I received the new OPPO A98 5G about a week back for review and my impressions of it is that it looks promising. It is one of the phones that I think is going to make a big hit in the mid-range market which in turn is a big plus point for OPPO. Not only does it look elegant, it is also packed with enough power to run the miles.
Here are my first impressions of the new OPPO A98 5G.
Design and Display
The OPPO A98 5G has a sleek and elegant design, with a matte back panel and a shiny panel that goes behind the camera bump and it comes in two colours: Cool Black and Dreamy Blue. The device feels premium in the hand, thanks to its metal frame and 3D curved edges. It has a dual SIM tray, a USB Type-C port, a speaker grille and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom. On the right side, there is a power button with a fingerprint sensor embedded in it, while on the left side, there are volume buttons.
The device sports a large 6.72-inch IPS LCD display, which has a Full HD+ resolution. The display supports up to 120Hz refresh rate, which makes it smooth and responsive for gaming and scrolling. The display also has a punch-hole cutout at the top in the middle, which houses the selfie camera.
Around the back is the triple camera setup on a large oblong camera bump. It does look good in my opinion and the camera’s decorative rings made it look even more premium. Extending from the camera module is an oval-shaped runway decorative area with streams of pearls flowing down the cover like a meteor showering breaking through the sky. I didn’t say this, the brochure did. But it does look like that.
I received the Cool Black colourway and I think it’s nice. The Dreamy Blue colour variant would have been nicer to look at but it may also be a little too feminine for me. But it does look better than the plain black one.
Performance and Battery
The OPPO A98 5G is powered by the latest Snapdragon 600 series (details will be out soon) and also comes with ample storage to store all your photos and videos. Same can be said with the total RAM count. One thing that can be said, you will have the chance to increase your RAM storage via the RAM expansion feature. That is a huge advantage for those who require extra RAM to push the device into giving more. And it did it well.
Initial performance test shows that it has a potential to be a great entertainment smartphone as well as a gaming phone. I wouldn’t say it’s great, but the OPPO A98 5G is better than some of the mid-rangers that I’ve tried. For gaming, I have tried PUBG Mobile on it and the graphics renders well enough to give me a pleasant gaming experience. As a bonus, it comes with stereo speakers too.
The device runs on Android 12 operating system, a little old for an OS but it does come with the latest ColorOS 13.1 custom skin on top. ColorOS offers a lot of customization options and features, such as dark mode, smart sidebar, game space, privacy protection, etc.
The device packs a massive 5000mAh battery, which can easily last for a day or more with moderate usage. I even managed to push the phone to 2 days with only 5% battery left. Good thing I was not actively using it.
Camera and Connectivity
The OPPO A98 5G has a triple camera setup at the back, like I’ve discussed earlier. The camera is probably the first thing that I would try when it comes to a new phone. What’s the first thing I do with a new phone? Snap photos of course.
The camera is pretty simple and almost identical to the previous models with the exception of the updated software and the upgraded hardwares. As usual, it comes with a normal camera mode, portrait mode, 2x zoom mode and with the new OPPO A98 5G, you will now have the microscopic mode. That’s right, you can take photos up close and very personal to your subject from now on. More sample photos will be shown in my full review.
Closing up
The OPPO A98 5G is an impressive mid-range smartphone that offers some high-end specifications and features at an affordable price point. It has a beautiful design and display, a powerful performance and battery as well as a versatile camera system.
I look forward to further testing the new OPPO A98 5G in terms of performance, camera features and daily usage. Up until now, it has been a very pleasant experience overall.
Be sure to check back at this website for the full review of the OPPO A98 5G.
