An Upgrade and a Half | Oppo A58 4G Review! [Part 4]

TechnophilePH

Sep 27

Le Conclucion

By the time this review finishes, Oppo has already released the A38 and A98. This makes the A58 the phone sitting in the middle and serves as a mediator. We will conclude here on how the A58 truly performs, and whether it satisfied us or not.

Oh one thing we forgot. Oppo said the phone is IP54-rated. This means it could survive splashes of water without you worrying about durability, as well as some dust. To test that out. We took a picture of it in a rainy afternoon. We were worried of course, since it's a rental unit that we have to return but after a few wipes, the phone is fine and working like how it should.

SPEAKERS:

Despite what the specs sheet sheet or review guide say, the phone does not have stereo speakers. At least physically, just like the Oppo A57. Here, it has an Ultra Volume Mode where you can raise the volume by up to 300% by clicking on the volume up button after the volume bar reaches 100%.

For the speaker test, we did it twice. First is in 100% volume then the other in Ultra Volume Mode at 300%. The maximum amplification the Oppo A58 can handle. This feature is also present in last year's A57.

The speakers themselves produced clear and sharp sound though we felt it's unbalanced because the mids sound louder than the high frequencies even though they should be similar in intensity. It's pretty loud already at 100% volume.

Going through Ultra Volume Mode does greatly amplify the sound and deafen your ears but we noticed that at this volume, the sound gets distorted and the mid frequencies are given more priority. Here, bass is nearly non-existent. Also, despite the 300% volume, this speaker still cannot match the clarity of a midranger, like with our Nord 3. That phone still has clearer sounding speakers, a louder volume (even without the so-called Ultra Volume Mode), and at max volume, remains consistent in quality and does not distort. The Oppo A58 has okayish speakers, given its price. It's on par with last year's Oppo A57. Guess things do not change.

CONCLUSION:

Oppo has one year to change what's missing on the Oppo A57. The Oppo A58 is definitely an improvement. Just looking at the higher-res screen and the dot notch already makes it a worthy upgrade from the A57. Not to mention, it now uses a more powerful chipset and a better camera, from 13MP to 50MP. You can now shoot with more detail at the cost of extra storage. We also love how ridiculously bright the display is on the phone, even at lower levels. The A57 didn't get this bright so we're assuming the display here is actually of higher quality.

It is far from perfect. Its main downside is the lack of a high refresh rate. It's a sub-10K device and many phones at this range already feature at least 90Hz refresh rate, even if they are not intended for gaming. Also, the camera quality still needs to be improved. It's oversharpened during the day and dull at night. Though, the 50MP mode with Hi-Res does improve the oversharpening part slightly, but it doesn't feel significant.

Finally, we also like the non-smudge and simpler design. At least now the rear camera island doesn't feel like a stove which could remind some, like us, that the phone heats fast. Not a good image. Its gaming performance is also okay. It's a MediaTek Helio G85, a chipset we tested countless times. The phone can warm up rapidly and the chipset does suffer from certain titles like Genshin Impact. Still, the performance increase from the G35 of the A57 is highly noticeable.

PROS:

Ridiculously bright display, even at lower levels
Simpler design. It is also lightweight and easy to carry
The chipset is optimized and does not throttle
A significant Upgrade from the A57.
Uses a higher-res display versus the A57. From HD+ to FullHD+
Uses a more appropriate chipset, the Helio G85, for its price versus the A57
Decent battery life and charging speed. Though, not the fastest but it will do.
Very loud single speaker

CONS:

Lacks a high refresh rate. Makes the phone feel choppy when it isn't.
Oversharpened images during the day and dull images at night
Uses an ageing chipset wherein its competitors would have switched to a 5G or the Helio G88 chip
Speaker becomes distorted at Ultra Volume Mode
ColorOS is still baked with ads and pre-installed apps. Thankfully, most of these can be uninstalled

AVAILABILITY:

The Oppo A58 is already available for purchasing both offline and online. It is available in Dazzling Green or Glowing Black. It costs PHP 9,999 to purchase for its 6/128 variant. You can find it online via Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok. If you plan to buy offline, the phone is available almost in any authorized third-party stores like Rull's, Ephone, and Audionet. Though we tried to find it in Oppo's concept stores, there seems to be no display of the A58 but the salespeople there said it is available to purchase from them.

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