Oppo A40 review: Absurdly cheap, but for casual users only

Finest Costs As we speak: Oppo A40

Chinese language producer Oppo has launched a wide selection of mid-range and finances smartphones in recent times, starting from the highly effective Discover X8 Professional to the massively inexpensive A78 5G. As confusingly named as they generally are, they typically provide good specs and options for the cash, offering a lower-cost various to main manufacturers.

That is the custom that this yr’s A40 goals to proceed. Carrying an enticingly low price ticket of £129 (beneath £90 on provide), it brandishes a big 6.67in show with a 90Hz refresh charge, in addition to a giant 5,100mAh battery, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen1 chip, and a 50Mp rear digital camera. At first look, this looks like a recipe for fulfillment, however simply how nicely does the cellphone mix its elements?

We discover out on this evaluation, testing the A40’s efficiency, cameras, battery and software program, whereas additionally weighing in on its design and sturdiness.

Design & Construct

• Easy design
• Pin-hole selfie digital camera
• Headphone jack

The Oppo A40 seems good for a £129 smartphone. Its design might not win any awards, however by protecting issues to a minimal, it has a tastefulness that many different finances and mid-range telephones lack. It encompasses a rectangular plastic chassis with flat edges and curved corners, whereas a squircle digital camera module is the one characteristic on its again, save for a small Oppo brand.

Its 6.67-inch show is punctured by a pin-hole selfie digital camera at top-centre, whereas the encompassing bezel is comparatively thick beneath and above the display, at about 5mm. You will discover a wake/energy button and quantity up/down button on the cellphone’s left-hand facet, whereas the bottom encompasses a USB-C port, a most welcome headphone jack, and three holes for the one speaker.

Simon Chandler/Foundry

By way of construct high quality and sturdiness, the plastic rear and aluminium body belies the cellphone’s price, not feeling (or wanting) low-cost in any respect. Alternatively, the A40 carries solely an IP54 ranking, which is able to defend it in opposition to splashes, however not in opposition to submersion in water. The system’s display additionally lacks the sort of upgraded Gorilla Glass that protects dearer fashions (eg the Discover X8 Professional), though it does include a pre-applied display protector and does carry a MIL-STD-810H ranking (implying primary shock resistance).

One plus is that, regardless of being comparatively massive, the cellphone weighs solely 186g. This places it on the decrease finish of telephones of its measurement, which may usually high 200g, and makes it comfy to carry for prolonged intervals.

Display & Audio system

• 6.67-inch LCD show
• 90Hz refresh charge
• Max brightness 1000 nits

The A40’s show is the primary signal that it isn’t a flagship smartphone. This isn’t to say that the display is subpar for a cellphone in its worth bracket, however sure variations are noticeable for those who’re used to one thing extra succesful. For example, the icons and graphics of its OS are generally somewhat grainy across the edges, whereas using an LCD panel implies that colors aren’t as wealthy or as deep as one thing with an AMOLED or OLED display.

Brightness can also be beneath common, with a max studying of only one,000 nits. For comparability, the Samsung Galaxy S25 has a max brightness of two,600 nits, whereas the cheaper Galaxy A36 has a peak brightness of 1,900 nits. To be honest to the Oppo A40, nonetheless, the Galaxy A26 additionally maxes out at 1,000 nits, and that’s over £100 dearer than the Oppo mannequin. 

Simon Chandler/Foundry

Whereas it does sustain with its finances rivals, you’ll nonetheless discover the dearth of brightness. You could wrestle to see the display clearly when outdoors on sunny days, whereas extra typically the dearth of brightness robs the cellphone of vibrancy and color. 

Regardless of the occasional dullness, the display does present a 90Hz refresh charge. That is arguably superb for a cellphone priced at solely £129, significantly when the usual iPhone 16, as an illustration, makes do with a 60Hz refresh charge. And whereas 90Hz isn’t as spectacular as 120Hz, you’ll typically respect the smoother scrolling and display updating.

