Which OPPO phone is best for you? (2021)

OPPO has grown to be one of the worlds largest phone manufacturers, and actually sits in third place in the Australian market. This isn't too surprising given its wide range of devices, spanning from fancy flagships to bang-for-buck handsets that still offer premium functionality. 

At WhistleOut, we're big fans of OPPO. The brand has won our annual Phone Manufacturer of the Year award three times in a row. That's a solid track record, to be honest.  

So if you're considering an OPPO but don't know which phone to pick, here's an overview of the manufacturer's current devices. 

In this guide:

• OPPO Find X3 Pro: Best for photography
• OPPO Find X3 Lite: Best for a great experience that doesn't break the bank
• OPPO A54 5G: Best for an affordable 5G phone
• OPPO A16s: Best on a budget

OPPO Find X3 Pro: Best for photography

OPPO's latest flagship - the Find X3 Pro - easily offers one of the best photography experiences you'll get on Android phone. 

• Excellent cameras
• Nifty microscope lens
• Lovely display

• Just okay battery
• Missing some features from last year's model 

The OPPO Find X3 Pro highlights just how good the manufacturer has become at mobile photography, touting a primary lens and ultra-wide lens backed by the same flagship sensor. 

For the most part, ultra-wide cameras rely on a lesser lens when compared to the primary, which creates a noticeable drop-off in quality. This isn't the case with the Find X3 Pro; you'll get excellent photos on both lenses, no matter what condition.

The primary lens in particular does an impressive job of handling dynamic range, which means it can capture both shadows and highlights without compromising either.

These lenses are joined by a 2x zoom lens and a microscope lens. The 2x zoom lens kinda run of the mill, and unfortunately a step back from the 5x zoom we saw in last year's Find X2 Pro. On the other hand, the microscope lens is a unique feature you won't find on any other phone. It magnifies a subject next to the phone by either 30x or 60x, capturing rather cool pics. 

Just okay battery life is a shame (which has been a trend with Android phones the past two years), but you also get top-tier performance and a lovely display. All in all, the Find X3 Pro is a great device. 

Read our review of the OPPO Find X3 Pro here.

OPPO Find X3 Lite: Best for a great experience that doesn't break the bank 

At $749 outright, the OPPO Find X3 Lite is a great phone for a great price. 

• Excellent value
• Great performances 
• Slick design

• No wireless charging 
• No water-resistance

The Find X3 Lite is a cut-price taste of a flagship-quality device. It naturally doesn't go toe-to-toe with the Find X3 Pro, but for less than half the price, you get a great all-round device with zippy performance, very fast charging, and a reliable primary lens. 

OPPO A54 5G: Best for an affordable 5G phone

The OPPO A54 5G is one of the cheapest 5G phones around. 

• Great value
• Solid battery 
• Nice display

• Some slowdowns
• Secondary cameras are token inclusions

The OPPO A54 5G is one of the cheapest 5G phones you can get locally. It will set you back just $399 outright. 

Next generation connectivity aside, it has the kind of hardware you'd expect for the price. The complete rundown includes a 6.5-inch 1080p+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, and 5,000mAh battery.

The camera configuration is made up of a 48MP primary lens, 8MP ultra-wide lens, 2MP macro lens, and 2MP depth lens.

The performance won't wow you, but there's very little else to complain about if you're not keen to spend more. 

OPPO A16s: Best on a budget

If you're just after a cheap phone, the OPPO A16s fits the bill. 

• Big battery
• Decent camera for the price
• Nice design

• Low-end processor
• A sharper display would have been nice

At $269 outright, the OPPO A16s is pretty damn cheap. Despite this, you still get some pretty reasonable hardware for your money, including a 6.5-inch 720p display, a 5,000mAh battery, and 64GB of expandable storage. For a basic phone, the A16s represents a solid value proposition. 

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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