Challenging the king of the hill!
Aside from its similarly-specced Snapdragon 430 rivals, the Huawei Nova 2 Lite has another formidable challenger with the OPPO A83. Being a best-seller two weeks since it was launched, the Nova 2 Lite it up to a big challenge in dethroning the so-called king of the hill in the under-10K price range. Let’s do a quick look at their specs:
Nova 2 Lite Specs
- 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor
- 3GB of RAM
- 5.99-inch HD+ display, 18:9 display aspect ratio, 1440 x 720 resolution
- 32GB of storage, expandable via dedicated microSD
- 13-megapixel camera with f/2.2 aperture lens, 2-megapixel secondary camera with f/2.0 aperture lens, PDAF, LED flash
- 8-megapixel f/2.0 front cameras with selfie toning flash
- Dual SIM
- 3G, LTE
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock
- 3,000mAh battery
- Android Oreo with EMUI 8.0
A83 Specs
- 2.5GHz MediaTek MT6763 octa-core processor
- 3GB of RAM
- Mali-G71 GPU
- 5.7-inch HD+ IPS Display
- 32GB of expandable storage
- 4G, LTE
- Dual SIM
- 13-megapixel f/2.2 rear camera with LED flash
- 8-megapixel f/2.2 front camera
- WiFi, Bluetooth
- GPS, A-GPS, Face Unlock
- 3180mAh battery
- Android 7.1.1 Nougat with ColorOS 3.2
Internals: Newer internals on the A83
While both the Nova 2 Lite and A83 have the same 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, the A83 uses a newer Helio P23 processor that comes with a higher clock speed and AI abilities.
Display: Same ground
Nothing much to compare here as both have the same 5.7-inch HD+ display.
Camera: A bonus on the Nova 2 Lite’s depth camera
While both have the same 13-megapixel rear camera, the Nova 2 Lite has a 2-megapixel depth camera that aids in bokeh shots and portrait modes. We will have to do some tests on the Nova 2 Lite if the secondary camera does help in real-life tests.
As for the front camera, the Nova 2 Lite has a slightly higher aperture at F/2.0 compared to the F/2.2 aperture on the A83. However, the A83 has a smart selfie feature that optimizes the amount of beautification in your selfies, which can be a plus. Like the rear camera, we will be testing the Nova 2 Lite to see if it produces good selfies like the A83.
Battery: Slightly bigger battery on the A83
Aside from a bigger battery, the A83’s better processor gives it a good battery life as well. On our tests, we got a total of almost 10 hours with the A83 with PCMark’s battery test.
However, do not count out the Nova 2 Lite, as the Snapdragon 430 processor is using is also power-efficient as well. We will do our usual tests on the Nova 2 Lite to see if it can match the A83’s battery life in spite of using a smaller battery and older processor.
Extras: Android Oreo!
While the Nova 2 Lite uses an older processor, it has a few advantages over the A83 as it comes with Android Oreo out of the box, and has a fingerprint scanner-something that is evidently missing on the A83 as it opts to depend on face unlock instead.
Verdict: It is going to be a challenge
Given that the A83 is priced a hair below Php 10K, the Nova 2 Lite will be up for a challenge. In spite of having a dual-rear camera setup, Android Oreo, and a fingerprint scanner, the Nova 2 Lite’s main hurdle is the fact that it uses an almost 3-year old processor. Nonetheless, the Snapdragon 430 has been a favorite of many brands for a good reason, and this aging processor can still keep up with some of the newer processors out there.
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