OPPO A57 with 16MP front camera and Bokeh effect launched at Rs 14,990: Specifications and availability

OPPO started the selfie trend in the smartphone space by delivering good quality photos. As the competition intensifies and other OEMs build on this demand, the company has launched its latest selfie expert, the A57, in India to bring an affordable option to those who are obsessed with clicking selfies.

The move also comes as a strong response to Vivo, which recently uplifted its position in the camera-centric smartphone category by launching the V5 Plus. But the handset is priced at a higher range, so Oppo made its latest selfie smartphone an affordable one.

The V5 Plus' camera boasts dual camera setup on the front, which adds depth and detail to the photos shot using the phone. The Bokeh effect in the V5 Plus is widely advertised by the company, which brings out the subject by blurring the background. The V5 Plus, complete with its premium specs, costs Rs 27,980, making it unaffordable for some shoppers.

Oppo comes to the rescue on this front. The all-new A57 continues OPPO's legacy of great selfies and the handset also comes with Bokeh effect, which blurs the background automatically before clicking a photo. But that's not the only feature worth mentioning in the A57 smartphone.

Talking about the camera, the A57 sports a 16MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture, Beautify 4.0 and screen flash. The rear camera is equipped with a 13MP Sony IMX258 sensor and f/2.2 aperture, PDAF and the touted Ultra HD mode to capture detailed 50MP images.

International Business Times, India spent brief time with the OPPO A57 at the launch event and found the handset quite appealing for its price. At Rs 14,990, it is certainly a great phone for selfies among other features.

Compared to other OPPO smartphones from the "F" series, the A57 is quite light and comfortable to hold, which is made possible with the high-grade plastic shell and ultra-sleek design. The handset features a 5.2-inch HD IPS display with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4. We tested the camera and found the selfies really impressive, but the Bokeh effect lacked precision.

Performance-wise, the A57 smartphone is a decent one, which gets its power from Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core chipset, 3GB RAM and 32GB expandable storage up to 256GB. There's a separate slot for microSD card and dedicated dual SIM support. The handset runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow based ColorOS 3.0 for a smooth and simple user experience.

Under the hood, the A57 sports a 2900mAh battery, which the company promises can delivery 11 hours of continuous video watching, 23 hours on the phone or about 13.5 hours of mixed usage. To add a premium touch, the A57 has a fingerprint scanner integrated within the home button. We can count on both battery and the fingerprint scanner to perform as promised by the company.

Oppo A57 comes only in one shade and that's gold. The handset will be available online on Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon as well as all offline stores across India from February 3.