Midrange smartphone buyers have become more demanding when it comes to features, design, and capability and want more of the high-end features to spill over to their segment of the market.
Design then, plays a more important role in getting a second look from a perspective buyer for your model, and luckily OPPO’s A57 is amongst the leaders of the pack in terms of look and feel. The phablet measures 163.74 x 75.03 x 7.99 mm and tips the smartphone scales at 187 g. This makes it actually a little easier to grip and slide into your pocket compared to the segment competition, especially if you do not have the hands of a Springbok forward.
The appeal of the smartphone goes beyond looks though, as it offers a good dollop of spec bang for your bucks including a 6.56″ 1612 x 720 (HD+) that boasts great detail (269 PPI), brightness (Max value of 600 nits) and colours, but unfortunately for mobile gaming fans is locked to a refresh rate of just 60 Hz.
Performance on ColorOS 12.1 (Android 12) is kept brisk and smooth thanks to MediaTek’s Helio G35 CPU that sports 8 cores clocked at up to 2.3 GHZ, along with an IMG GE8320 GPU clocked at 680 MHz. This processor is paired with 4 GB RAM whilst the phone offers 64 GB worth of onboard storage but this is ofcourse expandable via microSD card slot.
In terms of optics, you get a 13MP main rear camera (f/2.2; FOV 80°; 5P lens; AF; open-loop focus motor) that is paired with a mono camera of 2MP (f/2.4; FOV 89°; 3P lens) as well as a shelfie shooter upfront of 8 MP (f/2.0; FOV 79°; 5P lens). While you get more than adequate shots for social, good in fact, it is worth noting that some of the competition offers slightly more feature bang in this department and that in terms of video shooting the rear cameras only gets you full HD
(1080p) at 30 fps while the front camera allows for 720p at 30 fps recording only.
The A57 ups the ante in terms of battery life with OPPO providing a 5000mAh/19.35Wh battery that supports fast charging at 33W SUPERVOOC. Average users should get to a day and a half before reaching for their fast charger whilst power users should get through a working day easily.
A 3.5 mm audio jack also makes the spec party guest list for those who love using headphones and audiophiles preferring superior sound for their music streaming app, favourite series or movie, podcast, audiobook or YouTube videos.
Another party trick worth mentioning is the Ultra-Linear Stereo Speaker, which tap into exclusive technology in the form of Dirac3.0 that provides stereo quality sound. You can engage Super Volume Mode to boost levels by nearly double while still getting clear sound.
Ultimately, the OPPO A57 needs to be on your midrange smartphone purchase shortlist of devices to consider and it goes for a recommended retail price of R5800 from local retailers such as Takealot. If design trumps all, it leads the pack but if you want the best outright specs or camera, or simply do a lot of mobile gaming requiring higher display refresh rates, then consider some alternatives for said shortlist.
Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 11 Pro 128GB for instance goes for R5999 netting you amongst others a 6.67″ display, more RAM (6GB) and storage (128GB) as well as a monstrous 108MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP rear camera arrangements plus 16MP front camera, as well as faster refresh rate on the display (Up to 120Hz) and charging rates (67W turbo charging). Samsung’s Galaxy A33 5G Dual Sim also goes for R5999 boasts a 6.4″ sAMOLED (90Hz) screen, 48MP(OIS)+8MP(UW)+5MP+2MP camera arrangement on the back plus 13MP shelfie-shooter and more storage (128GB) and RAM (6GB).
