OPPO continues to expand its selfie-centric smartphones. The latest entry in the company's portfolio is OPPO A71 (2018), which has arrived in Pakistan, hinting at an imminent launch in India.
OPPO A71 (2018) succeeds the original A71 smartphone, which was unveiled last September. The new handset is not a major departure from its short-lived predecessor, sharing quite a few features but also having a couple of improvements.
OPPO A71 (2018) is listed on the company's official website in Pakistan. It is priced at PKR 19,899, which roughly translates to Rs 11,300. It's unclear how much the A71 (2018) will be priced in India at launch, but it will be priced anywhere between Rs 12,000 and Rs 14,000 to attract budget shoppers.
To recall, the original A71 was priced at Rs 12,990, but it recently got a price cut of Rs 3,000 and is currently sold for just Rs 9,990.
Considering that the A71 (2018) will take after its predecessor in terms of pricing, buyers will get a couple of improvements.
OPPO A71 (2018) is now powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core chipset, which improves app launch times by 12.5 percent compared to the MediaTek MT6750-powered A71. The handset is now paired with 2GB RAM, which is surprising given the older variant had 3GB RAM on board. Storage remains unchanged at 16GB, with microSD card support.
The biggest highlight of the new A71 is the AI Beauty Recognition Technology to enhance your selfie game. According to the company, this new tech "is based on a global image database that serves as an experienced photographer, who knows your beauty and will offer the most suitable beautify effect for you."
In terms of looks, the A71 (2018) looks identical to the 2017 variant. It comes with a 5.2-inch HD display, weighs 137 grams and is just 7.6mm thick. The polycarbonate structure of the A71 gets a premium metallic look to match the higher standards of the industry. There's a 3,000mAh battery on board but lacks fast-charging support.
As for the optics, the A71 (2018) gets treated with a 13MP rear-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture and LED flash. On the front, there's a 5MP snapper with a f/2.4 aperture for your selfies.
OPPO A71 (2018) supports dual SIM cards (nano) with 4G VoLTE support, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, a 3.5mm audio jack, micro USB OTG, and runs Android 7.1 Nougat-based ColorOS 3.2. Much like the predecessor, the new variant also comes in gold and black hues.
If OPPO decides to launch the A71 in India at a price higher than Rs 12,000, there's a high chance it'll redirect buyers to rivals or even its own A83 model, which offers a bezel-less display with 18:9 aspect ratio.
OPPO A83 is better than the A71 (2018) in more ways than one, from camera to design, and is priced at Rs 13,990 in India. If for some reason the bezel-less design isn't your cup of tea, OPPO A71 (2018) will be relevant.
It remains to be seen where OPPO A71 (2018) will be placed in the company's price slab. We should know that soon enough.
