The latest smartphone OPPO it is the interface between the budget and middle class. Stereo speakers or 90 Hz screen refreshing push it upwards, which paradoxically also pulls this phone down – due to its low resolution. The device is with the version with 64 GB of memory, which is PLN 100 more than its predecessor – A52. The most interesting thing about it is that it occurs … in two forms. Some time ago OnePlus (take it easy, I know this is a review OPPO A53), decided to change tactics and no longer focus only on affordable flagships, but expand the range of devices on offer. The result was an increase in the prices of top models and the launch of the line Nord – cheap middle class by definition. And so after the well received first Nord Two more devices entered the market – Nord N10 5G and N100 – that is, ours today OPPO A53. The only differences that may occur between both models are different software and perhaps the price. Everything else is identical. Therefore, in the first place – if you read someone from OnePlusthat they are an independent company that has nothing to do with OPPO, then don’t believe it, and secondly – this review is basically a review of two devices. So let’s see what makes this phone / phones stand out and if it is / are worth the money.
How do we rate design?
The phone does not stand out with anything special, which at this price can be rather a plus. Of course, plastic reigns supreme – but it is of decent quality and pleasant to the touch, has a nice, gradient, blue color in our test version, of course it collects fingerprints, but in the box there is a soft silicone case thanks to which this problem will disappear. On the lower edge of the plastic frame we have a mini-jack input for headphones, USB-C and one of the two speakers. The second one is integrated with the speaker for talking above the screen, so we deal with stereo speakers, which is rare in this class. And most importantly, they sound very nice, the sound is deep, not flat, there is no distortion when playing music loudly. It is also very nice on the headphones. You could write that OPPO quite unexpectedly, it gives us such sensations in this class of device, but the model A52 He also had stereo speakers, so I’m glad that the company cultivates the tradition of adding them to cheaper smartphones, which is where others do not even intend to think about it.
The buttons, traditionally for this manufacturer, are scattered – the switching is on the right side, two for volume control – on the left. There was also a tray for two SIM cards with an additional space for a memory card.
We have a fingerprint reader on our backs – fast, error-free and working without any problems. Unlocking the phone with the face works equally well – the screen wakes up by itself after being lifted, the front camera is used for this.
An island with three lenses and a LED diode protrudes slightly above the surface, but in the case the phone hardly wobbles on a flat surface. The dimensions are 163.9 x 75.1 x 8.4 mm and the weight is 186 g.
What do we think about the display?
The screen is made in technology IPS TFT, has a diagonal of 6.50 inches, HD + resolution, 720 x 1600 pixels and 270 ppi. Despite the low resolution, however, I have no objections to the sharpness of the displayed image, even after the maximum zooming in, the font is not frayed. The problem is rather the brightness of the screen, viewing angles and color saturation, indoors it is ok, but for example when taking pictures on a sunny day we will have a problem with the evaluation of the camera – looking for a shadow is a must, as is browsing pages. In the settings, we can only adjust the color temperature – we can choose from cold, default and warm. What A53 it makes up for the 90 Hz refresh rate that I would not expect in this class. We can choose from 90 or 60 Hz and automatic mode – where the phone selects the optimal frequency itself. I was permanently set to 90 Hz and although we are not dealing with a strong processor, the impressions during everyday use are definitely a plus.
The screen is protected by glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3, the manufacturer also sticks a protective foil of a good quality to it. There is no notification light or information displayed on a blank screen.
Specification / Operating System
OPPO A53 is powered by the company’s processor Qualcomm – Snapdragon 460 (4×1.8 GHz Kryo 240; 4×1.6 GHz Kryo 240) with the graphics chip Adreno 610 and 4 GB RAM. IN AnTuTu Benchmark such a system was obtained by 150090. The use of this processor is a rather incomprehensible regression for me – OPPO A52 was equipped with a more efficient Snapdragon 665.
We have 64 GB of built-in memory, expandable with a card. In general, the phone is good for everyday work – opening pages is smooth, multitasking is at a good level. However, the device will not be the best choice for game lovers – the simpler ones work well, for example on PUBG There was a noticeable drop in frames from time to time.
The phone can easily handle the role of navigation, it has NFC, so we will pay with it contactless, and the quality of calls is very good.
