 |
| OPPO A57 Review; The Unstoppable Selfie Expert |
INTRODUCTION:
OPPO has been enjoying a huge market share in the Philippines since they launch the F series smartphones in the country.
These F devices put more weight on the front-facing camera among other aspects, and together with the brilliant marketing efforts, it gave birth to the 'selfie expert' craze.
Since then, OPPO has become a top choice for people who loves taking selfies and group selfies. And, with the level of popularity they are getting up to now, there is no doubt that the Chinese manufacturing giant will pull more tricks out of it. Just like the OPPO A57, a handset that has 'better' front camera than its main shooter. However, this time around, it is not part of the selfie expert family, but rather the group called Unstoppable Selfies.
PHYSICAL:
OPPO A57 Unboxing and Hands-on
The OPPO A57 does not deviate too far from other OPPO devices in terms of design and physical elements. It pretty much looks similar with the OPPO F1s, however, it feels less premium due to the plastic nature of the materials used. But, without actually touching the unit, it still has the same classy appearance, especially the black variant, as the other handsets from the OPPO line-up.
In terms of length and width, it is obviously smaller than the F1s (149.1mm x 72.9mm versus 154.5mm x 76mm) mainly because it has a smaller display (5.2-inch versus 5.5-inch), however, it is slightly thicker by 0.27mm (7.65mm vs 7.38mm). Meanwhile, comparing it to its predecessor, the OPPO A39, which has the same screen size, we are a bit surprised to find out that their measurements are exactly the same, and yes, the weight too is identical at 147 grams.
 |
| Display Information |
Speaking of display, both the IPS TFT panel A57 and A39 measure 5.2 inches diagonally, has HD resolution, and covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 plus a pre-installed plastic film for added protection. It supports up to 10-point touch, has an adaptive brightness that works well, and offers eye protection that reduces blue light. The colors are slightly saturated the way we like it, has good viewing angles, and decent outdoor legibility.
SOFTWARE:
 |
| Software |
The A57 is one notch higher than the A39 in the software department, it runs on the newer Color OS v3.0.0i based on Android Marshmallow, just like the recently launched OPPO F3 series. But, the difference in performance, if there is any, is hard to spot, even if the latter runs on the older Android version, which is Lollipop. The Color OS is smooth and easy to operate, especially if you have used an Apple iPhone in the past, as it has strong similarities with iOS.
However, there are still things we like to improve, such as the messaging app and the built-in file manager app to name a few. For the longest time since we encountered Color OS, these applications still do not have the tap and hold function, which results to additional step/s when performing certain tasks. But, as we always say, proprietary skin like this separates one brand to the others, it is one of the things that makes them unique among competitors.
To learn more about Color OS, visit http://www.oppo.com/en/coloros/
PERFORMANCE:
 |
| CPU-Z Information |
Under the hood, the OPPO A57 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 chipset that has octa core Cortex-A53 64-bit CPU clocked at 1.4GHz each paired with Adreno 505 graphics processing unit. On paper, this chip is an SD430, the main difference is that it comes with the latest X9 LTE modem compared to the older X6 LTE. Therefore, processing performance and other factors are expected to be the same.
The benchmark results below affirms that expectation.
Antutu - 46,149
Quadrant - 23,302
NenaMark2 - 60.1fps
Geekbench - 667 (single core)
Geekbench - 2,836 (multi core)
Geekbench - 2,229 (renderscript)
PC Mark - 3,524
3D Mark Sling Shot - 572
3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme - 295
 |
| Benchmark Results |
The scores above are slightly higher than the ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC553KL, which has Snapdragon 430. The same holds true when compared to MediaTek MT6750-powered devices like the Vivo V5 Lite. Meanwhile, its raw computing power is better than the Exynos 7870 chip in the Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime.
As a lower mid-range handset, it is capable enough to cruise general tasks smoothly as well as run applications and games that are not resources-heavy properly. In fact, you can actually play games like NBA 2K17, Modern Combat 5, and Dead Trigger 2 without noticeable lag or dropped frames. All in all, it is very responsive with about 1GB+ remaining out of its 3GB RAM when simultaneously using several daily apps at the same time.
Meanwhile, the 32GB ROM leaves users 23.37GB of available internal storage space, which mathematically means that 8.63GB are consumed by the O/S and other pre-installed apps. If you need more space, you will be glad that you do not need to choose storage expansion over dual SIM functionality as it has dedicated slot for a micro SD card.
The fingerprint sensor, which also doubles as the home button, is placed in the front below the display, an arrangement we have seen many times with OPPO phones. It is fast and accurate, and can store up to five different prints. Aside from the unlock function, it can encrypt app, secure files, and perform shortcut operation like opening camera or launching Facebook.
As for the phone function, the call quality is good, both ends can hear each other clearly. The loudspeaker grill may not be the best in the industry, but it is still suffice enough for everyday use. It still has 3.5mm audio jack if you want private listening to musics, speaking of which, the built-in player can decode FLAC file. On the other note, the video player is able to play different file types up to 1080p resolution.
CAMERA:
 |
| Camera Interface |
As expected, the camera interface is identical to that of the F3 and F3 Plus, since all of them run on the same Color OS version, so it is no-brainer that the camera UI is treated with the same skin. We tackle how the UI works and its features in our OPPO F3 Plus review, which you can read HERE. In general, the interface is simple and straight forward to use, especially when shooting in auto mode. For those who love to tweak the settings, the Expert Mode surely helps in challenging situations.
