OPPO A77 5G – fast charging on a budget (smartphone review)
The $449/499 OPPO A77 5G is one of those phones that won’t let you down. It is not a spectacular performer, but the full set of features and the 33W fast charge really stands out.
Let’s position it
- Dual-hybrid sim 4/5G so you can use lower-cost mobile plan resellers
- Better than social media class camera
- MediaTek Dimensity 810 processor and 4/64GB or 6/128GB and microSD
- Stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack
- Bright 720p screen
- Wi-Fi 5 AC, BT 5.1 and NFC
- 27+ hour PC Mark 3 battery life – incredible and 33W fast charge
- OPPOs excellent build quality and 2-year warranty
Head over to JB Hi-Fi or Harvey Norman, and you would be hard-pressed to find such value in a 2022 model.
Australian Review: OPPO A77 5G CPH2339 4/64 or 6/128GB, DUAL HYBRID SIM
Website | Product page |
Price | $449 4/64 and $499 6/128GB (this is the one to get) |
Colours | Midnight Black or Ocean Blue |
From | JB Hi-Fi, Big W, Australia Post, The Good Guys (Midnight Black only), Bing Lee (Midnight Black only), Harvey Norman, Woolworths |
Warranty | 2-years ACL |
Country of Origin | China |
Company | OPPO is now #2 in Australia for Android smartphone market share. It has achieved that through excellent product and after-sales service. |
More | CyberShack OPPO news and reviews |
Better buy genuine, or 5G won’t work
Look for the RCM C-Tick on the box, and under Settings, About Device, Regulatory Labels.
We issue a strong warning that you must buy a genuine model with Australian firmware if you want to use 5G. Read Don’t buy a grey market phone to ensure you get the Australian model.
Deep-Dive review format
It is now in two parts. As this is a low-cost device, we will do a 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.
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 ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.
You can click on most images for an enlargement.
First impression – another glass slab – Pass
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. The OPPO A77 5G has Applesque tones with straight sides – quite nice and grippy in hand.
There is a dual-camera (Primary and Depth) flash on the back, stereo ultra-linear speakers (under glass and down-firing) and OPPO’s usual right-side power and left-side volume rocker. It is relatively light at 163.8 x 75.1 x 7.99 mm x 190g.
Things that set it apart from the competition are a long 27+ hour battery life and a 33W charger inbox. Buy it for these alone.
Screen: 6.59″ 60 or 90Hz – Pass+
It Is a bright, colour-accurate, tempered glass screen capable of streaming Netflix HD. No better for the price.
Like all LCD screens, it is not easy to read in daylight.
Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 810 and 4/64 or 6/128GB and microSD – Pass
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% throttling loss.
It is a great mid-range processor but not for gamers.
Comms – Wi-Fi 5 AC Dual-band, BT 5.1 and NFC – all you need Pass
NFC at this price is unusual. GPS performance is adequate and accurate to <10 metres. 5GHz Wi-Fi performance is good.
Phone – city and suburbs only – Pass(able)
It has a strong phone signal strength but only finds one of the four closest towers. Not for areas with weak reception.
Battery – 5000mAh and 33W charging – Exceed
You can probably get up to a week between charges (light use) and recharge in an hour. Typical usage – 1-3 days.
Sound – Stereo – Pass
Stereo is unusual for phones in this price bracket. But with an Analytical (no bass) sound signature, it is for voice only.
Bluetooth and 3.5mm headphones are excellent.
Build – better than most and 2-year warranty – Exceed
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.
Android 12 – you may get 13 – Pass+
At this price, most phones are sell and forget. OPPO may upgrade it to Android 13 and offers two years of security updates. The Fingerprint reader is conveniently on the power button.
OPPO A77 5G Camera – dual-sensor, but one does all the work – Pass+
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.
- 12MP binned – 1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are excellent with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights.
- 48MP – 1x Day – the 12MP binned image is better
- 2X Day Primary sensor – colours are excellent with good dynamic range. The background is getting noisy.
- 10X Day: Primary sensor: Forget it
- Ultra-wide: N/A
- Macro: The 2MP sensor takes reasonable macro shots, but as usual, 4cm focus is critical
- Indoor office light: Excellent colour with deep black dog’s ears. The definition is excellent.
- Bokeh Depth: A 2MP sensor helps for bokeh shots, which are excellent.
- Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is noisy and has blown-out details. It is struggling.
- Night mode brings up the detail, saturates the colour, and removes a lot of noise
- Selfie: The 8MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image. Best in day and office light
- Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 1080p@30fps, but there is no stabilisation.
CyberShack’s view – OPPO A77 5G is good value at $449/499
It is an excellent affordable 5G budget smartphone. Decent camera quality, battery last for a day or two, and the only downside is phone signal strength is for city and suburbs with good tower coverage (not black spots).
There are other 5G phones <$400, which 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 my opinion, the OPPO A77 5G offers all you need whether you are a student, blue-collar, retiree or just want a reliable, lower-cost phone.
CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.1 (E&OE) OPPO A77 5G
Brand | OPPO |
Model | A77 |
Model Number | CPH2339 |
Price Base | 4/64 |
Price base | $449 |
Price 2 | 6/128GB $499 |
Warranty months | 24-months ACL |
Tier | Mid-range |
Website | Product Page |
From | JB Hi-Fi/ Big W/ Australia Post/ The Good Guys (Midnight Black only)/ Bing Lee (Midnight Black only)/ Harvey Norman/ Woolworths |
Country of Origin | China |
Company | OPPO is now #2 in Australia for Android smartphone market share. It has achieved that through excellent product and after-sales service. |
Test date | 1-17 August |
Ambient temp | 10-20° |
Release | Jun-22 |
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy) | Please buy from the approved retailers. If not, you may get a 5G handset that cannot be used on Australian networks. |
Screen
Size | 6.56″ |
Type | A-SI LCD |
Flat/ Curve/ 2D/ 3D | Flat |
Resolution | 1612×720 |
PPI | 269 |
Ratio | 20.15:9 |
Screen to Body % | 89.9 |
Colours bits | 8-bit/ 16.7m colours |
Refresh Hz/ adaptive | 60 or 90HZ |
Response 120Hz | N/ A |
Nits typical/ test | 480 (tested 478) |
Nits max/ test | 600 (tested 601) |
Contrast | 1500:1 |
sRGB | Gentle 100+% |
DCI-P3 | Vivid 100% of the 16.7million gamut |
Rec.2020 or other | N/A |
Delta E (<4 is excellent) | N/A |
HDR Level | No |
SDR Upscale | No |
Bluelight control | Yes |
PWM if known | N/A |
Daylight readable | Not for direct sunlight |
Always on Display | N/A |
Edge display | N/A |
Accessibility | Usual Android features |
DRM | L1 for HD SDR playback |
Gaming | 40fps at best |
Screen protection | Holitech/ BOE: AGC DT-Pro (Dragontrail like GG3) |
Comment | Excellent, bright screen – slightly bluish cast, but you can adjust this. |
Processor
Brand/ Model | MediaTek Dimensity 810 https://www.mediatek.com/products/smartphones-2/mediatek-dimensity-810 |
nm | 6 |
Cores | 2 x 2.4Ghz +6 x 2.0Ghz |
Modem | Integrated |
AI TOPS | Estimate 6-7 TOPS (low-end AI) |
Geekbench 5 Single-core | 594 |
Geekbench 5 multi-core | 1776 |
Like | Like SD723G single core and SD845 multicore |
GPU | ARM Mali-G57 MC2 |
GPU Test | |
Open CL | 1635 |
Like | Between SD732G and SD845 |
Vulcan | 1654 |
RAM/ type | 4 or 6GB LPDDR4x plus 3GB virtual ram swap from storage |
Storage/ free/ type | 64GB eMMC or 128GB (94GB free) UFS 2.2 |
micro-SD | Up to 1TB |
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps | 558 |
CPDT internal seq. write MBps | 275 |
CPDT microSD read/ write MBps | 83/33 mountable as storage |
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps | 27/27Mbps OTG only |
Comment | Relatively fast mid-range SoC fit for purpose as a smartphone but not for gamers |
Throttle test | |
Max GIPS | 168,163 |
Average GIPS | 161,100 |
Minimum GIPS | 147,310 |
% Throttle | 7 |
CPU Temp | 50° |
