Oppo AX5: Plans | Pricing | Specs

Where to buy

Oppo's market position in Australia has been built on the back of numerous budget-priced handsets that offer more than you might expect at their price points. The Oppo AX5's key selling points are its surprisingly appealing design and the inclusion of a very large battery for such a moderately priced handset.

Design

• 6.2-inch display
• Glass back
• No fingerprint sensor

• Read more on the Oppo AX5's design

  Budget phones tend towards budget designs, but we're increasingly seeing plenty of more affordable phones that effectively mimic the look of their bigger brethren. For the Oppo AX5, that's clearly Oppo's R-series phones, which come with higher price tags but much the same essential build as the Oppo AX5. Where it stands out is with its all-glass back (sadly, not a sign of inbuilt wireless charging capability) and the "diamond-shaped" figures that present underneath it. Available in either "Diamond Blue" or "Diamond Pink" finishes, the Oppo AX5 is something of a looker in the budget space.

  The display is 6.2 inches – quite large for the category – although it's only a full HD display, which again isn't surprising for the price. There's no inbuilt fingerprint reader for quick authentication, something we are starting to see in more budget-centric handsets of late.

Camera

• Dual 13/2MP rear cameras
• Front 8MP camera

• Read more on the Oppo AX5's camera

  Oppo's pitch is that it's the camera phone company, but the Oppo AX5's camera prowess isn't anything that special, at least on paper. There are plenty of phones in its price bracket with dual rear lenses, and like so many of them, the secondary lens on the AX5 isn't its own distinct entity. Instead, it's a 2MP sensor used to provide "bokeh" style effects to portrait shots, rather than providing additional functions such as wide angle or telephoto shooting.

  That's rather expected at this kind of price range, where you don't often see a lot of camera optimisations in play. The Oppo AX5 should deliver solid photos in regular light, but it wouldn't be wise to push it in more challenging low-light situations.

Performance

• Snapdragon 450 fits the mid-range bill nicely
• Oppo's ColorOS gives its phones a very iPhone-like feel

• Read more on the Oppo AX5's performance

  The Oppo AX5's Snapdragon 450 and 4GB of RAM are pretty much a recipe for mid-range performance, although the benefit here is that for most folks, that's going to work well enough. It is notable for having 64GB of onboard storage, a little more than some affordable handsets, and you can expand that via microSD if you need more local storage space.

  The Oppo AX5 is an Android 8.1 phone, but you might not pick that right away. Like Oppo's other phones, it's running its own "ColorOS" overlay, giving it a feel that's closer to Apple's iOS than stock Android. If you're switching from an iPhone to the Oppo AX5 this may feel like a comfortable swap, although conversely users of less modified Android handsets may find it a little challenging.

Battery

• 4,230mAh battery should give great battery life
• No fast or wireless charging

• Read more on the Oppo AX5's battery

  Oppo is very generous with the battery in the Oppo AX5, packing in a substantial 4,230mAh power pack behind the display. That's very large for a mid-range handset and it should equate to good all-day battery life under most circumstances.

  The one very slight catch here is that while it's a big battery, there's no easy way to quickly charge it. Despite the glass back, there's no onboard support for wireless charging, and even Oppo's own Vooc fast charging wired solution isn't supported. If you leave it charging overnight it should be fine to go the next day, though.

Pricing and availability

Price

RRP: $250.00

Where to buy

From $248.88 at eBay

Check price at Amazon

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Specifications

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