Gary Steel
OPPO has released two new smartphones in New Zealand, the A77 and A57, featuring superior selfie cameras and dual SIMs.
The A77 features a 16MP selfie camera and Beautify 4.0 software with Bokeh Effect, as well as a sleek metal body design with a new 5.5-inch FHD in-cell screen. The A57 features a premium 16MP front camera, lightning-fast solid-state fingerprint reader, long-lasting battery, and OPPO’s meticulous design.
Despite being available throughout Asia for some time, New Zealanders have not previously been able to buy dual SIM-capable handsets from a major carrier or sales channels.
“Kiwis will love the new premium devices with dual-SIM option,” says Kuan Li, Public Relations Manager, OPPO New Zealand. “It means you can use the same phone for work and personal calls, and is great for those who travel overseas regularly who can use one SIM card for New Zealand calls and the other for calls in their destination country.”
Dual SIMs are popular in locations where lower prices apply to calls and data between clients of the same provider; they also allow separate numbers for personal and business calls on the same handset. A dual SIM phone can be used for two numbers and two identities at once. You can make and receive calls and send and receive text messages on either number.
Dual SIMs are becoming increasingly popular because they allow the owner to log work-related calls by allocating those to one SIM, and keep personal calls personal, but that’s not all. With two SIMs, when traveling the user can receive calls and messages from home on one SIM, and buy a local pre-pay SIM for calls, messages and data in the country you’re visiting. In addition, it’s possible to get the best data plan on one SIM, and use the other for calls. Then there’s NZ’s notorious terrain and spotty coverage: with two SIMs and two networks, you can ensure that you’re always in covered (well, most of the time).
Both the A77 and A57 feature a standout 16MP front camera. A top feature of OPPO’s hugely popular F1s device, the camera has won praise for its ability to capture vividly detailed shots that show users at their best. With an f/2.0 aperture, Beautify 4.0 and OPPO’s Screen Flash feature, users will be sure to get bright, ready-to-share shots even in low light conditions. At the back, the 13 MP rear camera uses a Sony IMX258 sensor paired with a large F2.2 aperture, providing high light sensitivity and superb clarity, even for night shooting. Meanwhile, Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) delivers an auto focus time of as little as 0.1 seconds, and Ultra-HD mode allows users to capture stunningly detailed 50 MP images.
OPPO’s Beautify 4.0 technology has been fine-tuned through the study of hundreds of use cases, offering seven beautify levels, and ensuring users will get shots with clear skin, vivid eyes and striking features.
The A77 is built with a sleek metallic frame, a 2.0mm bezel and a light 5.5-inch body. Equipped with an enhanced FHD in-cell screen for sharper contrast, the in-cell technology ensures clear screen quality on the brightest of days. The 5.5-inch screen is protected from external threats by 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and protective screen coating.
Designed to allow both flawless selfies and efficient mobile communications over the course of an entire day, the A77 utilises an octa-core processor backed by powerful 4GB memory and 64GB onboard storage supported by a 3200mAh battery. Its triple-slot card tray can hold two Nano 4G SIM cards with a microSD card, expanding storage to a potential 128GB.
The A57, meanwhile, cruises on an octa-core processor and 3GB memory, ensuring snappy performance and seamless multi-tasking. It sports a 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4 screen, four precisely rounded corners for a perfect grip, and a beautiful thin, light-weight frame that rests effortlessly in the hand.
A triple-slot card tray means that the A57’s 32GB of onboard storage can be expanded by an additional 256GB with an SD card, while users still enjoy the flexibility of using two 4G SIM cards.
Even in its attractively slight 5.2-inch unibody, the A57 manages to pack a powerful 2900 mAh battery, giving the device just the right weight in the hand and offering excellent video playback time. Leveraging smart power optimisations in ColorOS 3.0 (based on Android 6.0), the A57 clocks in at 11 hours of continuous video watching, 23 hours on the phone, or about 13.5 hours in a scenario of varied continuous use.
* The A77 is available in Gold and Black from 2degrees, JB Hi-Fi, Noel Leeming, and PB Tech stores for $529. The A57 is $399.
NOTE: This product news is adapted from an Oppo press release.
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