The OPPO A83 is the first smartphone that came out of the company's portfolio this year. The handset banners the sought-after AI Beauty Technology and the coveted 18:9 display aspect ratio from the popular F5 series.
With the price of Php 9,990, OPPO A83 may offer more meat than just nifty display and good price standpoint. But there are also few comprises compared to the company's previous releases. Join us as we dig deeper in this review of the OPPO A83.
With the price of Php 9,990, OPPO A83 may offer more meat than just nifty display and good price standpoint. But there are also few comprises compared to the company's previous releases. Join us as we dig deeper in this review of the OPPO A83.
But before we get our feet wet with the OPPO A83 review, let's first take a look on its specifications.
5.7-inch 18:9 Full Screen HD+ LTPS TFT LCD display, 720 x 1440p, 282ppi
MediaTek Helio P23 (MT6763T)
2.5GHz Octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU
Mali-G71 MP2 GPU
3GB RAM
32GB Internal Memory, expandable up to 256GB via microSD (dedicated)
13MP Rear Camera, f/2.2 aperture, LED Flash
1080p@30fps video recording
8MP Selfie Camera, f/2.2 aperture, Screen Flash
Dual SIM (Nano-SIM)
4G LTE (700MHz), 3G, 2G
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, WiFi Direct, Hotspot
Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS, A-GPS
MicroUSB 2.0, USB OTG
3.5mm Audio Jack
Face unlock
Android 7.1 Nougat with Color OS 3.2
3180mAh Li-Ion non-removable battery
The OPPO A83 Review
Design
In an earshot, the OPPO A83 is a great looking phone. Its design does not differ from what we have been accustomed to with the OPPO F5 series. It comes with a front-glass faux metal unibody which exudes premium build quality. Curves are also very evident on the sides and at the back of the handset, making it comfortable to hold and easy to carry around. It also catches a fair number of eyes when seen on the wild.
The OPPO A83 is only 7.7-mm thick which gives it a svelte profile; and with its 143-gram weight, the handset is on the light side.
If you're looking on the phone's display, the right side is a home to the Power button and the SIM tray which comes with dedicated slots for the SIM cards and microSD card.
You can find the volume rocker on the left side; while, the bottom has the loudspeaker, microUSB 2.0 port, microphone, and now the crowd-favorite - 3.5mm audio jack.
If you're looking on the phone's display, the right side is a home to the Power button and the SIM tray which comes with dedicated slots for the SIM cards and microSD card.
You can find the volume rocker on the left side; while, the bottom has the loudspeaker, microUSB 2.0 port, microphone, and now the crowd-favorite - 3.5mm audio jack.
The front panel comes with the 8MP selfie camera, receiver, and sensors intended for the facial unlock feature. The back offers a silky-matte finish; and also houses the rear camera, LED flash, and the OPPO branding in the upper middle portion of the panel.
Overall feel of the phone is great. It's sturdy due to its solid build. There's no Gorilla Glass protection though. This means the screen is prone to scratches. But OPPO A83 lightens things a bit with pre-installed screen protector (which is also a scratch-magnet).
Display
The display is primarily defined by the 5.7-inch HD+ LTPS TFT LCD. It's a Full Screen display with 18:9 aspect ratio. This frames 720 x 1440 resolution with 282 ppi pixel density. It's a 5.7-inch screen but the handset is easier to use with one hand thanks to the almost bezel-less front panel.
Despite only having an HD+ display, the OPPO A83 is a very good visual consumption device. The display comes with great color reproduction and accuracy. It also registers to be brighter in most occasions. Texts and images are legible when used outdoors. Viewing angles are also welcoming even in oblique angles. Thus, you'll enjoy watching movies with friends and family with this device.
Performance
The OPPO A83 is powered by a MediaTek MT6763T Helio P23 mobile platform, which is very popular in the midrange space. The chipset crams a 2.5GHz octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor and a Mali-G71 graphics processor. The Helio P23 is coupled with 3GB of RAM for multitasking activities. These are impressive internals for its price.
We rarely experienced hiccups in our time with the handset. Its multitasking capability is also good. Pulling multiple apps simultaneously is a breeze. We ran a series of benchmark tests with the OPPO A83 and got impressive results. It scored 84613 in our Antutu Benchmark. Likewise, in our PC Mark Work 2.0 Performance test, the handset scored 4013.
We also tested the OPPO A83 with the GFXBench GL which measures the handset's graphics performance, long-term performance stability, render quality, and power consumption.
It scored 519.7 frames in one of the High Level Tests, and 832.4 frames for one of the Low Level Tests. Check out below to see how the handset fair against other phones.
In our real-time usage, the OPPO A83 is a definitely a worker. It can handle titles like Mobile Legends and Arena of Valor even on high frame rate settings with ease. Meanwhile, the handset experienced occasional drops in rendering when we played graphic-intensive games. The Game Acceleration Engine is also a welcome feature. I appreciate the fact that I can play without distractions. This suite also enhances gaming experience with its Smoothness Optimization and Network Protection.
I could definitely categorize it as a gaming smartphone. My only gripe is the tolerable heating in the upper portion of the handset when its under load. But it's nothing to worry about.
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For multimedia consumption, streaming apps like Netflix, iFlix, and Spotify work seamlessly in the OPPO A83. It also has decent speakers to complement the engaging visuals.
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For multimedia consumption, streaming apps like Netflix, iFlix, and Spotify work seamlessly in the OPPO A83. It also has decent speakers to complement the engaging visuals.
