OPPO A5s vs. Redmi Note 7 vs. Realme 3: Questionable Decisions From Oppo

Oppo just silently launched a new offering in the budget segment in India called Oppo A5s. The phone was launched in the Russian market in March and it is offered in several market under the name Oppo AX5s. It will be up for sale in the Indian market from next week in offline stores while the major e-stores will sell it in a later date. The two biggest threats to the handset are the Redmi Note 7 and Realme 3. Check out our comparison to see whether the Oppo A5s can pit against the Redmi and Realme rivals.

OPPO A5s vs. Redmi Note 7 vs. Realme 3: Price

The Oppo A5s is currently priced at Rs. 9,990 in India for the sole option with 2GB of RAM/16GB of storage. Meanwhile, the Redmi Note 7 model with 3GB of RAM/32GB of storage costs Rs. 9,999 while the variant with 4GB RAM/64GB storage is priced at Rs. 11,999. The Realme 3 base option with 3GB RAM/32GB storage is priced at Rs. 8,999 while you have to pay Rs. 10,999 to get the 4GB RAM/64GB storage model.

Interestingly, the Realme 3 is better than both the Redmi Note 7 and Oppo A5s in this aspect. The Xiaomi offering with 3GB RAM/32GB storage is priced Rs. 1,000 higher than the Realme handset. It is also cheaper to get 4GB RAM/64GB storage with the Realme handset compared to the Redmi device. On the other hand, it is questionable that the Oppo A5s is priced the same as the other two but it offers much less RAM and memory.

OPPO A5s vs. Redmi Note 7 vs. Realme 3: Specs & Features

The Oppo offering sports a 6.2-inch HD+ water-drop notched display with 1,520 x 720p resolution and Gorilla Glass protection. Powering the phone is an MTK Helio P35 SoC clocked at 2.3GHz, and it is paired with an IMG GE8320 GPU and up to 4GB RAM/64GB of storage which is expandable via a microSD slot up to 256GB. As for software, it ships with Oppo’s Color OS 5.2 which is based on the dated Android 8.1 Oreo.

Moving to the Redmi Note 7, it sports a 6.3-inch Dot Notch FHD+ screen with a 2,340 x 1,080p resolution and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The screen is further protected by Gorilla Glass 5. Powering the handset is a Snapdragon 660 SoC clocked at 2.2GHz with Adreno 512 GPU and up to 4GB of RAM/64GB of storage. However, the Redmi Note 7 doesn’t have a microSD card slot to expand its storage. In terms of software, it runs the latest Android 9.0 Pie with Xiaomi’s MIUI 10 on top.

Realme 3 packs a 6.2-inch HD+ display with a water-drop notch on top and a 1,520 x 720p resolution. The display has a quite impressive screen-to-body ratio of 88.3 percent and is protected by Gorilla Glass. It is powered by an MTK Helio P70 SoC clocked at 2.1GHz with an ARM Mali-G72 GPU and up to 4GB of RAM/64GB of storage which is expandable via a microSD slot up to 256GB. As for software, it also runs the latest Android 9.0 Pie with Oppo’s ColorOS 6 on top.

The Xiaomi offering is clearly winning in this aspect with a better display, higher resolution, Gorilla Glass 5 protection, and slightly more powerful chipset as well. The only thing that the other two phones are better is the microSD card slot for expanding their interal storage. In addition, it is again questionable while Oppo still uses the dated Android 8.1 Oreo OS on a phone in 2019. Both the Realme 3 and Redmi Note 7 were launched ealier, but they still run the latest Android 9 Pie with their respective custom UIs on top.

OPPO A5s vs. Redmi Note 7 vs. Realme 3: Camera & Battery

In terms of camera, all three phones come with a dual camera setup. The rear camera setup of the Oppo A5s comes with a 13MP main sensor with an aperture of f/2.2 and a secondary 2MP depth unit. Up front, there is a single 8MP selfie camera with an aperture of f/2.0 and the company’s AI Beautification 2.0. It seems like the cameras of the Oppo A5s are not that interesting. However, the phone has a large 4,230mAh cell which is pretty good for its price range.

Moving to the Redmi Note 7, the Indian model of the handset only has a 12MP primary camera with f2.2 aperture instead of a 48MP camera of the global model. It is paired with a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor also. Its cameras are equipped with some modes like EIS for video recording and AI scene recognition. Selfie duties are handled by a 13MP AI camera with an aperture of f/2.2 and some AI Beautify features. As for the battery, Xiaomi goes for a large 4,000 mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging.

Lastly, the Realme 3 packs a dual camera system, comprising of a 13MP main sensor with f/1.8 aperture and a secondary 2MP depth sensor. On the front, it has the same selfie as the Redmi Note 7 with a better f/2.0 aperture. The selfie camera comes with support for AI Beautification features and AI Face ID as well. Powering the phone is the same 4,230 mAh battery as the Oppo A5s.

When it comes to cameras, the cameras on the Redmi Note 7 and the Realme 3 are, on paper, slightly better than those of the Oppo A5s but by a huge margin. However, sometimes camera specs can decide which phone will deliver better photos. The camera software also plays a very important role in ditching out excellent photos, and the prime example is the Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL.

In terms of battery, while the Redmi Note 7 has slightly lower battery capacity, it has the fastest 18W charging solution. The Realme 3 only has support for 10W fast charging solution while the Oppo A5s doesn’t have any.

OPPO A5s vs. Redmi Note 7 vs. Realme 3: Verdict

It seems like the new Oppo A5s is not as impressive as the Realme 3 and the Redmi Note 7. On paper, the best one of the three should be the Redmi Note 7. It not only comes with a better display, higher resolution, powerful Snapdragon 660 SoC, gradient rear panel, and fast charging support as well. The Realme 3 is also not a bad choice either. It is also very well-designed for its price range with a decent display and processor. Moreover, the Realme 3 is slightly cheaper than the Redmi Note 7 as well.