Oppo is known for its range of budget devices. Also known as the AX5s, the A5s is one of their more popular phones. Let’s see if it’s worth your money below.
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It’s the era of the giant phone. Oppo would be left behind if they didn’t make their phones big, which is why the A5s is large. It stretches 6.2 inches across. This is great, but if you have smaller hands, this is probably the last thing you want to hear.
Considering that the AX5s is very affordable, it’s surprising that it’s so slim. Its dimensions are 155.9 x 75.4 x 8.2 mm.
Speaking of it being affordable, you don’t normally see phones its price rock glass bodies. The A5s didn’t try to surprise us. You get a glossy plastic rear. The glossiness makes it glass-like.
Like most gadgets that are glossy, the Oppo device is a major fingerprint magnet.
The AX5s is not a brick in your hands. It comes in at 170 grams. It’s sturdy but not too heavy in our books.
If you’re expecting a range of colours, get ready to be disappointed. You can only get the AX5s in black, red, gold and green. Although not the largest range, we have to applaud Oppo. Green and red aren’t colours you usually find around.
Did we mention how comfortable the A5s is in your hands? Its edges are round, letting it fit snuggly into palms.
You shouldn’t be surprised to hear that it has a MicroUSB port. In other news, it comes with a headphone jack and microSD slot.
The device has a fingerprint sensor, unlike the A5. It’s snappy, but not the fastest.
The phone has a Super LCD display. You heard that right – a Super LCD. It’s a panel that’s not the most common, but what exactly makes it so “super”? Its viewing angles. S-LCDs are notorious for being able to handle glare. They also consume less power.
As they’re great for the outdoors, we’re thrilled. The bright, Sri Lankan sun has nothing on the A5S.
Being on the larger side, you get a more immersive viewing experience. However, the colours aren’t that vibrant. At the end of the day, you’re still met with an LCD screen.
The sharpness on the phone isn’t that great. It comes with a 720 P display.
We’re glad that it doesn’t have the largest notch. It’s quite small, which is why we were surprised that it doesn’t have a better screen-to-body ratio. It’s only 81.6%.
Like any Oppo phone, you can finetune its screen. There is a range of temperatures and tones to play with.
What shields its display? Durable Gorilla Glass 3.
You’re getting a 4230 mAh battery. It performs well, lasting over a day. With very extensive use, you get a day out of it.
Although its battery is impressive, its charging capabilities are not. The supplied charger takes it around 2 hours to fully charge.
If you’re wondering if it comes with wireless charging, don’t get your hopes up. The same is true for reverse charging.
The Helio P35 chip is by your side. Daily tasks are a breeze. You’ll see the phone act up when you begin to multitask. It can’t handle anything extensive; this is especially true for gaming.
Having a MicroSD slot, the ability to expand its storage is appreciated. You might not want to do this as its memory variants are really good. You can choose from 32 and 64 gigs of space along with 2, 3 or 4 GB of RAM. The 4 gig RAM variant is the snappiest, we found less trouble with it.
Android 8.1 is at your disposal. We have no idea if the A5s will get the Android 10 update. We’re hopeful, though.
The A5s was not in the official list of devices to receive the ColorOS 11 update. We hope Oppo decide to include this device in the update schedule, however, this remains doubtful.
If you’re an Android purist, stay away from the mid-ranger. It has the ColorOS inside of it. It’s as far away from Stock Android as possible. But it’s very customizable. It’s also huge on bloatware, which isn’t so great.
The device has a dual camera set up. Its primary sensor is a 13 MP lens while its secondary sensor is a 2 MP depth sensor.
In well-lit settings, it performs great. Details are good, but not-so-much for objects further away from the camera. The A5s takes colour accurate shots – we were surprised by the exposure on them.
Oppo loves adding multiple camera modes into their phones. This is especially true for the AX5s. We found the beauty mode on its front camera the most fun. However, like most beauty modes on budget devices, it was very aggressive with its skin whitening.
Speaking of its front camera, it’s a single set-up. It’s an 8 MP sensor that can take shots equally as great as its main set up.
The phone makes for a great purchase. Let’s see how well it fairs with alternatives below.
Like its Oppo counterpart, the A10s has plastic body. It feels about as sturdy as the A5s. It’s as big too. That being said, it doesn’t offer as immersive of a viewing experience. The phone comes with a PLS TFT screen.
If you know anything about TFTs, it’s that they’re not as vibrant as LCDs. They don’t offer good viewing angles either. Considering that the AX5s has a Super LCD screen, it beats its Samsung counterpart any day of the week.
The A10s has a really small notch, which is why we were surprised that its screen-to-body ratio is about the same as the Oppo. Something else that is similar is their screen resolutions.
Samsung loves placing Exynos processors in their phones. The A10s is different. It comes with a MediaTek chip. The MediaTek Helio P22 is inside of it. It easily gets beaten by the P35 chip.
Out of the box, you’re met with Android 9. Unlike the Oppo device, the A10s can be upgraded to Android 10.
Storage-wise, you don’t get the best options. You can only get it with 32 GBs of space along with 2 or 3 GBs of RAM.
Its battery is 200 mAh’s smaller than AX5s’. It lasts about a day. The A10s doesn’t come with fast charging either. You can expect it to fully charge in 2 hours.
Its camera is similar to the A5s’. There’s a dual set-up on its back. The primary sensor is a 13 MP wide lens while the secondary sensor is a 2 MP depth sensor. In terms of its front camera, there’s an 8 MP shooter for you to play with.
The Nokia 2.2 is much lighter than its Oppo counterpart. It’s built from plastic too. But we don’t think it feels as great in your hands.
By today’s standards, it pretty small. You’re getting a hold of a 5.71-inch device. Most phones these days are over 6 inches, so we don’t know how to feel.
he 2.2 doesn’t come with a great display. For starters, it has a regular LCD panel. Its screen-to-body ratio is less than 80% too.
Sharpness-wise, both phones perform equally.
Like the A5s, the 2.2 has a MediaTek chip inside. The alternative rocks the Helio A22, which isn’t as powerful as the A5s’ P35.
If it’s any consolation, know that the Nokia alternative comes with Android 9 and can be upgraded to Android 10.
It doesn’t offer much memory variants as its Oppo counterpart. You only get it with 16 and 32 gigs of space along with 2 or 3 GB of RAM. Like its counterpart, you can expand its storage.
The 2.2’s battery is small. It’s about 1200 mAhs smaller than the AX5s. Because of this, it barely lasts a day.
Similar to the A10s, it’s an alternative that doesn’t come with fast charging. You can expect it to fully charge in around 2 hours.
If you’re a fan of dual cameras, you’ll be disappointed by the phone. There’s a single 13 MP shooter on its back. In terms of its front camera, there’s a single set-up as well. It’s a 5 MP lens.
We think the Oppo A5s is a phone worth your time. When we said good things aren’t always expensive, we weren’t kidding. The device is one of the best mid-rangers we’ve ever tested.
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