Budget smartphones can be a nightmare sometimes. Most of the time we will only recommend a budget smartphone for those who are looking for a secondary device to work with. If you are looking for a daily driver, we would say that you might be much better off spending a little more on mid-range smartphones. It is 2023 though and things change all the time, entry-level smartphones can be good devices now, like this vivo Y78 5G that they just launched.
On paper, it ticks all the right boxes. It has 8GB of RAM, 256GB in storage, Android 14, and even a 64-Megapixel camera. The processor though is not a mid-range system on a chip (SoC) like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 700 series processors. Instead, you get the entry-level Snapdragon 695. That does not mean that you are getting short handed here. You still get 5G connectivity like most modern smartphones do now. It is also capable of taking videos at 4K resolution when you need it to. It will last even longer than most flagships today thanks to its 5,000mAh battery and the fact that the SoC is less power hungry than even the latest mid-range smartphones.
What greets you when you pick up the device is not some random LCD display that offers 720p resolution. You get a proper 120Hz AMOLED experience with a Full HD+ resolution on the 6.78-inch display. There is a 16-Megapixel front facing camera too on top of the display for video conferencing and selfies. Out the back is a 64-Megapixel shooter that is helped also by two other 2-Megapixel cameras for better depth and detailing; that is all you need really.
Within all the glass and aluminium body, you will find a huge 5,000mAh battery as mentioned before. It is not some old battery technology that offers you days of battery life but keeps you near a wall socket when it runs out too. It still offers 44W fast charging to keep charging times below two hours. There is even support for dual-SIM, which is expected these days.
Price and Availability
The Vivo Y78 5G will come in Dreamy Gold and Flare Black colour options. It will set you back MYR 1,399, which is really not a lot of money for a smartphone at this calibre. For more information on the new entry-level smartphone, you can visit Vivo’s website.
We get a lot of emails (not really) asking us; “we only have MYR 599 maximum to buy a smartphone, what do we buy?”. We sometimes will tell them to just bump their budget up a little bit to afford better, mid-range devices – especially if it is going to be their daily driver. Secondary device? Whatever works if it serves your calling and messaging purposes. What if you only have MYR 599 for a daily driver though? Can you still get a decent daily driver for that kind of money? With Xiaomi, it turns out, you can.
Take the Xiaomi Redmi 12 that was just launched for example. It is worth MYR 599, right on your budget. If you plan to get it at its launch (15th of July 2023), it will be MYR 100 below your budget too at MYR 499. It is an entry-level device but comes with everything you need in a daily driver device.
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
For starters, it packs MediaTek’s Helio G88 system on a chip (SoC) that clocks in at 2.0GHz. While the Helio G88 is not the most powerful processor you can find on an Android device, it is still no slouch when it comes to daily tasking and multitasking, especially with memory extension capabilities. You get up to 8GB of RAM with the device, enough to take on anything you might want to throw at it. With memory expansion, you will get more than 8GB of RAM to play with too for even better multitasking capabilities.
You also get up to 256GB of storage with it to store all kinds of things like your photos and videos. If that is not enough, you get to expand the storage to up to 1TB with a MicroSD card. You want this kind of storage for the kind of camera you get on the device.
You get a 50-Megapixel main shooter out the back of the device. Alongside the main camera is an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide camera and 2-Megapixel macro camera. The camera app on the device also offers seven different filmCamera filters that offer a different kind of photographic experience and creative choices. If you do take plenty of photos in 50-Megapixel, you will fill up the storage quickly.
Source: Xiaomi
If you are taking plenty of photos, you also want a large battery for it. The Redmi 12 comes with 5,000mAh of battery capacity. They say that the large battery can offer 23 days of standby time, 133 hours of music playback, 26 hours of online reading or 16 hours of continuous video playback. Your video is played on a high-resolution Full HD+ DotDisplay with 90Hz refresh rate measuring 6.79-inch. You can watch and read on the display for a long time as well with their low blue-light mode and Reading Mode 3.0 that protects your eyes at the same time.
Of course, it comes with everything you need in a daily driver like water resistance rating at IP 53. At 8.17mm, it is thin enough to be a regular mid-range or look like a flagship device. Unlike most flagship and mid-range smartphones, the Redmi 12 still offers you the convenience of a 3.5mm AUX combo jack. Its USB Type-C port also supports 18W of fast charging.