As for audio, the Oppo A40 supplies a single speaker at its backside edge. That is completely positive for calls and social media, however anybody anticipating to take pleasure in music or TV could also be left dissatisfied. There’s an absence of depth and readability to audio when pushed to larger volumes, so that you’d be higher off connecting the cellphone to an honest speaker by way of its Bluetooth 5.0 interface.

Specs & Efficiency

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen1
• 4GB RAM and 128GB storage
• Micro-SD card slot

There’s little doubt that it’s with efficiency that the low worth of the A40 turns into most obvious. The cellphone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 1, which regardless of the spectacular identify is definitely a rebrand of the Snapdragon 662, which was already a decrease mid-range chip when it was initially launched in 2020. And when coupled with solely 4GB of RAM, it implies that the A40 suffers from some fairly gradual efficiency.

This goes past an incapacity to play extra intensive or current video games. Apps could be gradual to open and cargo and, whereas the cellphone does have a 90Hz refresh charge, it’s usually undermined by stuttering. It may well truly make for a irritating expertise, particularly if it is advisable use the system for work, or for something past primary calls and social media.

Nevertheless, it’s totally seemingly that the A40 will find yourself within the arms of those that need it solely as a social media system, so maybe it’s a bit unfair to count on something extra from a cellphone that prices solely £129. Nonetheless, its benchmarks had been very unhealthy (even for a finances cellphone), and it could be one thing of a tradition shock to somebody coming from a extra highly effective system.

By the identical token, you might additionally say that the 128GB of inner storage just isn’t too unhealthy, because you’re unlikely to obtain numerous video games and apps to the system. On the identical time, its reminiscence could be doubled by way of its Micro-SD card slot, so most of its goal customers will most likely have sufficient to work with.

Oppo A40 benchmarks

Only a notice that for those who spot that the PCMark battery life take a look at is lacking, that’s as a result of the take a look at failed thrice. I assume the cellphone didn’t prefer it.

Cameras

• 50Mp primary rear digital camera
• 5Mp selfie digital camera
• 1080p video at 30fps

The A40’s cameras are most likely the opposite large space wherein the cellphone lives right down to its low worth. It presents a 50Mp primary rear lens, in addition to a flicker sensor that serves to scale back interference from flickering mild sources. There aren’t any different rear lenses, which is maybe a great factor, since an ultrawide or telephoto lens at this worth level would most likely be extra of a box-ticking train than one thing genuinely helpful.

And on the subject of its primary 50Mp digital camera, it does an honest sufficient job of capturing photographs you may need to share on social media. In fact, this relies on the prevailing circumstances, because the cellphone typically wants clear daylight to achieve its potential. When it does have good pure mild, footage reveal a great steadiness of element, color and shadow. Processing veers extra in the direction of the naturalistic finish of the spectrum, whereas portraits strike a great compromise between devoted and flattering, even with a theoretically underpowered 5Mp selfie lens.

Nevertheless, for those who start to problem the primary digital camera, flaws and noise grow to be extra obvious. It doesn’t take kindly to motion, with the cellphone utilizing an open-loop focus motor that underperforms relative to closed-loop equivalents. It additionally doesn’t cope too nicely with overly shiny lights, regardless of the sparkle sensor, and neither does it fare significantly nicely when issues darken. That is much more apparent with the digital camera’s evening mode, which in all honesty is usable solely on well-lit streets. And even then the outcomes aren’t significantly spectacular.

Lastly, the cellphone’s rear lens is able to capturing 1080p video at 30 frames per second. Once more, this isn’t something to write down house about, and you’ll definitely want a gentle hand in taking movie, however it might produce usable outcomes for those who’re cautious sufficient.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5,100mAh battery
• 45W wired charging

The Oppo A40 fares significantly higher within the battery division, packing a 5,100mAh cell that’s greater than able to dealing with the calls for most customers will make of the cellphone. So provided that there’s no 120Hz refresh charge, and given you could’t actually play current video games on it, it ought to be capable of final nicely right into a second day.

