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There are smartphones that go beyond mere "brute force". In fact, there are not a few users who are looking for more from a mobile device, focusing more on aspects such as autonomy and handling compared to mere performance and benchmarks. And if a device looks to the future of connectivity, supporting 5G, so much the better.
The OPPO A94 5G, a smartphone that
"forgets" the race for the highest refresh rate and arrives in Italy
at a price of 369.99 euros fits precisely in this context . Until May 9, 2021,
those who buy the device will also take home the OPPO Enco Air earphones, with
a commercial value of 99 euros.
How it looks
The writing on the back, inside the
camera module, is a declaration of intent: "5G". On the other hand,
the upper left part of the OPPO A94 5G backcover is the one that stands out
most at first glance, so the manufacturer rightly wanted to emphasize in this
way the fact that it is a smartphone that looks to the future. in terms of
connectivity. On the other hand, we find a display with a small camera hole, an
aspect that pleased us.
On the other hand, the fact that the
backcover retains fingerprints a little too much is not entirely convincing, as
is the fact that the materials used do not give back a "premium"
feeling. However, this allows the smartphone to weigh just 173 gramsand
handling is therefore better than many other models, also considering the
dimensions of 160.1 x 73.4 x 7.8 mm.
The color we have had the opportunity
to try is that Fluid Black, which in our view does not do too much justice to
the back of the device, but on the market there is also the more lively Cosmo
Blue and in any case it comes to personal tastes. For the rest, the protrusion
of the camera module is there, but it is wisely "resolved" through
the use of the convenient transparent cover present inside the sales package.
Speaking of the latter, we also find a
30W charger , a USB Type-C / USB Type-A cable, the pin for extracting the SIM
compartment, various manuals and headphones with a decent quality jack cable.
We must therefore certainly applaud OPPO for having inserted practically
everything in the package.
The headphones in the package prelude
to the presence of the 3.5 mm jack at the bottom, next to a microphone, the USB
Type-C port and the speaker. On the right there is the control button, while on
the left the volume rocker and the trolley for the SIM peek out ( triple slot ,
up to two nanoSIMs and one microSD at the same time). At the top is a second
microphone.
In short, nothing is missing for the
use of the smartphone that the average user usually does. To be clear, there
are also an in-display fingerprint sensor and facial recognition, which never
gave us any particular problems during the test.
How OPPO A94 5G behaves in daily use
As already mentioned, OPPO A94 5G is
not a smartphone that seeks "brute force", but neither is it a device
that presents particular problems during daily use. In fact, under the body
there is a MediaTek Dimensity 800U 5G processor , flanked by 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM
and 128GB of UFS 2.1 internal memory (expandable up to 256GB via microSD). The
performances to carry out all the classic daily activities are all there and in
reality there is also that little extra "flicker" to carry out some
advanced operations.
In this regard, the benchmarks are very
clear: 309616 points on AnTuTu Benchmark, as well as 597 points in single-core
and 1779 points on GeekBench. In short, we are on levels close to those
recorded by OnePlus Nord, Motorola Moto G 5G Plus, Realme 7 5G and the other
smartphones that have focused on 5G between 2020 and the beginning of 2021.
Among the aspects that convinced us
most of the OPPO proposal, we find the 6.43-inch AMOLED display with Full HD +
resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels), screen-to-body ratio of 90.8% and aspect ratio
20: 9. It is in fact a bright and well-calibrated panel, which among other
things is supported by the presence of the Widevine L1 DRMs, which allow you to
view the contents of platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in Full
HD. In addition, the small size of the hole for the camera allows the
smartphone to position itself well in the multimedia field.
Excluding the fact that the audio
sector is average, both for maximum volume and for quality, the only real flaw
is actually represented by the only standard refresh rate, or 60 Hz. Therefore,
the extra fluidity offered by other solutions is missing, but we are sure that
the target this smartphone is aimed at will have no particular problems in
accepting this compromise.
In fact, it is a choice made in terms
of autonomy, which supports the presence of a 4310 mAh battery. It is
essentially always possible to complete the classic working day and with less
intense use than ours you can probably also touch the two days: the merit of
these results is certainly also the screen refresh rate. Do not miss the
support for charging at 30W, which allows you to make a full charge in about an
hour.
As for the photographic sector, a
quadruple camera peeps out on the back48MP (f / 1.7) + 8MP (f / 2.2,
ultra-wide) + 2MP (f / 2.4, for Portrait mode) + 2MP (f / 2.4, for macro). At
the front we find instead a sensor from 16MP (f / 2.4). Videos up to 4K / 30
fps at the rear, while for the front camera you get to 1080p / 30 fps. The
latter is the resolution that we recommend to use in order not to have
"problems" in terms of stabilization. In any case, the quality of the
shots is what is expected from a mid-range smartphone: the photos come out well
during the day, in contexts with a lot of light, but the cameras
"suffer" instead at night, when the digital noise is made. note, even
using the appropriate method. The macros are normal, while the wide-angle
lenses have some distortion too much.
On the other hand, the work done by
artificial intelligence is not bad, which in some contexts manages to
significantly improve the final result, while distorting the colors in some
cases. In short, the photographic department of the device is average: it fails
to stand out, but we are sure it will convince the average user. If you want to
deepen the matter, you can take a look at some uncompressed photos in the Drive
folder dedicated to OPPO A94 5G .
If there is one sector of the
smartphone to which nothing can be said, it is certainly that of connectivity.
In fact, in addition to 5G and the audio jack for headphones, there is also NFC
and Bluetooth 5.1 , as well as dual-band Wi-Fi. Our concern was that OPPO
decided not to implement NFC as seen with OPPO A94 in UAE, but luckily in this
case the NFC is present.
Software
The operating system is Android 11 with
ColorOS 11.1 customization . We know the features offered by the latter well,
so much so that on these pages you can also find a dedicated in-depth study ,
as well as the analysis of some interesting little-known features. It is
certainly a complete software, which includes, for example, the ability to
"force" the dark theme even for third-party applications that would
not support it. There are also various features on the privacy side, as well as
the ability to use multiple applications at the same time. In short, the
ColorOS we know it well and it does not disappoint. On OPPO A94 5G the system
fluidity is normal and there are no particular problems.
Gaming
Although it is certainly not a gaming
smartphone, OPPO A94 5G represents in any case a device that can all in all
provide some decent satisfaction. In fact, without aiming for the top, there is
no lack of performance capable of running Call of Duty Mobile as it should be
with details on "Medium" and FPS on "High" . No problem
with Crash On The Run, even if you see that the game is tuned down a bit.
The limitations of the hardware sector
are really noticeable with ARK: Survival Evolved, which is playable with the
"Medium" preset but there is a high pop-up of the textures in the
distance . For the rest, there is no lack of gaming features of the ColorOS,
from the Focus Mode, which blocks all possible distractions, to the
notifications of the main apps that appear in a strategic position. Also
present is the classic Game Space, even if the focus of the smartphone is not
placed on this type of use.