Budget smartphones are rarely surprising, but sometimes models appear on the market that can hold their own in everyday life without being too flashy. The Oppo A5 8/256 GB promises a decent amount of storage, two days of battery life, and stable performance for social media, video, and light gaming. At the same time, it has an HD+ screen from 2013, a very mediocre camera, and no 5G. We will find out whether practicality and battery life compensate for these shortcomings, how quickly the smartphone copes with daily tasks, and whether it is worth the money in the editorial review.
Content
| Parameter | Characteristics |
| Screen | IPS, 6.67 inches, 1604×720 pixels (20:9), 264 ppi, 90 Hz, peak brightness up to 1000 nits |
| Case materials | Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, plastic |
| Protection | IP65 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 1 |
| Graphics accelerator | Adreno 610 |
| Operating system | Android 15 |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM, 256 GB flash memory, microSD up to 1 TB |
| Main camera | 50 MP, f/1.8, autofocus |
| Second camera | 2 MP, f/2.4 |
| Front camera | 5 MP, f/2.2 |
| Record video | Up to 1080p@30fps |
| Interfaces and communication | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C, 3.5mm jack, NFC, GPS, Beidou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| Battery | 6000 mAh, 45 W fast charging |
| Dimensions | 165.7 x 76.2 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 193 grams |
The Oppo A5 8/256GB comes in a standard light box without any unnecessary decorations. Inside you’ll find a smartphone, a 45W charging adapter with SuperVOOC support, a USB-C cable, a SIM eject tool, and a transparent silicone case.
The latter is quite good, by the way. Its internal ribbed surface prevents the phone from sticking to the case and contributes to better ventilation of the case. Such a simple but thoughtful design increases the comfort of use, especially during prolonged use or during games.
The Oppo A5 display has a protective film on it from the factory. And it’s quite enough for the first time, so it allows you to start using it right away without buying accessories. But this is not a panacea, the film actively collects scratches, so you should think about a protective glass right away.
The only thing missing from the ideal setup is headphones, but in today’s market, their absence is no longer surprising — most users prefer wireless models.
The Oppo A5 8/256 GB is clearly not trying to be a flagship, and that’s fair — the matte plastic of the back panel gives a sense of practicality: it won’t wear out with every touch, and there are no fingerprints.
The smartphone is available in two colors — Aurora Green (light green, almost minty) and Mist White (marble white, with a silver sheen). The latter is the one we used on our editorial desk.
The shapes are modern, without exaggerated curves: flat edges combined with rounded corners. It doesn’t feel heavy in your hand, and even if you don’t have giant palms — it feels comfortable. Like any “shovel,” it is designed to be used with two hands.
The front camera is located on an island at the top of the screen. The rear camera unit slides out barely noticeably. We have a duo of two cameras and an alloy disguised as a design code. The module is compact, and that’s fine. You can feel the South Korean leitmotif.
The buttons are conveniently located: on the right side is the power button and volume rocker. On the left is the SIM card and SD card slot. Ports: USB-C on the bottom, a speaker and microphone, and a 3.5 mm audio jack (mini-Jack). Nothing else on top.
The tray is three-sectional — two Nano-SIMs and a microSD memory card are installed simultaneously. This is a practical solution for those who actively use two numbers and need to expand their memory.
The smartphone is slim: about 8 mm, 194 g — a reasonable compromise between ergonomics and a 6000 mAh battery.
The OPPO A5 has basic IP65 dust and splash protection and complies with MIL-STD-810, which means it’s highly resistant to shock, drops, and various climatic conditions. Immersion in water is still not recommended, but the gadget will withstand most everyday risks.
Modest, thoughtful, without pathos. And it’s cool.
Oppo A5 has a 6.67-inch IPS-matrix with a resolution of 1604×720 pixels. Yes, there’s no Full HD here — and this will immediately divide the audience into those who don’t care and those who think that HD+ is acceptable in the budget segment. Pixels are visible at close range, but in real use the screen is perceived quite adequately.
The refresh rate is — 90 Hz. This is not “wow” by modern standards, but for its class, the smoothness is noticeably higher than that of classic 60 Hz panels. Scrolling through the feed or scrolling through the menu is a pleasure.
The brightness margin is — average. Outdoors on a sunny day, readability is maintained, but don’t expect mid-range AMOLED or IPS. Automatic brightness control works stably.
