OPPO A39 Review - Budget Selfie Wonder

OPPO has always been a game changer in the selfie smartphone market. Given the release of the F1s which has been the company's main offering, the OPPO has introduced a slightly cheaper offering in the A39. Though this handset resembles its predecessor the A37 physically, the A39 does pose more on its selfie game than having HiFi capabilities.

Say hi to the A39!

So how does the A39 fit into your options on the budget phone market? Here are our two cents!

OPPO A39 specs

Display: 5.2 Inch HD TFT 1280 x 720 resolution w/ 2.5D curved glass and Gorilla Glass 4 protection at 282 ppi

CPU: 1.5 GHz 64 Bit MT6750 octa core processor

GPU: Mali T860

RAM: 3 GB

ROM: 32 GB expandable via micro SD card slot up to 256 GB (dedicated)

Back Camera: 13 MP f/2.2 w/ AF and LED flash

Selfie Camera: 5 MP f/2.4, w/ 1.4 um, and screen flash

Battery: 2,900 mAh

OS: Android 5.1 Lollipop w/ Color OS 3.0

Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Dimensions: 149.1 x 72.9 x 7.65 mm

Weight: 147 g

Price: PHP 10,990 (PHP 9,990 sale price)

Unboxing / Accessories

Here we go!

First off, the A39 handset comes with the OPPO trademark box with a cool set of necessities inside. A default 2A / 5V USB wall charger,  USB charger / data cable, jelly soft case, and ever present earphones with microphone. The package covers all the basics and having an additional jelly case is not bad at all.

A39 and accessories

Also if you would notice, the phone comes with a pre-installed tempered glass like material which save you a lot more cash from buying accessories

Build Quality / Design

Back panel, iPhone-ish look

The construction is mostly metal w/ few plastic parts which is a step-up compared with Vivo counterparts. The beautiful 2.5D curved screen is also protected with tough Gorilla Glass 4 technology against scratch resistance.

Curves, earpiece, and sensors visible on top

Headphone jack slot, microphone, micro USB port, and speaker below

Volume keys at left

Power button and ejectable SIM / micro SD tray at right

Unless your used to it, lack of a backlight functionality on the capacitive buttons may pose some challenges especially in low light situations

The A39 has well rounded curves and slim frame that makes this phone a stunning handset. The front of the A39 shows the front-view camera, proximity sensors on top and the capacitive android buttons at the bottom which do not have any backlight functionality.

It feels great in the hands as a whole!

The back of the phone has the 13 MP rear camera, the OPPO logo, and flashlight. The volume control buttons are on the left side of the phone while the other side houses the power button and the SIM / memory card tray. The tray has 2 nano-SIM card slots and a dedicated micro SD card slot for storage expansion The 3.5 mm audio socket is found at the bottom along with the micro USB port, microphone, and speaker.

Display Quality

The 5.2 HD display screen of the A39 works well. Viewing angles are okay and the display quality is akin to the regular F1s except that it is smaller and sharper. The A39 features a 10 multi-touch screen can be viewable on semi-direct outdoor lighting. well compared to other handsets in its ranks. 

10 points multitouch is present

There's nothing special in its screen as it lags compared with FHD panels, but it does the job fine. Its not full HD but it does the job with your favorite movies. 

Battery Life

8 hours score!

Based on daily usage tasks, the A39 battery could be sustained for most of your day. However, this is entirely based on the type of usage. High usage on the display like playing games and watching movies would drain the battery faster. Using the mobile data with consistent social media browsing the phone would last up to the end of your work day.

Battery life is sufficient!

The handset scored 8 hours using PC Mark benchmarking tool which is great knowing that the battery has a 2,900 mah capacity. In terms of charging, the phone takes about 2.5 hours from 0 to 100 using the pre-packaged charger.  

Audio Quality

In the audio department, the phone is a tad above par. It's speakers give out clean sounds but they tend to distort on the higher range volumes.

Using the stock earphones entails a better experience but there is nothing special with it. However, using this handset for day-to-day commute soundtrips may do the job and using the phone along with your favorite headset/earphones may improve the experience.

Microphone quality for calls and basic recordings is decent too. Again, nothing special though.

Camera

13 MP shooter behind!

The A39 comes with a 13 MP f/2.2 autofocus camera at the back. It has the basic intuitive camera controls found with F1s which includes HDR, beautify, and panorama. 

The resulting images from this shooter are a bit brighter than expected for my personal liking. Color levels are warm and images are very sharp. It's a little washed and has over-sharpening, but may be a very good trait for those looking to quickly post their shots on social media.

Lowlight photography is one of the key marketing highlights of this device. It performs decently with just tad below the performance of the great F1s.

Rear Camera Samples

Outdoor daylight 1

Outdoor daylight 2

Close-up indoor

Indoor dim light

Indoor low light

In the front is a 5 MP camera. Yes just 5 megapixels but the shots are amazing and bright due to its large 1.4 um pixel size. The camera is able to capture bright and warm colors. The beautify effect is a wonder to behold and works even if there are a number of people in the shot.

OPPO has got the magic in the selfie cam!

Speaking of number of people, the frame wide enough for a great group shot with your "barkada" or family. OPPOs selfie camera expertise has been the brand's superpower and the A39 is a testament to that.

Selfie Camera Samples

Against the light selfie is possible

Max beautify level

Selfie w/ screen flash in lowlight

For videos, it can shoot at 1080p at fine 30 fps. Quality is acceptable, though not great. In front, the story 720p story is the time. There's no OIS or EIS on both cameras so i'll be shaky if you do not have steady hands. Time-lapse feature is a plus.

Performance

Benchmark scores!

The handset has a 1.5 GHz MediaTek MT6750 octa-core processor under the hood. It has a Mali-T860 graphics and 3 GB of RAM that would handle most of the High Resolution games in the market. The A39 poses a 41558 score in Antutu and 2476 multi-core score in Geekbench which is impressive given the setup!

Good benchmark scores and actual performance!

Using the phone with games like Asphalt 8: Airborne on max settings won't be a problem. Though, be mindful with other high specification games as they may need to be set on a lower spectrum for better frame rates during gameplay.

The OS is good, but needs an upgrade

Though, the Android OS could use an upgrade its 5.1 version. The UI has an IOS design because of the Color OS running on top of the Android OS. The Color OS really mimics the IOS scheme which would be beneficial for those wishing to do the transition from Apple to Android devices.

In terms of connectivity, the phone hangs on to signal well and is able to connect to 4G and WiFi excellently. OTG works and it has gyroscope sensor too.

It may not be a standout from its peers in terms of the setup, but the A39's setup is fit for everyday use with a bit of fun on the side.

Pros - Great selfie camera, good build, good battery life, dedicated micro SD card slot

Cons - Outdated Android version, no fingerprint scanner

Verdict

Having experienced using the A39 I can see how OPPO has become very popular in the local market. The sleek look with a powerful selfie camera and straightforward specifications, the A39 is a very well built phone given the price range. The IOS feel and display maybe a bit off for some, but in this day and age where UIs tend to be interchangeable, we don't think anyone would have any major problem with the A39 for the price.

Build / Design - 4

Display - 3.75

Audio - 3.75

Battery - 4

Camera - 4.25

Performance - 4

Average - 3.95 / 5