The software commitment of Android OEMs has been getting much better in recent years, with Oppo now the latest brand to commit to four years of major Android updates and five years of security patches.
In a press release this week, Oppo announced that its Android 13 rollout has been the fastest in the company’s history.
ColorOS 13 has rolled out to 33 devices so far, over 50% more during the same time period as Oppo managed with its Android 12/ColorOS 12 upgrade last year. The rollout started with the Find X5 series back in August, just days after Pixel phones, and has expanded widely in the time since.
But the bigger news from Oppo this week is that ColorOS is getting a new update policy, with Android updates promised for longer periods of time on select devices.
Oppo says that this new policy will guarantee four major Android updates and five years of security patches on “flagship” devices launched in 2023 and beyond. It stands to reason that the Find X6 series and perhaps the Find N2 Flip will be among those eligible for the new policy.
OPPO also announced the new ColorOS update policy. This includes the commitment to guarantee four major ColorOS updates with 5 years of security patches for global users on selected flagship models starting in 2023.Through it, OPPO aims to bring longer-lasting and more stable intelligent experiences to global users by continuing to build on ColorOS.
This policy mirrors that of OnePlus, which also committed to upping its software support timelines starting next year. Samsung, meanwhile, has offered the same guarantee on its flagship devices since early 2022, and extended that back to devices launched in late 2021 as well. Google offers a similar, although slightly lesser policy with three years of major Android updates and five years of security updates, though Google’s policy also extends to its more affordable A-Series devices.
The Fastest Rollout with ColorOS 13
• ColorOS 13 rolled out faster than any other version in its operating system’s history.
• OPPO guarantees four major ColorOS updates with five years of regular security patches for selected flagship models starting in 2023
SHENZHEN, Dec 20th, 2022 — Today, OPPO officially announced that ColorOS 13 rolled out faster than any previous version in its operating system’s history. The company also expanded its update policy for ColorOS to guarantee four major Android upgrades with five years of security patches for selected flagship models in 2023.
ColorOS 13 is the latest Android-Based operating system from OPPO. Designed for simplicity and comfort with its brand-new Aquamorphic Design, ColorOS 13 includes a series of impressive features such as Smart AOD, Multi-Screen Connect, and Home Screen Management that provide intelligent, and user-friendly experiences to global users.
Since launching on August 18th, 2022, ColorOS 13 has been delivered to 33 smartphone models globally, making it the fastest and biggest update in the history of ColorOS. During the same four-month time frame following their official release, over 50% more handset models were compatible with ColorOS 13 (data from August 18 to December 18, 2022) compared with ColorOS 12(data from October 11, 2021, to February 11, 2022).
OPPO also announced the new ColorOS update policy. This includes the commitment to guarantee four major ColorOS updates with 5 years of security patches for global users on selected flagship models starting in 2023.Through it, OPPO aims to bring longer-lasting and more stable intelligent experiences to global users by continuing to build on ColorOS.
At first glance, the Reno 2F looks similar to the Reno 2. It comes in two colors, namely Lake Green and Sky White. The unit we have here takes on the latter colorway, and it changes hues, depending on how the light hits it. Upon closer inspection, there’s a ridge pattern all over the rear. You don’t get to feel its texture, though, as the Reno 2F’s back is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
Similar to the standard Reno 2, the Reno 2F’s cameras are stacked vertically on the center rear. The ceramic O-Dot is also present, but instead of sitting below the cameras, it’s now located above them.
Upfront, the Reno 2F also has a full-screen, notch-less display. The chin on this device is slightly thicker than that of the Reno 2, however. Despite that, it’s not much of a distraction. Similar to the rear, the display is also protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
The Reno 2F also has a pop-up camera module, but it doesn’t adapt to the shark-fin design of the original Reno and the Reno 2. It’s your standard pop-up camera, and it lights upon rising and falling back into place. The light effects can be changed into several colors, or it can also be randomized if you can’t choose a particular hue.
On the left, one can find the volume rocker, while the right side houses the dual SIM tray and the power button. The power button is highlighted with a green strip. Like the Reno 2, the buttons are clicky and easy to reach.
Housed at the bottom of the device are the 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, USB-C port, and single downward-firing speaker.
The Reno 2F looks somewhat identical to the Reno 2, especially at first glance. Just like its sibling, the 2F is also sleek, and premium and its curved glass back makes it comfortable to hold.
