The Oppo A93 is Oppo’s attempt to conquer the mid-range smartphone market, and right off the bat, I’m going to go ahead and say it’s a good phone.
But that’s the problem; it’s a good phone that costs 130,000 Naira ($330). At that price, if you’re a budget smartphone shopper – with a very tight budget and a taste that doesn’t match your budget, yeah, I know you guys – you’re probably looking for something more in the corridor of excellent.
So why would you consider the A93? As it turns out, good phones are scarce these days, and although the price is a bit high, for everything it offers, the A93 is a ‘good’ deal. In this review, I explore all its good parts.
Oppo A93 – What’s in the box
Like a premium smartphone, the Oppo A93 comes with premium packaging. Inside, you get the phone itself, an earphone that’s obviously an Apple copy, an 18W fast charger, a USB C cable, a clear TPU case, a sim ejector tool, a warranty card, and the phone’s manual.
There’s a thin screen cover plastered to the A93’s screen, but if you want some actual protection for the phone’s display, you’re better off buying an actual screen protector.
Oppo A93 – Design and build quality
Awesome build
The A93 is an excellent looking phone, and I say this as someone very particular about smartphone designs. It’s sleek, feels very portable, and at the back, there’s a distinctive two-tone matte finish that gives the A93 character.
Minimalist and lightweight
The camera bump looks very iPhony, but it’s so flawless that I’m not complaining. All this paired with the A93’s thinly bezelled screen gives the phone a very distinct and eye-catching look. I like that phone is lightweight but still very sturdy to hold; Oppo has gone for the minimalist form factor and got it spot-on, in my opinion.
An interesting face
At the front of the Oppo A93, you’ll find a hole punch on the screen housing the two front-facing cameras. It gives the phone an interesting look, and even though there’s a fairly thick chin (but thin bezels), this phone looks like something you could stare at all day and not get bored.
It’s an all-plastic build
I guess the only noteworthy drawback is that this is a plastic build – plastic frame and plastic back – as opposed to the glass sandwich design you’d see on pricier phones. It looks like it would quickly pick up scratches, especially on the glossy edges, but then again, plastic is more durable than glass, so you’re not really giving up much here.
Oppo A93 – Specs and performance
Top-tier specs with one drawback
The Oppo A93 is a mid-range phone with very beefy specs. You get 8GBs of RAM and 128GBs of UFS 2.1 storage, and this setup draws power from an onboard Mediatek MT6779V Helio P95. Interestingly, Oppo shipped the A-series’ former generation (the A92) with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SOC, which is arguably better than what is in the A93.
That chip is based on an 11nm process compared to the 12nm architecture of the Helio P95, with better performance ratings and stronger energy savings capability. This comparison by Notebookcheck does more justice on the subject.
Works like charm
Anyways on the A93, the Mediatek MT6779V Helio P35 is still a good enough processor. Through the time I’ve had the phone, I’m yet to come across any lag, hitch, or crash. Everything feels smooth, and the entire UX experience as delivered by Color OS – Oppo’s Android skin atop native Android – is purely seamless.
Oppo A93 – Camera quality
Very good camera
How good is the Oppo A93 camera? Well, quite good per my tests. Images were crisp with fine amounts of detail, and the colours though a bit punchy, were well-toned to make for real pictures. All this is thanks to a quad-camera setup on the A93 with a 48MP main (wide), an 8MP ultrawide, and dual 2MP depth sensors.
Decent amount of bokeh
The main 48MP camera has an aperture size of F1.7 to let in enough light. Shots come out with just the right amount of bokeh, and in portrait mode, the phone does even more AI processing to churn out some captivating photos.
I could go on and on, but the images speak for themselves
Upfront, the dual 16MP wide and 2MP depth selfie camera setup delivers relatively good results. Pictures are decent but not as punchy as you’d expect, and there’s a tendency for the AI beautification effect to go overboard. Some pictures just felt a bit too ‘plasticky.’
