OPPO A83 Review: Pint-Sized Selfie Expert?

OPPO A83 Review: Pint-Sized Selfie Expert?

OPPO A83 Review

We Unbox and Take a Closer Look at the OPPO A83!

It’s been a few months since we’ve handled an A series device from OPPO but, before 2017 ended, the Chinese company had released the newest member of their family of smartphones sporting an 18:9 display — the OPPO A83. Today, the device was officially launched in the Philippines and we’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to play around with the device beforehand to be able to give you the skinny on whether or not it’s worth spending your money on. Before we share our thoughts, let’s show you what comes inside the box with every purchase of the OPPO A83 and a look at its spec sheet while we’re at it.

OPPO A83 Specs

  • 2.5GHz MediaTek MT6763 octa-core processor
  • 3GB of RAM
  • Mali-G71 GPU
  • 5.7-inch HD+ IPS Display, 720×1440 resolution
  • 32GB of expandable storage
  • 4G, LTE
  • Dual SIM
  • 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
  • 8-megapixel front camera
  • WiFi, Bluetooth
  • GPS, A-GPS, Face Unlock
  • 3180mAh battery
  • Android 7.1.1 Nougat with ColorOS 3.2

OPPO A83 Review

What’s In the Box?

The OPPO A83 comes in packaging that we’ve come to expect of the Chinese brand with the product proudly displayed with its most alluring features. Slide of the sleeve and pop open the box and you’ve got the device along with its accompanying accessories, which include: a silicon case, SIM ejector tool, the usual documentation, earphones, micro USB cable, and its wall charger.

Looks and Feels Familiar

The OPPO A83 follows the overall design and build quality of its brother in the F series — the OPPO F5 Youth; almost as if the F series device has been shrunken down into a slightly smaller frame. You’ve still got a polycarbonate plastic unibody build that gently curves to give it better ergonomics but the display still doesn’t blend in seamlessly with the frame; something you won’t notice once you’ve slapped on the case that the phone comes with.

For button and port layout, you have the power button and access to the triple slotted SIM tray on the right side of the device.

You’ll find the volume rocker on the left.

On the bottom of the A83 are the speaker grille, micro USB port, and headphone jack.

While it is pretty much the same device, the A83 lacks a fingerprint scanner. You can unlock the device with facial recognition and, thankfully, it works rather well. It has a respectable margin of error and works pretty well in dimly lit rooms too.

Downsized Display, Downsized Resolution

With the OPPO A83, you’re getting an HD+ Full-Screen Display that measures in at 5.7-inches; making this phone OPPO’s most affordable smartphone with an 18:9 screen. While we’re a little bummed that they couldn’t bump up the resolution to Full HD+, it makes sense given the A83’s price point and it still does a bang-up job for browsing the web or watching a couple of videos to pass the time. It’s no AMOLED panel but colors still have a nice pop with a decent contrast ratio and good viewing angle with just enough brightness for use outdoors.

The lone speaker on the bottom produces an adequate amount of volume with minimal distortion if you’ve got it maxed out but you’ll definitely want to use headphones to really enjoy your tunes or appreciate the movies you can stream on the A83.

Spec Sheet Deja Vu

Under the hood of the OPPO A83 is a MediaTek MT6763 (Helio P23) octa-core processor, which has been paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage; exactly the same processing package as the OPPO F5 Youth. It’s got more than enough power for day-to-day tasks but you may want to take it easy keeping several apps running in the background to ensure it runs as smooth as possible.

You can do some light gaming on the OPPO A83 as well. We tested it with a couple of titles and we were pretty happy with the results as you can see in the screenshots above. The A83 managed an average of 28 fps on Asphalt 8, while playing Arena of Valor on the highest settings with the option for higher frame rates turned on yielded an average of 35 fps. While we were unable to test it out with NBA 2K18, we’re thinking you’ll need to tune the settings to make sure it plays stutter free.

ColorOS Helps You Game Better 

Being that this is an OPPO device, you’ve got ColorOS 3.2 on top of Android 7.1.1 and it runs without a hitch. We just wish that retained most of what we’ve come to love about the Android ecosystem with the UI overlay, instead of making it something akin to iOS. One thing gamers may like on the A83 is its Game Acceleration that “intelligently adjusts system resources for a smoother experience” and the fact that it can limit the network access to background apps so you can get the most bandwidth plus it can block notifications so you can concentrate on the game; that last part is a bit of double-edged sword, so use that feature wisely.

AI Selfies on a Budget

For capturing memories to share on your Facebook feeds, the OPPO A83 comes equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera at an aperture of f/2.2. While it doesn’t have a ton of bells and whistles, the rear camera produces great photographs for a phone at this price point. Photos come out relatively sharp with a good amount of color accuracy and dynamic range though quality starts to go downhill once the lights are low.

For taking selfies, you have an 8-megapixel at the same aperture as the rear camera. The OPPO A83 also comes equipped with the Smart Selfie feature that automatically adjusts the level of beautification when you snap a photo of yourself. It does a good job without going overboard just like the OPPO F5 and you can even add on software assisted bokeh as well but, again, it’s best to keep yourself well-lit to get the best results.

Lower Resolution Means More Juice

The OPPO A83 has a 3180mAh battery and since it doesn’t have to push out a lot of pixels, the phone has really good lasting power. It clocked in a time of 9 hours and 47 minutes using PC Mark’s Battery Benchmark, which real-world use backs up with enough juice to get through your typical 9 to 5 with enough left over to brave Metro Manila traffic. Sadly, we’re still left wanting OPPO’s VOOC charge capabilities to be able to top up the phone faster when you’re running low.

Verdict: A Good Choice for Selfie Aficionados on a Tight Budget

At Php 9,990, is the OPPO A83 worth considering. Well, if you had to strictly adhere to a Php 10k budget and love taking selfies, then — yes — we definitely think you should put the A83 on your shortlist. You’ve got the same processing package as the F series of smartphones that can handle quite a bit of heavy lifting and takes tiny sips from its 3180mAh battery. While you do have the option to save up a little more to get an upgrade to the OPPO F5 Youth, there’s enough of a gap to make this device stand out from its siblings in the F series and make it a pretty good choice for a smartphone that’s just below Php 10k.

Click the links below to check out our other reviews for OPPO’s products:

The OPPO F5 Celebrity-Powered Selfie Expert Launch at City of Dreams

5 Power Tips for the OPPO F5

 

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