For hardware, MediaTek Helio P70 runs as the 2F’s chipset, paired up with Mali-G72 GPU and 8GB of RAM. We tested it through our standard benchmarks, and here are the results:
• AnTuTu: 148,130
• Geekbench: 293 (Single-Core), 1,442 (Multi-Core), 5,772 (RenderScript)
• PC Mark: 7,796 (Work 2.0)
• 3D Mark SSE: 1,273 (OpenGL ES 3.1), 1,255 (Vulkan)
• AndroBench: 474.1 MB/s (Read), 190.56 MB/s (Write)
The Reno 2F executed basic tasks well, whether it be taking photos, browsing social media, navigation, messaging, and the like. When it comes to gaming, however, frame drops happened from time to time. Even so, it’s not bad enough to ruin the gaming experience.
An in-display fingerprint scanner and face unlock recognition are the 2F’s biometrics options. They’re both quick, but there’s a slight delay with the face unlock. You would need to wait for the camera module to pop-up first before it can scan your face and unlock the device.
Conclusion
Just like any smartphone out there, the Reno 2F has its highs and lows. The 2F has an eye-catching colorway, a notch-less display, pleasant audio, has video stabilization, and pretty good battery life. But as expected, it has its imperfections. The pop-up mechanism looks average, frame drops happen here and there during gaming, selfies come out average-looking, and the photos produced turn out to be modest.
The Oppo A93 5G comes in as the 5G rendition of the standard Oppp A93. Aside from offering 5G connectivity, we have also got a different chassis design slightly bigger display, a bigger battery, and more. This article bothers on the specs and price, to help you make your purchase decision.
The design on the Oppo A93 5G is the first indication of dichotomy you will find when comparing it to its non 5G sibling. Oppo made a couple of observable changes that make both smartphone design different.
Examining the rear panel design on both smartphones reveals Oppo opted for an elongated square camera module which holds the three cameras in a vertical position, as opposed to the smaller square module on the non-5G A93, which held in cameras in a pair of horizontal positions.
Please note that enthusiasts who decide to purchase this Android smartphone will have three colour options and they include Black, White, and Aurora.
Moving up front, we discover a slightly bigger display, as well as a punch hole, as opposed to the camera cut out on its less premium sibling. This display is 6.5 inches in size and is based on an IPS LCD panel, which is a drop from the AMOLED panel on the standard OppoA93, what more, we have a resolution of 1080 x 2400 Pixels and a 90Hz refresh rate.
The Cameras
The Cameras on the Oppo A93 5G falls short in camera hardware, its camera turns out to be less premium when compared to the ones on its non-5G sibling.
On the rear, we have a 48MP primary camera with an aperture of f/1.8, a 2MP depth camera with an aperture of f/2.4, and another 2MP depth camera. This camera setup is capable of shooting videos up to 4k @ 30fps.
Moving up to the front, we discover a single 8MP camera, as opposed to the dual-camera setup on its non-5G sibling. This camera is capable of shooting videos up to 1080p @ 30fps.
Hardware and Software
On the performance side, the Oppo A93 5G opted for a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G processor as opposed to the MediaTek Helio P95 processor on its non-5G sibling.
The other performance facilitators include an Adreno 619 GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a non-removable 5000mAh battery which is bigger than the 4000mAh battery on its non-5G sibling.
On the software side, we have got the ColoOS 11.1 user interface running on the Android 11 operating system.
Connectivity
The Oppo A93 5G features a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type-C port, low energy Bluetooth 5.1, dual-band WiFi.
Internet connectivity on here is capped at 5G, which means enthusiasts can utilize 5G connectivity for downloads, streaming, and uploads, provided they are in an area with 5G reception.
The Oppo A74 5G is a fairly affordable 5G phone. It is extremely similar to the Oppo A54 5G but has 50% more RAM and double the storage. This kind of cheaper 5G phone is relatively new, but you now have a whole stack of options if you want 5G and have $300 or £250 to spend.
The Oppo A74 5G is better value than the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G, and a little slicker than the Moto G50. But die-hard bargain hunters may want to consider the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite instead, as it has a better chipset and a bigger screen.
Don’t rule out the Oppo A54 5G if you can get by with 64GB of storage either. It’s only around $30/£30 cheaper but that may matter when you’re working to a budget, and the jump from 4GB of RAM to 6GB seems to make a rather subtle difference in most use cases.
We know the alternatives, but how is the Oppo A74 5G to use? A joy, mostly. The camera is responsive, the Snapdragon 480 chipset is better than you might guess considering it is part of Qualcomm’s ‘budget’ line. And while the Moto G50’s battery lasts longer, the Oppo A74 5G does just fine if you plan on charging every day. It’s a great ‘first 5G phone’, and to get something significantly more interesting at this level you have to ditch 5G and make do with 4G.
