What separates one phone from another? Usually, there’s a killer app to stand out from the crowd, whether it’s a souped-up camera or a swish-looking display. Instead of flaunting one big feature, the Oppo A80 produces a tidy all-round package, capped off with the brand’s signature sense of style.
Priced at $369 in Australia, the A80 sits in an awkward spot. It’s not quite entry-level nor is it mid-range. As such, it’s clearly better than cheaper handsets but omits a couple of nice-to-haves brandished by slightly more expensive phones.
Oppo’s phones aren’t the most powerful going around, which it makes up for with good-quality cameras and fast charging speeds. That remains consistent with the A80, a handset characterised by an overwhelming sense of familiarity. As much as I’d love a sharper display, there’s not much else to take issue with.
Oppo A80 review
First impressions
I’ve always enjoyed Oppo’s design aesthetic, favouring bright and bold colours instead of dull finishes. Particularly with the Moonlight Purple, the colour of my review device, the eye-catching iridescent sheen looks nice. There is a Starry Black option for those who prefer a more subtle finish, but I think the purple adds a nice level of personality.
On the sides, you notice a classy metallic-esque gloss that adds to the sleek aesthetic. It does catch fingerprints easily though, so prepare to wipe it down frequently.
Even with a 6.67-inch display, the Oppo A80 doesn’t feel too big. I normally prefer smaller phones but this handset sits nicely, giving you a decent-sized screen without being too bulky. Its camera array doesn’t jut out too far either, so the phone sits nearly flush when rested on a table.
As a right-handed person, the A80’s rather iPhone-like design is comfortable to grip. You don’t have to reach far to access the power or volume controls, in addition to the touchscreen. Despite the plastic-feeling and glossy rear material, the Oppo A80 is still satisfyingly grippy.
Like any modern phone, the A80’s setup is a simple process. Oppo uses ColorOS 14, the brand’s version of Android 14, which doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Perhaps more than most brands, there’s a fair bit of bloatware included. Even after declining additional apps when setting up the phone, the A80 still greeted me with loads of extra apps upon bootup, like Temu.
Sure, it’s easy to delete apps you don’t want but I’d prefer not to have them in the first place. Otherwise, it’s a familiar and streamlined phone experience.
Kudos to Oppo for keeping the 3.5mm headphone jack. Even though everything’s going wireless, it’s still nice to have the option of wired audio. Sometimes, the old ways are best. Except when it means no eSIM support. An increasingly ubiquitous feature in mid-range phones, it’s an annoying omission here.
Oppo A80 specs and price in Australia
| Display | 6.67-inch LCD 1604 × 720 resolution 264 PPI 120Hz refresh rate |
| Dimensions | 76.14mm x 165.79mm x 7.68 mm 186g |
| Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 6300 5G |
| Storage and memory | 256GB storage 8GB RAM |
| Cameras | 50MP main camera: f/1.85, 27mm focal length 2MP portrait camera: f/2.4, 22mm focal length 8MP front camera: f/2.05, 25mm focal length |
| Battery and charging | 5,100mAh battery capacity 45W wired charging |
| Connectivity | USB-C 2.0 Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth 5.3 3.5mm headphone jack NFC Nano SIM |
| Network bands | GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz WCDMA: Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19 LTE FDD: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/26/28/66 LTE TDD: Bands 38/39/40/41 5G NR: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n26/n28/n38/n40/n41/n66/n77/n78 |
| Software | Android 14 ColorOS 14 |
| Durability | IP54 |
| Colours | Starry Black Moonlight Purple |
| Price (RRP) | $369 |
| Warranty | Two years |
| Official website | Oppo Australia |
Performance
A trend I’ve observed from recent Oppo phones is that its processing power isn’t quite as strong as similarly priced phones. Instead, the brand focuses on efficiency and cost-effectiveness, evidenced by the A80’s MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset.
Realistically, you don’t notice too much variability between phones costing $300-400. Any slight gains one device might have over another are mainly picked up by benchmarking tools, not real-world use.
The Oppo A80 runs apps, media, and online browsing reasonably well. I noticed some slight lag after bootup or unlocking the phone; nothing that impeded my usage though. At this price point, there’s not too much difference in a handset’s capabilities. Generally, graphically intensive tasks, like gaming, are the main sacrifice.
As the benchmarking tools demonstrate, the Oppo A80 is slightly less powerful than its direct competitors. Will you notice a difference in day-to-day use? Probably not.
| Device | CPU single-core | CPU multi-score | GPU (OpenCL) |
| Moto G54 5G | 921 | 2,329 | N/A |
| Telstra T-Elite 5G | 749 | 2,345 | 1,720 |
| Nubia Focus 5G | 749 | 2,234 | 1,715 |
| Motorola Moto G85 | 943 | 2,099 | 1,609 |
| Moto G84 5G | 916 | 2,061 | 1,410 |
| Oppo A80 | 787 | 1,975 | 1,408 |
| Oppo A79 5G | 718 | 1,836 | 1,163 |
| Oppo A18 | 435 | 1,454 | 565 |
| Moto G24 | 411 | 1,405 | 549 |
| Moto G04 | 381 | 1,335 | 446 |
As expected, this isn’t a gaming phone. The Oppo A80 can run the Wild Life mobile gaming benchmark from 3D Mark, which is a good start considering some entry-level phones can’t even do that. However, the results indicate the Mediatek chipset isn’t built for graphics. And that’s totally fine because only phones considerably more expensive can reliably play the latest games.
