Monday, November 1, 2021

OPPO A55 4G Review

OPPO has just released another budget smartphone for this year 2021, the OPPO A55 4G. It offers a large 6.51-inch display, together with triple rear cameras, a MediaTek Helio G35 processor, and a 5,000mAh battery. We got the chance to put this device to the test, so let’s see if this can be your next daily driver.

Design and Construction

It’s hard not to miss how this OPPO A55 looks chic in this Rainbow Blue color, which shows some rainbow hues depending on the lighting angle. It is also available in Starry Black color if you prefer a simpler design.

Located at the back are its triple camera setup, LED flash, and some OPPO branding. This phone does feel premium, even though it is made out of a polycarbonate material. The back has a glossy finish, so make sure to take advantage of the free jelly case included in the box as this device is prone to fingerprint smudges.

Flipping up front, it’s got a hole punch notch on the upper left for the selfie camera, while on the top part is the earpiece. The bezels are thin but have a pretty THICCCC chin. There’s no mention of any special glass protection but it has a screen protector pre-installed for added protection.

For buttons and ports, starting on its left side, are the volume controls and a triple-card tray for two nano-sized SIM cards and a microSD card.

While on the right side are the power/unlock button, which also doubles as a fingerprint sensor. The plastic buttons are firm and clicky. It’s also easily reachable even with our small hands since it’s placed near the middle of the frame.

Down at the bottom, there’s the main microphone, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C port, and the loudspeaker.

Overall, the design is not that unique from other A-series but it’s still fun to flaunt, especially in this color that we have. It’s also more comfortable to grip and easy to hold compared to its predecessors.

Display and Multimedia

More on its display, the OPPO A55 boasts a 6.51-inch IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1600 x 720, capable of having 270ppi. Even though it only has an LCD panel, surprisingly, it produces punchy colors and decent viewing angles. This device gives you an immersive viewing experience when watching content on Netflix, YouTube, or anything alike.

We like the display as it is bright and vibrant, we didn’t also encounter any issues when viewing under the direct sunlight. In the display settings, you can choose the screen temperature to Cool, Default, and Warm. You can also opt to choose what dark mode style you prefer, there’s Enhanced, Medium, and Gentle. Overall, the display is decent and will suffice for your daily needs.

When it comes to audio, the device only comes with a single downward-firing speaker with a quality that usually comes with its price range. It’s good for voice calls and listening to podcasts, but you’ll be better off with headphones for a richer listening experience. Good thing there’s also a 3.5mm audio port so you don’t need to worry about getting a wireless pair of earbuds if that’s your thing.

Camera

For the cameras, the OPPO A55, the main shooter, its triple shooters at the back utilize a 50MP main camera, 2MP for macro, and 2MP one for sensing depth. Flipping over to its front, we have a high 16MP selfie shooter.

Quality-wise, photos look decent with enough details. Colors are often accurate, and dynamic range is okay. However, shooting when the sun is high up sometimes results in overexposed photos. There’s also a macro camera, but as expected, it produces low-quality images.

We do have Portrait mode, however, the subject-background separation is not as good as we wanted it to be, but it is enough for casual use. Photos taken under low-light conditions can be muddy even with the night mode turned on which makes the photos not usable in any case.

On the other hand, selfies are good. Well, OPPO is well-known for that. The colors and skin tones are accurate; just make sure to have good lighting.

When it comes to videos, the OPPO A55 can take up to 1080p at 30fps, and just like most smartphones in this tier, it produces shaky videos since there is no image stabilization present so better use a tripod or have steady hands for smoother quality.

OS, UI, and Apps

Running the OPPO A55 is based on Android 11 skinned with ColorOS 11.1. Overall, if you’re familiar and used to its UI, it’s basically straightforward to use. There’s noticeably a lot of bloatware and the usual pre-installed apps such as Google, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Messenger, Lazada, and Agoda that you can always uninstall if you don’t plan on using.

With ColorOS, there are tons of customization options available if you want to get it personalized. From changing the icon shape, font, up to choosing a theme to change the overall look for your home screen.

There’s also a dedicated night mode that can be toggled through its settings. Storage-wise, there’s 64GB and out of that, we get 46GB of usable space right out of the box.

Performance and Benchmarks

Powering the OPPO A55 is a Mediatek Helio G35 chipset that’s paired with an IMG GE8320 GPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage.

The experience is alright, it can surely handle basic tasks, however, there are some slight stutters at times when leaving numerous apps running in the background.

Playing Genshin Impact, Asphalt 9, and Pokemon Unite are doable, but keep in mind that you’re better off playing these games at default or even the lowest graphic settings possible to ensure a smooth experience. Still, this isn’t a gaming smartphone so don’t expect much.

But overall, the Helio G35 chipset performs smoothly for basic activities such as video streaming, social media browsing, and the like—just make sure to keep the device optimized.

If you are interested in numbers, check the benchmark scores below:

AnTuTu v9 – 100,160
AnTuTu v9.1.7 Storage Test – 9,874 (281.4MB/s Seq. Read, 159.4MB/s Seq. Write)
PC Mark – 5,091 (Work 3.0)
Geekbench 5 – 169 (Single-Core), 973 (Multi-Core),
3D Mark – 478 (SSE – OpenGL ES 3.1), 657 (Vulkan)
AndroBench – 276.95 MB/s (Seq. Read), 136.52 MB/s (Seq. Write)

When it comes to biometrics and security, you can choose between facial recognition or the side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Both work as intended, but we highly recommend you use the fingerprint scanner instead for a higher level of security.

Connectivity and Battery Life

The OPPO A55 comes with the usual connectivity features such as Dual-SIM, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Juicing up the OPPO A55 is a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging, which is ample enough to last you a full day of usage. In our standard video loop test (1080p movie on loop, 50% brightness, 0% volume, airplane mode on), the device lasted 23 hours and 35 minutes. The results are respectable given its capacity. If you are a light user, it can at least last you up to 1 and ½ days of usage.

Conclusion

At PHP 9,999, this might be a confusing choice considering that its predecessor, the A54 4G, offers bigger memory. Although, that one uses a P35 chipset, which is less tuned to gaming. But if you’re an OPPO fan who wants an affordable daily driver that can provide nice selfies, long battery life, and entry-level gaming performance, this can be an option. But think hard as there are other smartphones that could provide better hardware in the same price range.

OPPO A55 4G specs:
6.51-inch HD+ (1600 x 720) IPS display, 269PPI
120Hz touch sample rate
MediaTek Helio G35 CPU
IMG GE8320 GPU
4GB LPDDR4X
64GB storage
up to 256GB via microSD
Triple rear cameras:
• 50MP (main)
• 2MP (bokeh)
• 2MP (macro)
16MP front camera
4G LTE
Dual-SIM (nano)
WiFi 5
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
Fingerprint scanner (side)
3.5mm audio jack
USB Type-C
ColorOS 11.1 (Android 11)
5,000mAh battery w/ 18W fast charge
163.6 x 75.7 x 8.4mm
193g
Starry Black, Rainbow Blue