The Oppo K10 marks the entry of Oppo’s budget-friendly K-series into the Indian market. While it might not boast the impressive specs some might have anticipated, the K10 sets its sights on attracting users with a balance of features like dust and water resistance, a scratch-resistant design, and camera enhancements—all at an attractive price point. But in a landscape where the sub-Rs. 20,000 smartphone segment is crammed with devices delivering lightning-fast charging, 5G connectivity, and powerful cameras, can the Oppo K10 hold its own? Let’s delve into the details and uncover whether it offers enough to stand out from the competition.
Oppo K10 Price in India
The Oppo K10 is available in two RAM configurations: 6GB RAM priced at Rs. 14,990 and 8GB RAM priced at Rs. 16,990. Both variants come with 128GB of storage. Color options include Black Carbon and Blue Flame.
Oppo K10 Design
Oppo has managed to give the K10 a surprisingly premium look and feel despite its budget-friendly origins. The bright and vibrant Blue Flame color option is particularly eye-catching. The matte finish on the frame and the majority of the back panel lends a sleekness to the design, effectively resisting fingerprints. Even a vigorous scratch test with a fingernail failed to leave any marks, demonstrating the phone’s durability. This means the K10 should handle everyday wear and tear without requiring a case, although a case is included in the box.
The phone’s rectangular camera module bears a strong resemblance to the one on the Oppo A76. It features a textured area around the camera bump, extending across the width of the phone, with inscriptions reading "Super Performance" and "10-K". The 10-K inscription, while intriguing, is more a part of the design than a direct reference to the phone’s name.
On the bottom, the K10 sports a headphone jack, a bottom-firing speaker, and a fingerprint sensor integrated into the home button. The earpiece doubles as a second speaker for stereo sound.
The phone is packed with a 6.59-inch LCD display featuring a Full-HD+ (2412×1080) resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. This standard panel offers decent brightness and color accuracy. The modern touch of a selfie camera cutout is a welcome addition, but the thick black bezels surrounding the display might be a minor drawback for some.
The K10 comes with a generous set of accessories, including a transparent case and a 33W SuperVOOC charger. The included case is of good quality, offering ample protection for the display’s edges, rear cameras, and ports. It also improves grip, as the K10’s smooth finish can be slippery.
Oppo K10 Specifications and Software
One of the key advantages of the K10 is its IP54 certification, a step up from the IP53 certification usually found in its competitors. While the K10 offers the same level of dust protection, its certification implies greater resilience against water splashes.
Powering the K10 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC, a capable processor also found in phones like the Realme 9i and Redmi Note 11. Though it doesn’t support 5G, it provides ample power for everyday use. The K10 also boasts essential connectivity features including dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, GPS, and FM radio. It features a 5,000mAh battery, ensuring extended usage, which is further enhanced by the included 33W fast charger for quick top-ups. The phone also includes a dedicated microSD card slot in the SIM tray, supporting up to 1TB of storage expansion.
Despite being a part of a long list of Oppo phones waiting for Android 12, the K10 is currently shipped with ColorOS 11.1, which is based on Android 11. The pre-installed apps, though numerous, are mostly removable. While some Oppo apps, like Theme Store and Game Space, are prone to spammy notifications, the overall software experience should be relatively uncluttered. However, Oppo has not yet guaranteed any long-term OS updates for the K10, leaving its future software support uncertain.
Oppo K10 Performance and Battery Life
The 6GB variant of the K10, the one tested for this review, performed remarkably well. General usage was consistently snappy, and the fingerprint sensor proved reliable. The device also offers face recognition, which worked effectively even in low-light environments. The K10 features a RAM expansion capability, allowing users to allocate up to 5GB of storage as RAM. Although set to 2GB by default, adjusting it was rarely felt necessary.
The K10 excels in delivering high-quality video playback, with clear visuals and satisfying sound. The phone boasts stereo speakers, although the left and right channels aren’t perfectly balanced—the primary speaker is louder than the earpiece. However, it’s a significant improvement over having no stereo sound at all. In bright sunlight, the display holds up well, ensuring content remains visible.
Gaming performance is also commendable. While demanding titles like Asphalt 9: Legends and Call of Duty: Mobile don’t showcase their full potential, with noticeable aliasing and flicker around objects, increasing the graphics fidelity to "Very High" in Call of Duty improved the visual experience. However, a majority of advanced graphics settings weren’t accessible.
Battery life is a standout feature of the K10. Consistent testing resulted in nearly two full days of continuous usage on a single charge. In the HD video loop test, the K10 held its own for almost 15 hours, a performance that, while not stellar, is considered good enough. Charging the battery proved to be relatively quick, with a full charge taking about an hour.
Oppo K10 Cameras
The Oppo K10 packs a 50-megapixel main camera alongside two additional cameras for depth and macro photography. Unfortunately, it lacks an ultra-wide camera, a notable absence that may disappoint some users. The inclusion of two 2-megapixel cameras could have been replaced by a more functional ultra-wide lens, a trend observed in recent models like the Realme 9 5G. For selfies, the K10 features a 16-megapixel front camera.
The camera app is familiar, resembling what’s seen on other recent Oppo phones, yet introduces exciting new features like AI Palette. This tool, present in the Edit menu of the photo gallery, offers a unique way to apply various color tones to photos, either using preset options or drawing inspiration from the color palette of another image in the gallery. It proves beneficial for users who enjoy enhancing their photos. The camera app also includes an AI retouch slider, allowing users to adjust the intensity of beautification effects applied to faces in stills and videos, though it’s limited to the rear camera. The phone also boasts Oppo’s Bokeh Flare Portrait filter, previously seen in the Oppo Reno series.
Under optimal lighting conditions, the main camera captures impressive photos. However, the K10 struggles with exposure when the subject is in direct sunlight or even slightly backlit. Despite this, landscape shots look satisfactory. Close-ups taken outdoors fare much better. The macro camera, on the other hand, delivers mixed results and doesn’t offer significant quality improvements.
Low-light landscape shots exhibit good color retention, but details are lacking, with objects appearing poorly defined. Light sources show a blooming effect, which can be mitigated by switching to Night mode. While this addresses the blooming issue, it doesn’t significantly improve details. Close-ups perform better in low-light environments.
Selfies, especially those captured outdoors in ample lighting, produce excellent results, saved at the full 16-megapixel resolution. Portrait mode, however, faces issues with edge detection and isn’t as accurate. Low-light selfies are average, lacking in detail.
The K10’s video recording capabilities are limited to 1080p resolution and lack any form of stabilization. Even at a reduced resolution of 720p, dedicated stability modes are absent. Video quality is sufficient in daylight but falls short in nighttime scenarios.
Verdict
The Oppo K10 shares a striking resemblance to the recently launched Oppo A96 in terms of design and specs, but its stereo speakers, macro camera, and IP54 rating give it an edge in terms of value. The phone delivers excellent battery life, reasonably fast charging, a pleasing display, and snappy all-around performance. While its pricing appears competitive, it’s vital to acknowledge the availability of 5G alternatives within the same price range. The Poco M4 Pro 5G, for instance, emerges as a compelling contender, offering an IP53 rating. The Redmi Note 10S remains a solid option, although slightly older, at a price similar to the K10.
The Oppo K10’s most notable weaknesses are its poor video recording performance and the absence of an ultra-wide camera. For users who aren’t avid photographers or videographers, the K10 could prove to be a suitable choice, with the base variant offering the best value among the two options.
