Oppo A17: It isn’t easy to stand out in the overcrowded budget smartphone market. In a world where most phones tend to have similar specs at similar prices, it often boils down to design, how good the camera is and the battery life. That’s where the OPPO A17 aims to be — combining a stylish design with decent daily performance and great battery life.
It’s definitely an entry-level phone, but the OPPO A17 manages to offer a surprisingly slick experience that should satisfy occasional users, students, or anyone who just wants a decent smartphone without paying through the nose. Here’s a closer look at what it includes.
Design: Premium-Looking without Breaking the Bank
The first thing that will grab your attention about the OPPO A17 is how expensive it looks for the cost. It comes with a faux leather married back panel in soothing hues such as Midnight Black, Lake Blue and Sunlight Orange.
The leather-like texture not only looks class but it also offers a good grip and does not attract fingerprints.
The A17 is solid feeling and tough and sturdy, despite its plastic body. It is slender, lightweight and comfortable to hold for extended periods, a smart design that belies its weight class.
Display: Basic but Functional
The OPPO A17 features a 6.56-inch HD+ IPS LCD display offering a resolution of 1612 × 720 pixels. This isn’t the sharpest screen around, though it’s entirely serviceable for day-to-day tasks like browsing, social media, YouTube that sort of thing. The colors are quite nice and the viewing angles are solid.
The 60Hz refresh may feel a little slow to users who are used to high-refresh displays, but for the audience the PXC243 is aimed at it is adequate. The Eye Comfort Mode of the screen is also in place to reduce blue light strain over long sessions.
Performance: Sticking To The Basics
New Camon A17 is equipped with MediaTek Helio G35 processor, accompanied by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of inbuilt storage, under the hood. It supports 4GB of virtual RAM expansion and can also accept microSD cards up to 1TB, which is convenient for end users.
Performance would best be described as utilitarian. You can use apps like WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook and perhaps even Chrome comfortably, but heavy gaming and multitasking are not its forte.
For the price, however, it handles basic tasks with ease, and the ColorOS 12.1 interface has been well-optimised for everyday use.
Camera: Passable for Social Sharing
OPPO A17 comes with 50MP AI main camera with 2MP depth sensor. The main camera does a decent job for a budget phone in good lighting. You do a lot of detail and good color accuracy, and the AI scene enhancer is a nice boost to photos.
Portrait mode is alright, not always perfect at edge detection. Low-light shots are mediocre, with some grain and detail loss. The 5MP selfie camera is okay for casual selfies and video calls and little else.
Battery Life: The Star of the Show
This is where the OPPO A17 excels. Once fully charged, its 5000mAh battery keeps you up and running for a full day and more. For more moderate users, that could stretch to almost two days.
Whether you’re streaming, browsing or messaging, the phone runs apace without the need to be constantly on the lookout for a charger.
Despite black-outlined mention of fast charging, the poor little thing can only charge at a measly 10W through micro-USB – not even Type-C. It also takes more than 2 hours for a full top-off.
Software and Features
The OPPO A17 is powered by Color OS 12.1 based on Android 12 that provides a bloat-free and easy to use experience. The three-finger screenshot, screen recording, and app cloning features are added bonuses.
Additionally, there is a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and face unlock, which work as expected.
Pros:
Leather-like textured surface and lightweight design
Excellent battery life
Decent 50MP main camera
Expandable storage up to 1TB
The ColorOS 12.1 is slick and user-friendly
Dependable fingerprint and face unlock
Cons:
Relies on an older micro-USB charging port
Slow 10W charging
No fast refresh rate display
Camera in low light is ok.
Not a gaming-friendly entry-level processor
Oppo A17 Final Decision:
Everyday Dependable and Sexy Enough to Be a First Significant Pen
The OPPO A17 isn’t aiming to be a powerhouse — and that’s okay. It’s all about what counts the most for budget-minded folks — appearances, battery and simplicity.
It may not thrill power users, but it’s a terrific pick for first-time smartphone buyers, the elderly or anyone who wants a backup device.
If you want a phone with good battery life, a great design and offer reliable performance for day-to-day tasks, the OPPO A17 is definitely worth looking into.