| Device | Score | Average frame rate (fps) |
| Motorola Edge 50 Fusion | 3,029 | 18.14 |
| Samsung Galaxy A35 | 2,798 | 16.76 |
| Oppo Reno 11 F 5G | 2,296 | 13.75 |
| Telstra T-Elite 5G | 1,634 | 9.79 |
| Nubia Focus 5G | 1,624 | 9.73 |
| Moto G85 | 1,557 | 9.45 |
| Oppo A80 | 1,382 | 8.28 |
Display
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I always prefer a high-resolution display over a higher refresh rate. Having both a crisp and smooth screen is great, but give me a crystal clear reading experience any day of the week.
Why the preface? Most budget phones favour the opposite. One of these days, I’m keen to ask why that’s the case. Perhaps it’s because screens with higher refresh rates are cheaper to produce, or maybe market research indicates that customers prefer smoother displays.
This is a long-winded way of referencing the Oppo A80’s 720p LCD screen. It actually looks quite nice and produces decent brightness and vibrancy levels, even without OLED technology. I would like it more if it was slightly sharper, which is nicer for reading text.
Its 120Hz refresh rate is nice and smooth, I’ll give it that. Swiping and scrolling feel pleasant and highly responsive, making a satisfyingly tactile user experience. But it’s tough not to glance at other brands that combine sharpness and refresh rate at a similar price.
Battery
Sporting a 5,100mAh battery and wired charging speeds of up to 45W, the Oppo A80 has impressive on-paper specs. However, you need a separate charger to benefit from those speeds.
I’ll admit to being a bit surprised that Oppo didn’t include a wall charger in the box. Some of the brand’s slightly pricier phones, like the Reno 11 F 5G, ship with a charger so you can get fast speeds out of the box.
You do get an included USB-C cable to use with existing chargers, but it means you don’t immediately benefit from Oppo’s speedy charging technology. It’s not a deal-breaker at all; very few phone manufacturers include in-box chargers these days. As a heads-up, the company’s first-party 45W charger costs $45.
As for the battery, the Oppo A80 performed fairly. It’s not the best-performing phone battery I’ve encountered but it does the job.
My easily repeatable method for comparing phones involves an hour of YouTube video playback, setting the phone’s brightness and volume to 50%. From a fully charged battery, the Oppo A80 dropped to 94%.
That’s one percentage point lower than the similarly priced Moto G85 from Motorola. From my testing, the benchmark is the Motorola Edge Fusion 50, which remained at an impressive 99% after an hour of video playback.
Although batteries don’t necessarily deplete at a linear rate, it’s a decent indicator of all-day performance. Between general app use and scrolling, the A80 easily gets through a day without needing a top-up.
The battery test also doubled as a chance to test the A80’s speakers. Although it’s no replacement for a decent set of headphones, the handset can definitely pump the volume. It’s not overly distorted or tinny either, which can plague some entry-level and mid-range phones.
Oppo A80 camera quality
Photography is typically one of Oppo’s strengths, employing decent camera sensors and post-processing to create nicely lit and vibrant images. Based on a handful of photos I took with the A80, this trend looks to continue.
Particularly in good lighting conditions, the phone does take nice photos, capturing a decent level of detail for a handset at this price.
Compared to the Moto G85, the Oppo A80 takes a sharper image. You can see more details on the stitching of the plush from the Oppo, although both photos look nice. I think the Moto’s processing is slightly more aesthetically pleasing, cranking up the colours, but the Oppo looks more true to life.
It does reasonably well in low-light conditions too. Shutting the living room curtains and taking the same photo in near-total darkness revealed predictable results. The lighting is good but you lose a fair chunk of detail, especially in the background.
If there’s one thing the Oppo A80 camera does noticeably better, it’s lighting. This photo of Lego flowers looks more evenly lit, showing the bright whites more prominently.
Its 8MP selfie camera is capable, performing at its best with ample light. There are beautification and smoothing settings that you can enable but I tend to set them to zero. Looking at a selfie I took though, perhaps I should have used some of the post-processing to address the pimple on the end of my nose.
I suppose the upside is that the phone captured that level of detail. So, thanks Oppo, I guess?
Facial blemishes aside, the colours look nice. From the deep blue of my jumper to the objects lining the shelf in the background, it’s a vibrant image.
Who is the Oppo A80 for?
A nicely designed phone, the Oppo A80 battles manfully in the highly competitive sub-$400 market. It’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, doing well in several areas without claiming clear ascendancy.
Like many Oppo phones, the A80’s camera and fast-charging technologies are the highlight. Its speed and power might not be world-beating but the difference is minimal when placed alongside its peers.
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