Oppo A9 (2020) Review

• Overview
• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• Performance
• Software and User Interface
• Camera
• Battery Life
• Connectivity and Networking
• Additional Features
• Comparison with Other Related Phones
• Pros and Cons
• Conclusion

Overview

The Oppo A9 (2020) is a smartphone that packs a punch with its impressive features and stylish design. With a large 6.5-inch IPS LCD display and a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels, this phone offers a vibrant and immersive viewing experience. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor and available in two variants - 4GB RAM and 8GB RAM - the A9 (2020) ensures smooth multitasking and efficient performance. Its quad-camera setup consisting of a 48MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and two 2MP sensors allows you to capture stunning photos and videos. The phone also boasts a massive 5000mAh battery and comes in attractive colors like Marine Green, Space Purple, and Vanilla Mint. With its affordable price point, the Oppo A9 (2020) is definitely worth considering for those seeking a feature-packed smartphone.

Design and Build Quality

The Oppo A9 (2020) showcases a sleek and modern design that exudes a premium look and feel. With its slim form factor and minimal bezels, the device offers an immersive viewing experience. The phone features a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels, which delivers vibrant colors and sharp details. The Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection ensures durability against scratches and accidental drops.

The construction of the Oppo A9 (2020) is a combination of glass front (Gorilla Glass 3), a plastic back, and a plastic frame. This choice of materials contributes to its light-weight design, weighing in at 195g. The dimensions of 163.6 x 75.6 x 9.1mm make it comfortable to hold and operate with one hand.

The back panel of the device features a glossy finish that adds to its aesthetics. The quad-camera setup, including a 48MP primary camera, is neatly arranged at the top left corner along with an LED flash. The fingerprint sensor is conveniently placed on the back for easy access and quick unlocking.

The Oppo A9 (2020) offers a sturdy build quality, ensuring long-term durability. The buttons and controls are well-positioned and provide a satisfying tactile feedback. The overall construction of the phone gives a sense of robustness and confidence in its durability.

In terms of ergonomics, the Oppo A9 (2020) offers a comfortable grip, making it easy to handle for extended periods. The device also comes in various attractive colors such as Marine Green, Space Purple, and Vanilla Mint, allowing users to choose a design that suits their personal style.

With its sleek design, premium look, and sturdy build, the Oppo A9 (2020) is an aesthetically pleasing smartphone that offers both style and durability. Its compact dimensions and lightweight nature make it highly portable, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Display

The Oppo A9 (2020) features a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. The screen offers a screen-to-body ratio of approximately 82.5%, providing a decent viewing experience. It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which helps to safeguard against scratches and minor drops.

In terms of color accuracy and vibrancy, the display of the Oppo A9 (2020) offers decent performance. The colors appear reasonably vibrant and well-saturated, although they might not be as vivid as those seen on OLED displays. The brightness levels are also satisfactory, with the screen reaching up to 480 nits, ensuring good visibility even in bright outdoor conditions.

The touch responsiveness of the display is smooth and fluid, providing a seamless user experience. The viewing angles are wide enough to allow comfortable viewing from various orientations. However, the pixel density of approximately 270 ppi is lower compared to some other smartphones in this price range, resulting in slightly less sharpness and detail in the content displayed.

Unfortunately, the Oppo A9 (2020) does not support high refresh rates or HDR technology, which means users won't get the smoothest scrolling experience or the enhanced contrast and color range of HDR content. Additionally, there is no mention of wide color gamut or anti-reflective coating, which could potentially affect the overall visual experience.

Overall, the display of the Oppo A9 (2020) offers a satisfactory performance within its price range, providing decent colors, brightness levels, and touch responsiveness. However, those seeking a higher-resolution display or advanced display technologies such as OLED or HDR might need to consider other options.

Performance

The Oppo A9 (2020) offers commendable performance with its Qualcomm SDM665 Snapdragon 665 chipset and Adreno 610 GPU. This octa-core processor, consisting of 4x2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold and 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver cores, ensures smooth multitasking and app loading speeds. The GPU benchmarks and gaming benchmarks reveal the device's ability to handle graphically intensive games with ease.