Color reproduction — without excessive saturation, closer to neutral. This is more than enough for social media and videos, but you can always tweak the profile in the settings.
There is no HDR support, but there is a basic set of features like night mode and blue light reduction. The bezels around the screen are quite noticeable, especially the lower chin. However, against the background of other budget phones, it does not look critical — just a fact.
The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i. As mentioned earlier, the factory film is already glued on, so at least for the first few weeks you don’t have to worry about microscratches.
For watching videos, messengers, and social networks, the display is more than adequate. If you don’t expect flagship parameters, the experience will be quite comfortable.
Oppo A5 8/256 GB does not promise audio miracles and honestly confirms it. There is one speaker located at the bottom right. It works in tandem with the earpiece speaker. In a horizontal grip during games or video, it is easy to cover it with the palm of your hand — a classic for the budget segment. The volume margin is fine for calls and YouTube, but it’s better to listen to music with headphones.
There’s a 3.5 mm audio output, which is a nice bonus because you can easily connect your favorite wired headphones. The Oppo A5 is also fine with Bluetooth sound — it supports SBC, AAC, and even aptX.
The microphone behaves decently in calls: the voice is transmitted clearly, even in noisy places, the interlocutors can hear without any problems. Noise cancellation is simple, but it works.
The vibration response is basic. It’s more of a light buzz that just lets you know about the event. You can turn it on/off in the settings. And that’s it.
For games and media, the sound is, to put it mildly, just functional. But there is rarely something dramatically better in this segment — and here Oppo A5 does not try to give out more than it can.
Oppo A5 8/256 GB has a rather modest set of cameras. The main module is — 50 megapixels with f/1.8 aperture, 76-degree viewing angle and autofocus. The second is a purely formal 2 megapixel depth sensor, which is needed for portrait mode. The front camera is 5 megapixels f/2.2.
Daytime and good lighting are the comfort zone for this smartphone. The pictures are quite sharp, with good detail, albeit with a slight bias towards warm colors. White balance works stably, the software AI beautifier overworks more.
In a room with imperfect lighting, the detail drops and noticeable noise appears, especially in the shadows. The algorithms try to stretch the frame by overexposing it, but at the same time, the picture becomes softer.
The night mode is present, but don’t expect a miracle from it — it slightly tightens the highlights, muffles noise and smoothes out sharpness.
The front camera takes good photos for social media and video calls. There’s a basic face beautifier that you can turn off if you don’t want the Barbie effect.
The main camera records video in Full HD at 30 fps. And it’s a very mediocre spectacle. Autofocus sometimes hesitates, especially in low light.
The Oppo A5 is a typical representative of the budget class, and you can feel it in the specs. The smartphone is based on the Snapdragon 6s Gen 1 (4G) chipset, which is essentially a reissue of the well-known Snapdragon 680, but with updated labeling.
Architecturally, we have the usual combination of — four productive Cortex-A73 cores with a frequency of 2.1 GHz and four more energy-efficient Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of 1.8 GHz. Graphics are handled by the Adreno 610 video core, which has repeatedly shown that it can handle basic tasks, but you shouldn’t expect serious gaming performance from it.
8 GB of RAM — this is good. You can keep several applications open and not have to constantly reload tabs in the browser. The built-in 256 GB will be enough for most users with a margin. Plus, there’s a microSD slot, so storage can be expanded as needed.
Everything works smoothly in the ColorOS 15 interface (based on Android 15) — 90 Hz of the screen helps. Animations are clear and jerk-free. The interface itself — with a bunch of small settings: from customization of icons and fonts to hard power saving settings.
PUBG Mobile is running in HD preset with a smooth frequency, without critical drops. Genshin Impact runs, but only at minimum settings and with lags in intense scenes. Lightweight games like Mortal Kombat or Asphalt 9 — no problem.
Trotting tests show that after 15-20 minutes of heavy use, performance drops by 10-12%. This is not a disaster, and the case does not turn into a heating pad.
Inside the Oppo A5 — is a 6000 mAh battery, which is more than the classic “gold standard” for budget and mid-range models. Paired with the processor and low screen resolution, the result is better than you might expect from dry numbers.
In PCMark, I tested the smartphone at 90 Hz and maximum brightness. The Oppo A5 lasted 9 hours and 41 minutes, which is not a record and even a little disappointing, considering the battery capacity. But this was the only successful attempt, the previous ones ended in an error or application crash. This is a synthetic test that maximizes the load on the processor and display, and in real use, the smartphone lives much longer, easily withstanding one and a half to two days of normal use.
