OPPO A96 In-Depth Review: Cool Looking 256GB Phone At A Decent Price
April 18, 2022Performance: Snapdragon 680, 8GB RAM
Main Display: 6.59-inch FHD+ (1080×2412)
Weight: 190g
Storage: 256GB
Battery: 5,000 mAh
Features: 1080p
Rear Camera: 50 MP Main, 2MP Depth
Front Camera: 16 MP, 1080 Video recording
Rating:8/10
Price: RM1,299
Unlike most manufacturers, OPPO seems to put similar effort into designing its budget and mid-range phones as it does for its flagship devices. Case in point, the OPPO A96. The company has used its proprietary glow design method to inject a fusion of colors to the rear panel.
This is especially true of Pearl Pink. The color palette oscillates between frost white, pink and turquoise, depending on how light its surface. It’s a tasteful combination that will definitely appeal to people who appreciate these jazzy designs. A more subdued option would be Starry Black, which gives off a more neutral sunburst effect.
Choosing between these two color schemes will depend on which one suits your personality best. As a member of the glitterati crowd, I’d naturally lean toward Pearl Pink. It’s far more striking, putting it in line with the look of the more expensive Reno 7 Series. It’s this attention to detail that is indicative of how much care goes into the production of each model.
The Looks
The A96 measures about 164.4mm x 75.7mm x 8.4mm and features a contemporary unibody design. Its rear case and front screen are fused to the thin metal frame, which for our review unit is finished in Rose Gold. On the right is the power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader. On the left is the volume rocker, which is easily accessible because it is placed in the middle.
At the bottom of the frame are the 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type -C charging port, speaker and microphone. In this day and age, it’s good to see that the “legacy” jack still lives on. OPPO doesn’t force you to ditch the cord and join the wireless revolution, instead it offers more of a gentle nudge in the form of its wireless earbuds.
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Unlike the OPPO Reno 7 Z, the A96 doesn’t incorporate the halo lighting effect around its camera array. Instead, it’s a standard, twin lens layout that protrudes slightly from the rear shell – typical design features current generation OPPO phones. Said array houses a 50MP and 2MP sensor respectively, but more on that later.
The Performance
OPPO has chosen to give the A96 a Snapdragon 680 chipset and though it may not offer groundbreaking power, the performance seems to be adequate. If you use the phone for regular use like browsing the web, streaming videos, chatting on WhatsApp or playing arcade games, then you needn’t worry too much.
The processor and GPU are able to handle said tasks with relative ease. You will notice some intermittent lag or hesitation when switching between several different apps at once, but it’s a rare occurrence. This is due in part to it having 8GB RAM and the ability of the software to cleverly manage background processes so as to not bog down the overall performance.
When necessary, it can allocate part of its 256GB internal storage as “temporary” RAM to help boost performance for multi-tasking and meet app demands for a smoother experience. This happens seamlessly in the background, and as such, you won’t notice anything amiss.
Some of the aforementioned hesitation is also cleverly hidden by the quick responses of the 90Hz display. It’s a 6.59-inch, FHD (1080 x 2412) screen with a 96% NTSC wide color gamut. Pictures and videos look quite vivid, which is enough to make streaming content or playing games an enjoyable affair.
OPPO claims that it has a 90.8% screen-to-body ratio but despite that, the A96 still has a sizable bezel at the bottom. Though typical of mid-range smartphones, we were hoping for a thinner profile for 2022. The 16MP selfie camera is offset to the extreme left, which is the ideal placement because it doesn’t distract you when watching full screen content, horizontally.
Color contrast and saturation can be adjusted to one of two presets: Vivid or Gentle Mode. Each effect is self explanatory and offers either an eye popping display or a gentler experience that’s easier on most eyes. Overall, the calibration is good enough that either options offers a decent viewing experience.
OPPO’s also given the A96 a system booster option. This allows the phone to provide priority to the game that’s being played over everything else. This includes performance allocation, notification behavior and the like. It tries to help ensure that gameplay remains smooth and that you are able to have uninterrupted sessions.
Helping to keep everything cool, is the built-in 3D heat dissipation structure that comprises hardware and software level integration to intelligently control the temperature. Throughout my experience with the phone, it didn’t get uncomfortable to hold. The body did get a little warm when playing games or recording videos, but didn’t rise high enough to be considered uncomfortable.