Price and Availability
The Xiaomi Redmi 12 is available in Midnight Black, Sky Blur, and Polar Silver colour options. As mentioned, prices start at MYR 599 (4GB + 128GB). It will be available 15th of July 2023 from authorised Xiaomi Stores, including official online stores at Shopee and Lazada. As mentioned earlier, if you do get it on the first sale date, you can get your Xiaomi Redmi 12 smartphone for MYR 499. For more information on the Xiaomi Redmi 12, you can head out to their website.
We get asked this question all the time; “What smartphone can I buy for less than MYR 1,000? The cheaper, the better”. The answer to that, obviously, is not as straightforward as choosing one smartphone amongst others. Well, it could be, but we just like to either mess with people, or we want to be sure that they are getting the right devices for themselves. Then again, modern smartphones are so good, you can hardly go wrong going with any one of them even if they set you back less than MYR 1,000.
Take the newly launched realme C53 for example, it will set you back MYR 599 and it comes with all the latest features you can expect a mid-range smartphone or even flagship smartphones to have. Of course, if it comes with everything that a flagships smartphone should come it, it will be rather expensive. For MYR 599, there are some compromises.
The first compromise comes from within the device. You get a UNISOC Tiger T615 system on a chip (SoC). It is not the most advanced integrated chip in the market at 12nm, but it does the job well enough. You cannot expect it to be a world eSports beater, but it does play games well enough when the mood takes you.
Alongside the SoC is a 6GB RAM that can be bolstered with another extra 6GB borrowed from the 128GB of storage. Obviously if you allocate an extra 6GB of storage for RAM use, you get less storage space. If you are filling up the storage fast though, you still have a MicroSD slot that you can utilise to expand its storage, not even your Samsung Galaxy S23 can do that.
The SoC should also run Android 13 with realme UI just fine as well on the large 6.74-inch display that offers Full HD+ resolution. It is a fast one too at up to 90Hz in refresh rate for hat extra smooth feel. For outdoor use, the display peaks out at 560nits, which may not sound very bright, but it works.
Above the display is a notch that houses an 8-Megapixel selfie camera that you can also use for video calls and record up to 720p videos at 30p. At the back though is a high-resolution 50-Megapixel main camera that is paired to another camera that they did not specify. We suspect it is a depth sensor.
Inside the device, keeping the realme C53 running an entire day is a 5,000mAh battery that can be charged at 33W at the maximum. While 5,000mAh should keep you running more than an entire day, it is nice to know that you can get the realme C53 plugged in and charged within just two hours before you have to get going again.
Price and Availability
As mentioned, the realme C53 entry-level smartphone will set you back MYR 599. It is now available in Champion Gold and Mighty Black colour options. You can get your hands on one via realme’s official store on Shopee and Lazada, their Official TikTok Store, and their official brand stores and dealers across the nation. For more information on realme’s latest C53, you can visit their website.
If you were planning to spend less than MYR 1,000 for a smartphone, we would usually tell you that you may not be able to expect too much from your smartphone in that price bracket. Most of the time, you get the bare basics of a smartphone. There is a small chance that you might want to think about upgrading a year or two later. This one might be different.
They call their new realme C55 “a Champion of the Segment”, a rather bold claim. To be fair to realme though, the C55 does offer a few things that you will not find on any other smartphone in its segment, at its asking price. For one, you get a 64-Megapixel camera, which is far from basic. You also get 256GB in storage, way more than what you usually get in the segment.
Everything else though is pretty much what you can expect from smartphones in this segment. No Qualcomm flagship stuff here, just a humble MediaTek Helio G88 system on a chip (SoC). It is still an octa-core processor though, not a slouch. You get up to 8GB of built-in RAM as well, nothing to shout about over smartphones in this segment. realme UI 4.0 allows you to ‘borrow’ up to 8GB of storage to beef the RAM up to 16GB though.
Outside, you find an IPS LCD display that offers up to 90Hz and Full HD+ in working resolution. Of course, it is covered with glass for some durability. As mentioned, you can opt for up to 256GB of storage. You can also expand that to up to 1TB via a MicroSD card too if you want.
Other than the 64-Megapixel main shooter, you will also find a 2-Megapixel black and white camera at the back. Out the front is an 8-Megapixel sensor for clear self-portraits. There is a small trade off here though. You can only record videos at Full HD resolution.
