OPPO has just released its first smartphone in the Philippine market for 2018 – the OPPO A83. It’s like a smaller and toned-down version of the OPPO F5 Youth, sporting a 5.7-inch 18:9 display, MediaTek Helio P23 chipset, the same A.I. Beauty Technology found in the OPPO F5 Series, and a lower price tag. Check out what the OPPO A83 has to offer in our full review.
Before we dive in, watch our unboxing and hands-on video below:
Table of Contents
The OPPO A83 has a design and feel similar to the OPPO F5 Youth. It has a smaller 5.7-inch screen with 1440 x 720 resolution which is equal to 282ppi, and an aspect ratio of 18:9. Like the F5 series, it has a slim top and bottom bezels. OPPO calls this the Full Screen display.
Placed above the display are the earpiece, sensor, and 8MP selfie camera. Since it uses on-screen navigation keys, the bottom part doesn’t feature any buttons.
On the left are the volume keys, while on the right are the power/lock key, and the SIM tray that can accommodate two nano-sized SIM cards and a microSD card with a dedicated slot.
The top part is free from any keys or ports, while the bottom part houses the loudspeaker, micro USB port, microphone, and the 3.5mm audio port.
Flip it on its back and you will see the protruding 13MP main shooter, LED flash, and the OPPO branding.
Although sporting an above-average screen size, the OPPO A83 feels nice in the hands and easy to hold thanks to its small footprint, slim body, and rounded corners. The bezel provides an edgy feel for added grip. Although made of plastic, it’s solid yet light. It also has a matte finish but can easily catch smudges and fingerprints.
OPPO didn’t mention any special glass protection on the A83 but already comes with a pre-installed screen protector. A plastic case is also included in the package so you can protect your device right away.
As mentioned earlier, the OPPO A83 features a 5.7-inch with 1440 x 720 resolution or equal to 282ppi. It is also OPPO’s first A-series smartphone to have an 18:9 display or what the company calls the Full Screen.
Quality is decent for a display of this caliber. Pixels are noticeable at close range but don’t ruin the whole viewing experience, however, it’s not something we’d recommend for VR. Colors are accurate and natural, viewing angles are good, and the screen is vibrant enough for outdoor use. Just wipe the display every now and then to remove smudges and fingerprints.
When it comes to its loudspeaker, don’t expect much as it lacks bass and not as loud as we expect them to be. It’s good enough for hands-free voice calls and gaming, but if you’re watching your favorite TV series or movie, it’s better to use an external speaker or the earphones included in the package.
The OPPO A83 sports a 13MP rear and 8MP front shooters. It has HDR, filters, Time-Lapse, Beauty, Panorama, and Expert. The selfie camera has something special as it features Depth Effect and the same A.I. Beautification Technology that is found on the OPPO F5.
Camera quality is good for a phone with this price. Compared to flagship smartphones, the details captured are softer, while noise can be evident in dim lighting. On the bright side, it has good colors and decent contrast and dynamic range.
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Selfies have decent quality but we can see the Depth Effect and the A.I. Beautification Technology kicks in. It was able to identify imperfections and clean it up, but not to the point of erasing your important facial features. The 8MP sensor is not as sharp as the 20MP OPPO F5, but it will suffice for uploading in social media.
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When it comes to video recording, the OPPO A83 maxes out at Full HD at 30fps in MP4 format. It doesn’t have video stabilization and autofocus can be jittery but the quality is ok with good colors and decent audio.
Running the software department is ColorOS 3.2 that is based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat with November 5, 2017 security patch. It has an iOS feel to it which is not bad as it is simple and easy to navigate.
All apps are accessible via multiple home screens. Swiping down from the top would reveal the notifications while swiping up from the bottom will show the shortcut keys. This can get some getting used to especially to those used to accessing everything from the notifications drawer.
The OPPO A83 also has a number of handy features like Clone Apps which lets you duplicate popular messaging apps, Game Acceleration, Gesture and Motion, and Split-Screen. There’s no fingerprint scanner but it has Face Unlock.
Face Unlock is one of those cool and useful features that debuted on the OPPO F5 and it’s nice to see it on the A83. As the name suggests, this lets you unlock the phone using your face. It doesn’t work well in poor lighting but when there’s sufficient light, it’s responsive and can unlock the phone in a split second even when we’re not totally looking at it. It’s a convenient way of unlocking your phone but we recommend using a strong passcode or PIN as your front-line security.
Pre-installed apps are kept to a minimum and are limited to Facebook and a handful of Google apps, which is not bad. Out of the 32GB, you’re left with 22.86GB of usable space which you can expand via its dedicated microSD card slot or USB OTG.
Powering the OPPO A83 is the MediaTek Helio P23 octa-core chipset, Mali-G71 MP2 GPU, and 3GB RAM. It’s the same configuration as the OPPO F5 Youth. Performance is smooth when it comes to handling day-to-day tasks and didn’t stutter when switching between apps. It’s also a good when it comes to gaming apps like Mobile Legends, HIT, and Skull Girls. Warming can be felt on the upper part near the camera but not too much to be a problem. Check out the benchmarks below:
The OPPO A83 comes with the usual connectivity features and sensors like Dual-SIM, 4G LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Gyroscope. LTE is enabled on both SIM slots but only one can connect to 4G while the other settles for 3G.