In a typical scenario (instant messengers, social networks, a browser, an hour of music via Bluetooth, a few photos), the smartphone easily survives until the end of the second day with 10% of the charge. And that’s without economy mode. If you load it up with games, video streaming, and GPS navigation, it will still last a day. For those who are used to charging their phones overnight, the A5’s battery life looks almost excessive.
The 90Hz screen and HD+ resolution really help here — fewer pixels means less work for the GPU, which means less power consumption.
There is support for 45W fast charging. With the bundled unit and cable (yes, they’re in the box, remember), you can get 50-55% of the charge in 30 minutes, and a full charge takes about an hour and a half.
The 20,000 mAh Baseus Elf Digital charges the smartphone in less than an hour and a half.
| Time (hh:mm) | Power bank charge | Smartphone charge |
| 00:00 | 86% | 0% |
| 00:18 | 79% | 14% |
| 00:30 | 68% | 44% |
| 00:41 | 58% | 58% |
| 01:00 | 50% | 88% |
| 01:29 | 44% | 100% |
There’s no reverse charging, so your friends with dead phones will be left without power from you. But this is not the category of devices where you should expect such a feature.
In sleep mode, Oppo A5 practically does not lose charge — 2-3% per night on average.
This indicates good software optimization and the absence of voracious processes in the background.
This is also good news for TV series and YouTube fans: The smartphone can stream HD video over Wi-Fi for more than 16 hours in a row before it says “enough”.
The Oppo A5 8/256 GB is a pleasure to hold in your hand, despite its typical shovel-like dimensions. The weight and balance of the device are chosen so that a day of active use does not turn into a workout for your fingers. The bundled case really helps to avoid accidental falls, because the case is a bit slippery.
The interface works smoothly, responds quickly and without delay. Only occasionally a slight adjustment is noticeable, but it does not interfere with normal use. The 90 Hz screen significantly improves the feeling of scrolling through feeds and menus, even if graphically heavy games still load the system. The smartphone is more than comfortable for social networks, browsing and standard applications.
The 6000 mAh battery with 45 W charging gives you the freedom to not have to think about the power outlet for a day, and often a second day, depending on your usage scenarios. This gives you peace of mind when traveling or working long shifts.
The cameras perform basic tasks without fanfare. For photos in good light, the result is adequate, portraits work, the front-facing camera can handle calls and selfies for social networks. But don’t expect nighttime miracles or cool shots in low light.
The sound in the speaker is uninspiring, but informative for notifications, calls, and videos. The vibration response is basic and can be easily ignored. Wired headphones via the 3.5 mm output work stably (I tested on my Logitech Lightspeed G335), Bluetooth also connects without any problems.
ColorOS 15 software on Android 15 is not intrusive, but there are a lot of applications pre-installed. However, uninstalling them is not a problem. The menu is clear, and there are enough settings to customize the smartphone for yourself.
Do you play games? Light and medium titles run plus or minus smoothly, heavy ones are kept at low settings. There is trotting, but not critical — the case does not heat up to an unpleasant level.
In everyday life, the smartphone is not annoying: it’s fast where it needs to be, autonomous, and consistently copes with basic tasks. By the way, we have already tested the older model of the — series Oppo A5 Pro.
OPPO A5 8/256 GB now costs between UAH 6,648 and 8,030. What do competitors offer for similar money?
OPPO A5 Pro 4G 8/256 GB will cost slightly less — from UAH 7,115 to 8,999Realme C75 8/128 GB in the range of UAH 6142-6999 — one of the closest competitors.
POCO M6 Pro 8/256 GB starts at UAH 7999 and goes up to UAH 9028. The price of Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 6/128 GB varies from 5839 to 8640 UAH.
Nubia Neo 2 8/256 GB costs 6281-7999 UAH, but Nubia’s reputation in Ukraine is still at the level of “for geeks”.
Motorola Moto G55 8/256 GB in the range of UAH 7299-8549 — another serious competitor. The motorola traditionally offers pure Android and a good balance of hardware, although the battery is weaker.
But Motorola Moto G75 5G 8/256 GB with a price tag of UAH 9138-9999 is already out of the segment. This is a more expensive model with 5G support and more with modern hardware.
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