Our impressions of the OPPO A38 and A58: The A series is renewed

Both the most complete and affordable A58, and the even more affordable A38 πρεσβεύουν με τον καλύτερο τρόπο τη δέσμευση του κινεζικού κολοσσού για συσκευές που καθιστούν προσβάσιμη την σύγχρονη technology to everyone!

OPPO's A family of budget Android smartphones has been enriched with two new models, the A58 and A38. These are two devices that stand out for the intelligent selection of technical features that ensure a problem-free and pleasant user experience, while keeping costs low.

The OPPO A38 debuted on store shelves at €169,90 and with such a low price, our expectations when we got our hands on it were not high. Fortunately, the A38 proved us wrong with a respectable collection of technical features that won't cause problems in most consumers' normal day-to-day use.

We start with the 6,56″ Sunlight display, which owes its name to the maximum brightness of 720 nits, so that it is easy to read even under sunlight.

The refresh rate is also increased (90Hz) for smooth movement, but the resolution is limited to 1612×720 pixels. At the same time, when there is… noise around you, thanks to the Ultra Volume Mode function, the volume of the speaker can be amplified by 300%.

The 33W SUPERVOOC charger included in the package quickly fills the 5.000mAh battery, which thanks to the MediaTek Helio G85 chipset is consumed relatively sparingly. The 128GB of storage space is expandable with a microSD card, and the admittedly meager 4GB of memory can use the RAM Expansion technique, which utilizes free storage space by "transforming" it into up to 4GB of virtual (and clearly slower) RAM.

50MP AI camera (with f/1.8 aperture) and 2MP depth sensor capture beautiful portraits and bright photos, ειδικά όταν επιστρατεύεται η τεχνική pixel binning που συνδυάζει την φωτοαπορροφητικότητα τεσσάρων pixel σε ένα. Στον τομέα του video, of course, you will be satisfied with the basics (1080p@30fps). The same applies to the 5MP selfie camera.

We tried the 'Glowing Black' shade (also available in 'Glowing Gold'), which manages to stand out despite its black color, as it marries a matte finish with elements that add shine and style.

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 We liked it

• 128 GB of storage fully covers a typical level of use
• Balanced technical characteristics
• Camera sensor at 50MP
• 5.000mAh battery and 33W charger in the package
• Bright screen with 90Hz refresh rate
• 3,5mm jack for headphones
• Affordable price

We didn't like it

• The very small difference in cost from the clearly superior A58 does not justify the choice of the A38
• 4GB of RAM is considered small for the data of the time
• Screen resolution is limited to 720p

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Πλήρες σε τεχνικά χαρακτηριστικά, το OPPO A58 απευθύνεται σε όσους ψυχαγωγούνται καθημερινά με τη βοήθεια του κινητού τους, καθώς στα πλεονεκτήματά του συγκαταλέγονται διπλά στερεοφωνικά ηχεία και μια εντυπωσιακή -για τα δεδομένα της κατηγορίας- FHD+ IPS οθόνη 6,72 ιντσών. Η Sunlight Display, όπως την αποκαλεί η εταιρεία, εξασφαλίζει μέγιστη φωτεινότητα 680 nits, ώστε το περιεχόμενό της να είναι ευδιάκριτο ακόμα και κάτω από έντονο ηλιακό φως. Η υψηλή ανάλυση των 2400×1080 pixel και η 100% κάλυψη της χρωματικής γκάμας DCI-P3 πιστοποιούν με αριθμούς αυτό που είναι προφανές δια γυμνού οφθαλμού: η θέαση κάθε τύπου περιεχομένου στην οθόνη του OPPO A58 είναι πραγματική απόλαυση! Ταυτόχρονα, η λειτουργία All-Day AI Eye Comfort επιχειρεί να μειώσει την οφθαλμική κόπωση έπειτα από παρατεταμένη χρήση.

Returning to the twin speakers, it is worth mentioning that they are 40% louder than their counterparts of the previous generation. If you're in a noisy environment and you can't hear your interlocutor on a phone call or you just want to start... a party from your mobile, the Ultra Volume Mode option maximizes the volume of the speakers up to 300%!

MediaTek's Helio G85 chipset with a 12nm production process is a modest but decent proposition. The octa-core processor consists of two Cortex-A75 cores at 2.0 GHz and six less energy-consuming and slower Cortex-A55 cores, clocked at 1,8 GHz. Graphics are handled by the Mali-G52 MC2 GPU. The role of the operating system is taken over by Android 13, equipped with OPPO's ColorOS 13.1 user interface. 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space cover the requirements of an average user, while expansion is possible with the help of a microSDXC card.

Υποστηρίζονται όλες οι σύγχρονες λύσεις συνδεσιμότητας, όπως dual band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 5.3 και NFC για ανέπαφες payments, αλλά όχι 5G δίκτυα. Ο αισθητήρας δακτυλικών αποτυπωμάτων είναι ενσωματωμένος στο power button στο πλάι. Η μπαταρία των 5.000mAh φορτίζει γρήγορα (100% σε μόλις 75 λεπτά) με τη βοήθεια του 33W SUPERVOOC φορτιστή που σας περιμένει στον πυθμένα της συσκευασίας.

The main camera consists of a 50MP sensor and an auxiliary depth sensor at 2MP, for easy and impressive bokeh portraits with blurred backgrounds and fully focused faces. The pixel binning technique is supported, where four pixels are combined into one pixel with a larger area in order to absorb more light. The performance of the camera moves at tolerable levels, especially if we take into account the low cost of the device. In the field of video, don't expect flagship performance, of course, as the resolution is limited to 1080p@30fps. The selfie camera comes with an 8MP sensor and the ability to record Full HD video at 30 frames per second. We couldn't, of course, complete the presentation of the OPPO A58 without mentioning the back of the 'Dazzling Green' version we tested, which stole... hearts in our offices with its... turquoise sparkling appearance! Alternatively, for the more... conservative, there is also the Glowing Black shade, but in both cases the IPX4 certification for resistance to water splashes will relieve you of unnecessary stress. The OPPO A58 started its journey in the Greek market at the price of €179,90.

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We liked it

• The 6,72-inch FHD+ display is impressive
• Powerful sound from the dual stereo speakers
• 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage cover the requirements of an average user
• 3,5mm jack for headphones
• 5.000mAh battery and 33W charger in the package

We didn't like it

• Camera performance could be slightly better
• It does not support 5G