Computer Shopper - UK (2020-07)

39

OPPOANDXIAOMIarebothChinesefirms
making inroads intothe UK smartphone
scene,and sometimes comparisons between
the two run remarkably deep: the Oppo A5
budget handset is almost identical to the
Xiaomi Redmi Note8T(Shopper387)on
specs. It’s cheaper,but only by £10.
Which, then, is the better buy?

WEIGHTWATCHING
The first thing you notice about the Oppo A5
is that it’s pretty chunky. That’s not just down
to it having to make room fora6.5in display, as
at 195g, it’s only agram lighter than the huge
Samsung Galaxy Note10+ (Shopper382).
It’s less of aproblem when you get used
to it, however,and as forlooks,it’snot any
better or worse looking than the Redmi Note
8T.Both even have the same semi-circle notch
forthe front camera. It’s well equipped with
extras, too, including arear fingerprint reader,
room forboth two SIMs as well as amicroSD
card andaheadphone jack. This jack is
positioned on the bottom edge,however,
which again takes getting used to.
The screen uses an IPS panel with a
resolution of 1,600x720 –very much on the
low side fora6.5in display. The Redmi Note
8T’s 6.3in panel is slightly smaller,but much
sharper at 2,340x1,080. The A5 still has a
decent screen on its merits, covering 89.7% of
the sRGB colour gamut and achieving ahigh
contrast of 1,375:1,not to mention an
impressively high peak brightness of
512cd/m^2 .Unfortunately
forOppo,the Redmi Note
8T is simply better overall,
thanks to its sharper
resolution, even higher
contrast and more vivid
95.7% sRGB coverage.
Powering the Oppo
A5 is aQualcomm
Snapdragon 665 and
either 3GB or 4GB of
RAM, depending on
the version; our test
unit had 3GB.
That is, of course, the
same chip foundwithin
the Redmi Note8T, and
our benchmark results
reflect this lackof
difference.The A5’s
scores of 1,514 and 5,508
in the Geekbench 4
single-core and multicore

OPPOA5

★★★★★

£160•From http://www.carphonewarehouse.com

VERDICT

This adecentbudget Androidhandset, but
you can do better even at such alow price

ANDROID9SMARTPHONE

tests respectively are in line

with not just its close Xiaomi

rival, but also other cheap

smartphones such as the

Motorola MotoG8Power

(opposite) and Honor P

Smart; the Redmi Note8T

has aslightlyhigher multicore

score of 5,600, but this

doesn’t signal anoticeable

difference in normal use.

In the GFXBench

Manhattan gaming

benchmark, the A5 beat

its rivals with 33fps in the

onscreen test, though since

it’s a720pphone going up

against 1080p models, it was

always going to have an

advantage; though it’s also

fine to opt forlower frame

rates in exchange foracrisper image.

It doesn’t seem to affect performance

much, but Oppo’s ColorOS Android skin is

certainly one of the more aggressive we’ve

used. While it’s hugely customisable in terms

of how you navigate, it’s enough of a

departure from the stock Android UI that

you’ll need to spend some time learning it.

Still, there’s not much in terms of bundled

apps, barring afew of Oppo’s own apps:

AquaMail, Game Space and Music. You’re

also givenFacebook and Opera, which you

mayormay notwant.

REVERSAL OF

FORTUNES

There is one unqualified

advantage to the A5,

however,and it’s abig

one.Likethe MotoG8

Power,thisphone

contains agigantic

5,000mAh battery,and it

helped the A5 last fora

superb 19h 47m: well

beyond the 14h 53m of

the Redmi Note8T.

The A5 also joins the

MotoG8Power (and, yet

again, the Redmi Note8T)

in offering afour-lens rear

camera at alower-than-

usual price.The main

12-megapixel sensor is

supported by an

8-megapixel ultrawide

sensor and two 2-megapixel

lenses to “provide artistic

portrait effects” –depth-of-

field effects, in other words,

though it’s not clear why

the A5 needs two of these

lenses when similar setups

manage with one.

In any case,photographic

performance is mixed, though

not in the wayyou might

expect.Cheap smartphone

cameras usually handle

outdoor shots respectably

then struggle indoors, but the

A5 has amuchtougher time

than its competitors when

trying to capture outdoor

detail. Colours also appear

weirdly smoggy.

In conventionally more

difficult low-light conditions, however,the

A5’s shotsare less blurred and more detailed

than those of itsrivals. That alone gives it

some appeal, although overall, we’d still say

the Redmi Note8T’s camera arrayisthe

better one.Besides its farbetter detail capture

in favourable lighting, its own fourth lens

actually adds bonus capability in the form of a

macro sensor,asopposed to being just one

half of aportrait mode shooter.

SAME BUT DIFFERENT

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the

Oppo A5, but all things considered, its only

big win over the Redmi Note8Tisbattery

life; on every other metric, Xiaomi’s phone

is either as good or better,and that’s more

than worth the £10 premium.

If you do want along-lastingphone and

don’t mind a720p display, this isn’t even the

best choice on those terms: consider a

discounted MotoG7Power instead.

AlanMartin

Battery life

0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100

See page 100for performancedetails

PROCESSOROcta-core2GHzQualcomm Snapdragon 665•

SCREEN SIZE6.5in•SCREEN RESOLUTION1,600x720•

REAR CAMERAS12 megapixels, 8megapixels,2megapixels,

2megapixels•STORAGE64GB•WIRELESS DATA4G•

NFCNo•DIMENSIONS164x76x9.1mm•WEIGHT195g•

OPERATING SYSTEMAndroid 9•WARRANTYTwoyears RTB

• DETAILSwww.oppo-uk.com•PART CODECPH1931

SPECIFICATIONS

19h47m