OPPO A5 Pro 5G Review » YugaTech

Entry-level smartphones today often boast a rugged build, with features like ingress protection and enhanced durability becoming the norm. This is something that many brands market as a key selling point, and for good reason — they cater to a budget-conscious buyers who want a phone strong enough to last for a long time.

OPPO is taking that concept a step further with its OPPO A5 Pro 5G by offering flagship-level protection at a mid-range price. But does that give it the edge over the competition?

Let’s find out in this full review.

Design and Construction

Starting with its design, the OPPO A5 Pro sure does have a unique look.

Our unit is in this Bloom Pink colorway and aside from having an iridescent effect, it also got some floral pattern going on throughout the panel. The housing — which feels like it’s made of plastic — is matte to the touch and I like that it’s resistant to smudges as well.

From afar, you may mistake the A5 Pro to something premium-looking like the Reno13 Pro for example. Both have identical camera islands, flat sides, and same button layout. The said camera island, though, is in glossy finish making if more prone to smudges. So, you don’t want to touch this part very often.

Now, for its headliner feature, the OPPO A5 Pro 5G boasts an IP69 rating for dust and water resistance. This level of ingress protection is usually found on the usual flagships which essentially allows the phone to survive from being soaked underwater as deep as 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes.

We even went as far as submerging the phone in boiling water, and it came out completely unscathed. But hey, there’s no reason to do that on a normal scenario. It’s just meant to show how tough the device can really go. Just take note that ingress protection wears out over time, and the warranty doesn’t cover water damage, so there’s that.

Adding to its water resistance is the so-called military-grade shock resistance. In technical terms, the phone gets the US certification MIL-STD-810H. Despite the fact, it’s always recommended to slap on a case for an added layer of protection.

For I/Os, the power button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor along with the volume rocker are found on the right; there’s the dual SIM tray on the left with a dedicated microSD card slot; and found at the bottom are the USB-C and the speaker grill.

Display and Multimedia

Moving on to the display, this is where the OPPO A5 Pro falls a bit short.

We’re looking at a 6.67-inch IPS LCD panel, and while it does have a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, the resolution is stuck at HD+, which feels a bit behind the curve. The display bezels here are thick, with the chin being larger compared to the rest.

On the bright side, the screen can hit up to 1000 nits of peak brightness, making it pretty usable under direct sunlight. Plus, it’s protected by Gorilla Glass 7i complementing that “shock resistance” claim.

The phone supports Widevine L1 that allows HD content playback on Netflix, and on YouTube, it can stream up to 1440p resolution. However, with its LCD screen limited to HD+, you might find the visuals less sharp.

I should also mention that, since the screen uses an LCD panel, IPS bleed is noticeable here, as you can see some uneven brightness around the edges.

Surprisingly, the audio quality coming out of this device is fairly good. It features dual stereo speakers, with the second loudspeaker doubling as the earpiece. While the bass may not be as punchy as I’d prefer, the overall sound delivers a nice balance of clarity and depth.

Camera

Now, let’s talk about the cameras.

The OPPO A5 Pro features a dual rear setup: a 50-megapixel main sensor complemented by a 2-megapixel monochromatic lens. Up front, there’s an 8-megapixel selfie shooter.

Based on our sample shots, the image quality looks to be mediocre at best. The detail is decent, but you’ll start to see some noise zooming in. The colors are a bit washed out in most shooting scenarios, but it does cover good dynamic range.

Video isn’t one of its strong points either. It records at a maximum of 1080p at 60 fps and there’s no optical image stabilization (OIS) here either. You’ll notice a lot of noise in the video and the colors look washed out, too.

Performance and Benchmarks

For its mid-range pricing (at under Php16,000) you’d expect a mid-range chipset as well, right? Well, no. The OPPO A5 Pro 5G uses an entry-level 5G chipset, the MediaTek Dimensity 6300, combined with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of expandable storage.

In our tests, the performance of this phone really doesn’t hold up for its asking price. In ANTUTU, it only managed a measly 400K score, and that trend carries over to other benchmarks as well.

When it comes to real-world usage, that underwhelming performance is hard to ignore. Simple tasks like navigation feel a bit sluggish, and gaming is far from smooth. I tried playing Zenless Zone Zero on the A5 Pro, and let’s just say, it doesn’t quite cut it.

Even at the lowest graphics settings, there were still noticeable stutters throughout my gameplay.

