OPPO Malaysia launched the OPPO A96 a week ago, which is surprisingly early since its predecessor was launched last year November. This time around, the main selling point of the phone is having double the storage of its predecessor. Apart from that, OPPO has also made some changes. We are going to find out whether these changes are good or not in this review.
OPPO A96 Specs
- 6.59-inch Full HD+ LCD 90Hz Color-Rich punch-hole display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor
- 8GB LPDDR4x RAM
- Up to 256GB UFS 2.2 storage
- Cameras
- Rear: 50MP main + 2MP Bokeh camera
- Front: 16MP
- 5,000mAh battery with 33W SUPERVOOC
- ColorOS 11.1 based on Android 11
The unboxing experience is pretty much the same as other OPPO devices. Thankfully, you still get the charging brick and TPU case in the box, something that certain flagship devices missing nowadays.
The OPPO A96 has a larger 6.59-inch Full HD+ display, but OPPO has opted for an LCD panel with a 90Hz refresh rate instead of an AMOLED panel with a 60Hz refresh rate solution. The screen quality is decent, but don’t expect it to have deep blacks. The phone does feel smoother overall, though having an LCD panel also means that it’s not possible to have an in-display fingerprint sensor.
For the first time, the OPPO A96 has a dual-speaker setup — one doubles up as an earpiece and another at the bottom. Don’t expect it to have the flagship-level audio experience, but at least it is better than before.
The power button on the side now doubles up as a fingerprint sensor, while the bottom still houses the 3.5mm audio jack, microphone, USB-C port, and speaker grille. OPPO has changed the glossy frame from last year’s A95 to an aluminum frame, which is slippier but feels better to touch.
Available in Starry Black and Pearl Pink, the OPPO A96 features the OPPO Glow Design that allows the phone to be scratch and fingerprint-resistant. However, this is not the more premium material like the Reno7 series, the back is made of plastic after all. By the way, OPPO also mentioned that the phone is actually IP54 dustproof and waterproof.
Powering the OPPO A96 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor with 8GB LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage. Yup, the new Snapdragon 680 processor is better than the A95’s Snapdragon 662 processor in terms of performance and power efficiency since it is now based on 6nm architecture and has higher clock speeds. The phone also has 256GB of storage, which is double of its competitors. It also supports MicroSD for storage expansion, if you think 256GB is not enough for you.
The OPPO A96 runs on ColorOS 11.1 based on Android 11. The user experience is pretty similar to other OPPO devices with some features missing. The phone still comes with lots of pre-installed apps, but thankfully you can uninstall most of the apps.
Unlike its predecessor, the A96 now comes with a dual-camera setup on the back — a 50MP f/1.8 main camera + a 2MP Bokeh camera. It also has a 16MP front-facing camera for taking selfies.
Image quality generally is quite decent with great dynamic range. Yet again, the phone is unable to capture low-light photos with crisp details in night mode, the white balance appears to be slightly warmer.
The OPPO A96 packs a 5,000mAh battery with 33W SUPERVOOC. Based on my usage, the phone can last through a day or two easily with around 6 to 7 hours of screen-on-time.
Final Words
Retailing at RM1,299, the OPPO A96 is priced slightly higher than its predecessor, which is quite reasonable as it comes with some changes that made the phone even better. It now has double the storage, even compared to some flagship phones. The performance is even better than before, coupled with an LCD screen that has a higher 90Hz refresh rate. Let’s not forget it now also has a dual-speaker setup, not every smartphone in this price range will include this feature.
Buy Here:
Yay
- Dual-speaker setup
- Better performance with double the storage
- Impressive battery life
Nay
- No more AMOLED panel
- The back feels rather cheap
- No ultra-wide camera