Nowadays, even mainstream brands are offering budget smartphones with attractive design, specs, and cameras. That is a good thing as the chance of picking a bad phone even if you are on a tight budget is now slimmer than ever.
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| Budget phone battle, who will stand out? |
Some of those budget smartphones include the OPPO A5s, Huawei Y6s, and Samsung Galaxy A10s, all priced at PHP 6,990.
So, in case you are eyeing any of them as your next budget phone and you want to nitpick to find out which one is the right device for you, allow us to help you.
Here's a comparison between the OPPO A5s, Huawei Y6s, and Samsung Galaxy A10s. Read on.
Build Quality/Design
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| Glossy back design |
As expected, budget phones are equipped with plastic bodies. Fortunately, the plastic material they used is considered pretty good. They even have curvy molds with a glossy finish for a more premium look.
Curvy, shiny finish!
But since they have that glass-like glossy exterior, the phones are prone to hairline scratches and fingerprint smudges if you won't put a case. Don't also expect them to be resistant to water damage.
In front, all three phones are equipped with glass 2.5D curved screens. Only the A5s has a mention of Gorilla Glass protection (Gorilla Glass 3 to be exact), but all have a pre-installed screen protector to prevent users from having a screen with hairline scratches.
Design-wise, all are pretty stylish to my eyes. I like the gold accents on the black OPPO A5s, but I also enjoy the simplicity of the Y6s and A10s. Both the A5s and A10s have an oblong-shaped fingerprint reader at the back while the Y6s has a slightly easier to reach circular scanner.
All come with a notch in the front, but the slimmest notch for me is from the Y6s.
All also have over 87 percent of the screen-to-body ratio. The three phones have identical dimensions as well.
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| Top |
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| Bottom |
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| Left |
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| Right |
OPPO A5s and Samsung A10s have similar buttons and ports placements. You'll see nothing on top, 3.5mm jack, mic, micro USB port, and speaker below, SIM slots and volume keys at left, and power key at right.
Huawei Y6s, on the other hand, has the 3.5mm jack and mic on top, mic, micro USB port, speaker below, SIM slot at left, and volume keys and power key at right. On top of the notch and earspeaker, it has an LED indicator as well.
All phones have a good feel in the hands when you hold it. The lightest among the 3 is the Y6s at 150 grams. Due to its large battery A5s is a bit hefty at 170 grams.
Multimedia Experience
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| Big screens, low price tags |
Like most modern smartphones, the 3 phones are equipped with over 6-inch big screens. A5s has 6.22-inch, Y6s has 6.09-inch, and A10s has 6.2-inch. All have an IPS panel with HD+ resolution with around 270 pixels per inch and a 19:9 screen aspect ratio.
The 3 phones are quite good for consuming multimedia content such as videos and more. I like that they have accurate color reproductions, decent viewing angles, and good sunlight legibility. The quality of the 3 screens is similar. All have eye comfort mode as well. A5s and Y6s have 10 points of touch.
For audio, the 3 phones load with a single down-firing speaker. All can produce loud audio despite having just a single speaker. The one with the clearest and punchiest for me is the Y6s. It even has a strong bass response and surprisingly wide enough soundstage. It is due to the Huawei SuperSound technology that increases its volume by 6 dB.
For wired headphones and earphones, it has the strongest driving power among the three. It simply means that make even some medium-sized headphones shine.
Plus, unlike other budget phones, it has a built-in FM antenna which allows Y6s users to listen to FM Radio even without plugging earphones as an external antenna.
The 3 phones performed well for calls. All can do decent audio recordings as well. Just expect a bit more noise versus higher-end phones.
Cameras
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| Back cameras |
Both the OPPO A5s and Samsung Galaxy A10s have a dual-camera setup at the back. Both highlights a 13MP + 2MP shooter. A5s has the 13MP f/2.2 snapper with PDAF and the A10s goes with the brighter 13MP f/1.8 shooter but with AF only.
On the other hand, the Y6s only has a single 13MP shooter. But it is a pretty good quality camera on paper as it has a bright f/1.8 aperture size with PDAF speedy focus.
All have HDR and filters. Only the A5s and A10s have bokeh mode and HDR. Sadly, all of them don't have the Night mode yet. You can use the single LED flash behind for low light snaps.
Back Camera Samples
Scene 1 - Daylight
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| A5s daylight |
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| Y6s daylight |
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| A10s daylight |
All performed well in daylight. But, the shot on the A10s is a bit softer than the A5s and Y6s. It is a close match between A5s and Y6s here. It is either you will go for the wider dynamic range and slightly brighter image of the Y6s or the slightly dimmer but with a bit more details on the clouds from the A5s shot.
Scene 2 - Against the light
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| A5s against the light 1 |
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| Y6s against the light 1 |
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| A10s against the light 1 |
The A5s performed better than the A10s in this scene, but Y6s bested them both. It delivered the against the light shot with brighter exposure and wider range without overexposing it. For color accuracy, A5s is the closest to the actual thing.
