Not everyone needs all the bells and whistles on their phones. Some just want to have a device they can use to stay connected and entertained. The OPPO A58 is one of those more budget-friendly options. Here are the four things about it that make it appealing to the entertainment junkies in your life.
A bright screen you can use outdoors
The OPPO A58 has one of those displays that should make it easier to use outdoors. The brand calls it a “Sunlight Display.” That just means you get a decent 680 nits of peak brightness on this phone, which isn’t something you see often in its segment.
However, it won’t keep the glare away completely on a bright day. But it’s readable enough that if you’re scrolling your social feeds while waiting outdoors, you should be fine.
I also like cranking up the brightness when I’m watching shows indoors. The OPPO A58 boasts a 91.4% screen-to-body ratio with some pretty thin bezels on the side. So there aren’t that many distracting elements when I’m watching or reading. The center position of the selfie camera does get in the way sometimes. But it’s something you’ll get used to.
The OPPO A58 is both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video HD certified. So, if a lot of the content you watch is on those platforms, you can enjoy Full HD streaming.
OPPO equips this handset with its All-Day Eye Comfort feature so you can ease some of the eye strain that all that viewing can cause. (This is also your reminder to ease up on too much viewing!)
Let’s you get loud
I’m always relieved to get OPPO smartphones to test. One of the things I love that’s available on most of them is the Ultra Volume Mode. And the A58 is no different. OPPO improves the audio on this handset by boosting the sound by 300% when using the speakers. It’s not going to be the crispest sound. But it’s decent enough to play in your room or office without earbuds.
And you can connect wired headphones/earphones to the OPPO A58. As with other more affordable devices, it still has a 3.5mm audio jack. But I’m happier to see a dual-stereo speaker setup in its segment. OPPO boasts that it improved volume by 40% over its predecessor. So, if you’re like me and love listening to music or podcasts, then having this kind of audio setup is what you need.
Decent battery life
If you consume tons of content on your smartphone, prepare to burn through the OPPO A58’s battery. I can see this lasting for more than a day if you use it a bit less. But when I’ve had it playing a series on Netflix or listening to a podcast on Spotify all day, I could drain the battery in 10 hours or so. OPPO promises a maximum of 16 hours of YouTube videos, but those lab tests are done in ideal conditions.
Thankfully, you get a somewhat speedy 33W SuperVOOC charging on this phone. It won’t beat out those tremendously fast ones, of course. But I could still consistently recharge the OPPO A58 from 0% to 100% in around 80 minutes. That timeframe is still in the ballpark of OPPO’s 75-minute benchmark for charging.
Get more from the OPPO A58
While new phones drop constantly, we want one that can last us for a while. OPPO promises that the A58 passed its “36-month Fluency Protection” test. In theory, that should mean the OPPO A58’s average aging rate should be less than 10% after three years of daily use. You should expect to still get a decent performance out of this phone in that timeframe. But, of course, that’s not something I can test now.
Plus, other things you need to know
The entertainment-related features are the most compelling things on the OPPO A58. But those aren’t the only things that make up this smartphone.
The OPPO A58 runs on a MediaTek Helio G85 chipset with up to 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and ColorOS 13.1. Browsing social media and answering emails shouldn’t be an issue on this phone. I could easily play my new cozy game obsession (Little Corner Tea House), too.
You can double that RAM via the built-in RAM expansion feature. For the 6GB model I’m testing, I can get an extra 6GB from the storage to turn into 6GB of additional virtual RAM. You can also expand storage on this phone with its dedicated microSD card.
As for the camera setup, you get a 50-megapixel primary camera paired with a 2-megapixel portrait camera and an 8-megapixel selfie camera in front. It’s not my first choice for a budget smartphone camera, but it does what it can given its limitations. It’s one of those devices you need to shoot in decent lighting to get shareable photos and videos.
The OPPO A58 blends in seamlessly with other OPPO A series phones. That means, it gets a similar design. If you’re looking for something with an unusual design, this might not be it. The Dazzling Green option does look pretty vibrant, but I have the more subtle Glowing Black with me.
OPPO A58: Final thoughts
I’m a big fan of the loudspeakers on this phone. It’s made it much more convenient to listen to music and podcasts at home without connecting to a Bluetooth speaker. It’s a handy device to have for enjoying the content you love. So, if an affordable entertainment-centric phone is on your list, the OPPO A58 calls for your attention to check it out.
The OPPO A58 retails for PHP 9,999 (around USD 176) for the 6GB RAM + 128GB variant.
Buy the OPPO A58 from Lazada HERE. *
Buy the OPPO A58 from Shopee HERE.
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What do you think of the OPPO A58? Let us know!