Comment | OPPO’s thermal management is excellent, offering far more stable performance under load than many other brands. |
Comms
Wi-Fi Type | Wi-Fi 5 AC 2.4/5Ghz |
Test 2m -dBm/ Mbps | -32/433 |
Test 5m | -45/433 |
Test 10m | -54/433 |
BT Type | 5.1 |
GPS single/ dual | Single |
USB type | USB-C 2.0 480Mbps |
ALT DP/ DeX/ Ready For | Wi-Fi casting and Chromecast. No USB-C to HDMI support. |
NFC | Yes |
Ultra-wideband | No |
Sensors | |
Accelerometer | Yes -combo with Gyro is very sensitive. |
Gyro | |
e-Compass | Yes |
Barometer | |
Gravity | Yes |
Pedometer | |
Ambient light | Yes |
Hall sensor | |
Proximity | |
Other | Pedometer |
Comment | Everything you need. |
LTE and 5G
SIM | Dual hybrid with microSD |
Active | Only one active at a time |
Ring tone single/ dual | Single |
VoLTE | Carrier dependent |
Wi-Fi calling | Carrier dependent |
4G Bands | 1, 2, 3, 4 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41 66 |
Comment | All Australian 4G bands |
5G sub-6Ghz | N1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 77, 78 |
Comment | All Australian sub-6Ghz and low-bands |
mmWave | No |
Test Boost Mobile/ Telstra | |
UL/ DL/ ms | 47/21/38ms |
Tower 1 -dBm/ fW or pW | -86/2.5 to 4pW |
Tower 2 | No |
Tower 3 | No |
Tower 4 | No |
Comment | Typical of MediaTek, it found the closest tower only at reasonable signal strength. Only for City/suburbs with good tower coverage. |
Battery
mAh | 5000 single battery |
Charger/ type/ supplied | 33W SUPERVOOC 5V/ 2A/ 10W or 5-11V/ 3A (33W) – charges at 4.741A |
PD/ QC level | PD capable – Overcharge protection may influence results |
Qi/ wattage | No |
Reverse Qi or cable | No |
Test (60Hz) | |
Charge % 30mins | 50% |
Charge 0-100% | 1 hour and 8 minutes |
Charge Qi/ W | N/A |
Charge 5V/ 2A | 4.75 hours |
Video loop 50%/ aeroplane | 15 hours 44 minutes |
PC Mark 3 battery | 21 hours 28 minutes |
Accubattery | 18 hours |
GFX Bench Manhattan battery | 427.6min (7.13hrs) 3095 frames |
GFX Bench T-Rex | 677.8min (11.3hrs) 3352 frames |
Drain 100-0% full load screen on | 6 hours test Accubattery 5 hours |
Watt full load | 1000-1300mA |
Watt idle Screen on | 200-250mA |
Estimate loss at max refresh | Expect about 20% less at 90Hz |
Estimate typical use | Two to three days at typical use |
Comment | Excellent battery life and a fast 33W charger make this a class-leader |
Sound
Speakers | Earpiece and ultra-linear stereo speaker – forward-firing under glass at the top and down-firing at the base. |
Tuning | No |
AMP | 2 x AW87 |
Dolby Atmos decode | No |
Hi-Res | No |
3.5mm | Yes |
BT Codecs | SBC/ AAC/ LDAC |
Multipoint | Should support it |
Dolby Atmos (DA) | No |
EQ | Real Original Sound Technology EQ Smart/ Movie/ Game/ Music |
Mics | 2 with some noise-cancellation |
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off | |
Volume max | 85dB |
Media (music) | 75 |
Ring | 80 |
Alarm | 80 |
Notifications | 75 |
Earpiece | 55 |
Hands-free | Decent hands-free and has two mics for some wind noise reduction. |
BT headphones | Could drive them on SBC/ AAC and LDAC but not aptX |
Sound quality | |
Deep Bass 20-40Hz | Nil |
Middle Bass 40-100Hz | Nil |
High Bass 100-200Hz | Nil to 150 then steep build to 250 |
Low Mid 200-400Hz | Flat |
Mid 4000-1000Hz | Flat |
High-Mid 1-2kHz | Flat |
Low Treble 2-4kHz | Flat |
Mid Treble 4-6kHz | Slow linear decline to 20Hz |
High Treble 6-10kHz | Slow linear decline to 20Hz |
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz | Slow linear decline to 20Hz |
Sound Signature type | Analytical signature. (bass/mid recessed; treble boosted) – crisp but not pleasant for most music. Fine for clear voice |