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| A10s against the light 2 |
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| Y6s against the light 2 |
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| A10s against the light 2 |
We repeated the test and got similar results in exposure and dynamic range. But, the Y6s got the colors of this scene correctly this time.
Scene 3 - close-up
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| A5s close-up |
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| Y6s close-up |
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| Y6s close-up |
This time, the Y6s delivered more natural-looking colors. It got my skin tone correctly. In terms of sharpness, it is a battle between A5s and Y6s. The A10s shot is soft even after several takes.
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| A5s, Y6s, A10s 100 percent crop |
Scene 4 - Indoor close-up
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| A5s indoor close-up |
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| Y6s indoor close-up |
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| A10s indoor close-up |
Finally, it is Samsung's time to shine. It got this scene correctly with crisp details and good colors. All performed well here, but the Y6s shot is a little soft.
Scene 5 - low light
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| A5s low light 1 |
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| Y6s low light 1 |
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| A10s low light 1 |
In low light, it is a very close match between A5s and Y6s. It could go either way. Their shots have decent colors and not that noisy. On the other hand, the Samsung A10s has bright exposure but is soft and grainy compared to A5s and Y6s.
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| A5s low light 2 |
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| Y6s low light 2 |
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| A10s low light 2 |
In the second low light scenario, we noticed that the A5s has a slightly wider field of view versus the Y6s and A10s. If you will pixel peep, Y6s has a bit less noise than A5s. The one with the poorest performance is A10s with soft and grainy output.
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| Selfie cams inside the notch |
For selfies, all have an 8MP f/2.0 snapper and screen flash. All have HDR, face beauty, and several filters. Y6s has a tap to focus feature as well.
Selfie Camera Samples
Scene 1 - Daylight selfie
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| A5s daylight |
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| Y6s daylight |
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| A10s daylight |
In the first scene, the level of detail is similar between A5s and Y6s. But, color accuracy and exposure is more correct on the A5s. The Y6s shot is a bit overexposed, but my face in this scene is not as soft as the A5s.
The A10s, on the other hand, also delivered a decent selfie. However, it is softer than both the A5s and Y6s. The field of view is narrower as well. It might not be that great for groufies.
Scene 2 - Daylight face beauty
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| A5s face beauty |
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| Y6s face beauty |
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| A10s face beauty |
Using the default face beauty settings, the selfie from the A5s and A10s really softened my skin. The A5s shot looked a bit too pale for me. The one who didn't overdo the beauty effect is the Y6s. Yes, it softened my skin, but it didn't make it look artificially smooth and it retained my color.
Scene 3 - Indoor dim
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| A5s indoor dim |
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| Y6s indoor dim |
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| A10s indoor dim |
A10s retained my color this time. A5s made it a paler, too soft, and a bit exposed. Y6s is a bit underexposed, but details on my face are better. It retained my skin tone as well.
In low light, I didn't like the performance of the 3 phones even if you use the screen flash mode. A soft light LED flash would have helped them get service selfie shots in the dark.
For videos, the 3 phones can all shoot up to 1080p at 30fps using the back camera. The 3 have a similar performance using the main camera setup at the back with a good amount of details.
For selfie videos, it is a bit different, I personally liked the selfie performance of the A10s and Y6s over the A5s with paler and slightly blueish colors.
Overall, they are decent video shooters but don't expect them to have good stabilization.
Video Samples
Performance
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| AnTuTu speed comparison |
In terms of speed, it is a really close match between the A5s and Y6s as both are powered by the 12nm 2.3GHz 64-bit Helio P35 octa-core processor with PowerVR GE8320 GPU. For the price, it is a pretty fast processor.
On the other hand, the A10s also has the PowerVR GE8320 GPU, but the chip is older and lower-end, the 2.0GHz 64-bit Helio P22 octa-core processor.
Huawei Y6s and OPPO A5s achieved higher benchmark scores than Samsung A10s!
While the chip used by both OPPO and Huawei is faster and better for opening apps, watching videos, playing games, and more, kudos to Samsung for not using the lowest-end available 4G chip on their entry-level phones unlike before.
However, only the A5s and Y6s are paired with 3GB RAM for better multitasking experience. A10s only has 2GB RAM.
64GB vs 32GB!
The major advantage of the Y6s over the A5s and A10s is the storage. Y6s has a large 64GB storage compared to the 32GB of A5s and A10s. The bigger 64GB storage will simply allow Huawei Y6s users to store double the files versus the offerings of OPPO and Samsung.
In addition, it uses the EROFS file system that automatically compresses into a smaller size for up to 2GB more storage saved in the other apps.
For battery, both A5s and A10s have a bigger battery capacity at 4,230mAh and 4,000mAh, respectively. In our tests, both A5s and A10s can last to around 17 hours from 100 to 0 percent on my usual daily usage.
Meanwhile, the Y6s only has a 3,020mAh battery. But surprisingly, it has a lengthier battery life than expected. My normal usage can last for around 14 to 15 hours. That's on par with older 4,000mAh phones with older chips that aren't that power-efficient.