There is a small advantage in buying smartphones in this segment. You always get a larger than life battery pack within the chassis. In the realme C55, you get 5,000mAh to keep the realme C55 running all day and more. When you run out, you can charge the device at up to 33W charging speeds.
Price and Availability
The realme C55 is now available for pre-order on their official brand stores for MYR 699 onward. You can get yours in Sunshower and Rainy Night colour options. If you do pre-order your realme C55, you are entitled to a free realme Buds 2 Neo and 6 months of extended warranty. From the 31st of March 2023 onward, you can get your hands on the realme C55 at any of their brand stores, authorized dealers, their official online stores on Shopee and Lazada, and even their TikTok store. For more information on the realme C55, you can visit their website.
We always thought that the mid-range smartphone segment is the most competitive segment in the entire industry. While that much is true, we tend to forget as well that the entry-level smartphone segment is a rather competitive one too. As smartphones’ prices reach a high never seen before, cheaper devices are becoming more popular as viable choices for not just first-time smartphone buyers. They become an even more appealing prospect over flagship and mid-range devices since they are rather inexpensive to own and even replace.
You have plenty of choices in the entry-level space too. You get the usual Xiaomi, OPPO, realme, VIVO, and even Samsung in the space. In some sense, you are spoilt for choice still in the entry-level segment. There is a new kid on the block to add to your list of choices in the segment – FreeYond.
The FreeYond M5
FreeYond kicks off their Malaysian chapter with two smartphone devices. One of it is the FreeYond M5. The new M5, currently, is their most powerful smartphone device to hit the Malaysian shores.
The Android 12 device comes with a Unisoc T606 system on a chip (SoC). The eight-core integrated processor comes with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage to ensure that Android 12 runs as smooth as it can be even with multiple apps open at the same time. You want the large storage too with a 50-Megapixel main camera out the back supported by an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 2-Megapixel macro camera. If that is not enough, you get to expand your storage with a microSD card to up to 1TB.
It does not come with 5G connectivity, unfortunately. If you think about it though, 4G LTE connectivity is more than enough at this point of time. You can still thoroughly enjoy Netflix, YouTube, or even Prime Video via the 6.52-inch IPS display offering 720p HD+ resolution. To keep you enjoying your contents the entire day, you have a large 5,000 mAh battery that charges at 18W via USB Type-C.
The FreeYond F9
You need a secondary device, a cheap smartphone to keep your work separate from your life. You need something that does not hurt your pockets too much, yet something reliable. You need the FreeYond F9.
The budget entry-level device still comes with an octa-core processor that clocks at 1.6GHz. That powerful SoC is paired with up to 3GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You can even expand your storage with up to 1TB MicroSD card if you want.
The Android 12 Go OS is displayed in all its glory via the 6.52-inch iPS display that offers up to 720p HD+ resolution still. The display is also where you see the results of the 13-Megapixel main camera that works together with a 2-Megapixel camera. Above the display, you can find an 8-Megapixel selfie camera. You can even keep all of these things running for longer than a day with a 5,000mAh battery within the compact body of the FreeYond F9.
Price and Availability
The FreeYond M5 will be available in Malaysia July 2023 onward. The FreeYond F9 on the other hand is now available for purchase via Shopee. The FreeYond M5 starts at MYR 699 while the F9 starts at MYR 499.
When someone tells us the only have MYR 1,000 to spend on a smartphone, we always tell them to go to makers like OPPO, realme, or even POCO to find an entry-level option to fit the budget. Most of the time, you get better than expected hardware and experience as well when spending that kind of money on a smartphone you get from the Chinese brands. The Galaxy A series never really came up in the conversation. Imagine our surprise then to see Samsung reaching out to the entry-level segment with the Galaxy A14.
No, there is no launch event that came with the Galaxy A14; not like its bigger more premium mid-range and high-end brothers. Instead, they quietly launched the new device and announced it when no one was looking. Not to say that there isn’t buyers for this smartphone, there will always be someone looking for a budget smartphone solution.
