The Oppo A5 2020 Review: Long Battery, Excellent Value

Category: Blog



If Oppo is a new brand name to you then maybe you are unsure whether Oppo makes quality smartphones. Don't worry, however, as the manufacturer is well known in its homeland & has invested a number of years building up to the release in Europe and elsewhere, and with great products like the Oppo Reno 10X impressing already.

A5 (2020) doesn't purport to be such a top level handset, yet it does give an attractive features with an affordable cost. And if you have been looking at the Motorola G8 Plus or a Moto One series phone, then the savings given by Oppo A5 2020, along with its large battery, present a strong case to buy.

The A5 2020 Build And Display



Dimensions: 163.6mm x 75.4mm x 9.1 mm
Weight: approx 195 grams
Colours: Dazzling White, Mirror Black
Screen: 6.5-inch LCD, 1600 x 720 res
3.5mm headphone jack
Back fingerprint scanner



There isn't any immediate signs the OPPO A5 (2020) is a budget handset. Its semi-reflective rear, with an Oppo logo transfer & the text "designed for A-series", comes with a understated sheen, and its cameras unit and back fingerprint scanner are positioned in a tidy way. Problem is, that the black finish of this phone which is more of a grey, and it is a real fingerprint magnet, and we found that scanner was a little too high in its position and too close to the phone's cameras.

It can be said the front 6.5-inch screen is huge, and yet not unwieldy, is kept together with trim bezel on the top and sides and only a little bit towards the 'chin' position. there's a dew drop notch out of the screen, and this is where the front-facing camera is positioned, but it is not distracting and has not been bothersome for the apps that we've been assessing. On top this is a tiny speaker grille, which is fine when making phonecalls, a thing we have discovered not to always be the case with, say, Xiaomi devices with a closely matched design.

and, the screen is not the highest resolution, offering HD+ resolution. That's like the 720p televisions of old, and while it does not look awful in its depiction of details, a Full HD+ screen, such as what you are provided with Motorola's G8 Plus. Sure, the Oppo is slightly less expensive than that Motorola, and yet those extra pixels would provide a big difference.

There is another problem with the device's display: remove the screen protector (just as we do with all review phones) & that top layer isn't the greatest at repelling fingerprint marks, which is a thing we've rarely seen since the Huawei P10. This doesn't spoil the experience, however you may get more coloured marks than you'd like to.

Elsewhere OPPO A5 (2020) comes with a 3.5 mm headphone jack, so there's no reason you cannot plug headphones into it, while the bottom speaker is great on producing sound for apps & music.

The Oppo A5 2020 Performance And Battery



Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 CPU
3GB RAM
64 GB storage
MicroSD card slot
5000 mAh Battery
USB-C port
ColorOS 6.0 operating system

Maybe the most impressive thing about A5 2020 is the battery lifespan. Despite the body not being too thick, it is a big 5,000mAh battery in there. When you think the Samsung Galaxy S10 has just 3,400mAh when comparing, you will realise potential for just how much more battery capacity this smartphone provides.

During the few days that we have been reviewing OPPO A5 (2020) , it is been delivering about 28 hours of use per charge. If you're not constantly on your phone That's enough for 2 days of life. If you're using your phone a lot, playing games and other types apps, well then you will still get a full day's use no headaches.

Battery charging is not lightning speed fast, but it's charged through USB-C, not Micro USB that some previous generation smartphones.

The handset's battery life is assisted by some specifications: the display, as we've seen, is not the best resolution panel around; & its processor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, isn't the highest performing COU on the market.

Now regarding the previous point, however, this is not a problem as we have been able to play apps such as Clash Of Clans without any issues, and while our go-to South Park: Phone Destroyer has been lag-free & & clear animations. Yes, this chip is the same you will find in the Motorola G8 Plus.

However, the CPU & RAM (at 3GB), can at times let the phone down. Be that a just a few seconds wait for a page to load, or a brief hang while an app is getting ready, it is these small manifestations that let one realise you are not making use of a flagship device.

The operating system is Oppo's long-established ColorOS, which based on the Google Android, over which ColorOS sits, but with their own updates. Due to this we do not think the user interface quite as clear-cut as an Android phone proper. Things such as too many notifications from battery management, every app being shown across a few screens as well as notifications we found taxing at times.

That said, there are some good add ons like fingerprint/face locking app for additional security, high levels of customization in the notifications, and a quick access to your favourite apps panel, & app duplication to allow you to use of the Dual SIM , but the system won't draw backups for the secondary app.

Using 2 SIM cards also doesn't disallow the possibility of 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.

A5 2020 Cameras



Rear Cameras:
Main: 12 megapixel, f/1.8 aperture
Ultra-wide: 8 Megapixel, f/2.25 aperture
Two 2 Megapixel depth sensors, f/2.4
Selfie Camera: 8 Mega-pixel, f/2.0

Camera-wise, Oppo A5 2020 the 'quad' camera system, but as two of those on the rear are depth sensors, and the ultra-wide camera doesn't function you can think of it as a single lens design.

The camera app is a not fast, but it isn't too bad for an affordable device. We've had no issues shooting in even low-light conditions, and the close-up focus works really well. Something of a rarity in many phones and camera systems.

There isn't a lot of bells & whistles though. You will have HDR to hide any shadow and highlight details, but you will not get any help for low-light photos &, like we say, there's no wide option.

There is a 2x & a 5x digital zoom, which crops into pictures, however does still gives a 12MP image. As for the ultra-wide camera, Oppo's site states for panoramic pictures, and we presume this sensor is mainly used for panoramics, even though the angle of view when using this mode isn't wide. Most confusing.

And the photos we've taken with the phone's rear camera have clear detail with good light, however low light gives inevitable softness. And yet, for looking at on a smartphone display or to share on socials, that's good.

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

Final Results


If you are after a cheap smartphone there are many good choices, A5 (2020) amongst them. Its battery is great, with near 2 day {life|between charges, and the screen is {large|huge|good sized, and the chipset adequate for tasks and movies.

With that being said, the screen could be higher-resolution & more resistant to smudges, the rear camera is overstated, (treat it as a single 12MP main), and you may find the software not the most user friendly.

As for the money{, however,|you pay for the device it performs well, and the design is stylish, and there is all the signs of a strong Motorola G8 Plus nemesis right here. Plus, the Oppo A5 2020 isn't as pricey either.

OPPO A5 (2020) is neither more or less than the twin brother of the Oppo A9 due to the fact that it has in common with it the most features: 6.5-inch display, Snapdragon 665 CPU, 5000mAH battery, four-lens rear camera.

The Oppo A5 2020 Additional Info



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