In terms of gaming capabilities, the Oppo A9 (2020) provides a satisfying gaming experience. The graphics scores and gaming performance are quite impressive, enabling users to enjoy high-quality visuals and smooth gameplay. The device's thermal management ensures that it remains cool even during extended gaming sessions, preventing any performance throttling.

During performance analysis, the Oppo A9 (2020) exhibits good processor efficiency, allowing for a lag-free user experience. The system optimization contributes to the overall smoothness and responsiveness of the device. Whether it's switching between apps or running multiple tasks simultaneously, the Oppo A9 (2020) handles it without any noticeable slowdowns.

The Oppo A9 (2020) has been subjected to benchmark tests, where it has received respectable benchmark scores. These synthetic benchmarks provide a quantitative measure of the device's performance capabilities. Users can rely on these metrics to assess the device's performance relative to other smartphones in its price range.

Overall, the Oppo A9 (2020) delivers a solid performance for everyday tasks and gaming experiences. Its chipset performance, GPU efficiency, and processor performance contribute to a smooth and lag-free user experience. The device's multitasking capabilities, app loading speeds, and system optimization further enhance its performance. Whether it's gaming or running resource-intensive applications, the Oppo A9 (2020) handles them admirably, making it a reliable choice for users seeking a device that offers a satisfactory balance between performance and affordability.

Software and User Interface

The Oppo A9 (2020) runs on Android 9.0 (Pie) out of the box, with the option to upgrade to Android 10 along with ColorOS 7.1. This combination offers a user-friendly interface with a range of customization options. ColorOS 7.1 brings a refreshed visual design, improved system performance, and enhanced privacy features. The operating system allows users to personalize their device with themes, wallpapers, and icon packs. Oppo also provides regular software updates to ensure the device remains secure and up to date.

In terms of pre-installed apps, the Oppo A9 (2020) comes with a selection of useful applications. These include popular Google apps such as Gmail, Maps, and YouTube, as well as essential apps like Phone, Messages, and Calendar. Oppo also includes its own suite of apps, including Music, Files, and Health. While these apps offer additional functionality, some users may consider them as bloatware if they prefer using alternative apps.

The ColorOS interface on the Oppo A9 (2020) is known for its clean and intuitive design. The settings menu is well-organized, making it easy to navigate and find specific options. The notification shade provides quick access to essential settings and allows users to customize the toggles to their preference. The device also supports gesture-based navigation, which enhances the overall user experience by providing a more seamless and immersive interface.

Overall, the software on the Oppo A9 (2020) offers a user-friendly and customizable experience. The combination of Android 9.0 (Pie) with ColorOS 7.1 provides a visually appealing interface with improved performance and privacy features. While some users may find the pre-installed apps to be bloatware, the device offers enough customization options to tailor the experience to individual preferences.

Camera

The Oppo A9 (2020) boasts a quad-camera setup on its rear, with a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and another 2-megapixel macro lens. The primary 48-megapixel camera has an aperture of f/1.8 and a focal length of approximately 26mm, capturing sharp and detailed images. The large sensor size of 1/2.25" allows for better low-light sensitivity and improved dynamic range. Additionally, the camera features dual-LED dual-tone flash, panorama, and HDR, enhancing the versatility of the device for various photography scenarios.

In daylight photography, the Oppo A9 (2020) captures images with natural colors and good sharpness. The AI scene recognition intelligently detects different scenes and adjusts settings accordingly to enhance image quality. The device also offers a portrait mode, which creates a bokeh effect and blurs the background, resulting in professional-looking portraits. The HDR mode helps to balance exposure in high-contrast scenes, preserving details in both bright and dark areas.

When it comes to low-light performance and night photography, the Oppo A9 (2020) utilizes night mode and noise reduction to improve image quality in challenging lighting conditions. The device's image stabilization helps in reducing blur, ensuring steady shots even in low-light situations. It also supports 4K video recording, allowing users to capture high-resolution videos with good detail. The video stabilization feature ensures smooth footage, and slow-motion and time-lapse options add creativity to videography. Overall, the camera of the Oppo A9 (2020) offers a range of features and capabilities that cater to different photography and videography needs.

