OPPO A3 Review Verdict Philippines: The OPPO A3 is a tough phone that’s hard to kill, though it would have been nice if it came with a higher IP rating. Its bright display makes it perfect for outdoor use, and its long battery life should be handy for people who are too lazy to charge every night.

Pros

• Screen works even when wet.
• IP54 protection
• It can be dropped repeatedly without breaking
• Extremely bright display for the price
• Good battery

Cons

• Processor is meh
• The camera isn’t that great

You might not realize it, but there’s a huge market for affordable, durable phones in the Philippines. There are plenty of service workers like motorcycle taxi operators and food delivery workers that need phones that don’t cost a ton of money, can take a beating, weather a sudden shower, and have a screen that can be seen even under the noonday sun. OPPO hopes to capitalize on that market with their recently released A3. The phone does have the makings of a “Bardagulan” phone, though hardware choices aren’t going to make the chipset boys happy.

OPPO A3 Review Philippines: Design

Despite being marketed as a tough, durable phone, the OPPO A3 looks more like a pretty mid-ranger aimed at people who put a premium on external aesthetics. The phone has a flat back and sides, with rounded corners to make it easier to grip and pocket.

Of course, any phone at this price tag is bound to use plastic as the material of choice for its construction, and the OPPO A3 is no different. What is different though is how the plastic chassis looks and feels. The phone is officially available in three colors: Sparkle Black, Starry Purple, and Starlight White, and all three looked and felt more expensive than they were.

The A3 has an IP54 rating, which means it can withstand light to moderate rain without anything bad happening to it. That’s handy for people who commute via motorcycles because they won’t have to keep their phones in a plastic bag when riding. The phone isn’t rated for prolonged submersion in water though, so keep that in mind if you plan to buy this.

One thing that OPPO is proud of with this phone is its durability. The OPPO A3 has reportedly passed MIL-STD 810H and SGS Standard certifications. We’ve seen this thing deliberately dropped from waist height down to a concrete floor without suffering ill effects, and OPPO’s marketing is promising that it can withstand a 10-meter drop onto a lawn without breaking.

OPPO A3 Review Philippines: Display

The phone uses a 6.67-inch LCD, which isn’t surprising considering the phone’s price and its target market. What is different here is the fact that the phone has a peak brightness of 1000nits, which makes it one of the brightest, LCD-equipped phones in its price range. That’s by the design – since the phone is marketed to people who need an affordable, tough phone for everyday use, the panel’s 1000nits of max brightness comes in handy for motorcycle riders who use their phone for navigation and usually use a sunshade with their phone to see their screen when they’re riding.

The phone also has a 90Hz refresh rate, though the downside here is that the resolution is just 1604 × 720, or HD+. The phone does have Panda-reinforced glass for enhanced drop and scratch protection, so there is that.

OPPO A3 Review Philippines: Cameras

The OPPO A3 might look to have two cameras at the rear, but in reality, there’s only one: a 50-megapixel camera with an f/1.8 aperture and AF. The other camera is a “flicker sensor” – which is a fancy name for a filler camera. I guess having just one camera module on the back wasn’t aesthetically pleasing.

Anyway, the main camera performs like most cameras on affordable phones do–it does well when there’s plenty of light, and poorly when you’re shooting in darker environments. It’s not a bad camera per se, but there are some better cameras for the price.

The front selfie cam is ok, though OPPO’s beautification feature is a little over the top, at least for my age demographic.

OPPO A3 Review Philippines: Performance and battery life

The OPPO A3 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 1 processor, with 8GB of RAM and variable storage options available for users, with the base version coming in with 128GB.

While the rest of the package feels great for a phone that can take a beating, it’s the processor package that lets it down. The Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 1 processor feels underpowered for what it is, which might become an issue when you want to do something more than just use the phone for navigation and browsing your favorite apps. I noticed a fair amount of stutters when going through my timeline on Facebook, and gaming with the phone in settings other than low is a recipe for frustration.

The upside here is that the phone has excellent battery endurance. The OPPO A3 has 5100mAh battery and 45W fast charging. The phone did last around 14 hours with us in our continuous video loop, because the phone kept crashing on our PCMark Battery benchmark. I wager the phone would last more than half a day with normal use, which is higher than what you’d typically expect from a typical smartphone.

OPPO A3 Review Philippines: Wrap-up and verdict

The OPPO A3 is a tough phone, but its appeal becomes limited because of the processor choice. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 1 processor isn’t much good beyond basic functions and app use, though you are getting excellent battery life in exchange. If you’re someone who needs a tough phone that can get wet once in a while without dying, a phone that’s easy to see when you’re out in direct sunlight, and a phone that won’t crack or shatter if you’re clumsy, then the OPPO A3 is the phone for you. For everyone else, you might want to look elsewhere.

OPPO A3 Review Philippines: Price

The OPPO A3 is priced at Php 8,999.