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Oppo and its ‘selfie expert’ phones have been around for a while, and some of the models in the range around ₹20,000 have also done well, thanks to our obsession with picture-perfect selfies. But the selfie camera domain isn’t just Oppo’s anymore. Other companies quickly jumped onto the bandwagon with phones boasting dedicated front camera specs. Not to mention that every phone worth its salt now comes with a beauty mode.
The A7 is the company’s latest offering in the now-overcrowded-and-yet-growing mid-range segment. The phone comes with a waterdrop notch and a very blingy back (at least in the Gold-coloured variant I reviewed). A silver lining frames the camera lens and flash assembly together, in a minor change from the template-like dual camera assemblies one sees on smartphones these days. For those who prefer slightly toned-down looks, there’s a darker blue-coloured variant too. The use of a case is recommended as the shiny back picks up fingerprints easily.
The display is bright and clear, even if not the best around. The 19:9 tall aspect ratio and the waterdrop notch maximise screen space. The display has a resolution of 1520 x 720 p, whereas quite a few phones in this range offer 1080 p displays. Oppo’s ColourOS and the way it looks can be a little loud for some, not to mention that the bloatware could be toned down. The phone runs on Android 8.1 out of the box with the ColourOS on top. For some reason, the A7 kept giving me pointless notifications and flashes like “what’s new with an app” and this was an annoyance. Oppo could work on refining its OS to ensure users have an easier experience.
The phone packs 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of memory, but comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor, whereas the competition in this segment uses more powerful ones like the Snapdragon 636 or Snapdragon 625. This difference shows, as the phone experienced lags when multi-tasking and occasionally when starting up as well.
Battery life is an area where the A7 does well. The 4,230 mAh battery easily lasts more than a day with regular to more-than-moderate use including videos and some gaming. The speaker also supports gaming on the device as it is fairly loud, but the processor power leads to lags when playing games like Asphalt.
The rear camera set-up on the Oppo A7 consists of a 13 MP primary sensor along with a 2 MP depth sensor. Oppo does a good job with its cameras and the A7 lives up to that reputation to a large extent. In daylight, the shots come out neat and crisp and are good for Instagram and Facebook posts. Colour reproduction is good too, unless you zoom in on a captured image. But that’s something a lot of phones in this range have to contend with. The pictures are well-detailed. Night and low-light photography isn’t too bad, but like with most phones in the mid segment, noise and dull patches creep in. The 16 MP front camera does a good job, but I personally liked it better without the beautification as I found it too artificial-looking. But, to each their own.
So is the A7 a good buy? Well, its looks certainly lend it some oomph and set it apart from the other similar-looking phones in the segment and it packs a good battery. But it is pricey for what it offers and you will find better specs on some cheaper phones.
Price: ₹16,990
Pros: Eye-catching looks, good battery life, cameras do well
Cons: Slightly sluggish performance, underpowered processor, bloatware
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