Soundstage | Interesting to have a forward-facing under-glass speaker and a bottom-facing speaker. The sound stage, however, is quite limited. |
Comment | It is focused on clear voice. |
Build
Size (H X W x D) | 163.8 x 75.1 x 7.99 |
Weight grams | 190 |
Front glass | Dragontrail hardened |
Rear material | Plastic |
Frame | Plastic |
IP rating | IPX4 |
Colours | Midnight Black Ocean Blue |
Pen/ Stylus support | No |
In the box | |
Charger | 33W SUPERVOOC |
USB cable | USB-A to USB-C SuperVooc |
Buds | No |
Bumper cover | Yes |
Comment | OPPO leads this class with a 33W charger – it’s fast. |
OS
Android | Android 12 |
Security patch date | 5/07/2022 |
UI | ColorOS 12.1 |
OS upgrade policy | Should get Android 13 |
Security patch policy | Two years of security patches |
Bloatware | A little too much – AliExpress/ Amazon/ Booking.com/ Facebook/ LinkedIn/ O Relax/ PUBG/ Soloop Cui/ TikTok/ and OPPOs alternatives for Google Apps. All are removable |
Comment | ColorOS is the light grease on Android wheels that makes it easier to use |
Security | |
Fingerprint sensor location/ type | On power button – 9/10 test |
Face ID | Yes 2D |
Other | OPPO ColorOS has advanced security features |
OPPO A77 5G camera
Rear Primary | Wide |
MP | 48MP bins to 12MP |
Sensor | Sony IMX586 |
Focus | AF |
f-stop | 1.7 |
um | .8 bins to 1.6 |
FOV° (stated/ actual) | 80 (68.6-80.9) |
Stabilisation | No |
Zoom | 10x digital |
Rear 2 | Depth |
MP | 2 |
Sensor | GalaxyCore GC02M1B |
Focus | FF |
f-stop | 2.4 |
um | 1.75 |
FOV (stated/ actual) | 89.1 |
Stabilisation | No |
Zoom | No |
Video max | 1080p@30fps – no EIS |
Flash | |
Auto-HDR | |
Night/ Photo/ Video/ Portrait/ Expert/ Extra HD/ Panorama/ Time-lapse/ Slow-motion/ Text scanner/ Google Lens/ Sticker | |
QR code reader | Via Google Lens |
Night mode | AI |
Front | |
MP | 8 |
Sensor | OV08D10 |
Focus | AF |
f-stop | 2 |
um | 1.12 |
FOV (stated/ actual) | 79 (67.1-79.4) |
Stabilisation | No |
Flash | Screen fill |
Zoom | 4x digital |
Video max | 1080p@30fps |
Features | Photo/ Video/ Panoramic/ Portrait/ Night/ Time-lapse/ Sticker |
Comment | 12MP binned – 1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are excellent with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights. 48MP – 1x Day – the 12MP binned image is better 2X Day Primary sensor – colours are excellent with good dynamic range. The background is getting noisy. 10X Day: Primary sensor: Forget it Ultra-wide: N/A Macro: The 2MP sensor takes reasonable macro shots, but as usual, 4cm focus is critical Indoor office light: Excellent colour with deep black dog’s ears. The definition is excellent. Bokeh Depth: A 2MP sensor helps for bokeh shots, which are excellent. Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is noisy and has blown-out details. It is struggling. Night mode brings up the detail, saturates the colour, and removes a lot of noise Selfie: The 8MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image. Best in day and office light Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 1080p@30fps, but there is no stabilisation. |
Ratings
Features | 8 |
MicroSD mountable for video 3.5mm 33W fast charge | |
Value | 8 |
It packs a lot for the price. | |
Performance | 8 |
Solid MediaTek Dimensity 810 performance is acceptable for smartphone use. | |
Ease of Use | 8 |
ColorOS 12 is easy to learn and offers the much-needed grease over Android 12 wheels. Antenna signal strength means you need good tower coverage. | |
Design | 8 |
Another bland glass slab | |
Rating out of 10 | 8.00 |
Final comment | We don’t recommend the 4/64GB version at $449, but the 6/128GB is excellent value at $499. The closest competition is the Moto G82 5G. |
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