Oppo's A5 2020 Test: Great Battery, Fantastic Value For Money




Should Oppo be a new brand name to you then some might say you are unsure whether OPPO makes decent equipment. Don't fear, however, for the company is well established in its homeland and has invested a number of years preparing for this launch in Europe & beyond, and with innovative handsets like the Oppo's Reno 10X already making an splash.

OPPO A5 (2020) does not pretend to be a flagship device, however it does provide a very compelling features at an excellent cost. And if you have been eyeing up the Motorola G8 Plus or the Moto One series phone, then the general savings provided by Oppo's A5 2020, and its big battery, make a case to buy.

A5 2020 Display And Design



Dimension: 163.6 mm x 75.4mm x 9.1 mm
Phone Weight: approx 195 g
Colours: Dazzling White, Mirror Black
Screen Size: 6.5 inch, 1600 x 720 res
3.5mm headphones jack
Back fingerprint scan sensor



With no immediate indicators that the OPPO A5 (2020) is a entry-level phone. The semi-reflective back, emblazoned with the Oppo logo transfer & the text designed for A series, has a bright gloss, while its camera and back fingerprint scanner are aligned in a tidy form. Problem is, that the Mirror Black colour of this model which is more of a gray, and is easy to get dirty, and I thought that the scanner a little high in its position, too close to the phone's camera.

It can also be said to the front 6.5-inch screen is big, but not unwieldy, and is kept together with a neat trim bezel on top & sides and only a little bit towards the 'chin' section. there is a dew drop style notch out of the screen, which is where the selfie camera lives, but it's not distracting and has not been bothersome for any apps that we've been testing. On top this is a small speaker grille, and this is good when making phone calls, which we have found not to always be the case with, say, other handsets that have a similar design.

However, the screen isn't the highest resolution going, offering an HD+ resolution. That's like the 720p TVs of the older design, & while it does not appear awful in its presentation of details, a Full HD+ screen, such as what you are provided with Motorola's G8 Plus. Indeed, the Oppo is marginally cheaper than the Motorola, however those extra pixels would help make a difference.

There's another difficulty with the phone's display: remove the plastic screen guard (just as we do with all review phones) and that top layer isn't the best at preventing fingerprint marks, and this is a thing we've hardly beheld since Huawei's P10. It does not ruin the experience, but you may catch some more rainbow smears than you'd like.

Elsewhere in the design Oppo's A5 2020 has a 3.5mm headphone jack, so there is no reason why you cannot plug headphones into it, & the bottom speaker is excellent sounding when producing sound for tones & film clips.

Oppo's A5 2020 Key Specs



Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 Chipset
3 GB Of RAM
64 GB on board storage
MicroSD expansion
5000 mAh Battery
USB Type-C port
ColorOS 6.0 Android based

Maybe the most impressive thing about A5 (2020) is the device's battery life. Despite the body not being too thick, it's squeezed a 5,000mAh unit in this device. If you realise the S10 has only 3,400mAh when comparing, you will understand potential for how much more battery capacity this handset provides.

The few days that we've been using Oppo's A5 2020 , it's been delivering about 28 hours of use per charge. If you're not constantly on your phone That's going to give 2 days of working. If you are on your phone aplenty, playing games & other types apps, then you'll see a full day of use no worries.

Battery charging isn't super-fast, however it's done by USB C, not Micro-USB that quite a few previous generation phones.

Battery life is aided by a number of efficiencies of the smartphone: its screen, as we've said, is not the best resolution display going; & its processor, a Snapdragon 665, isn't the most powerful COU made.

Now regarding the last point, however, it's not a big limitation because we've been able to play titles like Boom Beach with no buffering, while the main title South Park: Phone Destroyer has been lag-free and & clean animations. Indeed, this chipset is the same you'll find in the Motorola G8 Plus.

and the CPU and amount of RAM (at 3GB), can sometimes let the phone down. Whether that is a just a few seconds extra to wait for something to load up, or a buffering while an app is readying, it is only these small issues that make one know you are not on a flagship handset.

The operating system is Oppo's ColorOS, which is a lot like the Google Android, upon which ColorOS lays, and Oppo has made their own customizations. Due to this we don't find the user interface as clear-cut as an Android phone. Features like constant notifications from the handset's battery watchdog, and every app being layed out over a few pages as well as notifications are taxing at times.

With that said, there are some good features such as security app for safety, high levels of customization in the notifications formats, a side-swipe quick-access favourite apps panel, & app duplication to make use of the Dual SIM , however the system won't pull backups for the second app.

Having 2 SIM cards additionally does not prohibit expanding on the on board storage, as there is a dedicated microSD card slot. Very handy if you want heaps of photos, videos & apps on your device - an extra 64GB is unlikely to cost more than a tenner.

OPPO A5 (2020) Camera



Rear Camera:
Main: 12 megapixel, f/1.8 aperture
Ultra-wide: 8MP, f/2.25 aperture
Two 2 mega-pixel depth sensors, f/2.4
Front Facing Cmaera: 8MP, f/2.0

Camera-wise, Oppo's A5 2020 the four camera setup, but because two of those on the rear being depth sensors, and the ultra-wide camera does not function you can think of the rear cameras as just a single lens system.

The camera app is a not the fastest, but the main camera isn't awful for an base model handset. We have had no issues shooting even in low-light environments, while close-up focus functions really well. Something of a oddity in many handsets and camera systems.

There are not a lot of bells and whistles though. You will have HDR (high dynamic range) to remove those shadow & highlight the details, but you will not find any help for night pictures and, as I said, there's no wide option available.

You do get a 2x and 5x digital zoom, which crops into photos, but does still delivers a 12MP photo. As for the ultra wide camera, Oppo's site says for panoramic pictures, so I presume that this sensor is just for panoramics, even though the angle of view when using this mode is not wide. This can be confusing.

Most of the pictures we've snapped with its camera have good detail with good lighting conditions, but low light causes soft results. That said, as for viewing on a phone display or to share on social media, this is adequate.

On the front, there is an 8MP camera which has the usual glut of Oppo's smoothing and face-thinning effects which, we are happy to never use. Each to their own, though, we know there are fans of the 'beautification' options.

The final Conclusion


And if you're wanting an affordable device there is a few options, OPPO A5 (2020) with these phones. The handset's battery life is great, with nearly 2 day {life|between charges, its display is {large|huge|good sized, & its chipset ample for everyday tasks & playing media.

That said, the display could be clearer and more resistant to marks, and the camera is hyped, (treat it as a single 12MP main), and some may find the software not the most user friendly.

As for the money{, however,|you pay for this device everything performs adequately, the design is modern, and there's all the signs of a strong Motorola G8 Plus competitor here. And, the Oppo is not as pricey either.

The Oppo A5 2020 is either more nor less than the twin of the OPPO A9 (2020) owing to the fact that it has in common with it the most benefits: 6.5-inch display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor, a 5,000 mAh battery, quad lens main camera.

OPPO A5 (2020) Further Information & Learning










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