The Cameras
Picture and video quality are quite decent. The A96 has a 50MP main camera and a 2MP bokeh one. The former takes 12.5MP photos by default, but through the use of pixel binning technology, balloons the definition to the stated 50MP. It’s a similar approach other manufacturers use to get around certain hardware limitations.
Overall, pictures look fairly sharp and bright. Contrast seems to be a little overzealous at times, meaning the grass, flowers or any prominent coloring is boosted, aggressively. This does allow a picture to look really good by sacrificing a certain amount of realism in the process. This isn’t always the case because ambient lighting does play a role in the overall outcome.
The foreground is kept in good focus but to the detriment of the background. In certain scenarios, we noticed that pictures had a slight blur to their respective backgrounds. This can be tempered somewhat by holding the phone firm and allowing the AI technology to do its “thing”.
For the most part, the AI is able to do a good job of focusing on the subject while making minute adjustments, where necessary. This results in decent picture quality regardless of how much ambient lighting is available. This includes night time photography. Night shots are surprisingly usable even when taken in ill lit areas.
It’s a testament to how clever software is able to compensate for certain limitations and excel at restoring loss in detail. That said, the overall quality is not on par with the Reno 7 Pro or OPPO’s other high end devices. But it’s decent enough for everyday use. The 2MP bokeh camera is just as good at helping to capture Instagram worthy portrait shots.
At the front is a 16MP camera that is quite good at taking selfies. It provides clear and “touched up” pictures that hides imperfections and tends to highlight your best features. It too dilutes the overall “realistic” look but does ensure that you look your best.
The AI natural retouching feature helps to remove skin blemishes and other imperfections in a photo to allow you to look your best. That said, it’s a little aggressive sometimes by making the skin texture look a little too smooth. Don’t get me wrong, the pictures are extremely flattering, but it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
The flash works with the AI software to help fill the room with proper ambient lighting. It isn’t a miracle worker, but works well enough that pictures taken in ill lit areas are usable for posting on social media sites. This is essentially a mid-range device, so temper your expectations.
Video quality is just as decent but the absence of proper image stabilization does affect overall quality. This is especially true when panning or shooting while walking about. Sudden movements will induce blur or distortion. The AI software does help reduce the effect to a certain degree, but it too isn’t a miracle worker.
A noteworthy feature is the AI Palette. This allows you to save color and brightness presets from a previously touched up picture, and apply said preference to other pictures or new ones. It allows you to save filters that can easily be reapplied when needed to ensure that the end result fits the desired outcome.
Battery Life
OPPO has given the A96 a 5,000mAh battery, which means you should expect between 1.5 to 2 days of general use out of it. When you do run low on power, the super power saving mode will come in handy. It helps limit overall power use to ensure that even on 5% residual power, you are able to get close to an hour’s use out of the phone.
That said, we advise against the practice of allowing battery charge to dip below 20% at any point during normal usage. This will help protect overall battery health and ensure that it can retain its original charge levels for much longer.
OPPO has also included something called optimized night charging. The A96 learns your sleeping habits and adjusts the overall charge it receives while left charging at night. It will allow the battery to be charged up to 80% then stop charging. The remaining 20% will be topped up one hour before you wake up.
This similarly thoughtful software that Sony uses to ensure that your phone isn’t constantly being overcharged at night to the detriment of overall battery health. It also helps reduce unnecessary power consumption and electricity use.
However, the A96 comes with a 33W fast charger, so it’s highly doubtful that you’d have a need to keep your phone plugged in at night. An hour spent on the charger, once you get up in the morning, will ensure that you get enough juice to last the entire day. But it’s nice to see that OPPO has been thoughtful enough to include proper battery optimization tech.
Should You Buy One?
The OPPO A96 is a decent mid-range phone that is bound to be of interest to many users. The cool color scheme, decent camera tech and performance optimizing software make it a good prospect for many budget-minded buyers. It doesn’t have any inherent flaws to speak of, but I would advise potential buyers to temper their expectations.
This isn’t a flagship device, and as such, expecting it to measure up to phones that are twice or thrice its MSRP, would not be fair. If you are looking for a full 360-degree AI experience get the Reno 7 Pro, it offers a lot more, which includes a stunning look. But for the rest of us, the A96 is a good option, especially if you don’t want to break the bank.