For lighter, less demanding games like Mobile Legends, it’s definitely playable, but I had to drop the graphics to Medium just to keep things stable. Even then, pulling off fast combos was a struggle, and it just didn’t feel as responsive as it should be.

OS, UI, and Apps

On the software side of things, the OPPO A5 Pro runs on a simmered down version of ColorOS 15 based on Android 15. This makes sense since the phone is not exactly using a powerful chipset anyway.

While the UI design is clean and modern, there are clear signs of cost-cutting. You’ll notice the lack of certain polish, like the absence of blurring effects and smooth animations, which can make the system feel a bit rigid at times. Plus, you get tons of bloatware from the get-go.

Despite the lite version, core functionalities of ColorOS 15 remain intact. An example would be the smart sidebar that allows you to drag and drop files across different screens. The nifty file-sharing feature with an iPhone available here as well.

It does come with a couple of AI features built-in to its apps like Gallery and Notes — which comes as a surprise. Stuff like AI Eraser, AI Unblur, and AI Remove Reflections work like a charm, and the same goes for AI Assistant for Notes.

As for update policy, OPPO hasn’t mentioned a definitive timeline for how long the A5 Pro will receive support. However, being a mid-range device, it’s safe to expect at least two major OS upgrades and up to four years of security patches.

Connectivity and Battery Life

Battery-wise, the OPPO A5 Pro packs a larger-than-usual 5800mAh unit paired with 45W charging.

While the larger capacity is commendable, it didn’t quite result in longer battery life. In our PCMark test, the phone lasted 11 hours and 26 minutes. However, if you stick to light tasks and activities, it should last longer than that.

With the included 45W charger and USB-C cable, you’re looking at a charge time of under an hour — pretty fast. But if you switch to a different charger, even if it that charger has a higher wattage, the phone will still charge at a slower, if not regular speed.

For connectivity, the A5 Pro covers the essentials, including 5G and NFC.

OPPO also adds what it calls AI LinkBoost 2.0 that basically enhances the phone’s signal reception thanks to its 360-degree surround antenna. So, if you’re in crowded environments like train stations or malls, the OPPO A5 Pro’s network signal should remain reliable.

Pricing and Verdict

Alright, so the OPPO A5 Pro 5G comes in with some impressive durability features, like an IP69 rating for water and dust resistance and MIL-STD-810H military-grade shock protection. It’s built to survive drops, spills, and even a dip in boiling water.

But when you get past the durability, things start to feel a bit… lackluster. The 6.67-inch display with an HD+ resolution just doesn’t cut it. Sure, it has a 120Hz refresh rate, but the thick bezels and relatively low resolution are a letdown for the price, especially when you’re used to seeing sharper displays at this price point.

The camera is another area where the A5 Pro doesn’t quite do well. It’s not a terrible camera by any means, but it’s definitely not in the same league as some of the competition.

Wrapping this up, the OPPO A5 Pro 5G nails the durability and longevity segments, however its display quality, camera performance, and overall speed leave much to be desired.

At PHP 15,999, it’s surely a tough phone that can take a beating, but if you’re after a well-rounded experience with better performance and sharper visuals, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.

Interestingly, there’s also a 4G variant of this device that keeps all the same features. The key difference being the chipset — it’s powered by the Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen1. This variant has a more reasonable price at PHP 10,999, so you have that option as well.

But hey, what do you think of the OPPO A5 Pro 5G? Do you agree with our verdict? Share your thought in the comments below!

What we liked:

• Flagship-level durability (IP68)
• Sleek design
• Expandable storage

What we didn’t like:

• HD+ LCD screen
• Mid cameras
• Poor price-to-performance ratio

OPPO A5 Pro 5G specs:
6.67-inch HD+ IPS LCD
1604 x 720 pixels, 120Hz, 264 ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 7i
1000 nits peak brightness (under sunlight)
MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC
8GB LPDDR4x RAM
256GB UFS 2.2 storage
Expandable via microSD (dedicated slot)
Dual rear cameras:
– 50MP f/1.8 main, AF
– 2MP f/2.4 mono lens
8MP f/2.0 selfie shooter (hole punch notch)
Dual nano-SIM
5G, 4G LTE
Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth 5.3
GPS, Beidou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
USB Type-C
NFC
Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face unlock
IP69 dust and water resistance, MIL-STD-810H shock resistance
Dual stereo speakers
ColorOS 15, Android 15
5800mAh battery
45W charging (wired)
164.82 x 75.53 x 7.76 mm (dimensions)
194 grams (weight)
Mocha Brown, Bloom Pink (colorways)