The $349 OPPO A76 4G is one of those phones that won’t let you down, especially if it is all you can afford. It is not a spectacular performer, but the 33W fast charge really stands out.
Head over to JB Hi-Fi or Harvey Norman, and you will be hard-pressed to find such value in a 2022 model. Motorola’s g51 5G capable at $399 would be the closest, and you may find some 2021 runouts at bargain-basement prices.
It is now in two parts. As this is a low-cost device, we will do a brief summary and a separate 300+ line database-driven spec, including over 70 tests to back up the findings. It also helps us compare different phones and features.
OK, this is where we get back to Glass slab territory. Fortunately, the back is not a fingerprint magnet and offers quite a grippy surface.
There is a dual camera (Primary and Depth) and flash on the back, a mono down-firing speaker below and OPPO’s usual right-side power and left-side volume rocker. It is relatively light at 164.4 x 75.7 x 8.4 mm x 189g.
Things that set it apart from the competition are a very long 30+ hour battery life and a 33W charger inbox. Buy it for that alone.
It Is a bright, relatively colour accurate, tempered glass screen capable of Netflix HD streaming. No better for the price.
It is fit for purpose, but it is not for games. OPPO’s excellent thermal management means it can deliver full power over 15 minutes with a negligible 7% loss.
NFC at this price is unusual. GPS performance is adequate and accurate to <10 metres.
It has very strong phone signal strength finding two of the four closest towers.
You can probably get up to a week between charges (light use) and recharge in under an hour.
Mono is typical of phones in this price bracket, but it has a surprisingly pleasant sound signature. Bluetooth and 3.5mm headphones are excellent.
Toughened glass front and plastic back and frame are well made and have a nice feel in hand. OPPO’s strength is its two-year warranty and excellent after-sales support.
At this price, most phones are ‘sell and forget’. OPPO may upgrade it to Android 12 and offers two years of security updates. The Fingerprint reader is conveniently on the power button.
We use the term social media standard to denote the minimum quality you would post on social media. It is far better than that, but it is really a single sensor that does it all.
First, let me say that at this point, I read other reviews to see if my observations are at odds. The overwhelming feeling that I get is that many reviewers have a sense of entitlement wanting features that cost a damned side more. My attitude is that you can’t do better for this price.
There are phones <$200, and they are OK but cut a few too many corners. You will get a 12-month city phone – a burner if that is all you spend.
In the $200-300 bracket, you start to get some better phones 2021 runout models from vivo, realme, OPPO and Samsung, but these will usually have a low-level Qualcomm SD4XX or MediaTek Helio and 3/4GB RAM and 64/128GB storage.
In the $300-399 (2022 models), it is only a choice of OPPO A76 4G ($349) or Motorola g51 5G ($399). You would be happy with either, but don’t let the 5G seduce you. 4G is lower cost (you can use low-cost network resellers) and uses less power, as this review proves.
In my opinion, the OPPO A76 offers all you need whether you are a student, blue-collar, retiree or just want a reliable, lower-cost phone.
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