Earlier this year Oppo unveiled the A3 Pro, an affordable 5G model for China (not to be confused with the A3 Pro for India). Now comes the vanilla Oppo A3, which dials back some hardware specs in the name of affordability. That said, the phone doesn’t sacrifice too much. For example, it has a 6.7” OLED display with FHD+ resolution. Even better, it is a 10-bit panel with 120Hz refresh rate (240Hz touch sampling) and the new Gorilla Glass 7i for protection. This panel can reach up to 1,200 nits of brightness.
The chipset did take a step back with the
veteran Snapdragon 695 taking over from the Dimensity 7050 used in the Pro
model. It is paired with 8/12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256/512GB of UFS 2.2
storage. A microSD slot is also available for additional storage. The camera
features a 50MP sensor with an f/1.8 lens which can record 1080p video at 30fps
(there’s also a 2MP depth sensor on the back). The front-facing camera is a
basic 8MP module punch holed into the display, also capable of 1080p @ 30fps
video.
The USB-C 2.0 port charges the battery at
up to 45W with a VOOC adapter. The battery has a 5,000mAh (19.55Wh) capacity,
which is similar to the 5,000mAh/67W battery of the A3 Pro and a 50% upgrade
over the A2 charge rate. Other things worth mentioning are A3’s slim build – it
measures 7.15mm thick (vs. 7.5mm for the Pro) and weighs 178g. It is dust and
water-resistant, but there is no rating given. Connectivity includes 5G
(dual-SIM), Wi-Fi 5 (ac), Bluetooth (aptX HD), but there is no NFC or a 3.5mm
jack.
At least not on the Chinese model, though
we doubt that it will be present on a global model, if Oppo even releases one
(no word on that yet). You can find the Oppo A3 over on the Oppo online store
for China, it’s currently on pre-order. The base 8/256GB model goes for CNY
1,600 (this converts to US$ 220/€ 205/₹ 18,500). There is also a 12/256GB model for
CNY 1,800 and a 12/512GB option for CNY 2,100. There are three colorways to
choose from: green, black and purple. Open sales start on July 5 (Friday).