Night mode
One other thing to note, the Oppo A93 comes with a default night mode camera setting, which is quite handy since the only issue I had with the Oppo A93’s camera was shooting in poorly lit scenes. Turned on, this setting optimizes the camera to shoot in low light conditions, and the pictures did come out better with this setting turned on than without it.
Video quality
The A93 can shoot 4K at 30 fps if you go into the settings to activate that feature. On default, however, it shoots HD 1080p reels at 30 fps. Video quality is excellent for the price, but it sure does lack the vibrance and depth that you’d get in pictures taken by the phone.
Oppo A93 – Display quality
Display quality is not a standout point for the Oppo A93. It’s a 6.43 inch HD panel rated at 1080 x 2400p and with a pixel density of 409ppi. Reasonably good numbers for the price, and in practice, the screen looks good, but if you look closely enough, you can definitely make out the individual pixels.
You get an AMOLED display panel
On the plus side, the Oppo A93’s display is an AMOLED panel, and that means you get darker blacks, overall punchier colours, and on this phone, a well-executed always-on display. I did notice that for certain apps (like Reddit), the signature Amoled black was a bit washed out compared to other AMOLED display phones. At first, it seemed like this was maybe down to screen, but in the phone menu, blacks are rendered with pitch-black depth – it’s just a glitch that affects third-party apps, so probably a software issue.
Oppo A93 – Battery capacity
The Oppo A93 is powered by a 4000mAh battery that has performed surprisingly well for the short while I’ve had it. The phone lasted eight days since I last charged it to 100%, with a screen-on-time of about 14 hours and 15 mins.
Fair to note that there were a few short charges during this period, and I pretty much had the phone on standby without grinding it too much. But you can see how good the battery is when you factor in the fact that at 11%, it still has enough juice to power the phone for almost two hours.
Fast charging straight out of the box
Fast charging is standard on the Oppo A93, all thanks to an 18W charger that’s included in the box. It took me about 15 minutes to get the phone from 5% to 30% and another 2 hours to get it to full capacity. Safe to say, you won’t be spending time close to any wall outlet if you do get this device. You don’t get wireless charging support, though.
Oppo A93 – Extras
In-display fingerprint sensor
This review cannot be complete with a mention of Oppo’s flawless execution of an in-display fingerprint sensor on the A93. I’ve used this device for well over two weeks now. Every time, the sensor was correct in identifying my fingerprint and unlocking the phone snappily.
Oppo has also included face recognition on the A93, but unlike the fingerprint system, it’s not as fast, nor is it as accurate. It still works a few times any way – so a useful gimmick feature.
Oppo A93 – pricing and availability
If you’ve got 130,000 Naira ($330), you can grab the Oppo A93 from your favorite online marketplace (Konga/Jumia inclusive). When I got the phone, I bought it for 112,000 Naira, although that was directly from the Oppo store on Jumia. That store is currently out of stock for the device, so you’re pretty much resigned to third-party sellers.
What’s not to like
Two words – THE PRICE. 130,000 Naira is a lot to pay for a mid-range Android smartphone, and I’m pretty sure most budget – midrange smartphone shoppers share this sentiment.
But (there’s always a but), the Oppo A93 does make a strong case with its feature-set to say that it’s worth this price – and I agree. It’s Just that if the phone had cost a little bit less, I wouldn’t be shrugging my shoulders to say I agree – I’ll straight up tell you that it’s the best midranger available in the market right now.
Bottom line – should you buy the A93
If you’re looking for the perfect well-rounded mid-range Android smartphone that doesn’t cut any corners, then the Oppo A93 is a worthy consideration. However, I’ll go on to tell you that there are many other smartphones in the market that don’t come with one or two of the features you’d find in the Oppo A93 – but are still great phones nonetheless – and (perhaps more importantly) cost way less.
It’s a decision that comes down to your taste. Do you want a posh, polished, and optimized phone for an additional 40,000 Naira ($101), or are you willing to take a few tradeoffs to keep the extra money? Your choice.
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