First look at OPPO A72 - a smartphone with high-quality sound and good software

OPPO has brought to Russia new A-series smartphones: A91, A72 and A52. The models are designed for active users and offer a bright design, capacious batteries and advanced hardware. The first to fall into our hands was OPPO A72. We find out how the novelty surprises on the first day of meeting.

Design

Externally, OPPO A72 looks like older models, while the novelty is entirely plastic, which means that it is not so slippery and is unlikely to break when it first meets the asphalt. The smartphone is available in black, purple and white versions, the latter two with a blue gradient.

Almost the entire front side is occupied by a screen with rounded corners and a hole for the front camera. Protective glass not curved at the edges, but a plastic edging was made between it and the frame, smoothing the joints.

The bottom end is reserved for a multimedia speaker, USB Type ‑ C and 3.5 mm audio jack. On the left is a hybrid SIM and microSD slot.

The volume and power buttons are located on the left and right sides, the latter is combined with a fingerprint sensor. The capacitive type scanner works instantly. You can also enable face unlock.

Screen

OPPO A72 received a 6.5-inch screen with a resolution of 2,400 × 1,080 pixels and a pixel density of 405 ppi. Considering that we have an IPS-matrix with a traditional organization of pixels, this value is enough not to see the “ladders” on small text.

The color reproduction is close to natural, the white balance is also not questionable. The display is very bright by IPS standards, although the picture dims slightly when viewed from an angle. The black depth is not as impressive as that of OLED screens, but still sufficient. However, there is no high frequency PWM flicker that can cause tired eyes some users.

Sound and vibration

Usually inexpensive smartphones do not indulge in high-quality sound. OPPO A72 is a pleasant exception. The gadget is equipped with stereo speakers: multimedia and spoken speakers work in tandem, giving out loud and clear sound.

We have not forgotten about the 3.5 mm jack, so you can connect high-quality wired headphones. The integrated Qualcomm Aqstic codec is responsible for the audio signal output, the volume margin and quality leave no questions.

Unfortunately, vibration is like in most low-cost Android smartphones. The tactile response is weak and rattling, which indicates the cheapness of the vibration motor.

Cameras

OPPO A72 received four cameras on the back. The standard 48 megapixel module is equipped with a fast f / 1.7 aperture lens and can record 4K video at 30 fps.

The novelty is also equipped with an 8 megapixel wide-angle camera, a 2-megapixel portrait module and a depth sensor. Front camera resolution is 16 megapixels.

Other features

The smartphone runs on Android 10 with a proprietary shell ColorOS 7, which pleases with speed and minimalistic interface. The manufacturer also took care of optimization so that the device does not slow down over time.

OPPO A72 is built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 hardware platform, made on an 11-nanometer process technology. The chipset is equipped with eight Kryo 260 cores with a frequency of up to 2 GHz, an Adreno 610 graphics accelerator and a coprocessor for operation neural networks. This SoC has worked well in mid-range smartphones, so you can expect decent performance in day-to-day work.

The novelty has 4 GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and the internal storage of UFS 2.1 is 128 GB. The gadget also received NFC and supports contactless payment via Google Pay.

A 5000 mAh battery is responsible for powering all components. Although an IPS screen uses more power than an OLED panel of similar specifications, the battery life should be decent. The smartphone comes with an 18 W adapter that replenishes 50% of the charge in 45 minutes.

Subtotals

In Russia, OPPO A72 costs 22,990 rubles. The competition in this segment is serious, but the new product has something to offer users. The main trump cards are a well-thought-out interface, good optimization and support, and high-quality sound. And although there are devices with more attractive specifications for this price, such as the Redmi Note 9 Pro, the OPPO model will be able to find its buyer.

Buy

The author thanks OPPO for the device provided for testing. The company had no way to influence the test result.