The Samsung Galaxy A14 is nothing to shout about, really, in terms of hardware. It comes with Samsung’s very own Exynos 850 system on a chip (SoC) platform. It is not the most powerful chipset there is out there, nor is it the most advanced, nor does it pack 5G capabilities. In fact, Samsung has now favoured the Qualcomm platform for their most premium smartphones. It is still a capable processor with eight cores in tow clocked at a maximum 2.0 GHz. Alongside the processor is 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, all pretty basic stuff. You might also want to take note that the Chinese smartphone makers can offer you more RAM in the same price range. But most do not offer expandable memory while this does. You can insert a 1TB microSD into the smartphone to expand from its 128GB storage.
Source: Samsung
In terms of imaging, you still get a decent 50-Megapixel shooter out of the back supported by a 5-Megapixel ultra-wide camera, and 2-megapixel macro camera. Out the front is a powerful 13-Megapixel selfie camera that offers 1.6x more resolution than its predecessor. That camera is housed in a notch above a 6.6-inch Full HD+ resolution display, a standard in smartphones today. To keep the device running all day is a 5,000mAh battery with 15W charging capability within the 9.1mm thick body.
What is unique about this device though is its OneUI 5.1. It does not sound like much, but if you notice, most smartphones at this price will not run the latest and greatest overlay or even Android. They mostly ship with something a generation older or an older iteration of Android. The Samsung Galaxy A14 ships with Samsung’s latest interface and with that, the latest Android. They also promised that the device will stay relevant for at least the next two years (warranty covers two years) and receive security updates up to four years down the road. OneUI 5.1 on the Galaxy A14 also comes with RAM Plus to make your device feel like it packs more than 6GB of RAM.
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
The Samsung Galaxy A14 is available 15th of March 2023 onward in Malaysia via Samsung’s authorised dealers and Experience Stores across the nation. It comes in three colour choices – Silver, Black, and the unique Dark Red. There are no other storage choices other than the 6GB+128GB combo. The Samsung Galaxy A14 will set you back MYR 799. For more information on Samsung’s latest entry-level smartphone, you can visit their website.
An entry-level smartphone makes plenty of sense if you think about it. It did not used to be like this though. For the longest time, in the earlier days of Android smartphones, entry-level smartphones are ones you want to avoid unless you absolutely must get one, or on such a tight budget, your wallet looked like there was about to be a hole in it. Thankfully, as high-end smartphones get more powerful, so does entry-level smartphones.
It is true that higher-end technologies of the yesteryears get passed down to more budget friendly options for the masses. It is especially true in the smartphone segment and the entry-level smartphone segment. An entry-level smartphone today can be comparable to flagship level smartphone from about 5 years ago in some cases and at a fraction of the price.
One of those entry-level devices you can get soon is the realme C30.
While the most popular smartphone segment in the region are mid-range smartphones, entry-level smartphones like the realme C30 can be rather appealing. For one, its price itself is rather appealing in the sea of flagships costing north of MYR 5,000 these days. The realme C30 will only set you back MYR 499 at most.
Source: realme
Source: realme
Source: realme
It is not like other entry-level smartphones either that tries to stand out with funky designs and weird looks. It is rather subtle, simple, very much like modern flagship smartphones. Of course, it does come with its own unique design to still set it apart. The Vertical Stripe Design, as they call it, are etched lines at the back of the device to not just add a visual impact, it is also to add some texture and grip for a more secure feel in your hands.
No, you do not get a Qualcomm, or a MediaTek for that matter, in this price range. Rather, you get a Unisoc T612 processor. You do not get bleeding edge 5nm technology with the System on a Chip (SoC). You do get eight cores on the device though with clocks up to 1.8Ghz with Cortex A75 architecture. While it may not sound like much, the processor can work with everything you need in a basic smartphone. At the same time, UFS 2.2 speeds should ensure that the C30 still feels as snappy as it can be for the money.
The SoC powers Android 11 with realme’s UI Go on a 6.5-inch display. No, its not a Full HD display, but you still get about 270ppi out of the 720p HD+ IPS panel. The front display also houses a 5-Megapixel front-facing camera for selfies, and even video conferences via the smartphone.
Out the back is a single 8-Megapixel main camera with some AI magic. It is constructed with 4P lens to ensure that your photos look as clear as you see them with your eyes. It is also capable of 4x digital zoom for when you need it. The photos may not take up too much space, but you can add up to 1TB in microSD storage on top of up to 64GB of built-in storage.
