The latest budget smartphone launched in Malaysia by OPPO is another phone from their A series intended to compete with other phones from an entry-level price range. As a cheaper alternative to the Zeno series, the OPPO A95 is pretty impressive in terms of design and performance.
We have had the opportunity to have a hands-on experience with the OPPO A95 and based on our playtesting, the phone performs surprisingly well in some aspects, notably its camera and video processing. However, taking into account its budget-friendly price, the phone still seems a little lacklustre in certain areas which are slightly disappointing.
Nevertheless, our impression of the phone is overall positive and it looks like a viable upgrade suitable for those who are on a tight budget and are not concerned with premium features.
Here's what our video team thinks of this basic but promising smartphone!
Table of Contents
- Specifications
- Build and Design
- Display
- Gaming and Processor (Performance)
- Camera
- Battery
- Conclusion
Specifications
- Processor: Snapdragon 662 (11 nm), Octa-core, Adreno 610 GPU
- Display: 6.43 inches, AMOLED, 60Hz, 800 nits (peak brightness), 20:9 ratio
- Memory: 6GB + 128GB / 8GB + 128GB
- Rear Camera: 48MP + 2MP + 2MP
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Battery: Li-Po 5000 mAh, non-removable, fast charging 33W (54% in 30 min), SuperVOOC 2.0
- Connectivity: USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go, 3.5mm Jack
- Operating System: Android 11, ColorOS 11.1
- Other Features: Fingerprint sensor (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Build and Design
Compared to other smartphones from the same price range, the OPPO A95 has a beautiful, premium-looking design that makes it look more expensive than it really is.. The build that we got to review came with a glowing rainbow silver coating which changes colour and hue under different lighting conditions.
The build also comes with a dual matte finish, along with fingerprint and scratch resistance, making the exterior of the phone very sleek and elegant. The OPPO A95 is pretty lightweight at 175g and overall feels pretty similar to the more expensive OPPO Reno Series phones.
On the back of the phone, the camera module bump is quite minimal so users will not need to worry about scratching the camera lenses when putting the phone down. At the bottom, there is a 3.5 mm port, a USB Type-C port, and a mono bottom facing speaker. The audio quality from the speaker is decent, but since it is only a single speaker, the audio listening experience is not as great as it should be.
Display
The OPPO A95 comes with a 6.43 inch AMOLED display. Unfortunately, the display is only 60Hz which is quite disappointing even for a budget smartphone, since we now live in an era where the screen refresh rate makes or breaks a phone. Nevertheless, the screen is still quite nice with a 90.8% screen-to-body ratio, along with the always-on display option which helps make the phone look more like a premium device.
The in-display fingerprint sensor is quick and has good responsiveness. Not only that, but the display has nice and vibrant colours with good colour contrast levels, which ensures better day-to-day video consumption, especially for gaming and watching videos.
As for the UI, the phone runs on OPPO’s own ColorOS 11.1 which is based on Android 11 OS. Moreover, the skin and UI look good and are significantly more user-friendly compared to some of the other User Interfaces out there.
Gaming and Processor (Performance)
Taking into consideration that the OPPO A95 is a budget smartphone, the performance of the phone is quite impressive. With the Snapdragon 662 processor, the phone has 128GB of storage and 6 or 8GB of RAM. The RAM is sufficient for casual mobile games even at 6GB, so users will not have to worry about lag or stutters while gaming.
There is also a feature for virtual RAM expansion where users can further increase their RAM by up to 5GB. This allows for better gaming performance and multitasking. On top of that, the phones come with a special in-built software called Game Space that provides vital information and shortcuts to ensure a more enjoyable gaming experience.
Some of the features of Game Space include the option to configure settings such as cooling modes, display information such as GPU and CPU usage, as well as different performance presets to suit your gaming preferences.
However, given that the phone only has a refresh rate of 60Hz, users will have to turn down their games’ video settings to a lower configuration so that they can retain that 60 frames-per-second (fps). With that, the graphics quality of certain games may be significantly lower if you want the best performance while gaming.
Camera
Like many models of the OPPO A series, the camera is one of the main selling points of the OPPO A95. The phone sports a triple rear camera setup with a 48MP Main Camera, 2MP Macro Camera and 2MP Depth Camera. Whereas, the OPPO A95 has 16MP front camera which is pretty standard for a phone in this price range..
The main downside of the camera is that it does not come with an ultra-wide feature. Ultra-wide cameras are very common and are more in-demanding modern smartphones compared to a macro camera. The fact that the camera is unable to take ultra-wide pictures is slightly disappointing.
That said, OPPO A95’s cameras are still capable of taking breathtaking photos and videos. The phone’s video and image processing is excellent, with great colours, balanced contrast levels and adjustable exposure. Not only that, but the High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode allows the user to take high-quality selfies and photos even in low-light conditions. Overall, OPPO has done a great job on the software side of things, which makes up for the less remarkable camera specs.
Both the front and rear cameras record videos at a maximum resolution of 1080p. The image stabilization is also pretty decent, though the front camera does not perform as well as the rear cameras.
Battery
OPPO A95 has a 5000mAh battery with 33W Flash Charge. The battery life is pretty decent and according to our testing, one full charge can last up to a little over a day on moderate usage.
There’s also OPPO’s SuperVOOC 2.0 charge feature which enables super-fast charging. With 5 minutes of charge, the battery life can last up to 2 hours of YouTube playback, which is pretty impressive for a budget phone.
Conclusion
- Our rating: 7/10
- Pros: Clean build quality and design; Excellent image processing; Good battery life; Good performance
- Cons: Only 60Hz Refresh Rate display; No ultra-wide camera; Single fire speaker affects the audio listening experience
- Who is it for? The OPPO A95 is a very affordable smartphone at an entry-level price paired with a build and features that are on par with mid-range smartphones. For RM1099, the phone is certainly suitable for tight budgeters in search of a phone upgrade.
However, despite the budget-friendly price tag, the phone still seems underwhelming in certain areas such as the display and audio listening, to name a few. Many phones at a similar price range can perform better in these areas, so the OPPO A95 doesn’t really hold an edge over the others in this regard.
The phone still has its perks as the build and design is top-notch, as the colours and finishing give it a premium look that makes it look more expensive than it actually is. The picture and video quality are also outstanding, despite the fact that there is no ultra-wide camera.
In short, the OPPO A95 is a decent option for its price, but there are many better options out there.
The phone is cheap and has an elegant and premium design. However, it has a low refresh rate (60Hz) and lacks many features that other devices in the same price range have, such as an ultra-wide camera and better audio output. There are many better options of similar prices, but if you like the design, want a decent camera setup, are running a tight budget, and do not mind the downsides, then the OPPO A95 may be suitable for you.
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