Oppo A52 Review: Does It Fit The Bill?

Oppo A52: Design And Display

The Oppo A52 brings a blend of all the modern elements which you can find on a smartphone nowadays. Be it a punch-hole display design or a rectangular camera module at the rear. Let's start with the fascia.

The tall display is complemented by thin bezels all around. The punch-hole is positioned on the top-left and is slightly big in size. The power key is placed on the right panel and it also doubles up as the fingerprint scanner.

The volume keys are placed on the left edge. At the bottom, there is a USB Type-C port placed alongside the 3.5mm headphone jack and a speaker grille. Moving to the rear, the rectangular camera module is a storehouse to four cameras and an LED flash.

The only other thing you will find on the rear panel is the Oppo branding at the bottom right. Speaking of the form factor, the device is slim and easy to hold. But, it is a task to use it with a single handle; specifically reaching the nooks and the corners.

Besides, the device is slippery, so using a case is advised. Also, the gradient surface tends to get dirty easily and also picks up fingerprints; hence, using a case becomes necessary.

Speaking of the display, the handset is equipped with an IPS LCD display that measures 6.5-inches in size. The display delivers an FHD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. You will be able to stream 1080p videos on YouTube.

The display does a fine job in colour production and you will enjoy consuming high-resolution media. The big form factor and narrow bezels give a maximum surface to view media.

While the viewing angles are good, the brightness levels outdoors; specifically under direct sunlight is where you will struggle to view content. Even at the peak brightness levels, the display isn't clearly visible under harsh sunlight.

Oppo A52: Hardware And Battery Performance

Speaking of the innards, the Oppo A52 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor which has eight cores. The chipset is paired up with Adreno 610 GPU to render all the graphics. It comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration. There is a dedicated microSD card using which you can expand the memory to up to 256GB.

The mid-range Snapdragon 665 processor is apt for multitasking, but that's when the apps being used are light in size. You won't notice any lags in app launches or while shuffling from one to another.

Gaming performance is also satisfactory. You will be able to play graphics-intensive games like PUBG with ease but, not in the highest settings. The device also gets slightly warm with continuous playback. But, this isn't a big concern.

Coming to the battery, the device is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery which is accompanied by 18W fast charging support. Speaking of the charging speeds, the device gets refuelled within two hours from zero to 100 percent.

You won't have to wait for long for the handset to get recharged. The massive battery allows it to deliver an entire day of usage with a basic set of tasks. If you use graphic-heavy apps or play HD videos continuously, the battery will deplete quickly.

Oppo A52: Software And Benchmark Performance

The Oppo A52 runs on Android 10 OS which is wrapped around Color OS 7.1 user interface. The UI is similar to what other recent Oppo phones have offered. There is a dedicated dark mode which you can toggle on/off from the notification tab. The UI is cluttered and we would have appreciated a cleaner look.

There are pre-loaded bloatware as well which you can uninstall manually if not required. This will clean up some extra space from the home page. You can bring up the app drawer by swipe-up gesture on the home screen.

We also ran some benchmark tests on the handset. The Oppo A52 has scored 1,118 points in the Sling-Shot Extreme test of 3D Mark benchmark test. In the PCMark benchmark test, it logged 6278 points in the Work Performance 2.0 test.

Oppo A52: Camera Performance

The Oppo A52 packs four rear cameras that comprise a 12MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 aperture. It also has an 8MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture for ultra-wide-angle shots paired with a set of 2MP sensors with an f/2.2 aperture for depth and macro effects.

Coming to the camera features, the device supports 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps video recording. The device supports HDR, Panorama, Portrait mode, and EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) as well.

The camera performance is decent and it captures ample detailing in broad daylight. There is less noise when there is sufficient lighting all around. The HDR mode enhances the image quality to some extent. The bokeh shots are also decent. Its performance with night photography is average. You will find the images a bit grainy.

The punch-hole is packed with a 16MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture for selfies and video calling. This large sensor captures good images which you would love to flaunt at social media platforms.

Oppo A52: Is It A Hit Or A Miss?

The Oppo A52 is a decent phone when it comes to day-to-day performance. The device has an appealing look which is complemented by the mid-range hardware it offers. The device is perfect for high-resolution media consumption.

The big-sized 5,000 mAh battery allows you to roam around freely without the hassle of carrying a charger all around. You can buy this handset is you are looking for a budget-friendly smartphone equipped with a good set of hardware.