To keep everything running as they should be for an entire day, there is a 5,000mAh built-in battery. It is not a fast-charging battery, so you do want to give it some time to charge. You get up to 45 days in quoted standby time though, which is a long time between charges. If you keep it to Ultra Saving Mode, a 5% charge can last for 45.3 hours (quoted).
Price and Availability
The realme C30 comes in three attractive colours – Lake Blue, Bamboo Green, and Denim Black. Not whites, unfortunately. You cannot complain much though when you realise that you are paying MYR 429 (3GB + 32GB) for the smartphone. To get 4GB of RAM and 64GB in storage, you pay just a little bit more money at MYR 499. The realme C30 will be available in all realme Malaysia authorized stores and resellers across the nation from the 16th of July 2022 onward. For more information on the realme C30, you can head over to their website.
Acer’s Nitro 5 was always known for its strong value proposition and being the budget champion in gaming laptops. 2021 was a little bit of a turning point for the Nitro 5 though. It stopped becoming an entry-level option. You still can get the Nitro 5 with entry-level specs and a price to match, but the Nitro 5 expanded its option pool to hit the upper echelons of gaming with AMD’s Ryzen 9 and NVIDIA’s RTX 3080 bundle option. It was shocking to say the least, but a welcome.
Fast forward to 2022 though, there is a new Nitro 5 in town, and it looks good.
We start with what it packs. It is a 12th Generation Intel Core i7 (up to) that is paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (up to). While it just stops shy from its higher-end cousin that tops out at an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, the RTX 3070 Ti is plenty powerful enough for any sort of gaming situations. You also get to pack it with up to 32GB DDR4 RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. There is an additional SATA slot to give users the option to upgrade the notebook with another SATA storage.
The powerful insides keep games running optimally at up to 165fps on the 165Hz refresh rate QHD display (up to). You can opt for a Full HD 144Hz display if you are on a budget. The display also boasts 100% of DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage which means that it is even more colour accurate than before. At the same time, if you are looking for a laptop for both work and play, especially if you are in the creative industry, the colour accuracy is what you want.
Underneath the 4-zone RGB, Acer’s improved cooling system for the new Nitro 5 allows Acer to increase the maximum power draw of the GPU to extract even more performance and power from the GPU. At the same time, the Killer DoubleShot Pro wireless network module and WiFi 6E ensures that the Nitro 5 is always connected to the fastest available internet source.
The Acer Nitro 5 is now available from Acer’s own eStore, and official online stores on Shoppe and Lazada. You can also find the Acer Nitro 5 in Acer’s authorized retailers nationwide. It will set you back from MYR 4,399 all the way to MYR 8,699. For more information on the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop, you can head to their website.
What do you do when you need to buy a smartphone and only a budget of MYR 1,599? It may not seem like an issue to a lot of us, but it is a valid question still. Smartphones are simply too expensive.
To drive that point home even more, a about 10 years ago, MYR 2,000 will get you a brand-new Samsung Galaxy Note2. The Samsung Galaxy Note2 is a very highly rated flagship in its day, one of the most powerful devices you can get. A brand-new iPhone 3GS as well at the time will set you back less than MYR 2,500. Heck, the first Samsung Galaxy S smartphone will only set you back MYR 1,000, and that was expensive.
Today, spending MYR 3,000 on a smartphone is normal. This is especially true with flagship level devices. A mid-range device today will set you back less than MYR 3,000 but more than MYR 2,000. Anything below that is usually entry-level.
Entry-level devices are not stellar, but you can find some good ones in the segment. While it is not as competitive as the mid-range market, it is still a highly competitive segment. After all, the entry-level device segment could be your first smartphone experience.
Meet the OPPO A96. It sets you back less than MYR 1,500, which should mean that you might not enjoy the smartphone very much. We find that a little untrue though as you read on. But is it worth MYR 1,299? Or should you look elsewhere when you want a budget smartphone?
Design
The best way to describe the OPPO A96’s form is that it is rather ordinary. There is nothing too special or outstanding about the device. It is a regular candy bar smartphone. The most interesting thing about it is probably its unique back styling they call the OPPO Glow design.
The crystalised design on the back of the device looks rather good in camera. It may not strike everyone the same in its physical form though. Some might like it, some might not.
