OPPO A6s 5G Review

OPPO has built a reputation for offering some of the most capable and even stylish smartphones on the market. Their entire Find lineup shows just what they can do. The only problem is that the top-spec phones command a high price tag. Fortunately, OPPO’s more affordable lineup has always been a great option for those with a tighter budget.

One of the newest additions to their more budget-friendly lineup is the OPPO A6s 5G. It’s not the most powerful, but it is very durable, and OPPO says it will last owners for years. But given the highly competitive segment it’s in, and the budget-friendly smartphones we’ve seen so far, is the OPPO A6s 5G the one you should consider? Let’s find out in this review.

Design and Construction

Let’s start with the design of the OPPO A6s. There’s nothing about its styling that makes it stand out. The back panel reminds us of the current design language of most phones. At the upper left corner, there’s a square camera island that houses the dual-rear camera system.

The back panel itself is made out of plastic, but it’s not the cheap kind of plastic we typically expect from a budget smartphone. In fact, it feels quite sturdy. Even if we try bending it, there’s very little flex, which is nice.

Similar to the back panel, the frame is also made out of plastic. With that, don’t expect to have a premium feel with this phone. What surprised us is that the OPPO A6s features an IP68 and IP69 rating for dust and water resistance. That means even if this phone goes for a swim, it will be fine. Of course, like always, salt water is a different issue entirely.

For ergonomics, the power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner and volume rocker are located on the right side of the phone. Meanwhile, at the bottom, we’ll find the USB-C port and one of two loudspeakers.

Yes, A6s features stereo speakers, which is surprising considering this is a budget smartphone. Meanwhile, there’s also a dual-SIM card slot with a microSD slot. At the top, we’ll find the second loudspeaker and a secondary microphone.

Our review unit is in the Ice White color, and it looks great too. It’s not that loud, and we think it helps give the A6s a more premium look.

Display, Multimedia, and Biometrics

Moving on to the display, the OPPO A6s features a 6.75-inch display. It’s only an IPS LCD, but then again, we shouldn’t really expect AMOLED panels at this price point. Thankfully, there’s no teardrop camera housing. Instead, we find nice even borders all around, although the borders are quite thick.

Considering this is an IPS LCD, the display isn’t exactly the best looking, especially for those who are used to AMOLEDs. We think the colors are decent, and the same can be said for the contrast too. However, the blacks aren’t as deep, and can sometimes look grayed out instead, which is to be expected from an IPS LCD display.

Thankfully, the screen features smooth animations thanks to it having a maximum 120Hz refresh rate. But as always, it’s the gamers who will be able to benefit from this the most. More on that later.

As for the speakers, we’re glad that the A6s features dual speakers, as most phones in this segment usually settle for a single mono loudspeaker. The audio quality isn’t exactly the best. It lacks bass, while the mids and highs feel muddied. However, it is loud though with the option to bump up the volume to 200%. The downside is that with the volume maxed out, the quality drops even more, so do keep that in mind.

As for biometrics, users can choose between a side-mounted fingerprint sensor or face unlock. A side-mounted fingerprint sensor makes the phone feel dated, but at least there’s face unlock as an alternative.

Cameras

Moving on to the cameras, don’t let the design of the OPPO A6s’s camera island fool you. It’s not a triple rear camera system. In fact, it only features a 50MP main shooter paired with an 2MP auxiliary lens. As for the front, there’s a 16MP camera for selfies.

To be honest, we didn’t expect much from the cameras of the A6s. This is a budget smartphone after all, but we were pleasantly surprised at how decent the rear camera is when shooting in well-lit environments.

The images came out sharp, featuring decent contrast. What we really liked is how natural the photos looked. No oversaturated colors here. Not to mention the colors are quite accurate too.

It’s decent up to 2x zoom too, but anything beyond that there is a drastic drop in quality. The same can be said when shooting in low-light conditions. There’s a huge drop in sharpness and quality, making the photos lose details. Night mode doesn’t really help either. We also noticed it has a harder time focusing too.

The video output is similar to that of the images, decent during the day but drops in quality at night or in low-light. The OPPO A6s can record up to a maximum of only 1080P@60FPS. There’s no stabilization either, so it’s all up depending on how steady your hands are.