As mentioned above, the OPPO A57 offers greater megapixel on its front snapper than its rear shooter. It has a similar configuration with the OPPO F1s and OPPO F1 Plus, wherein the one in the back is equipped with 13MP f/2.2 system, while the one above the display has 16MP f/2.0 module. By the way, both cameras can record videos up to Full HD resolution.
Since this is a selfie-oriented smartphone, and touted as a device made for unstoppable selfies, let's take a closer look first on its front-facing camera.
 |
| Without Bokeh Filter |
 |
| With Bokeh Filter |
 |
| Against the Light |
 |
| Indoor |
 |
| Low Light |
 |
| Low Light with Bokeh |
 |
| In the Dark |
Under good lighting conditions, the output is satisfactory, and comparable to that of the OPPO F3, it is sharp with lots of details. The blur filter under the beauty mode, offers good bokeh, however, just do not expect the same depth quality with phones that have a second front camera.
If there is a thing to be cautious about is the tendency to overexpose or underexpose when in very bright environments or when against the light, a phenomena known for fixed-focus selfie cameras. Meanwhile, taking photos in the dark situations usually yield acceptable, but grainy outcome. The screen flash helps clear out the darkness, but not much as compared to units with dedicated front LED flash.
 |
| Day |
 |
| Day with HDR |
 |
| Noon |
 |
| Noon with HDR |
 |
| Lap Pool |
 |
| Lap Pool with HDR |
 |
| Indoor |
 |
| Indoor with HDR |
 |
| Wonder Woman |
 |
| Wonder Woman with HDR |
 |
| Close-up |
 |
| Macro |
 |
| Late Afternoon |
 |
| Late Afternoon with HDR |
 |
| Low Light |
 |
| Low Light with HDR |
 |
| Night |
 |
| Night, Expert Mode |
 |
| Evening |
 |
| Evening, Expert Mode |
Moving to the rear shooter, the 13MP module does a very decent job in well-lit environments, the images produces are lively with realistic color, good dynamic range, and well-balanced tone. The focusing speed is great, and close-up shots are possible up to about 3-inch gap.
In low-light situations, it is still able to deliver above average picture quality, although focusing speed dip a bit. Of course, they are not as sharp as the daytime shots, but nevertheless pretty much usable. When the environment is really dark, we recommend the use of Expert Mode in order for you the play the settings and get the desired output.
Overall, the A57's front snapper offers great selfie or groufie images that are at par with more expensive handsets. The same holds true with the rear shooter satisfactory output.
CONNECTIVITY:
The OPPO A57 supports dual Nano SIM cards that can give fast mobile internet via multiple bands LTE, sadly, band 28 or the 700MHz frequency is not supported. The good thing though is that it uses Qualcomm X9 LTE modem, the same modem found on the a Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 chipset, which has up to 300Mbps peak download speed and up to 150Mbps peak upload speed. In comparison, the older Snapdragon 430 chip can only reach 150Mbps and 75Mbps peak download and upload speed respectively. For those without data plan or just want to save those precious MB, WiFi is the way to go, it supports b/g/n protocols using 2.4GHz band.
Other connectivity features include 3.5mm jack, micro USB with OTG function, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS with A-GPS, and the old school, but still very much alive FM radio receiver.
BATTERY:
 |
| Battery Score |
Using PC Mark Battery Life Test to measure its endurance, the 2900mAh power source is able to score about 12 hours and 2 minutes, it is not the longest in the industry, but already considered as one of the best. In comparison, that is around 1 hour longer than the Vivo V5s that has 3000mAh battery, and 43 minutes more than the 3200mAh battery inside the OPPO F3. However, be reminded the V5s has bigger screen size, while the F3 has also a larger display with more pixels to deal with.
CONCLUSION:
The OPPO A57 is a very capable handset that will surely capture the hearts of the selfie generation and boost OPPO's lead in the midrange smartphone segment. It has a good front camera that produces images that are comparable even with more expensive devices in the market. But, it is not just about selfies, it is not a slouch in performing daily tasks and has fairly decent overall performance, not to mention above average battery life.
With this handset, OPPO is able to bridge the price gap between the A39 priced at Php9,990 and F1s Upgrade priced at Php13,990, giving consumers more options to choose from.
OPPO A57 Specifications:
- GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
- 3G/WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz
- FDD-LTE: B1/3/5/7/8
- TDD-LTE- B38/39/40/41
- Dual Nano SIM, dual standby
- 5.2-inch IPS capacitive HD (1280x720) touchscreen display, Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection
- Dimensions: 149.1mm x 72.9mm x 7.65mm
- Weight: 147 grams
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow with ColorOS 3.0
- 64-bit 1.4GHz octa core Cortex-A53 CPU, Adreno 505 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8940 Snapdragon 435 chipset
- 3GB of RAM
- 32GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via micro SD, dedicated slot
- 13MP f/2.2 PDAF main camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording
- 16MP f/2.0 secondary camera, 1080p video recording
- Multimedia player
- 3.5mm audio jack
- GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS
- WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
- Micro USB 2.0 with OTG
- Bluetooth v4.1
- Sensor: fingerprint, accelerometer, light, proximity, compass
- Battery: 2900mAh lithium-ion, non-removable
- Price: Php11,990
- Color: gold, black