of the review. Yes, it is a couple thousand rubles more expensive. However, for those for whom this is important, Huawei has another available version - the previous flagship - P20 lite.

Once again, it is on par with the OPPO model. Only in terms of the size of the display – it’s 5.8″. But the resolution is higher – FHD+. With the same official price and the possibility of finding Huawei P20 lite in stores even cheaper, it’s a good offer.

Yes, and in the model range of the same OPPO there are alternatives. Take the OPPO F5 smartphone, a mid-level model of the previous generation. We tested it at the very end of last year and found it quite suitable. In general, it is clear that now this is no longer the latest fashion: there are no “bangs” again, the back cover does not play with edges. However, the rest of the characteristics are at the same level, and again the previous generation model is inferior to the hero of the review only in battery capacity and, perhaps, in the quality of pictures of the main camera (the front one is good here). The current price is about 16 thousand rubles. There's a lot to think about.

As is the case with many, many other smartphones... Xiaomi? Who said "Xiaomi"? In the “up to 20 thousand rubles” segment, should you look at them first? According to many enthusiasts, and in more expensive ones too?

I won’t even remember about Pocophone F1, which can already be found in domestic retail for a little more than 20 thousand rubles. – after all, it goes beyond the discussed segment of 15–20 thousand.

But for less than 14 thousand rubles you can buy the official Redmi 5 Plus - and again with a clearer display, a 600-series Snap and in a metal case. Yes, with a single camera and a more ordinary appearance without bangs. But, again, some will say that this is even better.

Conclusion

What's the result? Overall, a balanced mid-budget smartphone that may well find its buyer. But it’s hardly ready to become the best buy for your money. First of all, the low screen resolution is a hindrance - competitors in this price segment offer clearer displays. And let’s not forget about the lack of NFC, which is still chronic for many Chinese manufacturers. At the end of 2020, it would be nice to have them and smartphones cheaper than 20 thousand rubles. Savings “on matches” in the form of a missing LED indicator against this background are already lost.

Otherwise, there are no major failures: a nice design reminiscent of older models, a large amount of RAM and adequate performance, not the worst cameras, decent battery life. And we will separately note this until manufacturers come to their senses with their imaginary space saving in the smartphone: three separate slots for SIM cards and memory cards.

All these are real advantages of a smartphone, which traditionally for most OPPO models just needs to cost several thousand less (or better yet, a little more than 10 thousand). In the meantime, taking into account the price, the number of advantages does not exceed the total number of disadvantages and shortcomings of the device.

Pros of OPPO A5:

• Good build quality and interesting design;
• Not bad cameras;
• Separate slot for two SIM and memory card;
• Capacious battery with adequate weight and size parameters of the smartphone.

Disadvantages of a smartphone:

• Low screen resolution;
• Lack of LED indicator and noise reduction system.
• High price.

May not suit:

• Lack of NFC.

Jabbadaboom

We express our gratitude to:

• To the official representative office of OPPO in Russia for the OPPO A5 smartphone provided for testing.