Oppo has today expanded its popular A Series of smartphones, but not the one you’d think. Instead of a follow-up to the still-decent A79 with the A80, which still hasn’t found its way to South Africa’s shores, it’s delivered the Oppo A5 Pro 5G, available from today. With an R8,000 price tag, Oppo’s efforts are certainly more affordable than some, but can’t quite match the competition.
“From high-performance features to user-friendly innovations, the A5 Pro delivers the performance and durability users need. It’s a perfect example of OPPO’s belief that great technology should be accessible to everyone, rugged, reliable, and ready for whatever your day demands,” said Bradley Young, head of training at Oppo SA.
Cooking up some A5
Arguably, the most important aspect of any smartphone is its battery, and the A5 Pro hasn’t disappointed. On paper, anyway. Under the hood sits a 5,800mAh juicer that’ll make use of Oppo’s 45W charging to ensure you leave the house a little sooner each morning.
Oppo has a lot to say about the A5 Pro’s durability, touting an IP69 rating, so it should fend off dust or water with little issue. If all you care about is the look of your smartphone, however, you won’t find anything out of the ordinary here. Customers have a choice of Olive Green or Mocha Brown, each bearing a unique texture. It’d be classified as average weight at 194g, though a little on the thicker side at 7.76mm (probably thanks to that larger-than-usual battery).
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As for the bits that make this a smartphone, the A5 Pro houses an 8-core MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset that lets the R8,000 price tag down somewhat. The 6.67in IPS LCD display is similarly disappointing. Sure, it’s got 120Hz powers that’ll make scrolling feel buttery smooth, but the 720 x 1,604px resolution could be better. Just look at what Samsung has accomplished with the new Galaxy A36.
Oppo’s banking on its 50MP main sensor to do most of the heavy lifting here, with a swathe of AI-powered editing features at its back to get those pictures looking a little fresher than they did before. It’s certainly not leaving anything big up to the 2MP macro shooter, nor the 8MP selfie camera that rounds out the A5 Pro’s lacklustre camera options.
While the spec sheet might not instil much confidence, considering the price, we’re looking forward to Oppo proving us wrong when it comes time for the review.
