Shopping for a smartphone shouldn’t be a tedious experience, but with a flooded market, the decision can be just as hard as having the cash to buy it. But for techie consumers who have set minimum must haves, the choice can as well be limited to just a few that offers a combination of both prerequisite specifications as well as a price range that’s within reach. The new OPPO A52 packs specs that most of us would consider OK, but with recent entrants in the mid-range tier, consumers can stretch further and still get a deal out of their hard-earned cash.

Speaking of hard-earned cash, OPPO A52 is currently retailing in Kenya for a round Ksh24,000 which pits it against more than a dozen of worthy alternatives such as the Huawei Y8p going for the same amount. But the decision as to what is good or what bis bad definitely rests within you – the consumer; while some (me included) may consider a decent screen as the definite decider, others would try to balance between performance, battery life and camera experience as their ultimate preferences.

OPPO A52 packs a 6.5inch 1080P Neo-Display that should produce crisp text and vivid images with finer pixel density. I always prefer panels with dense pixels and my bare minimum is a 1080p, otherwise my sweet spot remains to be 1440p. Instead of using a notch to house the selfie camera, OPPO opted for a more advanced option – punch hole design instead. This allows the display panel to stretch from corner to corner with minimal bezels that takes about 20 percent of the panel leaving a whopping 83 percent real estate for your viewing.

Something to point out, there’s definitely something about this phones design, it just stands out from some of its peers with what the company calls a 3D Quad-curve Design. instead of placing a fingerprint sensor at the back, the company chose to side mount it within the power button which is somehow intended so you won’t miss it even in darkness. The implementation here is obviously better than let’s say having a separate button for power and fingerprint but we like under-display sensors more, they’re just fun to use and feels more premium.

As has been the trend with mi-level handsets, OPPO A52 comes with a quad rear camera setup that’s poised to capture every bit of moment regardless of the environment. However, users won’t find a bigger 48MP sensor on this device as we’ve seen on others, but it should perform just fine for simple snaps. On the front panel, there’s a 16MP selfie camera equipped with AI Beautification developed by OPPO, which is touted to match different skin tones in different scenes and lighting conditions.

Under the hood is a 5000mAh battery, one aspect we’ve come to expect from most devices coming out this year. Under normal usage, the phone should last a full day and even overlap to the next day. while there are different variants of this model, unfortunately we get one that has 4GB RAM instead of 6GB, but this should only concern those who are looking for a gaming device – I’ve detailed some of the best options you could go for but at a premium price.

OPPO A52 Specifications

While the much hyped Tecno Povoir 4 is readily available in Kenya for Ksh.14,999, we’ve detailed our opinion in the following editorial so you just don’t fork out a handsome 15k without knowing what you’ll be getting in return. In my opinion, smartphones have adopted names that are rather overrated, I’d prefer calling a spade a spade and Tecno Pouvoir 4 scores well in some interesting areas while slumping in others just so you could get a reasonable price tag. Away from the name, and by the way my first impression for the Pouvoir series was greatness in design which I’m yet to feel but understandable from the cost. There are some interesting areas such as battery that probably will appeal to many at the same time repelling power users in areas that count most.

While the company claims the smartphone can endure four straight days on a single charge, it’s probably a marketing gimmick as lithium ion batteries are yet to make such milestones in reality; though, we comment Tecno for packing a 6000mAh battery in this device. large screen loyalists would probably be at home having a 7inch device in their possession but we also acknowledge the strain this is going to have on the battery.

On the brighter side, Pouvoir 4 packs a set of 4 cameras; a 13MP main sensor, a set of two 2MP cameras and an AI lens that we expect to utilize various lens in different conditions so your snap shots can pop. On the front side, there’s a an 8MP selfie camera that’s complemented by dual led flash to make those selfies worth sharing.

For 15k, we expected the company to offer more than just 32GB internal storage and at least 4GB or more RAM but you’ll have to be contented with what you get as the Pouvoir 4 comes with only 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. I might be hesitant to get this device if I’m a heavy gamer as you’d probably experience a ton of lags under load, but for light purposes, the difference might not be worth your concern at this point.

However, Tecno has incorporated some gaming features so you don’t feel left out such as a magic button that can be used as fire key in arcade/shooting games as well as a PUBG focused Intelligent scheduling system resources to ensure a high-quality PUBG game experience while throttling when the display if off to saves more than 50% of battery capacity.

Tecno Pouvoir 4 Specifications