Mobile data is good and fast depending on the network, GPS navigation is accurate, while call quality is loud and clear. Just make sure that your area has good connection and signal.
The OPPO A83 is equipped with a non-removable 3,180mAh which are slightly lower than the one found on the OPPO F5 and F5 Youth. It can still be considered above average and our time with it proves it. Mixed usage which consists of constant WiFi internet connection, heavy social media browsing, moderate photo taking and light gaming, got us a whole day and into the night before it required charging.
PC Mark rated it at 13 hours and 2 minutes, while our video loop test which involves playing a 1080p video on loop in Airplane mode at 50% brightness and volume with headset plugged in, yielded 15 hours and 22 minutes which is good for a phone of this caliber. It doesn’t have fast charging so replenishing the battery takes over 2 hours.
The OPPO A83 may have a different name but its roots stretch out to the F5 family. It has a large 5.7-inch Full Screen display in a small yet slim body, good performance for its class, decent cameras with A.I. Beautification technology, Face Unlock, and a long battery life. It would have been better though if it had a fingerprint scanner or a larger storage, but at least it doesn’t cost much at Php9,990. So if you’re looking for a device that’s below Php10K, this phone is one worth considering.
OPPO A83 specs:
5.7-inch 1440 x 720, 18:9 Full Screen display, 282ppi
MediaTek MT6763T Helio P23 2.5GHz octa-core processor
Mali-G71 MP2 GPU
3GB RAM
32GB storage
microSD card slot (dedicated slot)
13MP rear camera, LED flash
8MP front camera, screen flash
A.I. Beautification Technology
Dual-SIM (nano)
4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.2
GPS, A-GPS
microUSB 2.0
USB OTG
Face Unlock
ColorOS 3.2 (Android 7.1.1 Nougat)
3,180mAh battery
150.5 x 73.1 x 7.7 mm
143 g
What we liked:
* Good build and slim body
* Large Full Screen display
* Decent performance and cameras
* Fcae Unlock
* Long battery life
* Reasonable price
What we didn’t:
* No fingerprint scanner
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Oman says:
I cant exit from kids space.i cant remember my passcode. Please help.
KYLE says:
how can i connect two devices to my OPPOA83?? why only one device is allowed? i was trying to listen to music but only one of my earphones is connected i cant connect the other one..
Loui says:
Please make a review for vivo y81
Mary Cruz says:
The phone box really says, it is 16gb internal storage but when I checked the storage its only 8gb? Where did the half of 16gb go?
gabrielle patrick says:
have better screen resolution
gabrielle patrick says:
pixels are noticeable though it bears higher ppi. it doesn’t ruin viewing experience, but it will make you feel that some other smartphones like huawei y6 and nova 2 lite has a better screen.
gabrielle patrick says:
one thing i don’t like about a83 is the way how it takes selfie and rear shot. its a.i. beautfication makes the object pale when exposed to ample or too much light. i had tried it with photo and beauty features at its lowest level or none at all. colors still have lighter shade than the object captured with all possible adjustments.
tae says:
OPPO OverPricedPO
Crys says:
I think it’s cheap for its specs.. Unlike those imitation phones which are very cheap but the performs badly.
ronie salvania says:
i recently bought this unit. everything is awesome except my message. cant send message easily even its 2g and im using talk and text
Jem dulla says:
My battery runs to only 2-3 hours but it says 13 hours. Is tjis unit has problem? Why does it has no notepad? Ehat to do?
donna says:
i recently bought this phone. is it really normal that the battery drops % per minute if your using data connection? btw i love this phone for ots decent and sleek looks, 3gb ram (enough for me in using social media, call and text) and of course for its performance. so far so good.
Nicole S says:
Really? I use data every day and the battery drains really slow, it’s amazing. Your condition is confusing.. Hope it gets fixed soon.
Michelle Sargento says:
good day!…ijust want to ask how can i move all my apps from playstore to my sd card,my phone is oppo a83(2018)…i can’t find it in settings unlike in other android phones.thanks for response!
Nerizza says:
I am using oppo A83 and so far? It was a good experience. Well, it does have some problems with its camera focus especially if you take a picture and then it suddenly moves, the picture gets blurry. But anyway, I bought the phone, not for the camera but for the gaming experience. It has 3gb ram and 32gb internal storage. I was able to install 2 large apps (my favorite picks) and has not met any problem with it when t comes on the actual gameplay. It was so smooth.
Nixx says:
Same here, specs are good. So much fun playing games!!!! :)) Bought it last saturday. And yes, blurry thing is true.
Frederick Ternida says:
Compared to Oppo F5 front camera THIS ONE IS MUCH BETTER (the people in the background are SHARP).
because when it comes to Groupie (only 1 to 2 persons are sharp and the rest are blurrred and out of focus.) I already complained regarding this GROUPIE OUT OF FOCUS of Oppo F5 since day one and Oppo doesn’t MADE ANY SOFTWARE UPDATE regarding this.