Out the back of the device, the camera array is like a hark to OPPO’s Reno series. Of course, it could just be OPPO’s design language. It is a bump though, which means you might want to use the case that comes in the box or buy a different case that would sit flush with the camera bump.
Despite the matte and rather plastic feel of the back, OPPO says that it is, in fact, glass. That is not necessarily a bad thing though. While it does not feel too premium, it does help with preventing fingerprint stains. The bad side of that is that it is slippery to the touch. If you use a case, it will not matter anyway.
You have a USB Type-C port at the bottom with some ports for the speaker, a small microphone hole, and a bigger 3.5mm combo jack. There is also a small microphone hole on top of the device too.
We like the fact that the power button is also the fingerprint sensor, a design made popular by Sony. The front facing camera sits in a corner instead of the middle of the display like we are used to on most devices. That is about it for the design of the device. Everything that you expect from a modern smartphone is on the device. It does not feel like a budget product, which is a good thing. But it does not feel or look all that premium either.
Hardware
Underneath the glass and aluminium mix of a shell lies a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 System on a Chip (SoC). It is not even a 5G chip, just regular 4G LTE support, which is plenty enough still. There is also 8GB of RAM and 256GB in memory.
Non-Removable Li-Po 5,000mAh Fast Charging 33W Revers Charging
Connectivity
Dual SIM Wi-Fi WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac GPS/A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS A2DP AptX HD Bluetooth 5.0 OTG Support USB Type-C 2.0
Camera (s)
REAR: 50-Megapixel (f/1.8, 27mm wide angle) 2-Megapixel (f/2.4, depth sensor) 1080p video recording (30fps) LED flash FRONT: 16-Megapixel (f/2.0, 26mm wide angle) 1080p video recording (30fps)
Sensors
Accelerometer Proximity Side Mounted Fingerprint Ambient Light Gyroscope Face Unlock Compass
User Interface – Color OS 11
OPPO’s ColorOS is now something unique on its own. In older OPPO devices you get an interface that can be likened to the iOS. The modern ColorOS has some Android flair in an optional app tray you can turn on in the settings page.
You do not get 120Hz out of the display. Instead, you make do with 90Hz, which is still a fast display considering its price. That also gives you a smooth and refined feel of ColorOS. Unless you have very sharp eyes and is observant enough, ColorOS 11 on the device feels as smooth as the flagship devices. zx
The app tray is not turned on by default. We kind of think that while OPPO does want to retain their original look that is free of an app tray, having the app tray is a great thing for ColorOS and it should be made a default option when you first set up the device. The fact that OPPO includes it as an option though, unlike plenty of manufacturers that came out of China, is a welcome though.
+5GB RAM
When you need more RAM in your PC, you add a RAM stick or replace it with something bigger. On your smartphone though, that is hardly possible. Space is a premium in your smartphone, so manufacturers can only fit one large RAM module that is usually attached to the SoC in favour of space. To get more RAM space then, some creativity gets involved
While OPPO is not the only one who does this, it is good to note that you can opt to use it or not. You can expand your RAM by up to 5GB just using the native UFS storage on the device itself. It does help with some multitasking performance, but hardly too noticeable because 8GB is rather plenty these days.
To opt out of it or to switch how much of your storage is being used as RAM is not quite as easy as OPPO wants you to believe though. You must do a little bit of digging within the settings of the device. We only found it by using the search bar on the page. By default, OPPO sets aside 3GB of your storage as a temporary RAM. You can put it down to 2GB and up to 5GB or turn it completely off if you think it is not necessary.
Performance
The SoC is not a high-end one. In this case, you get Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 680, which is not technically entry-level. It is sitting lower than the 700 series though. It also does not have 5G, so we do not get to test out Yes 4G’s “5G” network.
Benchmarks
Call Quality and Connectivity
Despite it not being a 5G device, you technically are not missing out on much. Malaysia’s 5G network is not out in full force yet too, which also means that you are not missing out on the OPPO A96’s regular 4G LTE network. The OPPO A96 also supports VoLTE, which means you are still getting crystal clear calls.
That is what you get with the OPPO A96, crystal clear phone conversations when you have enough signal strength. As with modern smartphones, making a call with the OPPO A96 is rather straightforward with a similar phone app layout as any other modern smartphones.
