It was just a few months ago that we reviewed the OPPO A92 here on MobilityArena, and now, we have the A93 in our hands. 2020 has been quite a year – the year in which everything, including the cycle of smartphone releases and launches, changed. Two of our team members, Mister Mobility and Flamez from Mobility Nigeria, have taken this new device through the hoops and have their OPPO A93 review ready for your delight.
This OPPO A93 review will look at the device from four key angles – design, photography, performance, and custom features, and those four angles pretty much cover everything there is about a smartphone.
| OPPO A93 review: Quick Specs |
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OPPO A93 review: Unboxing
What is in the box? They are the usual suspects.
- the OPPO A93 phone itself
- silicone case
- wall adapter
- USB-C cable
- 3.5mm headset
- SIM ejector pin
- paper documentation
OPPO A93 review: Design
Our review unit is the Matte Black colour which has a nice premium-like finish that is quite attractive. Have a look:
The A93 has a 6.4″ AMOLED display. It weighs just 164g, yet it is so thin and slender that when we pick it up, it feels like the right size in the hand.
We immediately both fell in love with the display when it came on. It is an AMOLED panel and presents deep blacks and good colour reproduction.
While you will remember it is in your pocket, it is one of the most comfortable phones with a screen that large
We immediately fell in love with the display when it came on. It is an AMOLED panel and presents deep blacks and good colour reproduction.
In the top left corner of the display is a dual camera in a pill-shaped dual punch hole. Dual punch holes are still a novelty at the price point of the OPPO A93.
Flip the phone over to the back and the quad camera island and LED flash are the main attraction – besides the beautiful finish of the A93, that is. There is no fingerprint scanner here, because it is embedded in the display this time. It works well: we noticed no lags in trying to set up or unlock the phone with it.
As far as design, appearance and handling is concerned, OPPO A93 is a sleek, lean smartphone, and everyone we showed it to loved it.
OPPO A93 review: Photography
OPPO A93 offers AI-powered photography and we were eager to see what results the two cameras would deliver.
At the front of the phone is a dual selfie camera. It offers regular selfies, portraits and a few other nifty features. We particularly like the AI Portrait Color feature, which lets you pop out in colour in your selfies while your background is rendered in grayscale.
Let’s go through some sample selfie photos.
Next, we have a few portrait selfies in different low light settings. As you can see from the sample selfie photos above, the A93 does a good job. There is also some softening from the software processing. Switching to Night Mode for portrait photos gets you brighter images. The front camera is fun to use and produces a wide range of effects, depending on what you want.
You can take selfies the usual way – by tapping the on-screen camera button, or by using the Volume button. In addition, you can use gestures to take photos as well – Enable it in the Camera settings and you can hold up your palm to take a photo. You can also touch the screen to take photos, if you enable that in the Camera Settings too.
The OPPO A93 also comes with the AI Ultra Clear Mode which is buried in the Camera Settings.
Rear Quad Camera
The OPPO A93 has a quad camera system of 48MP.
The rear quad camera of the OPPO A93 is the star in terms of raw photo quality. It is fantastic. The photos it produces are beautiful, well detailed and clear. Click on the samples below for larger images.
The rear camera of the A93 handles natural lighting well and also does a pretty good job in low lighting without losing significant details.
OPPO A93 review: Performance
The A93 has a Helio P95 chipset, but we won’t go into technical jargon here. The question is, How well does it perform? Quite fast and responsive, we say, based on our experience with it. We encountered no lags and no problems with regular use. What’s not to like or want?
Gamers are likely itching to hear what we have to say about its gaming capabilities. Flamez is our in-house smartphone gamer, and he put the phone through its paces with Call Of Duty Mobile.
First, the lightweight and thin profile of the phone makes it feel just right in the hands, as we are able to grip the phone comfortably without relying on support.
You can’t but appreciate the graphics of the OPPO A93 when you watch a video or play a game on the A93 – even in just normal quality settings. The phone delivers excellent graphics, making it look like we were playing on a console.
To be sure, we also set the graphics to the highest settings and Call Of Duty did not lag or flinch during gameplay. Every bit of detail that the developers of the game put in there are visible and fluid.
Flamez reports that there was one small issue he encountered while playing COD:M. When he drags his fingers across the phone (as is necessary for every game or even just using a phone) he receives some mild resistance from the screen, almost like the screen did not want me to move my fingers across it. We think this is because the phone comes with the screen protector already placed on it. If you remove it, we think all will be fine and smooth to use.
In all, playing games on the A93 gives us close to the kind of joy we would get from playing on a proper gaming console.
In terms of storage memory, OPPO A93 has 128GB of internal storage space and if you need more space, you can expand that with a memory card of up to 512GB capacity.
OPPO A93 review: Battery
We have a 4000mAh battery here. The battery power management of the A93 is solid and we have a phone that lasts long hours, even when playing games or doing heavy work on it. For example, Flamez played Call Of Duty Mobile on it for about 5 hours straight and the battery only dropped to 62%. That’s powerful power management right there.
There’s 18W fast charging in here and OPPO includes a compatiblefast charger in the package. We easily get 50% battery charge in 30 minutes.
OPPO has included a feature called AI Night Charging in the A93. It learns your sleep cycle and uses that to manage fast battery charging so that the last 20% of the charging is concluded before your wake-up time. This is great for individuals with a well regimented bedtime and wake-up time. The idea is that it protects the battery, so it lasts longer.
OPPO has included an interesting array of gestures and motions. Air Gestures is a feature that lets you pick up calls without touching the phone. Just wave over it. We activated the feature in the A93’s settings and gave it a try but never got it to work for us. It kept displaying, “Incorrect gesture. Try again.” Oh well. We think it is a cute feature, but it isn’t a must-have one, so all good.
OPPO A93 review: ColorOS Enhancements
ColorOS 7.2 is the custom user interface that OPPO has given Android 10. It includes Dark Mode, so you can use a black background across all areas of the phone. Dark Mode is definitely our default mode.
It includes a Super Power Saving Mode, so you can squeeze out more time out of your phone if it is running out of battery, and you do not have a means of charging it available.
It includes Quick return Bubble, a feature that lets you minimize an ongoing game but keep monitoring it on your home screen via a floating bubble. You can return quickly to the game by tapping on the bubble.
OPPO A93 review: Miscellaneous
In-call audio is clear and loud. We encountered no issues with it. Callers at the other end say the voice came out clear.
OPPO A93 supports a number of 4G LTE bands, including Glo’s earlier Band 28, so you are covered if that is all you have access to. All other 4G networks from the other mobile networks are supported.
How does it handle multimedia? Video playback is sharp and crisp, as expected from the stunning display. Audio from the loudspeaker is loud and clear as well.
OPPO A93 review: Conclusions
If you are looking for a lightweight but powerful mid-range smartphone to take you through your daily activities, capture interesting photos, and deliver great all-round performance, OPPO A93 is one. OPPO’s A series has consistently offered superb all-round reliance. The A93 continues with that tradition.
The OPPO A93 costs a fitting ₦125,000 to buy. “I would drop that amount in a heartbeat to get a phone as satisfying and as brilliant as this one,” is how Flamez put it. That is a fitting conclusion. What we have here is a mid-range smartphone with a number of flagship features. This is one of the best phones in its class.