With that, we weren’t able to get the best video quality but it’s decent enough if users just want to record memories or simply post on social media.

Check out the gallery below to see what we mean.

OPPO A6s 5G Photos

Apr 23 – 26

Performance and Benchmarks

Under the metal, the OPPO A6s packs a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset. Our review unit comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. If users find the storage lacking, there is a microSD slot which can expand storage even further.

The chipset isn’t that powerful or the latest, considering it is a bit dated. However, it’s more than adequate for day-to-day use. We can quickly switch apps, and get back to where we left off. There’s no lag, too when leaving multiple apps running in the background, but given the limited RAM, it’s better to close the applications that aren’t being used to have better performance.

In terms of gaming, we have to set our expectations. It can run lighter titles like Mobile Legends and Call of Duty: Mobile without any problems even with the settings on high. There’s no lag or framerate drops either, giving users a smooth experience when gaming.

As for more graphic intensive titles like Genshin Impact, it is possible to run the game on the low settings at 60FPS. Any higher, and we started getting framerate drops even when we’re just moving the camera around. It gets even worse when we get into battles. With that, it’s best for doing dailies, and that’s about it.

What we liked about the A6s is that the phone didn’t have any heating issues. Even after long gaming sessions, the phone never heated up. OPPO did say the A6s features a SuperCool VC System, and from what we can tell, it works.

As for the benchmarks, you can check them out below.

OS, Apps, and UI

The OPPO A6s ships with ColorOS 15 out of the box, which is based on Android 15. It’s a more basic form of ColorOS though, without any of OPPO’s AI functionalities. But at least we do have Google Gemini available to access by simply holding the power button.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be Circle to Search, but alternatively, there is Google Lens available.

ColorOS also features a bunch of personalization options to change the look of the phone to something the user likes. It’s simple to use, though, making it easy to navigate the menu. While there is bloatware, almost all apps are contained in specific folders. This makes it easier to delete them.

Battery and Connectivity

Powering the OPPO A6s is a 7,000mAh battery pack. It’s relatively larger than most of the other smartphones in the same segment. Not surprisingly, it also lasts a relatively long time based on our experience.

For reference, I forgot to charge the phone, leaving it with 20 percent charge in the afternoon. Without turning on battery saver mode, I still had around 18 percent the following day. The battery benchmark showed similar results as well.

In terms of battery benchmarks, our video loop test garnered a result of 20 hours and 36 minutes of battery life.

When it’s time to recharge, thankfully, users don’t have to wait long. The A6s features 80W SuperVOOC fast charging. According to OPPO it can charge the phone from 1 to 54% in just 30 minutes. There’s also reverse wired charging allowing users to help out their friends who have faster draining smartphones.

As for connectivity, the OPPO A6s features 5G, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.4, GPS, an IR Blaster, and NFC.

Conclusion

For everything it offers, we’re quite surprised at what the OPPO A6s can do. It’s not the most powerful in the segment, nor does it have the best display, but it is very rugged with its IP68 and IP69 rating. Not to mention it features a very long-lasting battery, perfect for those who often forget to charge their phones.

There’s only one small issue: the price. It starts at PHP 22,999 for the 6GB+128GB variant and PHP 25,999 for the 8GB+256GB variant. It’s a tough pill to swallow considering the performance and the lackluster cameras.

However, the upside is that this phone will last users a very long time. With that, you can think of buying the OPPO A6s 5G as an investment. No need to upgrade the phone for a while.

But so far, what do you guys think of the OPPO A6s 5G? Would you cop or pick a different budget smartphone? Whatever the case, share your thoughts in the comments below.

What we liked:

• Long-lasting battery
• Very durable smartphone
• Beautiful design

What we didn’t like:

• The price
• Performance could be better 

OPPO A6s 5G specs:
6.75-inch IPS Display
120Hz refresh rate
MediaTek Dimensity 6300
6GB, 8GB RAM
256GB storage
50MP main sensor
2MP depth sensor
16MP both selfie shooter
Wi-Fi 7
5G/ LTE
Bluetooth 5.4
USB-C
IP69 rating
ColorOS15
Android 15
7000mAh battery
80W wired charging
166.6 x 78.5 x 8.6 mm
216g
Cappuccino Brown, Ice White