Oppo A9 2020: Features | Pricing | Specs

Where to buy

Oppo has produced a good quantity of premium phones in recent years, but its business model still rests on highly affordable phones that sit in either the budget or mid-range market. The Oppo A9 2020 is a good example of this approach with an impressive internal battery and quad-camera array to help it stand out amongst its competition.

Design

• 6.5-inch LCD display
• Teardrop camera notch
• Marine Green finish only in Australia

• Read more about the Oppo A9 2020's design

  The Oppo A9 2020 visually follows the same style as the slightly less expensive Oppo A5 2020, with a 6.5-inch LCD display at relatively low resolution. You're staring at a 720 x 1,600 pixel display, but then for lower-priced phones there's always some point of compromise. For Oppo, that's in screen technology and resolution, although having said that, at this size, you're not going to notice too much blockiness in onscreen images.

  At the back of the Oppo A9 2020, you'll find the fingerprint sensor located underneath a vertically oriented camera module. Oppo's release notes for the Oppo A9 2020 state that it's being sold in Australia in a Marine Green finish similar to that found on the Oppo Reno 5G, although its local specification page also suggests that a "Vanilla Mint" finish exists as well. It's not clear if we'll see that colour in Australia, however.

Camera

• Quad rear cameras
• 48MP primary sensor

• Read more about the Oppo A9 2020's camera

  Amidst the 2019 mid-range and high-end budget phone sector, we've seen a large number of phones use Sony's 48MP camera sensor as a selling point, and it's present too on the Oppo A9 2020 phone, alongside an 8MP ultrawide and dual 2MP focusing sensors. It's a good mix of camera capabilities, although it should be noted that you don't shoot at all through those 2MP sensors, which are purely there to provide soft focus effects for your standard or wide shots.

  At the front, Oppo matches up its AI beautification software to a 16MP front-facing lens for selfie taking purposes. If it's like every other Oppo phone we've tested, these can range from small subtle improvements to a rather plastic, overly photoshopped look, so you may need to tweak the settings here to get selfies you're happy with.

Performance

• Snapdragon 665 with 4GB of RAM
• 128GB of storage
• Nano SIM and storage expansion

• Read more about the Oppo A9 2020's performance

  The Oppo A9 2020 sits above the A5 2020 in Oppo's 2019 hierarchy, but internally they're rather close in specifications. Both utilise Qualcomm's mid-range Snapdragon 665 processor. Both rely on just 4GB of RAM, again a clue as to their relative budget status. Oppo does up the storage game for the Oppo A9 2020 with 128GB of onboard storage, and that can be further boosted with a MicroSD card.

  The Oppo A9 2020 is a dual SIM phone, but unlike many dual SIM phones that make you choose between two SIMs or one SIM and one MicroSD card, it's got a triple bay slot, so you can boost the internal storage and run two SIMs if that's your choice.

  The Oppo A9 2020 is an Android 9 phone with Oppo's ColorOS launcher on top. ColorOS started life as a very blatant iOS clone, but Oppo has done considerable work to make it into its own entity, sitting somewhere between Apple's very controlled look and the more freeform style of pure Android. It makes it a good choice for iPhone switchers, although those who prefer the flexibility of pure Android may find some aspects of its operation irksome.

Battery life

• 5,000mAh battery is great for this price point
• No VOOC fast charging

• Read more about the Oppo A9 2020's battery life

  Again the Oppo A9 2020 matches its smaller sibling with an impressive 5,000mAh internal battery. It's a sealed battery, so you can't easily switch it out, but at 5,000mAh it's less likely you'd need to. Single-day use should easily be within its remit, and while we're yet to test its capabilities fully, multi-day endurance is entirely possible.

  One feature that Oppo has included with many of its handsets that you won't find on the Oppo A9 2020 is support for its own fast charging "VOOC" standard. That means that it may take quite some time to top up its battery when it is exhausted.

Early outlook

• An impressive set of specifications for the price

• Read our early Oppo A9 2020 verdict

  Oppo's A-series 2019 range rests on that 5,000mAh battery, but if that's all you're after, the cheaper Oppo A5 2020 might be your better bet. Pick the Oppo A9 2020 if you also want a more capable camera and just a touch more storage space.

Pricing and availability

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Specifications

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