Camera
The OPPO A83 is a solid selfie smartphone. It still belongs to OPPO's roster of handsets that have the AI Beauty Technology. This means that it produces good social media selfies with its 8MP camera. Front camera stills are natural-looking and offer great details. I love OPPO's implementation of the AI Beauty due to its well-balanced color hues even on high settings.
The front camera is also capable of shooting in HDR. It has a screen flash alongside the depth effect mode for Bokeh portraits. Additionally, you can use different filters and Panorama using the front camera.
Meanwhile, the rear camera is a 13MP affair. It features the same modes as the front camera only that it has additional Timelapse feature and Expert mode. The back camera produces great outputs with good color reproduction and details. It offers on-point contrast and clarity.
It's also worth-noting that the handset focuses subject in a fast manner. In low-light, the rear camera produces decent photos with a small manifestation of noise and blurry details.
The front camera is also capable of shooting in HDR. It has a screen flash alongside the depth effect mode for Bokeh portraits. Additionally, you can use different filters and Panorama using the front camera.
Meanwhile, the rear camera is a 13MP affair. It features the same modes as the front camera only that it has additional Timelapse feature and Expert mode. The back camera produces great outputs with good color reproduction and details. It offers on-point contrast and clarity.
It's also worth-noting that the handset focuses subject in a fast manner. In low-light, the rear camera produces decent photos with a small manifestation of noise and blurry details.
Using the rear camera, you can record videos up to 1080p at 30 fps. In good lighting conditions, videos are great. Focus is also stable compared to the OPPO F5 Youth's camera. Of course, there's no video stabilization feature because it's maybe too much to ask for its price.
See our sample photos below.
The Android 7.1.1 Nougat runs the whole show. It is skinned with the company's proprietary Color OS 3.2. There's a recent security patch dated February 2018 which fixed security issues and other unmentioned bugs. The on-screen buttons are responsive giving you Back, Home, and Menu functions.
Just like Apple's iOS, the Color OS 3.2 does not have an app drawer. This means that all installed apps go directly to the Homescreen. I always love a clean and intuitive user interface, and the Color OS is one of those that presents on-display items in a neat and orderly fashion. Notification shade and Control Center are also minimalist in design. However, knowing that this is an Android device, I think I prefer to have both the controls and notifications in one area.
Just like Apple's iOS, the Color OS 3.2 does not have an app drawer. This means that all installed apps go directly to the Homescreen. I always love a clean and intuitive user interface, and the Color OS is one of those that presents on-display items in a neat and orderly fashion. Notification shade and Control Center are also minimalist in design. However, knowing that this is an Android device, I think I prefer to have both the controls and notifications in one area.
There are other notable features found in Color OS 3.2. My personal favorites are the Face Unlock and Clone Apps. The latter duplicates some of your apps so you can use different accounts simultaneously. The software is also loaded with Motion and Gesture support like double tapping to turn on screen or drawing characters to pull specified apps.
You may use the App Split Screen in case you need to boost your productivity. Just simply tap the multitasking button in the on-screen navigation menu to activate this function. This is a very useful feature, however, not all the apps are supported like Waze and Spotify. Phone App Manager is also very useful in freeing used RAM to speed up the phone's performance.
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| Split Screen in Landscape |
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| App Manager |
The OPPO A83 packs 32GB of native storage. However, you are limited to about 22GB of free space upfront. This is due to some pre-installed apps and system memory requirements.
Connectivity, Call Reception
The OPPO A83 comes with LTE connectivity, including 700MHz LTE. To be more specific, the device offers fast internet browsing and streaming even in closed spaces. Likewise, call quality is clear in most conditions.
Battery
OPPO A83 surprised me in terms of battery performance. It has a 3180 mAh battery that could last for more than a day in light to moderate use.
In our PC Mark Battery Performance Test, the OPPO A83 lasted for 12 hours and 1 minute. The PC Mark Work 2.0 Battery Performance is used to test the device's everyday activities including Web Browsing, Video Editing, Writing, Photo Editing, and Data Manipulation.
In our PC Mark Battery Performance Test, the OPPO A83 lasted for 12 hours and 1 minute. The PC Mark Work 2.0 Battery Performance is used to test the device's everyday activities including Web Browsing, Video Editing, Writing, Photo Editing, and Data Manipulation.
Furthermore, we subjected the device in a video loop test with a 41-minute video. The handset tallies 11 hours and 15 minutes. It repeated the said video 16 times. The longer battery life is due to the fact that the handset uses an efficient chipset and the HD+ display.
The Wrap
After the OPPO F5 series, the company made the OPPO A83. It's a great phone that could overshadow most of the handsets in its league. For its price, the OPPO A83 is remarkably good in most of the testing points that we've set - processor, camera, gaming, and surprisingly, battery.
The OPPO A83 is an unexpected royalty below Php 10K. The Philippine market is swarmed with phones that come with a knock-off feature of their Android flagship counterparts. Most of them are great in that specific feature but drastically fail in other metrics. But OPPO A83 is different. Its whole package is incredible - a capable phone that is better than the sum of its parts.
The Goodies
Long battery Life
Efficient and capable processor
Great selfie camera with AI beauty
Nice design
18:9 Full Screen display
Affordable price
The Bad Stuff
No fingerprint scanner
Scratch-prone body
Rating: 7.5/10
The Goodies
Long battery Life
Efficient and capable processor
Great selfie camera with AI beauty
Nice design
Affordable price
The Bad Stuff
No fingerprint scanner
Scratch-prone body
Rating: 7.5/10