Battery Life

The Oppo A9 (2020) is equipped with a powerful 5000mAh non-removable Li-Po battery, which is quite impressive. This large battery capacity ensures that the device can easily last through a full day of heavy usage without needing to be recharged. Whether you're browsing the internet, streaming videos, or playing games, the battery life of the Oppo A9 (2020) is commendable. Additionally, the device supports 10W wired charging, allowing for a relatively fast charging time. However, it does not support wireless charging. The battery optimization features on the Oppo A9 (2020) help to optimize power efficiency, ensuring that the battery lasts longer. With its excellent battery performance and capacity, the Oppo A9 (2020) provides a reliable battery backup and endurance for users.

Connectivity and Networking

The Oppo A9 (2020) offers a range of connectivity options to keep you connected wherever you go. It supports 4G LTE network compatibility, so you can enjoy fast data speeds for browsing, streaming, and downloading. Whether you're at home or on the go, you can connect to Wi-Fi networks using the 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac standards, ensuring a stable and speedy internet connection. Additionally, the device features Bluetooth 5.0, which enables you to connect wirelessly to other devices for seamless file sharing and audio streaming. It also supports NFC, allowing you to make contactless payments and quickly connect with other NFC-enabled devices. The Oppo A9 (2020) comes with a USB Type-C 2.0 port, which provides fast charging and data transfer capabilities. With its dual SIM functionality, you can easily manage two separate phone numbers on one device. The phone also supports GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, and BDS for accurate navigation and location tracking. Overall, the Oppo A9 (2020) offers a wide range of connectivity features to ensure you stay connected and have access to various communication and data transfer options.

Additional Features

Additional Features of Oppo A9 (2020):

- Standout features: The Oppo A9 (2020) offers a range of standout features that enhance the user experience. With its large 6.5-inch IPS LCD display and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, the device delivers vibrant visuals and durability. The quad-camera setup, including a 48 MP main camera and 8 MP ultrawide lens, allows for versatile and high-quality photography.

- Advanced sensor suite: The smartphone is equipped with a range of sensors, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and compass. These sensors enable various functionalities such as screen rotation, gesture control, and accurate navigation. The Oppo A9 (2020) also features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for quick and secure unlocking.

- Long-lasting battery: With its 5000 mAh non-removable battery, the Oppo A9 (2020) offers extended usage times. The device supports 10W wired charging and even has reverse wired charging capabilities, allowing it to charge other devices.

- Color options: The Oppo A9 (2020) is available in attractive color options, including Marine Green, Space Purple, and Vanilla Mint, providing users with a choice to match their personal style.

- Affordable price: The Oppo A9 (2020) offers a range of impressive features at an affordable price point, making it an attractive option for budget-conscious consumers.

(Note: The Oppo A9 (2020) does not have water resistance, dust resistance, waterproofing, dustproofing, IP rating, wireless charging, Qi wireless charging, or environmental sensors)

Comparison with Other Related Phones

The Oppo A9 (2020) is a mid-range smartphone that offers a range of features at an affordable price. When comparing it to other related gadgets in the market, it competes with devices such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy M30s, and Realme 5 Pro.

In terms of specifications, the Oppo A9 (2020) stands out with its large 6.5-inch IPS LCD display and a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset and comes with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, offering smooth multitasking capabilities. In comparison, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro boasts a more powerful MediaTek Helio G90T chipset, while the Samsung Galaxy M30s and Realme 5 Pro feature a similar Snapdragon 665 chipset.

When it comes to the camera, the Oppo A9 (2020) features a quad-camera setup with a 48MP primary lens, an 8MP ultrawide lens, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. This allows for versatile photography options. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro also offers a quad-camera setup with a higher resolution 64MP primary lens, while the Samsung Galaxy M30s and Realme 5 Pro have triple-camera setups.

One of the standout features of the Oppo A9 (2020) is its large 5000mAh battery, which provides excellent battery life. In comparison, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy M30s also offer large battery capacities, while the Realme 5 Pro has a slightly smaller 4035mAh battery.

In terms of pricing, the Oppo A9 (2020) is positioned competitively in the mid-range segment, with a price of around 150 EUR. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro and Realme 5 Pro are priced similarly, while the Samsung Galaxy M30s is available at a slightly lower price point.

Overall, the Oppo A9 (2020) offers a good balance of features and performance at an affordable price. It competes well with other related gadgets in the market, providing a strong value for money proposition. Its large battery and versatile camera setup make it an attractive choice for those looking for a mid-range smartphone.

Pros and Cons