The communication package includes: dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, aptX HD. Localization is accomplished using: A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS. The sensor kit includes: accelerometer, proximity, light, magnetometer, gyro, gravity and fingerprint reader.
The software is Android 10 with overlay ColorOS 7.2. The system works very stably and without any problems. There are gestures, a dark theme, three home screen modes (standard, drawer and simple), different styles of icons and wallpapers, game space, screen sharing, application cloning, application manager among others with permissions and autostart. There is also a special widget to blank the screen or double tap to wake it up. A handy accessory is the Soloop application for editing and creating short videos shot with your phone.
What photos does he take and what films does he record?
The camera kit includes three lenses on the rear:
- 13 MP, f / 2.2, 25mm, 1 / 3.06 “, 1.12µm, PDAF;
- 2 MP, f / 2.4 macro;
- 2 MP, f / 2.4 depth sensor.
On the front we have:
- 16 MP, f / 2.0, 1 / 3.06 “, 1.0µm.
Personally, I am not a fan of adding poor quality eyelets to increase their number, which is only a marketing procedure and has nothing to do with the quality of photography. Therefore, there is no point in writing about macro photos and you should focus on photos from the main lens.
The application is easy to use, at the bottom we have the following modes: video, photo and portrait, and in the more tab we will find macro stickers, Google Lens, time-lapse movie, panorama and a pro mode, which I would not expect here at all. At the top we have flash, HDR, dazzling color, filters and the entrance to the settings where, among others, AI or artificial intelligence.
Moving on to the quality of the photos – not crazy, but it’s quite decent. The condition is a lot of light and a stationary object – then we are able to take a nice-looking photo with good detail. Personally, however, I used the built-in photo editor and the auto-enhancement option quite often, thanks to which photos in a completely tasteful and natural way gain contrast and brightness – without losing anything on details. Without it, the colors are quite faded. The maximum digital zoom is 6x, but at this value there is a lot of noise even in good light. But 2 or even 3x zoom is easily suitable for publication on social media. In portrait mode, the background is cut off quite accurately, but with the selfie it was often very blown, but at least the foreground was sharp. We do not have a special night mode and photos after dark, even in a lit, urban scenery, are not impressive. We will record the video in FHD and HD resolutions, we do not have image stabilization, so it’s better to record from the spot, if we walk while shooting, the image will shake unpleasantly.
Sample pictures:
How long does the battery last?
The cell has a capacity of 5000 mAh, which, with a low screen resolution and an undemanding processor, gives us between two and three days of work, even with 90 Hz refreshing. The results of work on the screen that I achieved were 6 hours in 3 days or about 7, 8 in two. The charger has a power of 18W and charging the battery takes about 2 hours. No inductive charging.
Conclusion
Generally OPPO A53 is a very decent phone for less demanding users. Stereo speakers or 90 Hz refreshing are pleasant additions in this class. In fact, I have two more serious reservations. The first is … OPPO A52. Predecessor A53 has a more efficient processor, and in terms of A53 we only lose 90 Hz screen refresh rate. The second is the price. For around PLN 800, we are able to buy better-functioning devices, and still not exceeding a thousand, we can even own a phone with an AMOLED screen. realme 7 the same price beats A53 on the head of the efficiency and quality of photos. We have to pay the same for Redmi Note 9, and by paying only PLN 100 we will still buy a great one Redmi Note 8 Pro. We must not finally forget about OnePlus N100, because the magic of the name can also pick up OPPO part of the clients.
Who is it for OPPO A53:
- Brand lovers
- People who want the cheapest device with 90 Hz screen refresh
- People who want good stereo speakers in an affordable smartphone
- People who require a long working time on a single charge
For whom it is not OPPO A53:
- People who need a good quality screen
- People looking for the most efficient device at an affordable price
- Mobile photography enthusiasts
Advantages OPPO A53:
- Stereo speakers
- 90 Hz screen refresh
- Long duration of action
- Satisfactory pace of work
- Well-working facial recognition
- A well-functioning fingerprint reader
- NFC
Disadvantages OPPO A53:
- Low resolution screen
- Average quality photos
- No wide-angle lens
- No night mode
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