Oppo A5i & A5i Pro Debut with HD+ 90Hz Display and Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 1 Chip

Usama Rasool

Oppo A5i and A5i Pro are the latest entry-level devices from the company that both use Snapdragon 6s Gen 1 chip. They were dropped silently in the Philippines yesterday as 4G-capable phones, the perfect substitutes to the exciting Oppo A5 and A5 Pro, sans the 5G connectivity. Let’s take a look at what they offer. 


The A5i and A15i Pro borrow their designs from the original phones, but they lack one key feature. There’s no 120Hz refresh rate here. Both newcomers have an IPS 6.67” display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a mediocre HD+ 720p resolution. The only thing they have going for them is the 1000nits brightness and anti-glare coating that helps with outdoor visibility. 

They are pretty much even when it comes to durability. Both have Panda glass on the front, and each device has gone under MIL-STD-810H testing by SGS. Still, the basic A5i is given no more than an IP54 rating, while the A5i Pro users will enjoy much better IP65 water protection.  


There’s no significant performance difference between the two as they both run the (11nm) Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 1. This has an old chipset design with Cortex A73 and A53 CPU cores that share power with a weak Adreno 610 GPU. The performance takes a major hit as Oppo downgrades the Oppo new A models to 4G connectivity.


However, there’s a glimmer of hope for Oppo A5i Pro buyers as they get a higher 8GB LPDDR4X RAM with up to 128GB UFS 2.1 storage. The standard A5i gets a bitter end of the performance stick as it supports no more than 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and 64/128GB eMMC 5.1 storage.


As we cover both their differences, let us talk about their battery and camera specs. The pricier fellow has a 6000mAh cell, and it measures 7.99mm thick at 193g. The non-Pro model is a bit thinner at 7.68mm, but the trade-off seems to be its battery capacity, which is 5100mAh. 


We do like that both these phones have an equal 45W charging speed. Same as the battery, there’s a gaping difference between their cameras. The A5i Pro has a 50MP Main rear shooter, while the basic A5i only offers an 8 MP primary sensor. Their selfie cameras have the same 5MP sensors under the screen. Mounted on the side, they both have a fingerprint ID. 

The Oppo A5i Pro 4G has a price tag of PHP 9,000 (~PKR 45,000), and it goes on sale in the region from the get-go. Oppo’s A5i hasn’t been released in the market, nor does it offer a price tag at the moment.