Knowing Your Brands & Smartphones: Oppo

The first phone that I ever owned was a Sony Ericson mobile complete with an aerial, Gen z cannot relate. Did I buy the phone? No! it was a hand-me-down from my mum when she upgraded herself. That phone was so big and heavy I needed a bag to carry it around, I’m kidding. Despite the giant I was carrying around, I was the only one among my peers who had a phone. They used to load airtime for me in order for them to send a text or even make a call. The phone had a radio so we spent a lot of time listening to Willy M. Tuva, how cool. Then I bought a very small Motorola the size of a deodorant bottle and as mobile phones evolved, so did I. I bought my first Samsung phone in the year 2015, it was my most expensive possession. I lost the phone while in a matatu along Haile Selassie avenue, I almost had a heart attack. I have never recovered, ukweli!

Mobile phones have come a long way; the evolution is real. Today we look at the Oppo brand of phones. Oppo, Vivo, Realme, OnePlus are all owned by China’s multinational, BBK Electronics.

According to data from research firm Canalys, BBK group is close to becoming the world’s largest smartphone maker, with Oppo and Vivo commanding a global market share of 10% and 8%, respectively. This puts BBK on par with Apple (18%) and ahead of Xiaomi at 13%.

Oppo was first founded in the year 2004 in China, but it was until recently that the brand became more visible in the market. They have since manufactured phones with their focus being on the camera, colors, and long-lasting batteries.

1. Oppo A16 k:

The A16K Oppo has a single camera at the back with a LED flash and another single camera at the front for selfie photos. The camera resolution is HD+1600X7200 pixels. That is a good camera by for the mid range.  The right side has the volume and power buttons. Although the phone Is not waterproof, it is very light with a 6.52-inch screen display and 10w standard charging support.

• Oppo A55 4G

The A55 comes with a triple camera that has a good sensor on both the back and front cameras. The display is 6.51 inches and has a 720×1600 pixel resolution. The system runs on Android 11+ and has a capacity of 64 GB and 128 GB of internal storage which is big storage space. It is a dual sim with a fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, proximity, and compass. The battery is 5000 mAh + charging 10W. It comes in three bright colors; rainbow blue, starry black, and green.

• Oppo A77.

This is a good-performing phone for an affordable price. The phone’s best features are the big 5000mAh battery, stereo speakers with ultra-volume mode, 50MP AI dual-rear camera, a 6.56-inches water drop notch display, and a 33W fast charging via a Type-C port. The A77 series was launched mid-this year. Although it has a plastic frame, the front is built from glass and the good news is, it is water-resistant.

The A77 has a 50MP dual AI-rear camera with an LED flash. It has a 50MP primary camera followed by a 2MP camera with autofocus. On the front side, it has an 8MP notch camera for selfies and video chats. Besides, the main and the front camera can record FHD 1080p videos. How amazing is that?

• Oppo A96.

This particular phone was designed to be powerful yet affordable. This is a mid-range gadget that is built on powerful hardware with a 6.59-inch display screen. Ideally, the phone was created for great performance. The camera, the internal hardware, and everything about this device should give any user all the power needed for all their tasks. With a 5,000mAh battery, it could run for almost two days depending on usage. The camera is okay but we have seen better especially when taking photos in dark places.

The design is quite simple, with the camera setup at the front and back, however, the package only comes with the phone and charger inside, so you might have to buy earphones or headphones separately. It is available in two colors; Starry Black or Pearl Pink.

• OPPO Reno7 5G

This is the latest phone that Oppo has launched to the market. It was introduced to the world last week alongside the Oppo Reno7 4G. With a 6.43-inch 90Hz display screen that also supports HDR10+, we can safely say that the size is right and the sharp resolution is perfect for outdoor use. One thing worth noting about this phone is the extra Ultra Vision Engine that enhances video color for people who love watching Netflix or YouTube on their phones. The 4500mAh battery supports 65W fast charging, which means that you can quickly top up from empty to full in under 37 minutes.

It has a 32MP selfie camera and a 64MP main camera, the phone comes with a custom-made SONY IMX709 sensor that also features the next generation flagship RGBW for the selfie camera for clearer and brighter image capture in low-light conditions.

Generally, the great performance, display, quality camera, and slim design score the Oppo7 5G a solid 9 out of 10. This is because it comes with Android 11 instead of the already existing Android 12.

Most people tend to buy entrenched brands as opposed to new and upcoming ones. Here is to tell you that there are great phones out here waiting to be discovered.