Huawei said that it is due to the AI-power saving tech of the Y6s and I think they are right.
For connectivity, the 3 have WiFi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth, GPS, and dual SIM slots. OPPO A5s Huawei Y6s have the Band 28 LTE advantage. The 3 performed nicely for calls and SMS.
All have a micro USB charging port. A5s has around 2 hours and 30 minutes from 0 to 100 percent. You can charge the Y6s from 0 to 100 percent in under 2 hours. You will need 3 hours and 30 minutes to fully charge.
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| Android 8.1 vs 9.1 vs 9.0 |
For software, only the OPPO A5s is left with the old Android 8.1 Oreo OS with ColorOS 5.2 skin. But, it doesn't look as great as the Android 9.1 Pie OS with EMUI 9.1 skin and Android 9.0 Pie OS and One UI skin of Huawei Y6s and Samsung Galaxy A10s, respectively.
Android 8.1 vs 9.1 vs 9.0!
All have minimal bloats and feature-rich for me. I like that they have their own phone managers to speed up the phone if it'll experience slowdowns.
For Huawei, EMUI 9.1 skin uses AI to intelligently clears system cache in the background and defragment the system to keep your phone fast. It also has a reminder if your storage falls below 30 percent.
A10s and Y6s have good gesture navigation modes aside from the usual Android on-screen keys.
For other features, the 3 devices are equipped with a speedy and accurate fingerprint reader at the back. They all have face unlock tech as well. The face unlock of Huawei can intelligently increase the brightness in low light to help it perform better in the dark.
OPPO A5s vs Huawei Y6s vs Samsung Galaxy A10s Specs Comparison
| Device | OPPO A5s | Huawei Y6s | Samsung Galaxy A10s |
| Display |
6.22-inch Gorilla Glass 3 protected 2.5D curved screen w/ HD+ 1520 x 720 resolution at 270 ppi |
6.09-inch 2.5D curved IPS screen w/ HD+ 1520 x 720 resolution at 276 ppi | 6.2-inch 2.5D IPS screen w/ HD+ 1520 x 720 resolution at 271 ppi |
| CPU |
2.3GHz 64-bit Helio P35 octa-core processor |
2.3GHz 64-bit Helio P35 octa-core processor | 2.0GHz 64-bit Helio P22 octa-core processor |
| GPU |
PowerVR GE8320 |
PowerVR GE8320 | PowerVR GE8320 |
| RAM |
3GB |
3GB | 2GB |
| ROM |
32GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 256GB (dedicated) |
64GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 512GB (dedicated) | 32GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 512GB (dedicated) |
| Back Camera |
13MP f/2.2 + 2MP f/2.4 w/ PDAF and LED flash |
13MP f/1.8 w/ PDAF and LED flash | 13MP f/1.8 + 2MP f/2.4 w/ AF and LED flash |
| Selfie Camera |
8MP f/2.0 w/ AI face beauty |
8MP f/2.0 w/ screen flash
| 8MP f/2.0 |
| Battery |
4,230mAh |
3,020mAh | 4,000mAh |
| OS |
Android 8.1 Oreo w/ ColorOS 5.2 | Android 9.1 Pie w/ EMUI 9.1 | Android 9.0 Pie w/ One UI |
| Connectivity |
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.2, OTG, FM Radio, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM slots | WiFi, 700MHz 4G LTE, Bluetooth, built-in FM Radio, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM (nano) | WiFi 802.11b/g/n, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, dual SIM |
| Sensors |
Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic |
Accelerometer, light, proximity, sound | Accelerometer, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic |
| Others |
Fingerprint sensor, face unlock, Colors: red, black
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Face unlock, loudspeaker, Colors: orchid blue, starry black | Fingerprint sensor, face unlock, Colors: blue, green |
| Dimensions |
155.9 x 75.4 x 8.2 mm |
156.28 x 73.5 x 8 mm | 155.6 x 75.8 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight |
170 g |
150 g | 168 g |
| Price |
PHP 6,990 |
PHP 6,990 | PHP 6,990 |
OPPO A5s advantages - Big 6.22-inch screen, fast Helio P35 chip, large battery capacity, bokeh effect
Huawei Y6s advantages - Fast Helio P35 chip, large 64GB storage, faster-charging speed, great back and front cameras for the price, loudspeaker, built-in FM Radio, Android 9.1 Pie
Samsung Galaxy A10s advantages - Good batt life
Verdict
As mentioned above, all 3 phones are pretty good for the PHP 6,990 price tag. But to be honest, it is more of a match between the OPPO A5s and Huawei Y6s only. The two are simply superior against the A10s with a lower-end chipset and lesser camera quality.
The battle OPPO A5s and Huawei Y6s are neck and neck. A5s has a slight actual battery performance advantage and the artificial bokeh effect from the secondary back cam.
However, the tie-breaker here is the massive storage capacity, faster-charging speed, and the better cameras of the Y6s. It even has a louder speaker and built-in FM Radio where its competitors fall short or lacks.
What do you guys think?
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