This was typically my expertise. The trick is to not use the system for something significantly intensive, and to focus totally on messaging and calling, with some social media. Nevertheless, for those who’re one thing of an everyday or compulsive social media person, then it’s possible you’ll discover that the cellphone’s battery is sort of flat by the tip of a single day.

Certainly, on days after I put the A40 by its paces and watched Netflix, browsed round on YouTube and performed some video games, its battery did run beneath 20% or 15% by bedtime. Luckily, the system is appropriate with 45W wired charging, though Oppo doesn’t present a appropriate charger within the field. And in my expertise, utilizing an 18W mains adaptor, charging was not significantly speedy (see benchmarks).

Software program & Apps

• Android 14 and ColorOS 14
• Two years of core updates, three of safety updates
• Some bloatware

The A40 comes out of the field with Android 14 preinstalled, and with Oppo’s ColorOS 14 working on high. With Android 15 already launched and being rolled out for main producers, the A40 is already behind the curve so far as core updates go. That stated, Oppo is promising two of those, which is able to take you to Android 16.

By way of its design and choices, ColorOS is an honest Android pores and skin. It’s simple and acquainted to navigate, with the Fast Settings pulldown and the App Tray being the one main screens apart from the Dwelling menu. There’s some bloatware (eg AliExpress, Reserving.com, numerous mini-games), however you may uninstall every part apart from native apps, so I didn’t discover it an excessive amount of of an issue. 

Simon Chandler/Foundry

There’s additionally loads of room for customisation, in addition to some useful (in concept) particular options, such because the Good Sidebar, floating home windows and cut up views. Nevertheless, the place these – and the OS as an entire – fall down is in efficiency, with the A40’s chipset and RAM usually struggling to open apps and function easily. For example, scrolling inside a floating app can usually lead to stuttering and slowdown, and the identical goes for cut up views.

The cellphone additionally presents face recognition, along with the sidemounted fingerprint scanner. Basically, this characteristic does work pretty nicely, though it’s possible you’ll discover that it takes a number of milliseconds longer to work than on extra premium fashions.

Value & Availability

The Oppo A40 is now accessible within the UK for £129. It’s additionally on the market in Latin America, China and Asia, albeit beneath completely different names (Oppo A3 4G, Oppo A60, Oppo A40m). As with each different Oppo system, it’s not formally offered within the US.

You should buy the cellphone both from Oppo’s official web site or from Amazon, amongst different third-party retailers. On the time of writing, it’s lower than £90 at quite a few retailers.

Alternate options to the A40 embrace the Oppo A60 5G, which for an additional £30 provides 5G compatibility. You possibly can additionally take into account the Samsung Galaxy A16 5G (at £199), the Nokia G22 (at £149), and the Motorola Moto G04 (£89). All of those are arguably higher than the Oppo A40. In any other case, check out our round-up of the very best finances telephones for our high suggestions.

Must you purchase the Oppo A40?

The Oppo A40 is a stable finances cellphone. For a really low worth of £129, it supplies sturdy battery life, first rate seems, and a usable primary digital camera. However whereas its software program is simple to make use of, the system is let down by its underpowered chip and RAM, which may usually make issues gradual and laggy.

Finally, which means that avid gamers ought to definitely keep away, as ought to anybody who wants a strong, responsive cellphone for work. As a substitute, it’s an honest finances mannequin that might attraction to informal cellphone customers. So for those who’re somebody who makes use of their cellphone primarily to do a little bit of buying, messaging/calling and social media, it will be a great purchase, particularly at its present, discounted worth.

Specs

• 6.67inLCD (1604×720) 20:9, 90Hz;
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen1
• 4GB LPDDR4X RAM
• 128GB RAM UFS 4.0 inner storage;
• Cameras:
• 50Mp primary/extensive sensor
• 5Mp entrance dealing with
• Aspect-button fingerprint scanner
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4GHz+5GHz, VHT80
• Twin SIM (Nano-SIM)
• Bluetooth 5.0
• 5,100mAh battery
• 45W wired charging
• 165.7 x 76.1 x 7.7 mm
• 186g