Still, VoLTE allows you to have clear conversations when there is enough signal strength. We find that anything between two bars to four bars is good enough and stable. Anything below two bars and you might find that calls get a little choppy. Data speeds tend to suffer too with lower signal strength, though this could just be the ISP’s fault.
Gaming
While it is not a flagship, gaming on a smartphone is a perfectly normal thing to do. If you are looking for a relatively budget friendly smartphone to game with, this could be it. You cannot expect a gaming performance that is likened to an OPPO Find X and its likes.
We played Pokémon Unite with the A96 mostly. We are happy to report that the game runs very smoothly on the device. While graphics performance might not match the flagships just to keep the framerates high, we do not mind that at all. We never faced any lags in the game which also meant that you should not have any issues when you are playing a ranked match. You still want to make sure that you have a solid internet connection though.
Game Space
Game Space is nothing new for OPPO devices. Its implementation is not unique either. It acts as a sort of one-click-overclocking tool that only activates when you play games. It also filters all your notifications just so that you do not get distracted in your gaming sessions.
Multitasking and Productivity
Smartphones like this is an indication that you do not really need a flagship to get a smartphone experience. Sure, you get the bleeding edge of whatever that is on offer on a flagship. The mid-range and entry-level devices eventually get it way later, but the most useful technologies do trickle down eventually. Ample RAM for example, makes it into budget friendly smartphones.
We usually have up to 15 tabs open within Google Chrome on the A96. We also tend to leave plenty of our apps working in the background. Apps like Instagram, Facebook, or Telegram are usually running in the background for us most of the time. At no point we felt that the device was sluggish to work with or experience any stutters when we are changing between screens in our daily use.
Battery Life
Most smartphones at this range excels in this area and for good reason. Smartphones at this range usually comes with rather large batteries, larger than ones you can find on flagship devices. Combine that with lower power consumption from the SoC and you get a smartphone that can last days.
On standby, the OPPO can last up to 5 days without a single charge in between. Of course, with some hotspot, gaming, photo taking, calling, and messaging, the battery life does go down by quite a bit.
Our typical use of the OPPO A96 in a day involves plenty of Telegram messaging, some photos, a little bit of gaming, a few minutes of call, and some social media scrolls. In this case we could get the OPPO to last us nearly three days on a single charge. Three days from your smartphone is a lot of battery life, even for modern smartphones. When the battery drains, you only need about two hours for a full charge. We hardly charge the device overnight because we never needed to in our test period.
Display and Audio
You get a nice 1080p Full HD+ display on the A96. It refreshes at 90Hz, which is more than what you can expect for most devices at this price range. Then again, everything that comes out in 2021 and later comes with 90Hz display.
What you do not get with devices at this price is an NTSC accuracy rating like this one does. The OPPO A96’s 6.59-inch IPS panel comes with a 96% NTSC colour gamut coverage. The colours produced on the OPPO A96 is comparable even to modern flagship devices.
While some of the flagship displays do come with 120Hz and higher resolutions at 2K or even 4K sometimes, you never really need them. Most of the time 90Hz is more than enough for most gaming situations. To make your UI look silky smooth, anything beyond 75Hz is enough. In terms of resolution, you most likely will not notice any difference between a 2K display and a 1080P display no thanks to how small the display is.
In this case, the display of the OPPO A96, we believe, is on par with most of the flagships you get today. Sure, it does not support HDR10 like most flagships do, but it is still a brilliant enough display that you can enjoy movies on Netflix and YouTube videos equally.
Cameras
Here is where things do come down to earth a little. Instead of the usual three or four camera array we are used to seeing in modern smartphones. This one noticeable only has 2 out the back of the device. One is the main 50-Megapixel shooter that you are going to be driving most of the time. The other is an oddly oversized 2-Megapixel depth sensor.
The OPPO A96 shoots at 12-Megapixel mode if you leave the settings alone. If you want the full 50-Megapixel goodness, you must tweak the settings a little bit. There is no way for you to set it permanently to 50-Megapixel, which also means that you must toggle it to 50-Megapixel every time to you turn on the camera.
Photos do look impressive in 50-Megapixel mode. Details are sharp enough for you to zoom in a little, crop your photos to get a better frame of your subjects, so you can technically take photos in slightly wider frame and can get away with it. You do not get the same level of detail at 12-Megapixel mode, but at least your photos still look good with vivid and somewhat accurate colours. There is a little bit of a natural warmth to your shots though.
