There was a time when budget Android phones couldn’t be used for tap n go payments, the battery was small, the phone had no waterproofing and couldn’t be unlocked with face or fingerprints.
Thankfully those days have passed with options like the new OPPO A16s including NFC for Google Pay, large 5000mAh battery, IPX4 (rainproof) water resistance as well as side fingerprint unlock and face unlock.
For $249 you can’t expect to get the same features as a $1000 or $2000 phone though. While the screen is nice and large at 6.52″ the resolution is 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio (269 ppi density) which means it won’t be as sharp as a mid range or high end phone when used for reading.
One interesting useful feature of the screen is adaptive brightness that goes as low as 2nits (the maximum for this screen is 480nits) which means you can message, read etc in the dark without the screen being super bright.
The processor (MediaTek MT6765G Helio G35 12 nm) and camera are basic and functional. Marketing says it has a triple back camera but of the three (13MP sensor, 2MP depth sensor and 2MP Macro Camera) you’re likely to only use the main 13MP back camera sensor. The front facing camera is 8MP which should be OK for social media selfies.
OPPO says that the phone’s Super Night-time Standby, Super Power Saving Mode, Optimised Overnight Charging and Smart Temperature Control will ensure it consumes less battery in standby and while in use all while being able to charge safely, no matter the time of day.
The OPPO A16s is available for $249: in Crystal Black at Optus now, in Crystal Black and Pearl Blue at Vodafone now, in Crystal Black at Telstra from 15 November and in Crystal Black and Pearl Blue from 4 November at leading retailers including: JB HI-FI, Officeworks, The Good Guys and Harvey Norman.
