Oscal C70 in the test: Inexpensive smartphone to start with only 100 instead of 150 euros

The Oscal brand belongs to Blackview – a company that is primarily associated with good outdoor smartphones (best list). Under the name Oscal, on the other hand, you will primarily find inexpensive smartphones and tablets with Android. The new Oscal C70 also belongs in this category. The inexpensive mobile phone with Android 12 offers almost everything a mobile device should be able to do. On board is also a camera with 50 megapixels and 128 GB of internal memory.

When you take the Oscal C70 out of the purple-pink packaging for the first time, you experience a positive surprise. The cheap smartphone looks really chic, is quite thin and compact (dimensions: 163.2 × 75.2 × 8.8 mm) and not too heavy (192 g). This makes it about the same size as the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (test report), but half a finger’s width longer. In addition, a transparent protective cover made of silicone, a bulletproof glass to stick on and a power supply unit are included.

It definitely looks more premium than the low price would suggest. The design is very simple and functional – but gives the device an elegant appearance. The case is made of plastic and has a clean finish; you won’t find any gaps or wobbly components. Even the volume rocker and the power button with a fingerprint reader have a firm pressure point. However, the Oscal C70 does not offer protection against dust or water.

The frame has an angular design and transitions to the back at right angles with a small notch as an intermediate step. This is slightly corrugated and changes the color of the grain depending on the incidence of light. Fingerprints can, however, be seen on it – albeit not excessively strong. The camera element protrudes only a few millimeters and is reminiscent of a surprised emoji: both lenses are at the same level and form the eyes, the LED flash would then be the mouth. The waterdrop notch with the front camera at the top edge of the display is less chic, but not unusual for the price range.

The screen measures 6.56 inches diagonally and only has an HD resolution (1612 × 720 pixels). Although this applies to most of the competitors in this price range, there are more and more smartphones that also offer Full HD for less than 150 euros. The pixel density is 269 PPI (pixels per inch), so pixels are still easy to see with the naked eye.

IPS is used as the panel and offers the usual stable viewing angles. It even has a refresh rate of 90 Hertz, which has a positive effect on animations and games. Apart from the resolution, the image quality is convincing, because the colors are pronounced and the contrasts are well balanced. Of course, it can’t keep up with a mid-range smartphone with OLED, but just a few years ago, LCDs on cheap smartphones really weren’t nice to look at. This is different with the Oscal C70. The brightness is rather mediocre at around 400 cd/m² according to our measurements. If you use the cell phone outdoors in sunshine, you will have problems seeing the display well.

The Oscal C70 uses two lenses for the camera: 50 megapixels as the primary lens and 0.3 megapixels for macro shots (no, that’s not a typo!). Oscal could have done without the latter. The front camera offers 8 megapixels.

A high number of megapixels alone is no guarantee for good recordings. The Oscal C70 takes good pictures in daylight and good weather. However, the camera weakens noticeably in terms of dynamic range. This is evident in strongly changing lighting conditions, such as on a cloudy day. Individual areas then appear too dark on the images. Sometimes the sky is still too bright. In the dark, the image quality decreases rapidly. That’s still enough for snapshots, but those who frequently take photos on vacation should at least look out for a smartphone up to 200 euros (top list).

We don’t want to comment on the macro lens, the resolution is too low even for close-ups and only delivers image noise. Selfies, on the other hand, look quite decent and are sufficiently sharp. Only in portrait mode could the bokeh be more precisely matched to the profile. Videos are possible with both the main camera and the front camera with a maximum of Full HD at 30 fps (frames per second). These look a bit overexposed and lack sharpness.

The Oscal C70 is powered by a Unisoc Tiger T606. We already know the chip from the compact Nokia T10 tablet (test report). The entry-level processor is not exactly powerful, but the performance is more than sufficient. With 7700 points in the PCmark benchmark, the device ends up in the lower middle field. At least the smartphone doesn’t torment you and stutters or loading times are still fairly limited. For simple games like Angry Birds the Oscal C70 is suitable.

We are positively surprised by the memory: the internal memory has a whopping 128 GB, the working memory is a generous 6 GB of RAM. With UFS 2.1, it’s not the fastest variant, but for the price it’s more than okay. This explains, among other things, the stable running system with multitasking. Most devices in this price range only offer a comparatively meager 4/64 GB. Expansion via a microSD card is also possible.

Mobile, the smartphone supports a maximum of LTE (4G), it can use local networks with Wi-Fi 5. USB-C 2.0 and a jack (3.5 mm) for wired headphones are available as slots – the latter are becoming increasingly rare. The Oscal C70 offers Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless devices. Attention: There is no NFC – which is not unusual for the price range, so you cannot use the smartphone to pay via Google Wallet. However, there is a fingerprint sensor in the power button and it works quickly and reliably. The cell phone uses GPS, Glonass, Beidou and Galileo for localization.

The Oscal C70 uses Android 12 ex works. Blackview adapts the user interface with the designation Doke OS 3.1 somewhat, so the menus and icons are structured somewhat differently than in vanilla Android. Overall, everything is very colorful. There is a separate menu item for Android Auto and for wallpaper. An app drawer is available. The security patch is from March, so it could use an update soon. We can’t currently say how often patches or even Android upgrades can be expected. We almost suspect Android 13 is unlikely and support with security updates will also be limited and sporadic.

The battery is surprisingly strong with 5180 mAh – but the cell phone is surprisingly thin. Unfortunately, it does not lead to a particularly long battery life. In the battery test, we get around 10.5 hours – more of an average value for smartphones. Patience is required when charging, but at least a power supply unit is included. This only has an output of 10 watts, so a complete charging process takes around 2.5 hours.

The RRP for the Oscal C70 is 150 euros. Until May 28, 2023, the smartphone is for only 100 Euro available if you select the coupon at Amazon and also the voucher code O3CK2P2M uses. It is available in the colors anthracite (Stardust Grey), light green (Dim Forest Green) and light blue (Summer Sky Blue).

The Oscal C70 is a real bargain. Especially the discount at the market launch ensures a strong price-performance ratio. The design is consistently successful, the display offers a good picture quality, even if it could be a bit brighter and only offers an HD resolution. The memory equipment with 6/128 GB is surprisingly good. The camera turns out to be a paper tiger and has weaknesses in image dynamics, the macro lens is completely useless.

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