Realme 7 vs Samsung Galaxy A31 vs OPPO A92 – Under P15,000 Phones!

Got around Php15,000 to spare for a new smartphone? These are the three best devices you can get right now — Samsung Galaxy A31, OPPO A92, and the all-new Realme 7. With Realme’s mid-range phone hitting a new market segment, how does it stack up against the competition? Let’s find out.

What are the similarities?

If there’s one thing you need to know about mid-range phones in 2020, it’s that they are huge in display and design. For these three, we’re dealing with 6.4-6.5″ diagonal screens. But make no mistake, Realme 7 is the heftiest of them all, with 9.4mm thickness and 196.5g weight. All three also sport polycarbonate build, which is a cheaper feeling than glass but more durable. As the trend suggests, there’s no shortage of cameras as all three come equipped with quad-cameras on the back and a single selfie upfront. The same goes for the massive 5000mAh battery that can easily last a day or two.

READ: Realme 7 vs Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite Specs Comparison – 90Hz vs AMOLED!

Why Choose Realme 7?

For Php14,990, Realme 7 is pricier than its predecessor but offers a bit more in the spec sheet. You still get the same FHD+ IPS LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate. That high refresh rate is what separates this phone from the two, allowing you to see faster animations and transitions for a speedy experience. The G95 performs not far from the G90T, but it offers slight improvements in GPU performance. But on top of that, Realme finally decided to make 8GB be the standard RAM capacity for its latest mid-range phone. 

On paper, the 64MP quad-cameras appear to be uninteresting given that Realme 6 came with the set of cameras. Well, that’s not entirely true. Realme 7 has switched from Samsung to Sony sensors, featuring Sony IMX682 for the back and Sony IMX471 for the front. In layman’s terms, both video and photo quality should be sharper and overall better.

You will also appreciate the use of a 5000mAh battery, especially when you have the screen set to 90Hz all time. Though the upgrade from 4300mAh is significant, the charging time — at 30W, which is the fastest among the three — can get you from 0-100% in 65mins.

Why Choose Samsung Galaxy A31?

Samsung Galaxy A31 may be behind in terms of feature set and design, but it’s the only device in this group that offers Super AMOLED panel. As opposed to having a fast display, the colors are livelier, and the black color is perfect. The device may not feel as fast as Realme 7, but it looks miles better than the OPPO and Realme’s offerings. Combine the fact that there’s a 5000mAh battery with a low-power display; you can easily get up to eight hours of screen time or two days worth of battery life. While the teardrop notch looks outdated, the Galaxy A31 is the only one with an in-display fingerprint scanner, thanks to the panel.  

If there’s a downside to owning the Galaxy A31, that would be the sub-par cameras and performance. Helio P65 is OK for basic tasks and casual gaming, but don’t expect it to improve even with software updates. For what it’s worth, the RAM capacity is 6GB, and the storage type is eMMC, not UFS. On the other end, the 48MP main, 8MP ultrawide, and 5MP macro are soft, and video quality is capped at 1080p. The same goes for the 20MP selfie camera.

Why Choose OPPO A92?

Having reviewed the OPPO A92, the two best things it offers are a big display and long battery life. This mid-range device from OPPO doesn’t carry a fast refresh nor Super AMOLED. In other words, it’s a phone that just gets the job done. Snapdragon 665 is an underpowered and outdated chipset compared to Helio G95, but it’s slightly better in power and efficiency compared to Helio P65. And thanks to Qualcomm’s chipset, the 48MP and 8MP sensors output better quality than the Galaxy A31, albeit with obvious skin softening. Some of you may even find the 16MP more alluring than the rest of the two, given its AI processing. 

If there’s one thing that OPPO A92 has that the other two don’t, that’s stereo speakers. If you value sound quality, this device will give you a significantly louder and better audio experience. The battery can be charged at 18W, which is slower than 30W of Realme 7 and slightly faster than 15W of Galaxy A31.

Which is the Best Phone?

At this point, it’s hard to recommend OPPO A92 because of its aging performance. Yep, even if the price got slashed from Php15,990 to Php13,990. Samsung is also starting to put the Galaxy A31 on sale, retailing from Php14,990 to Php13,990. Though you do get an excellent Super AMOLED from it, there are just too many drawbacks here. With Realme 7, despite the Php14,990 price tag, you get the best cameras out of the three, the same massive battery but with incredibly fast 30W charging, a gaming-capable chipset, and a fast display that’s also bright at the same time.

READ: Realme 6 vs Realme 7 Specs Comparison – Pricier, But Is It Better?

ManilaShaker is a tech media producing insightful and helpful content for our local and growing international audience. Our goal is to create a premier Philippine digital consumer electronics resource that provides the most objective reviews and comparisons globally.