OPPO’s budget smartphone A12 has been launched in India recently and it’s priced under Rs 10,000. It features a 4,230 mAh battery, dual cameras, and water-drop notch, but does it stand against the competition? Let’s find it out in the OPPO A12 review.
OPPO A12 Specifications
- Display: 6.2-inch display, HD+ resolution (1520×720 pixels), 89% screen-to-body ratio
- Software: ColorOS 6.1 based on Android 9
- CPU: 12nm MediaTek Helio P35 (MT6765) octa-core SoC
- GPU: PowerVR GE8320 GPU
- RAM: 3 GB OR 4 GB RAM
- Storage: 32 GB OR 64 GB GB internal storage; expandable up to 256 GB via microSD card
- Main Camera: Dual Cameras (13 MP f/2.2 + 2 MP f/2.4)
- Selfie Camera: 5 MP f/2.4 aperture
- Others: Fingerprint scanner, 3.5 mm audio jack, FM Radio
- Connectivity Options: 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/GLONASS, and micro USB port
- Battery: 4,230 mAh battery
- Colors: Blue and Black
- Price: Rs 9,990 (3 GB + 32 GB), Rs 11,490 (4 GB + 64 GB)
- Availability: From 10th June in India
Design, Display, & Build
Talking about the design of the OPPO A12, you get a polycarbonate body with a matte finish polygon textured surface on the back, OPPO calls it 3D diamond blaze design. You will also find dual cameras on the back and a fingerprint scanner.
The OPPO A12 is equipped with a 6.22-inch HD+ display (1520 x 720 pixels) with a water-drop style notch on top of the screen. Rivals offer a Full HD+ display in this price range and a larger size screen.
The left side two separate volume controls and has a triple-slot SIM tray sporting a dedicated microSD card slot while the other two slots are for dual 4G SIMs. The right side has a Power key and nothing else.
The bottom has a micro USB port, a loudspeaker, a 3.5 mm jack, and a microphone. A USB Type-C port would definitely add to the design and ergonomics.
Software & User Interface
The OPPO A12 runs on Android 9 out-of-the-box with ColorOS 6.1 user interface on top. This is the year 2020, and most smartphones have moved to the newer Android 10, and Android 11 is about to be released after a few months, OPPO A12 lacks the latest Android 10 support and is falling behind the competition.
The ColorOS 6.1 is also seen on many OPPO smartphones, the OPPO A12 offers the same features you see on the rest of the OPPO phones running on ColorOS 6.1, you get the bloatware as always, but some handy features like App Cloner, Game Space, and gesture controls.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
About the internals, the OPPO A12 is pretty much a starter when it comes to the hardware, it packs a MediaTek Helio P35, an entry-level CPU seems to have average performance given the price. It comes in two variants, 3 GB RAM with 32 GB storage and 4 GB RAM with 64 GB storage that expands via a microSD card up to 256 GB.
The performance of the phone is nowhere around the phones with Snapdragon 675 and Snapdragon 712, and, when compared to the Snapdragon 665 powered smartphones, it still falls behind, the Snapdragon 665 could offer better overall performance.
Take a look at the benchmarks we performed on the phone, here are the results of Geekbench 5 CPU and GPU and AndroBench storage benchmark.
Gamers should look for something else. If you are going to play heavy games like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, pick a better GPU, the OPPO A12 seems to run games with low or medium graphics for the games that demand more GPU power.
Cameras
If there’s something to brag about is its dual cameras, the OPPO A12 seems to be a joke when putting dual cameras where most smartphones nowadays come with triple or quad setup. Last year’s Redmi Note 8 and realme 5 in similar price range offer quad cameras, a few smartphones might come out with a 48 MP sensor where the OPPO A12 loses the shine with its 13 MP primary camera with 2 MP secondary camera.
The camera hardware seems to be obsolete, you can’t record 4K videos, 60fps videos, and slow-motion videos. The camera interface is plain, a Portrait option is available for taking portraits with bokeh effect in the background. More modes include Panorama, Expert, Time-lapse, HDR, Dazzle Color, and Sticker.
Since the camera is a dual setup, it misses out the wide-angle, telephoto, and macro lenses. We took some samples to show you how the camera performs, take a look.
OPPO A12 Camera Samples
Battery Life
The OPPO A12 is powered by a 4,230 mAh battery with a standard 10W charger in the box. The battery performance is decent, the phone can run as long as a day and a half due to the HD+ display and the power-saving CPU. Charging is slow at 5V and 2A, no fast charger is provided along with the phone.
Verdict
The OPPO A12 resides under Rs 10,000 price category and in this range, a number of phones are available with better cameras, better display, and slightly better performance all running the latest Android 10 build. Take the last year’s Redmi Note 8 and realme 5 with quad cameras at this price. The recently launched realme Narzo 10a equips a faster CPU and triple cameras and it’s worth mentioning in this price segment.
Strength
- Lightweight & compact
- Good battery life
- Dedicated microSD card slot
Weakness
- Android 9 out-of-the-box
- Mediocre cameras
