Oppo A38 | A18 Launching Soon Indicate NBTC And SIRIM Certifications: Are They Budget 5G Android Smartphones?

Oppo A38 and Oppo A18 have secured Malaysia's SIRIM and Indonesia's NBTC certification. Recently, the duo had been certified by UAE TDRA, suggesting a global launch of the Oppo A series smartphones.

Oppo reserves its "A" series for budget or midrange Android smartphones. The Oppo A38, the likely successor to the Oppo A36 too appears to follow the same design, hardware, and price strategies of its predecessor. Let's look at the latest information on the upcoming budget smartphone from Oppo.

Oppo A38 | A18 Certified By NBTC, SIRIM, And TDRA

Oppo appears to be readying two new budget-friendly Android smartphones. The company secured NBTC and SIRIM certifications for both devices, which strongly suggest they have different hardware specifications.

First spotted on Malaysia's SIRIM certification website, the Oppo A38 bears the model number CPH2579. The same model number is also visible on the NBTC website.

Neither the TDRA, NBTC nor the TDRA websites confirm key specs and other hardware details of the upcoming Oppo smartphones. However, some rumors claim the Oppo A38 and the Oppo A18 could be limited to 4G networks.

Oppo A38 | A18 Expected Specifications

The entry-level models in the Oppo A series smartphones haven't supported 5G networks and it looks like the Oppo A38 and the A18 smartphones too will be restricted to 4G networks only.

The Oppo A36 smartphone, which debuted last year, was powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC, which was paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. It had a 6.56-inch IPS LCD screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. The screen was limited to 720p resolution.

The Oppo A38 may pack a MediaTek Helio chipset, presumably the Helio G90 or G88. Alternatively, Oppo may offer a 5G-enabled variant of these devices, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 SoC in some regions.

Oppo could swap out the 720p screen with a Full HD+ display for the upcoming A series smartphones. The brand should retain the 5000mAh battery with just 10W wired charging.

Oppo hasn't officially acknowledged the existence of the Oppo A38 or Oppo A18 smartphones. However, some reports suggest Oppo could announce these budget-friendly smartphones in the fourth quarter of this year.