OPPO’s latest device in the Kenyan market is the A71. A mid-ranger that OPPO guarantees will offer high performance, superb photography and enhanced features. For a little over 24 hours, I have had the OPPO A71 with me and I think this is one of the most polarizing devices in the market right now, I will explain why.
In the box, you will get the device itself, a clear case back cover, a pair of earphones, USB cable, a charging brick and standard paperwork that includes the quick guide manual. The packaging has been let down by the box itself, I wish it was a black box with OPPO green accents, but wishes aren’t horses.
The OPPO A71, aesthetically speaking, looks a lot like all other recent OPPO devices – not to say that this is a bad thing but it will constantly remind you that this design was heavily inspired by one fruity company from California. That aside, the design is one of the major reasons you may want this device. The back is curved on all corners, making it feel smaller and comfortably fitting in the hand, all the while being “expensively” slippery. The somewhat small (by 2017 standards) 5.2-inch display helps in maintaining the calm nature of the device, complemented by the black colour of the body that adds a little stealth to the overall aesthetic. In case you are wondering, the device only comes in black.
On the inside, you are met by yet another aspect of the A71 that is heavily inspired by the fruit of California, ColorOS. ColorOS bares a striking resemblance to iOS, love it or hate it, it is what it is. It takes quite some effort to relearn everything you know about Android, notifications are served and cleared differently, settings are different and even customization is quite different, but so far, there hasn’t been anything I have not been able to figure out.
OPPO has been all over singing praises of how the A71 is a performance beast, I am happy to report that this device is yet to show any signs of slowing down. Despite the Octa-Core MT6750 processor being slightly dated, OPPO’s optimizations seem to be working some magic, app load time has been sufficiently fast, the 3GB RAM included does a good job at keeping apps in memory, better than I have seen any device at this price point do.
As for the camera, I will reserve my comments for the full review. However, I will show you samples of images that I have taken on the OPPO A71, including the 50MP Ultra HD mode in action (tap images to view in high resolution):
As I said, the OPPO A71 is a polarizing device, you will either love the A71 or completely hate it. If you don’t mind the inspired design and aesthetics, then this device is yours for the taking, but if you fancy what pure android represents and have some vendetta against “inspired desings”, then keep walking. However, for Ksh.20,000, the A71 will indeed attract quite the population despite the fact that it does not have a fingerprint reader, something even entry-level devices have in 2017!
Read More: OPPO A71 Full Specifications
Also Read: What it Means When OPPO Says the A71 Can Take 50MP Photos
