Not so long ago, we reviewed OPPO F7, the flagship device from the selfie king. This time we are back again with another budget smartphone from the oriental smartphone manufacturer: A3s. The phone is going to be officially unveiled today and will be available in the stores in a few days. We got this bad boy a couple weeks back to test it out. And this is our take on the OPPO A3s:

Design

Starting with the design and display: it's probably the most affordable branded smartphone sporting a notch. The design is sleek with plastic all-around it with a mirror polish. Our review unit was the red one although I personally prefer the dark purple. It does not come with a fingerprint scanner; probably one of the corners OPPO had to cut to make the phone inexpensive.

Display

The phone comes with a 6.2-inch HD+ (720 x 1,520 pixels) In-Cell IPS LCD "Super Full Screen" display. The aspect ratio of the phone is 19:9 which is becoming common these days. The average pixel density per inch is around 270ppi. This means the display and colour rendition of the phone isn't the super sharpest. But still, it does a good job when you are watching a movie or tv-show on this phone. The viewing angle at maximum brightness remains quite good when you are using the phone outdoors. By now, most of us have become familiar with the notch so you would stop noticing it after a while.

OS & UI

The phone runs on Android 8.1 based ColorOS 5.1 out of the box. The UI has improved a lot. But OPPO still hasn't come out of its cartoonish looking icons despite repeatedly ranting about it in almost all the reviews we have done so far. Bloatwares were minimal- which is a great improvement.

Performance

The heart of the A3s is a system on Chip by Snapdragon: 450. For a sub-15K phone, the processor is quite popular. Coupled with a 2GB RAM, this clearly isn't the best performing in the market right now. Competitors have phones with higher RAM and processor clock speed with similar price-tag now these days, so OPPO is expected to face steep competition as a new entrant.

Battery

The OPPO A3s, despite having a sleek and slim form factor, has packed a mighty 4230 mAh battery. Many might argue that most of the battery will be drained by the display as it comes with a humongous screen. In reality, OPPO has tactfully avoided that mistake by putting in a screen with lower pixel density making the display less-battery hungry. A heavy user can expect the phone to last an entire workday on a single charge. Our review unit usually would last 16 to 20 hours which, to be frank, is great!

Verdict

The OPPO A3s is an Apple-inspired but, toned down version of the market-tested F7. The design is impressive and the sub-par display makes up for its lack of high pixel density with superb contrast ratio and outdoor visibility. The performance could have been better and OPPO could easily install a fingerprint scanner. The camera is good enough to take snaps for social media. Most importantly, whatever shortcomings the phone has, the battery makes up for it.

Specs

Display: 6.2 inches, IPS LCD, 720 x 1520 pixels

OS: Color OS 5.1 based on Android 8.1

CPU: Octa-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53

GPU: Adreno 506

RAM: 2 GB

ROM: 16 GB

Camera: Back-13 MP, f/2.2 & 2 MP, f/2.4 & Front- 8 MP, f/2.2

Features: Accelerometer, proximity, compass

Battery: 4230 mAh

Price: Approximately Tk. 14,990/-