Oppo A36 Smartphone Review – January 2022 brought a bunch of mid-grade Android phones, and Oppo A36 was one of them. Despite being launched on January 10, the phone is not available to buy in India. Yes, the release was limited to China, although it is believed that the model may arrive in other markets.
The Oppo A36 smartphone is compatible with the 4G VoLTE network and does not support 5G. Although, it doesn’t mean to judge the book from its cover. There are a handful of decent features that you can expect from the mid-range smartphone. This was just the brief, if you are waiting for this smartphone, check out the details review of the Oppo A36 smartphone.
Table of Contents
Oppo A36 Smartphone Review
Highlights
- Oppo A36 smartphone comes with 6.56 inches bezel-less IPS LCD and gets a 90 Hz refresh rate.
- The smartphone is powered by a 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G chipset supported by an Octa-core processor, and the GPU is Adreno 610.
- On the software front, this new OPPO smartphone runs Android 11 out of the box with a ColorOS 11.1 UI.
- The camera setup available on the back consists of a 13 MP main camera, while the front has an 8 MP lens.
- The device packs a Li-Po 5000 mAh battery with a default charging speed.
Design and Display
Oppo A36 flaunts a bezel-less front with a punch-hole notch on the top left. As for the back panel, you receive a shiny finish with the usual rectangular camera module. No provision of Gorilla Glass Protection or IP rating to the body. However, the simple design layout is something the Oppo smartphone is usually known for, while the Oppo A36 follows the same lead.
Speaking of the dimension of the phone, it weighs 185 grams with 8.4mm thickness. With this, the handset allows easy handling though. The power button and the volume rocker button are placed on the right side of the Oppo A36 smartphone. Moreover, the color options present Black and Light Blue. Blue is novel and trendy, whereas black is classic. To cut a long story short, the appearance is a thumbs up and can not be criticized.
Subsequently, the 6.56 inches IPS LCD at 90 Hz refresh rate fetches smooth working and good color creation. The brightness ranging between 80 to 600 nits could be a bit uncomfortable under direct sunlight. Well, nothing can beat AMOLED quality, still, the overall touch & display experience will be satisfactory. Overall, you won’t face any issues while using the phone. Though, the HD resolution might feel a bit underwhelming.
Memory and Internal
Powering the device is a Snapdragon 680 processor, which is capable of achieving a speed of 2.2GHz. The chipset’s performance is apt for routine jobs however heavy games and content won’t be that fruitful. Except that no major heating issues nor any other crises are noticed across the board. At the same time, you can play games without much hassle.
As for the software, Oppo A36 boots Android 11 with ColorOS 11.1 out of the box. However, both of them are not the latest, yet the operating system is work-efficient and highly customized. But the major concern about the interface is that you will notice lots of bloatware apps. Though, you can remove some of the apps. But you can’t remove them completely, as you will appear once again updating the phone.
Under the hood, the users can choose among three variants offering 6GB or 8GB RAM accompanied by 128GB to 256GB internal storage. All of them are available at different prices. As a thumb rule, the 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage is sufficient for most users. But, one must select according to his/her requirement and appropriation.
Camera
Oppo A36’s dual-camera module fits 13MP primary cameras alongside a 2MP depth sensor. The photographs obtained are not considered ideal even in daylight. And as expected, the low-light images are worse including noise and noticeable errors in color rendition. Apart from this, the ultra-wide lens is a lot more to ask for.
Concerning the front side, You get an 8MP Wide Angle Camera for selfies. The pictures are clearly still there are some issues like false skin tones and inaccurate colors that remain the matter. Hopefully, you won’t get any problem capturing decent photos in proper lighting. But, the low-light photography experience would be below average.
Video quality is more or less like every other mid-ranger as the rear camera can fetch 1080p@30fps recordings. And the footages are average. So, as far as optics are concerned, Oppo A36 is a letdown if you are looking for a camera-centric phone; you will get disappointed.
Battery and Others
Oppo A36 smartphone equips a Li-Po 5000mAh battery, with no fast charger within. For prolonged operations, the battery nourishes 6+ hours of on-screen period. Thus the phone will be alive even after hours of entertainment and work. Well, the charging provision is not adequate according to the segment.
For security purposes, the A36 has reliable features such as face unlock support and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. Furnishing all the other essential sensors and comms Oppo A36 also has a loudspeaker that supplies decent audio quality. Coming to the price, the base variant is about $248 (Rs 18,599 in India) approx while the prices are higher for increased RAM & ROM.
Oppo A36 Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Oppo A36 smartphone.
| Specifications | Oppo A36 |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G |
| Announced | January 2022 |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.47 x 2.98 x 0.33 inches |
| Weight | 185 g |
| Size | 6.56 inches |
| Display | IPS LCD 90Hz 480 – 600 nits brightness 20:9 ratio ~269 PPI density |
| Protection | No |
| Resolution | 720 x 1612 pixels |
| OS | Android 11, ColorOS 11.1 |
| Chipset | 6nm – Qualcomm SM6225 Snapdragon 680 4G |
| CPU | Octa-core 4×2.4 GHz Kryo 265 Gold 4×1.9 GHz Kryo 265 Silver |
| GPU | Adreno 610 |
| Card slot | Yes (dedicated slot) |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Internal | 128GB, 256GB UFS 2.2 |
| Camera | 13 MP (wide), PDAF 2 MP (depth) LED flash, HDR, panorama Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Selfie | 8 MP (wide) HDR Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS |
| NFC | No |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, proximity, compass |
| Battery | Li-Po 5000 mAh |
| Colors | Black, Blue |
| Expected Price | $ 248 (Rs 18,599 in India) approx. |
Conclusion
As for the final words, it can be said that there is a positive and negative side to the device and vice versa. As far as the user is okay to compromise on the optics, gaming, or a few other elements, then only one should opt for the Oppo A36 smartphone. When compared to the price to performance ratio offered by other devices, the inbuilt back camera layout comes a bit average. While it is obvious that heavy gamers or photoholics will not be happy with this one.
A 4G capable device the Oppo A36 smartphone, is yet to be launched globally. Hence, you must look out for worthy prospects online. The Realme Q5i and Infinix Zero 5G smartphone are great alternative options and grant impressive value but the final choice is up to you and your requirement from the phone.
