Build and Design
The Oppo Reno Z is a great phone for the price, but where did they scrimp and save to get such a specked out phone so cheap. Not in the build and design. Let’s look at reality here, Gorilla Glass 5, dual cameras on the rear that are flush with the device, Amoled Display, Stereo Speakers, In display fingerprint scanner which works exceptionally well and is just as fast as my note 9 if they face unlock doesn’t beat it to it. USB Type C, colors that pop and shimmer. I can’t really say Oppo have done any scrimping or saving here. Not only do you get all this but it’s also a pleasure to hold and is fairly easy to handle with it’s 6.4 inch form. I have the aurora Purple color and it looks impressive and it’s definitely the first thing people mention when they see the phone. Then they mention the fingerprint scanner.
Software
The software on the Oppo Reno z has matured over time and i can honestly say in the last 18 months has gone from almost all apple like to almost all android like. There are still hints of how Oppo used to look but it’s mainly all good these days. Running Color OS 6 and Android Pie it’s mostly familiar to any Android fan. These days adding a custom launcher works a treat, as does adding a custom sms app, It’s Oppo extras are a minor pain point given that they cannot be removed but that is no different from Samsung or others. Smart assistant is ok offering a widget like page on the home screen and the usual Oppo settings are here and are intuitive and easy to follow.
Performance
This is where in my opinion The Oppo Reno Z has done it’s scrimping, But it’s not all bad, now we are running the Mediatek Helio P90 and the GPU is a PowerVR GM9446 which is it a step up from Arm Mali GPU’s. Now when i play games Like PUBG, leos fortune and Asphalt 9 i get the same performance i would out of a mid range snapdragon CPU with the only hiccup being PUBG on high graphics settings, other than that gaming was easy peazy. Day to day usage is quite snappy and lag free, it seems even faster when I use Nova Launcher. For Antutu it seemed to score quite low on the rankings (162000) but for me this isn’t a true reflection of its capabilities. Geekbench score comes in at Galaxy s8 levels for multi core and Pixel 2 levels for single core. The Hlios P90 and 8gigs or RAM put this performance at a very acceptable level.
Camera
The first thing i talk about always with camera is shutter speed, as when anyone takes a photo if they have to wait for the shutter to fire after pressing the button it’s a bad experience and the Oppo Reno Z has zero shutter lag and this puts us on a good start. Next is Picture quality. With 48 megapixels we want good pics yeah? Well happy days for us. This phone is coming in nearly 200 bucks cheaper than the pixel 3a yet the picture quality is up there. Detailed, crisp, not oversaturated and dynamic range is impressive. A 5 megapixel depth sensor on the back also adds to the overall quality especially for Bokeh. The camera software is easy to use and there is no confusion here. Night mop and de works well and I did enjoy playing with color punch as well. Video, here we can see that 1080p and 720p works really well with EIS and this could easily be your vlogging camera, 4K footage look ok and has a noticeable digital look about it.. The front facing Cam is ok and at 32 megapixels i expected more but the image is normally over exposed and needs some software updates.
Media Consumption and Battery Life
Watching media on the 6.4 inch amoled screen was a pleasure and having stereo speakers was a treat as well. Now I don’t usually watch traditional television I watch most of my content on my phone or my laptop. So using the Oppo Reno Z for media was pleasant, colours appeared accurate and the stereo sound sets this device apart from a lot of its competitors I would be happy to recommend this phone to anyone.Now a full day of battery life is not out of the question here. I have been flogging this device and I always get a full day of use out of it. Now the biggest battery drain is the “system launcher” however i have no issues with the battery, if it is in need of a top up VOOC charging punches enough juice back in it quicker than you can take a shower. I did expect a little more out of the battery however I always made it through a day,
Seedubs Recommendation
If $499 (AU) is your price point then i would say get this. It’s specs, performance, camera, ease of use, build and design. It just all comes together for an exceptional phone at an exceptional price.
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