OPPO Neo 5 and Joy Plus first impressions

OPPO last night unveiled its new trio comprising of the Neo 5, Joy Plus, and the octa-core R1x. We’ve had a brief moment to check out what each has to offer and here are our initial thoughts on the first two.

Neo 5

The OPPO Neo 5 sports an FWVGA IPS display with a pixel resolution of 854 x 480. Its screen spans 4.5 inches diagonally with an implementation of capacitive buttons rather than on-screen ones.

Bezels on this thing are a bit thick, and with its 480p display we doubt if people who love watching movies on their phones would enjoy doing so on the Neo 5. Although for casual watching, we believe it would suffice.

It has a metal strip running around the entirety of its body which is not the first time we’ve seen on smartphones. At the left is the Power/lock screen button while the right is where the volume rocker is found. Its 3.5mm audio jack is situated at the top of the device with the micro-USB port found at the bottom along with the pinhole for microphone.

The back has a smooth finish that feels nice to the touch. Also found here is the 8-megapixel rear camera that’s placed at the upper left of the panel right beside a single LED flash. With a weight of 132 grams, the smartphone sits comfortably on your hand and has an overall feel that is not cheap at all.

If you’re looking for an elegant-looking device that wouldn’t break the bank, you may want to add the Neo 5 on your list.

OPPO Neo 5 specs:
4.5-inch FWVGA IPS display @ 854 x 480 resolution, 218ppi
1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor
Mali-400MP2 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
8MP rear camera
2MP front camera
Dual-SIM
Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Android 4.4.2 w/ Color OS 2.0.1
2,000mAh battery
132 x 65.8 x 9.2 mm
132.5 g
Price: Php7,990USD 136INR 11,542EUR 130CNY 992

Joy Plus

Claimed as a “great entry-level unit”, the OPPO Joy Plus carries meek specs together with its modest-looking physique. It has the usual glossy plastic finish seen on budget phones and frankly, we don’t see anything unique in its form factor.

Its face has the usual capacitive buttons below the 4-inch screen with the sensors right above it. Just like the Neo 5, the Joy Plus sports a lackluster 480p display which should be enough if you’re not too keen on the details of your images and graphics.

Physical button placements are almost identical with the Neo 5 — a volume rocker on the right side, Power/lock screen on the left, audio jack up top, and microUSB port down under.

If the Neo 5 used a sort of thick strip of metal to surround the device, the Joy Plus went for a thinner accent around it.

The back cover is plastic which doesn’t feel as special as the Neo 5 both in looks and even to the touch. For us, it’s something that would constantly remind you that you’re holding a budget phone everytime you use it.

So far those are what we noticed during the short time that we’ve spent with both the devices. We were satisfied with the Neo 5, but its more affordable sibling left us wanting more. This is just for the phyique, at least, as we still have to determine how they fare as a whole. Stay tuned.

Oppo Joy Plus specs:
4-inch IPS (480 x 800) display, 233ppi
1.3GHz MediaTek MT6572 dual-core CPU
Mali-400 GPU
1GB RAM
4GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
3.15MP rear camera w/ LED flash
VGA front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
3G HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP, EDR
GPS, A-GPS
FM Radio
1,700mAh battery
Android 4.4 KitKat with ColorOS 2.0
124 x 63 x 9.9 mm
125 g
Price: Php4,990USD 85INR 7,209EUR 81CNY 619

The company also incorporated some features which would supposedly put both the Neo 5 and Joy Plus under an attractive light. These are:

• Color OS 2.0
• PI 2.0+
• Fashionable design
• Upgraded RAM
• Beautify Mode
• Double-exposure
• GIF
• Audio photo
• Panorama
• HDR
• Memory cleanup
• Super power-saving mode
• Network Speed Notice,
• OTG