OPPO Launches its A71 Smartphone in Pakistan [Unboxing + Review]

OPPO has been in Pakistan for around three years now. While they had an initial unsuccessful stint, a strong marketing strategy and a wide variety of phones across all price ranges have made them a much fiercer competitor.

Traditionally, they’ve provided good value for money but with the arrival of the A71, we’re not sure if OPPO still believes in the same philosophy.

Coming in at a price of Rs. 19,899, it faces very stiff competition. So does it do enough to stand out? Is it worth its asking price? Keep reading the full review to find out!

Unboxing + Review [Urdu]

Display

The OPPO A71 comes with a 5.2-inch 720×1280 display. While most mid-range smartphones have decided to go with a 1080p display even at this price range, the decision to use a 720p display on the OPPO A71 baffles me.

Nevertheless, looking at the display objectively, it does its job pretty well. Despite the low-res screen, the text and images looked clear. It’s an IPS panel which means that viewing angles were good.

Performance

Having specifications that are pretty standard for a mid-range device, the A71 comes with a Mediatek 6750 octa-core processor along with 3GB of RAM. While it may not rival the performance of a flagship, the performance itself is actually pretty decent.

The processor ensures that everything runs smoothly and without any hiccups. The 3GB of RAM provides plenty of multitasking power and you are able to move between apps without them refreshing every now and then.

Camera

OPPO has cleverly positioned itself as a ‘camera first’ brand. We’ve all seen the huge emphasis they put on taking good selfies and other photos in their ads and this seems to have resonated with Pakistanis given their surge in popularity. Keeping in line with the impression, the A71 doesn’t skimp out on the camera. At least on the back.

The A71 features a 13MP primary camera with phase detection autofocus and a single LED flash. Results are as you would expect them to be. Daylight shots are impressive with plenty of detail and sharpness. It some areas it does seem to overexpose images but that can either be adjusted before taking the shot via the viewfinder or in post-processing.

Front camera is a 5MP shooter with no LED flash. The results from this camera weren’t too impressive. They were definitely usable in well-lit conditions but once you moved into low light conditions, things start to fall apart.

Take a look at the camera samples below:

The battery is a generous 3,000mAh which on paper should provide good standby and usage time. And it did. In our benchmark testing, the OPPO A71 gave 10h30m of screen on time. Daily usage may vary and it will give better stand by time. But a heavy user like me also managed quite a bit out of the battery.

Verdict

The OPPO A71 offers a decent camera, good performance and an ok-screen resolution. But it does cut a lot of corners for a phone that costs Rs. 19,899.

For example, the phone features a plastic build that feels cheap. It’s missing a fingerprint scanner too, something that is even found on phones that cost around Rs. 10,000. All these things really makes you wonder whether the asking price of the OPPO A71 is really worth it especially with what the competition is offering.