OPPO A74 Review - Android

After releasing some of their latest high-tier smartphones this early 2021, OPPO seems to now be focusing on their more affordable A-series line that...

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After releasing some of their latest high-tier smartphones this early 2021, OPPO seems to now be focusing on their more affordable A-series line that now includes the OPPO A74, which is the cheaper version of the OPPO A94. We’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and here’s all you need to know.

Design and Construction

The OPPO A74 sports a polycarbonate back with a curved-glass illusion, or what we like to call “glasstic.” It has a somewhat prism effect instead of a mirror-like style, and it feels sleek and light to hold. However, it is very prone to fingerprint smudges, so it’s best to use the free jelly case right away.

The unit we have is in color Midnight Blue, and it’s more of like a light summer blue that gradients with a hint of silver. The midnight blue tones show up when it hits direct light. The 4G variant, like the one we have, is also available in Prism Black if you’re interested.

Other things you’ll find at the back are its protruding camera module that houses its triple rear shooters and the LED flash, while on the lower part of the rear is the OPPO branding.

Located on the right side is the power button, while on the left are the volume rocker plus a triple card tray for two nano-sized SIM cards and a microSD card that’s expandable up to 256GB.

The buttons are firm and are well-positioned near the middle of the frame, so they’re easier to reach.

There’s nothing on top, but at the bottom are its 3.5mm audio jack, primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and a loudspeaker.

Display and Media

The OPPO A74 has a vibrant 6.43-inch AMOLED display, specifically with a 2400 x 1080px resolution and a pixel density of 409ppi. Similar to the OPPO A73, it has Gorilla Glass 3 for protection and a pre-installed screen protector on top.

Found on the upper left corner of the screen is its punch-hole notch; that’s not much of a distraction for us, while on top of that is the speakerphone. On the screen, you can also find its in-display fingerprint scanner, which is quite oddly placed lower than what we’re used to.

Quality-wise, as expected from an AMOLED display, we get punchy colors, deep blacks, great contrast, and nice viewing angles. But since this is the 4G variant, it doesn’t have a 90Hz refresh rate option; instead, we only get the standard 60Hz—which is honestly not that big of a deal unless it’s something you’re specifically looking for.

In the display settings, you can manage the screen color temperature, switch between the Gentle or Vivid color mode, and you can also turn on the low-brightness flicker-free eye comfort to reduce visual fatigue. There’s an Always-On display feature, but it’s pretty basic as it’s not as customizable as the one we’ve seen on the higher OPPO Find X3 Pro.

As for audio, the downward-firing loudspeaker can be loud enough for a small room with clear highs and mids but of course, expect it to lack some bass. If you want better audio quality, we still recommend connecting to an external speaker or headphones.

Cameras

Moving to cameras, at the back, the OPPO A74 has a triple camera module consisting of a 48MP f/1.7 (wide), a 2MP f/2.4 (macro), and a 2MP f/2.4 (depth). Meanwhile, upfront is a 16MP f/2.4 selfie camera.

Quality-wise, using the standard mode gives you sharp and accurately colored shots with a very good dynamic range. To get more vibrant outputs, you can leave the AI mode turned on as it provides some subtle color boost to your photos. There’s no ultrawide mode available, but you can zoom in to 2x, 5x, and up to 10x.