OPPO A40 4G – a great 3G smartphone replacement (mini-review)

The OPPO A40 4G is the perfect replacement for that old 3G phone. Its main features are its looks, longevity, and low price.

Throw in a low-cost pre-paid SIM (from Boost, Woollies, Aldi, or Coles), and you have the most cost-effective smartphone capabilities in a device that will last the distance.

This is a mini-review reserved for low-cost phones, meaning that we do all the tests but only report significant outcomes. Here, you can see the battery life and whether its phone signal reception is any good.

Australian Review OPPO A40 4G

Brand	OPPO
Model	OPPO A40 4G
Model Number	CPH2669
RAM/Storage Base	6/256
Price base	$259
Warranty months	24-months ACL
Tier	entry level 4G
Website	Website
From	Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Officeworks, Bing Lee and OPPO online
Country of Origin	China
Company	OPPO is now #2 in Australia for Android smartphone market share. It has achieved this by offering excellent products and after-sales service.
Release	August 2024
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	The genuine Australian model has an RNZ C-Tick on the box label. Also, check Settings, About Device, and Regulatory.
More	CyberShack OPPO news and reviews CyberShack smartphone news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

We are also tightening up on grading. From now on, Pass, for example, means meeting expectations for the price bracket. We consider a Pass mark to be 70+/100, with extra points added for class-leading and excellence. For 2023 reviews and earlier, deduct 10 points from them for reasonable parity.

Screen – Pass

6.67” 1604 x 720, 1000 nit HBM, 60/90Hz IPS LCD—a decent, colourful screen with more than enough brightness to read in direct sunlight.

Processor – Pass

Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen1 SoC (rebadged SD662) can be laggy with several apps open, but it is fit for purpose. It does not have any serious AI capacity, which is not expected.

The Adreno 160 GPU has no gaming ability.

In terms of power, it is above the SD4X series and closest to a MediaTek Helio G70 or a UNISOC T610.

OPPO states it has 36-Month Fluency Protection, which means optimising software, hardware, and other comprehensive technologies to make the phone perform ‘like new’. However, this does not mean there is absolutely no lag.

RAM/Storage – Pass

6GB LPDDR4X, 128GB eMMC 5.1 (85GB free), and a dedicated micro-SD slot are fine. You can add up to another 6GB of virtual RAM that uses the slower eMMC flash storage.

Wi-Fi – Pass

Wi-Fi 5 AC 2.4/5GHz has a maximum speed of 433Mbps out to 10M.

BT 5.0 – Pass

It has SBC, AAC and aptX codecs

NFC – Pass

It is nice to see it in this price bracket.

GPS – Pass

Dual frequency suitable for <5m accuracy.

4G – Pass

Dedicated dual SIM and microSD card slots. Bands 1/3/5/7/8/20/28/38/40/41 for Australia.

Unusually for a Qualcomm Snapdragon, this only finds one tower, albeit at decent picowatt speeds. It is for city and suburbs only where there is good band 28 coverage.

Battery – Pass but no charger supplied

It takes 1 hour 34 minutes at 9V/3A/27W. You can use a lower-wattage charger, but charge times will extend exponentially. It can use any PD charger. The OPPO SUPERVOOC 45W is $45.

The 5100mAh battery is rated for 1600 recharge cycles (most low-cost phones are 300-500) and will still have 80% usable capacity.

Battery life should be two days for typical users and 10-15 hours for heavy users.

Sound – Passable

• A mono speaker (earpiece and bottom speaker) solely for clear voice (not music)
• Single mic for hands-free (no noise reduction).
• 3.5mm jack for cabled earphones gives good stereo sound.

Build – MIL-STD – Exceed

• 165.77 x 76.08 x 7.68mm x 186g
• It has MIL-STD 801H certification and IP54 (rain resistant).
• Sparkle Black and Starlight White
• Plastic frame and PMMA back are likely to show signs of wear.
• The screen uses Panda (twice reinforced)
• The rear cover uses China Southern Glass (twice reinforced)
• 2-year warranty

It is rare to find a MIL-STD phone at this price.

Android – Pass+

Android 14 with two Android upgrades and three years of security patches.

It has a fingerprint sensor on the power button and 2D face recognition. This is great for Google Pay.

Camera – Pass

• 50MP autofocus camera (bins to 12.5MP) and a 2MP depth sensor – OK point-and-shoot results in day and office light
• 5MP fixed focus selfie – OK for single and dual selfies
• 1080p@30fps video

Camera shots are strictly for day and office light. There is insufficient AI to make much of a difference. There is no portrait or macro setting. We found a slight pinkish cast in all shots.

CyberShack’s View – OPPO A40 4G ticks most boxes

At $259, it is one of the more fully featured Android smartphones, and with MIL-STD 810H certification, it is designed to last. Add OPPO’s 5100mAh 1600 battery cycle and 36-month fluency guarantee; it is a keeper.

OPPO A40 4G Rating (70/100 is a pass mark)

• Features: 80 – add-in extended battery recharge, MIL-STD and fluency, and it gets extra points.
• Value: 80—While there are cheaper 4G phones, these have 64GB storage, and many run 32-bit Android on entry-level UniSoc or MediaTek SoCs. Its closest competitor is the $229 Moto G24.
• Performance—80—Qualcomm is faster than its 4-series. Add 6GB plus up to 6GB of virtual RAM, and it is fit for purpose.
• Ease of Use:  80 – ColorOS 14 is a light overlay on Android 14 and is easy to use without a steep learning curve. Add a two-year warranty and reasonable OS upgrade and patch upgrade.
• Design: 80 – Another glass slab with MIL-STD build.