The Oppo A74 is an excellent choice for budget-conscious buyers who want a phone that balances performance, battery life, and modern features without breaking the bank. With a focus on practicality, this device brings a solid combination of a large AMOLED display, a long-lasting battery, and fast charging, making it a compelling option in the affordable smartphone segment. Let’s dive into the full review of the Oppo A74 to see what it offers and how it performs in real-world scenarios.
Design and Build: Simple and Sleek
The Oppo A74 features a minimalistic design that prioritizes comfort and usability. It sports a sleek plastic body with a glossy finish, available in two color options: Midnight Blue and Prism Black. The phone is slim, measuring just 8mm in thickness, and it weighs about 175 grams, making it lightweight and easy to handle. The rounded edges further contribute to its ergonomic design, ensuring it feels good in the hand, even during prolonged use.
On the back, the Oppo A74 houses a vertically aligned triple-camera module in the top-left corner. Despite its glossy finish, the phone manages to resist fingerprints to a reasonable extent. The build quality is decent for a phone in this price range, although it doesn’t have the premium feel of glass or metal-bodied devices. However, the trade-off for affordability doesn’t come at the cost of durability, and the phone feels solid enough for everyday use.
The Oppo A74 features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button, which works fast and accurately. This is a great addition, providing both convenience and security, and it’s well-positioned for easy access. There’s also a face unlock feature, which performs reliably in good lighting conditions.
Display: Vivid AMOLED with Smooth Performance
One of the standout features of the Oppo A74 is its 6.43-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The screen delivers vibrant colors, deep blacks, and impressive contrast levels, making it a great choice for media consumption, whether you’re watching videos, browsing the web, or scrolling through social media.
The display is bright enough for outdoor use, and while it doesn’t come with a higher refresh rate like 90Hz or 120Hz, it still provides a smooth experience for everyday tasks. The standard 60Hz refresh rate will be more than adequate for most users, ensuring that the battery life remains efficient. Oppo has also included Eye Comfort Mode to reduce blue light emission, which helps during long reading sessions or night-time use.
The AMOLED panel also enhances the overall visual experience, allowing for vivid and punchy colors. This is particularly noticeable when streaming HD content from platforms like YouTube or Netflix. While some budget phones compromise on screen quality, the Oppo A74 delivers a display that feels premium for its price point.
Performance: Snapdragon 662 Under the Hood
Powering the Oppo A74 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 chipset, paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The Snapdragon 662 is a reliable mid-range processor that can handle day-to-day tasks with ease. Whether you’re switching between apps, browsing the web, or engaging in light multitasking, the phone remains responsive and fluid.
For casual gamers, the Oppo A74 delivers a decent gaming experience. Games like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Asphalt 9 run well on medium settings, although the phone isn’t designed for high-end gaming. There may be occasional frame drops during intensive gaming sessions, but overall, it offers a smooth experience for less demanding games and apps.
In terms of storage, the 128GB internal memory provides ample space for apps, photos, videos, and files. Additionally, the phone supports microSD expansion, allowing users to increase storage further if needed. For most users, the built-in 128GB should be sufficient for everyday use without running out of space quickly.
Camera: Triple Camera Setup with AI Enhancements
The Oppo A74 comes equipped with a triple-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 48MP primary sensor, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro camera. The main camera performs well in good lighting conditions, capturing detailed and vibrant images with accurate colors. Oppo’s AI scene detection helps enhance photos automatically, adjusting settings to suit different environments, such as landscapes, portraits, or close-ups.
In low-light situations, the camera performance drops slightly, but the Night Mode helps brighten images, making them usable even in darker environments. However, don’t expect flagship-level low-light photography; noise and lack of detail are noticeable, but it’s acceptable for a budget device.
The 2MP macro camera allows for close-up shots, though the image quality isn’t as sharp as the primary sensor, which is typical of most budget phones with macro lenses. The depth sensor aids in portrait mode shots, creating a nice background blur (bokeh effect) around the subject, but edge detection can be hit or miss depending on the lighting conditions.
On the front, the Oppo A74 features a 16MP selfie camera, which does a good job of capturing clear and vibrant selfies. The AI Beautification feature smoothens skin tones without making images look overly artificial, and the front camera also performs decently in low light.
Battery Life: A True Highlight
The battery is where the Oppo A74 truly shines. It packs a 5000mAh battery, which provides excellent battery life, easily lasting more than a full day with typical usage. Even with heavy use, including video streaming, gaming, and social media, the phone can comfortably get through a full day on a single charge.
For lighter users, the battery could last up to two days before needing a recharge. This makes the Oppo A74 an ideal choice for those who prioritize long battery life and want a phone that won’t die halfway through the day.
Additionally, the phone supports 33W fast charging, which is a great feature in this price range. Using the included charger, the phone can go from 0% to around 54% in just 30 minutes and fully charge in a little over an hour. This is incredibly convenient for users who need a quick top-up and don’t want to wait long for a full charge.
Software: ColorOS 11.1 on Android 11
The Oppo A74 runs on ColorOS 11.1, which is based on Android 11. ColorOS is known for its wide range of customization options, allowing users to tweak the phone’s interface to suit their preferences. From changing themes and icons to customizing the Always-On Display, ColorOS offers plenty of flexibility.
In terms of performance, ColorOS is smooth and responsive, with minimal bloatware. There are a few pre-installed apps, but most of them can be uninstalled if not needed. The interface is intuitive, and Oppo has added several useful features like Game Space to enhance the gaming experience and Privacy Dashboards to help users manage app permissions and security settings more easily.
Connectivity and Extras
The Oppo A74 comes with all the necessary connectivity features, including 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. While it doesn’t support 5G, the 4G speeds are more than enough for most users, especially considering the affordable price point. The inclusion of a headphone jack is a nice touch for users who prefer wired audio solutions.
For security, the side-mounted fingerprint sensor is fast and reliable, and the face unlock feature provides an additional layer of convenience. Both methods work well in various lighting conditions, ensuring quick and easy access to the device.
Value for Money: A Reliable Budget Device
Overall, the Oppo A74 offers great value for money, especially for users who prioritize battery life and display quality. Its combination of a vibrant AMOLED screen, long-lasting battery, fast charging, and reliable performance makes it a strong contender in the budget smartphone market.
While it may not have the latest processor or high-end camera capabilities, the Oppo A74 is more than capable of handling everyday tasks with ease. It’s perfect for users who want a reliable phone that covers all the basics while providing a few premium features like fast charging and a high-quality display.
FAQs
- Does the Oppo A74 support 5G?
No, the Oppo A74 is a 4G-only device. It does not support 5G connectivity. - What is the battery capacity of the Oppo A74?
The Oppo A74 comes with a 5000mAh battery, providing excellent battery life for all-day use. - Does the Oppo A74 have fast charging?
Yes, the Oppo A74 supports 33W fast charging, allowing it to charge quickly and efficiently. - What version of Android does the Oppo A74 run?
The Oppo A74 runs on Android 11 with Oppo’s ColorOS 11.1 user interface. - Does the Oppo A74 have a headphone jack?
Yes, the Oppo A74 includes a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired audio connections.
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