Oppo is set to refresh its budget smartphone offerings in the Kenyan market with the launch of the Oppo A96 soon.
The device’s impending launch comes just 2 months since the release of its predecessor, the Oppo A95, in the Kenyan market.
Oppo is touting the device’s sleek gradient design, which it is calling ‘Oppo Glow Design’ to be resistant to scratches and fingerprint smudges, a constant pet peeve of ours when we review devices.
The Oppo A96 packs a 6.4-inch Full HD+ display, a Snapdragon 695 chipset, a 16-megapixel front-facing camera and a 48-megapixel headliner sensor at the back, 8GB RAM and 256GB onboard storage (finally, we are moving from 128GB).
The high amount of storage and the addition of 5G network connectivity, coupled with a 5,000mAh sealed battery unit that can be juiced up from nothing to just over half (55%) in half an hour thanks to Oppo’s proprietary SuperVOOC fast-charging tech, make the device a compelling option for those shopping for a decent mid-range smartphone. However, we don’t know the device’s pricing at this point in time and we’ll wait to see what that will be. Hopefully, the inclusion of 5G radios won’t see the price balloon out of the Oppo A9x series price bracket as was the case with the Reno series when Oppo launched the Reno6 5G in the country last year.
On the software front, the device arrives running the ColorOS 11.1 that powered its predecessor. Given that even the A93 we liked a long while back is earmarked for a bump up to ColorOS 12 and all its Android 12 goodness, it goes without saying that buyers of the device can expect similar treatment not just for version 12 of Android but also at least one other major software update.
There are other features on the device to look forward to like high fidelity audio and the usual face retouching that is characteristic of Oppo’s camera app.
In a few days, Samsung is set to introduce its Galaxy A series smartphones, some of which will be direct competitors to the Oppo A96.
