Oppo A5 2020 Reviewed: Huge Battery, Excellent Value

Category: Blog



If Oppo is a new company to you then maybe you are unsure whether Oppo makes good phones. Don't worry, though, as OPPO is well regarded in China & has spent quite a few years building up to its launch in Europe and elsewhere, with quality smartphones like the OPPO Reno 10X impressing already.

A5 (2020) doesn't pretend to be a flagship smartphone, but it sure does deliver an attractive specification at an excellent cost. So if you've been looking at a Motorola G8 Plus or even a Moto One series smartphone, then the savings provided by A5 2020, and its large battery, present a good case for its consideration.

Oppo A5 2020 Styling & Screen



Size: 163.6 mm x 75.4mm x 9.1mm
Weight: 195 grams
Colours: Mirror Black, Dazzling White
Screen: 6.5 inch, 1600 x 720 res
3.5mm headphones jack
Back finger print scanner



With no immediate signs that the The Oppo A5 2020 is a entry-level phone. Its semi-reflective rear, has the Oppo logo transfer & the script "designed for A-series", has a nice shne, while its camera & back fingerprint scanner are centrally aligned in a neat way. The problem is, that the mirror black finish of this model which is more a grey, and is easy to get dirty, & I thought that scanner a little high in its position and too close to the phone's camera.

It can also be said the front 6.5-inch screen is large, without being unwieldy, is held together with trim bezel on the top & sides & just a tiny bit towards the lower section. there's a dew drop notch out of the screen, and is where the front camera is, and it is not distracting & has not been a bother for the apps that we have been using. Above this is a small speaker grille, which sounds good when making phone calls, a thing we've discovered not to always be the case with, say, other devices that have a close design.

Indeed, the display is not the best resolution, providing HD+ resolution. That is like the 720p televisions of the older design, and while it doesn't look bad in its resolution of details, a Full HD+ screen, like you get with the Motorola G8 Plus. Sure, this device is somewhat less expensive than the Motorola, & yet those extra pixels would help make a difference.

There is another annoyance with the handset's display: peel off the plastic screen protector (just as we do with all review phones) and that top layer is not the greatest at preventing fingerprint marks, and this is a thing we've rarely looked at since the Huawei P10. This does not spoil your experience, but you may catch some more colored marks than you would want to.

Elsewhere in the design Oppo's A5 2020 comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack, & there is no reason why you can't plug headphones in, while the bottom speaker is excellent sounding when providing audio for games and audio.

The A5 2020 Key Specifications



Qualcomm's Snapdragon 665 CPU
3GB RAM
64 GB on board storage
MicroSD expansion
5000 mAh battery
USB Type C charge
ColorOS 6.0 Android based OS

Maybe the most impressive thing about OPPO A5 (2020) is the phone's battery life. As the body not being too thick, it's squeezed a 5000mAh cell in there. When you realise the S10 has only 3,400mAh when comparing, you can realise potential of how much more life this phone offers.

The few days that we've been reviewing The OPPO A5 2020 , it is been delivering about 28 hours of use per charge. If you're not constantly on your phone That is going to give two days of life. If you're using your phone aplenty, playing games & other types apps, then you will get a full day's use no hassles.

Charging the phone isn't super-fast, yet it is via USB Type-C, not the Micro-USB that quite a few previous generation devices.

The handset's battery life is helped by a few efficiencies of the phone: the display, as we've said, is not the best resolution panel available; and the processor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, is not the best chipset produced.

About the latter point, however, this is not a big limitation as we've been able to play apps like Archero with no buffering, while the main game South Park: Phone Destroyer has responded lag-free & and good scrolling. Yes, this is the same you'll find in Motorola's G8 Plus.

and the processor & RAM (at 3GB), can sometimes let the device down. Be that a a couple of seconds extra to wait for something to load up, or a brief hang while your game is sorting its business out, it is these small issues that let you realise you're not making use of a flagship phone.

The operating system is Oppo's ColorOS, which based on the Google Android operating system, over which ColorOS sits, and Oppo has made their own updates. Due to this we do not find the user interface quite as clearly as an Android device. Things such as many notifications from the device's battery watchdog, every app being positioned across multiple screens and notifications are taxing at times.

With that said, there are some good additions like fingerprint/face locking app for additional security, much customisation in the notifications formats, a side-swipe quick-access your favourite apps panel, & app duplication to make use the Dual SIM , yet the system will not pull backups for the second app.

Having 2 SIM cards additionally doesn't prevent the possibility of expanding upon the on board storage, as there's 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: 8mega-pixel, f/2.25 aperture
Two 2 MP depth sensors, f/2.4
Selfie Camera: 8 Megapixel, f/2.0

In terms of its cameras, The Oppo A5 2020 the 'quad' camera setup, but with two of rear cameras are depth sensors, & the ultra-wide camera doesn't function think of it as only a single lens system.

The camera app is a little bit slow, however this main camera is not too bad considering this is an affordable phone. We've had no issues shooting even in low-light conditions, while close up works fantastically. Something of a exception in many handsets and camera setups.

There aren't too many features. Yes, you have HDR (high dynamic range) to hide those shadow & highlight details, and you won't get anything for low-light shooting &, again, there's no wide option available.

You get a 2x and a 5x digital zoom, which crops into the image, however still gives a 12MP picture. As for the ultra wide camera, Oppo's site says for panoramic pictures, and we believe this setup is mainly for panoramics, even though the angle of view when using this mode isn't wide. We thought this confusing.

Most of the photos we've shot with the device's main camera will have ample detail with good lighting conditions, but low light causes soft results. That said, as for viewing on a phone display or for sharing on socials, that is perfectly fine.

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

Final Findings


If you are looking for a cheap handset there are quite a few options, OPPO A5 (2020) among this group. The battery is long lasting, having about two-day {life|between charges, and its display is {large|huge|good sized, and the chipset ample for everyday tasks & playing media.

That being said, the display could be higher-resolution & more resistant to smears, the quad camera is a total oversell, (treat it as a single 12MP main), and you may find the software not the best.

As for the money{, however,|you pay for the handset everything performs smoothly, and the design is spot on, & there is all the makings of a big Motorola G8 Plus nemesis here. Plus, the A5 2020 is not as expensive.

The Oppo A5 2020 is the twin of the A9 2020 as it shares with it the most features: 6.5 inch screen, Snapdragon 665 chipset, 5000 mAh battery, four-lens camera.

The OPPO A5 2020 Additional Reading










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