OPPO Neo review - Entry level gesture-based smartphone

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The OPPO Neo fills out the role of the entry-level smartphone in OPPO's first wave of smartphones for the Malaysian market and like the rest of it's first wave siblings, it packs in a unique design with key features you won't find in most other entry-level smartphones. The question remains though, are these features enough for you to buy the OPPO Neo? Read our full review of the OPPO Neo to find out.

Design - Compact, lightweight and curved

Like the other OPPO smartphones it came with, the design of the OPPO Neo is a bit different compared to your average entry-level smartphone. Instead of a narrow slate with rounded corners, the top and bottom of the smartphone curves outwards with strikingly coloured mesh pattern covers on both the top and bottom. Granted, everything is plastic but it certainly doesn't like your average generic entry-level smartphone. We found the curved backside to fit well into the palm of our hands but while it is comfortable to hold, it is also a fingerprint magnet and tends to slip somewhat. Despite being 9.2mm thin and weighing in at 130g, the OPPO Neo is balanced nicely enough that it seems lighter than it should be. The 4.5-inch screen is quite large for an entry-level smartphone while standard capacitive keys are placed below the screen. Build quality is very solid and should be comfortable to grip even for big handed users.

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The OPPO Neo offers a solid plastic build with simple but unique design

Tech specs and Features - Large screen, better than average entry-level specs

In terms of tech specs, the OPPO Neo is a mix of better than average features with entry-level tech specs. The most notable better than average feature is the 4.5-inch screen which is definitely larger than what you'd normally find within this price range. The IPS screen packs in an 854 x 480 pixel resolution, and does well at different viewing angles but the 221 ppi pixel density means that text and images aren't very sharp. Another notable feature that isn't mentioned much is the FM radio which should offer you some free tunes without having to stream anything. Asides from the 1.3GHz dual-core processor other tech specs and features are mostly entry level with 512MB worth of RAM, 4GB storage and up to 32GB microSD support and a 1900 mAh battery. We did find the 3G HSPA+ connectivity, 5MP rear camera and 2MP front camera to be better than the average entry-level smartphone in this class but other features like Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi and GPS are fairly standard.

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The main highlight of the OPPO Neo remains the 4.5-inch IPS display

Taking advantage of the larger than average 4.5-inch display, the OPPO Neo is one of the few smartphones in this range to offer a full gesture based operating system thanks to the Android 4.2 based Color OS. This lets you draw a circle on the screen to get access to your camera even when the phone is on standby or to wake it up with a double tap. You can also make and assign your own gestures to other apps or functions such as drawing a heart to call up your special someone. There is also a glove mode, but this won't see much use in tropical Malaysia unless you work in the cold storage department. 

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The Color OS gives the OPPO Neo gesture-based functionality

Performance - Better than average

Performance-wise the OPPO Neo manages to deliver some pretty good performance with an AnTuTu score of 11278. You can even play some 3D games like Despicable Me: Minion Rush but there is some lag when there are a lot of objects on screen. The OPPO Neo does well enough as a smartphone with good overall connectivity and phone functions but audio quality is just average and tinny, with static on the upper registers. The phone handles normal tasks such as browsing, chatting and sending of emails well but the 512MB worth of RAM makes it unsuitable for multi-tasking anything more than 2 apps at a time. 

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The OPPO Neo delivers good entry-level performance

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You can play 3D games like Despicable Me: Minion Rush on the OPPO Neo as well

We found that the OPPO Neo delivers good camera performance despite having no LED flash. The 2MP front camera results in good selfies while the 5MP rear camera does well enough but as usual of these types of cameras, they don't handle low-light conditions very well. Battery life performance is good at about 4 to 5 hours on medium usage but minimal usage should stretch a single charge to over 8 hours or so. 

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Camera performance is acceptable for the most part

Pricing - A bit on the high side

At RM598, the pricing of the OPPO Neo is admittedly high compared to the newer range of smartphones in the entry-level market. A quick look at Mobile Mega Mall reveals smartphones from Huawei, Lenovo and Alcatel within and below this price range but the two most notable would be the ASUS ZenFone 4 and Huawei Honor 3C. The tech specs and performance of the OPPO Neo place it below these two smartphones but the gesture driven Color OS manages to set it apart somewhat.

Conclusion - Good gesture-based starter or second smartphone

All in all, the OPPO Neo is a good entry-level smartphone which we think would be good as a starter smartphone for those switching over from a feature phone. A simple yet unique design sets it apart from your standard generic looking entry-level smartphones but the main highlights of the OPPO Neo remain the gesture-based Color OS and the 4.5-inch IPS display. The OPPO Neo should also do well as a second or backup smartphone and deliver all of your basic phone and smartphone needs without much fuss. 

*TechNave.com would like to thank OPPO Malaysia for the OPPO Neo review unit. It allowed us to do a more in-depth review and highlight more features.

Oppo Neo Specs & Price >