The 2-Megapixel depth sensor never really comes into play until you are taking photos of a person or when you put it into portrait mode. You can technically use it with small objects and get a natural looking depth effect with it. You are still shooting with your main shooter though, so your portrait can look rather great with plenty of details too if you shoot with the 50-Megapixel mode.
At MYR 1,299, the OPPO A96 is not very expensive. On Paper, it may seem like quite a bargain. It has everything you need in a smartphone, nothing more. It also packs a large battery, a battery that would last for days at a time.
Sure, it does not pack Qualcomm’s most powerful. It packs a good ol’ Snapdragon 680 that does not even come with 5G as standard. At the same time, you only get one good camera to work with.
The MYR 1,299 OPPO A96 is a real treat, a bargain. It works just as you need to, as it is intended to. It does nothing more, but nothing less either, which is a good thing. It is a smooth operator, just as good as any flagship devices can offer you. You do not get any extraordinary features on the device, it just works.
If you are looking for a flagship experience with all the latest features and technologies, this will not be the device for you. It is a device that just works, it has everything you need in a smartphone, the essentials. The whole point of this device is reliability and simplicity. If that is what you are looking for, for your main driver or even your secondary device, this device is really made for you.
The entry-level smartphone market, in Malaysia at least, is a rather crowded space. The offerings can also be compared directly to mid-range smartphones, which just complicates things when you are looking for a new smartphone at under MYR 2,500 range. There is still a distinction though. In the mid-range segment, you want the best bang-for-buck you can get in terms of high-level performance, and innovations. In the entry-level segment, you want the best bang-for-buck and reliability; something that just works.
While there are plenty of players in the entry-level segment at below MYR 1,500, we can safely say not many can do better than OPPO and their A-series smartphones. Do not get it confused with Samsung’s A-series though, Samsung’s offerings are in the premium mid-range segment. When you take up OPPO’s A-series smartphones, you start to wonder what the extra money do for you in the mid-range segment.
Take this latest OPPO A96 for example. On paper at least, it is comparable to any mid-range devices you can pit it up against. It might as well be a mid-range device on paper.
Big Memory
It packs 8GB of RAM and 256GB in storage. With OPPO’s clever memory technology, the 8GB RAM can be expanded to up to 13GB temporarily for when you need the extra horsepower. This should mean much better multitasking experience comparable to even flagships of today. The only limiting factor should be its System on a Chip (SoC) that is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 platform. It does not pack 5G too, unlike most mid-range devices today.
Flagship Level Display
The SoC is the only thing that puts it squarely in the entry-level segment though. The main display is still a Full HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate with up to 96% NTSC or 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. At 6.59-inch, it is not what you want to call a small display too.
Powerful Camera
In terms of camera, the front-facing camera lodged in a punch hole on the display packs 16-Megapixel, rather powerful for an entry-level device. Out the back is a high-resolution 50-Megapixel shooter that works together with a 2-Megapixel depth sensor to produce beautiful portraits with those essential ‘bokeh’. Sure, it does not come with additional lenses to get telephoto or ultra-wide photos, but a high-resolution camera is the one that is being used often.
Premium Glass Backing
The OPPO A96’s back plate is also a glass panel, not plastic like most entry-level devices at its price range. It has a unique texture and design that OPPO calls the Glow Design made with diamond-cut glass panel placed in a vacuum to bring out the crystal patterns you see on the Pearl Pink colour option. The unique texture produced by the process is also resistant to fingerprint stains, which is a bonus to keep your device looking fresh and pretty.
Beefy Battery
To top all of that is an all-day battery sandwiched by two glass panels. It is 5,000 mAh battery that should last you at least an entire day with heavy usage. Use it sparingly and you might get two or even three days of charge with it. When it runs out, 33W charging speeds should bring it to a full charge within an hour for you to get going the entire day again. The device is also clever enough protect its own battery shelf-life by limiting its charge speeds when you charge it overnight to keep the battery optimised for you.
Price and Availability
As mentioned, the OPPO A96 will be available in two colour options – Starry Black and Pearl Pink. The device will be available for pre-order today onward all the way to the 22nd of April 2022. It will set you back MYR 1,299 and you can get your hands on one from OPPO’s authorised retailers and official showrooms when it is available. More on the OPPO A96 on their website.