There’s nothing ground-breaking going on in its camera array though, and some 4G phones around the price have better screens or much faster chipsets.We’re still experiencing a 5G growing pain or two, then, but if you care more about 5G than blistering gaming performance, advanced camera chops or getting a bold OLED screen, the Oppo A74 5G is a fine choice.
Oppo A74 5G price and availability
Out now in the UK and Australia
Costs £249.99 / AU$399.99
Can import to the US for around $290-300, but there’s no CDMA support
The Oppo A74 5G is not really a phone intended for the US market. It lacks CDMA support, ruling it out from working properly with some US networks. However, you can import it for around $290-300. It costs £249.99 in the UK and AU$399.99 in Australia, similar to what you’d pay for a base spec Samsung Galaxy A32 5G. Higher ‘A’ number, better phone? They’re completely different series from different companies, but the Oppo does get you a little more tech for your money, including more storage at 128GB, making this a decent deal from most perspectives.
Affordable phones like the Oppo A74 5G may explore recently discovered ground, that of 5G mobiles most of us can afford, but there’s not much of a pioneering spirit in their designs.
Androids in this category tend to either have mid-size or large screens. They have all-plastic designs and tend to sacrifice a tech frill or two in order to fit 5G into the budget.
You get to choose things like whether you prefer a side or rear fingerprint scanner, a teardrop notch or a punch-hole, and how gaudy you want the back to be. The Oppo A74 5G achieves a good balance across these elements.
It’s a mid-size phone, one with a 6.5-inch screen rather than the 6.67-inch display seen in the various 4G and 5G Xiaomi phones you might buy at the price. The punch-hole looks a bit smarter than a teardrop, and the side-mounted thumb scanner is marginally preferable to a rear one, in our opinion.
Oppo A74 5G has a relatively grown-up looking grey to black gradient cast along its back. While the light reactive finish is matte, the rear surface is still glossy, so you’ll see your reflection in it.
The camera lens housing is the one part we’re not too sure about. It’s made in the image of a top-end phone, an oversized chunk of glass, without having hardware that would require all the space used here. On first opening the box we thought the Oppo A74 5G’s camera looked a bit like a toy box approximation of a high-end phone’s, like a kid wearing a slightly-too-large suit. That said, we’d forgotten all about that after about 24 hours.
The Oppo A74 5G is a perfectly pleasant phone to look at, hold, and use in most respects, though it lacks water resistance. It also only has one speaker, a mono driver on its bottom.
We’ve used this for many, many hours of podcast and live radio streams at this point. It doesn’t get too harsh at max volume and performs just fine in most situations. However, some 4G phones at this level have greater volume and bass, and stereo speaker arrays.
Display
6.5-inch 1080 x 2400 IPS LCD screen
Solid peak brightness
90Hz mode improves scrolling smoothness
The Oppo A74 5G has a 6.5-inch 1080 x 2400 LCD screen with a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz. You can switch it down to 60Hz for a slight battery life boost, but the phone actually automatically drops it down to 60Hz with incompatible apps, or when the screen shows something static for a couple of seconds.
A 90Hz refresh rate improves the fluidity of scrolling, and makes a half-decent phone feel faster, even if it is not in reality. A Full HD resolution shouldn’t really be particularly notable when you spend $250/£250 or more, but these days it kind of is. The Samsung Galaxy A32 5G has a 720p screen and so does the cheaper Moto G50.
Should I buy the Oppo A74 5G?
You’re after affordable 5G Cheap 5G is trending, and the Oppo A74 5G is riding that wave. It’s a 5G phone, and if Oppo sold the same device with 4G last year, it wouldn’t have been laughed off the phone shop shelves.
You don’t want a gigantic screen A lot of the enthusiast-fave phones around this price are made by Xiaomi, and they have larger screens than the Oppo A74 5G. More display space may be great for Netflix and gaming, but this phone is easier to handle thanks to its smaller panel.
You need lots of storage With 128GB of storage built in, the Oppo A54 5G has more than a lot of phones at this sort of price. So if you want to locally store a lot of media or download lots of apps and games, you won’t feel constrained.
Don’t buy it if…
You don’t need 128GB of storage
The Oppo A54 5G is very similar to this phone but has less RAM, half the storage and a slower charger. Its cameras, processor, screen, and design are identical — or near enough that you can’t tell them apart. It’s only a little cheaper, but we are talking about cheap 5G phones after all so every dollar or pound counts.
You barely care about 5G We love that phones like the Oppo A74 5G make 5G more accessible. But 5G is not a ‘free’ feature yet and other 4G phones at the price are more interesting. You get a killer chipset in the Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro, a better camera in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro. The Oppo A74 5G treads a slightly dull middle road.
You want good night-time photos
The Oppo A74 5G’s camera holds up pretty well during the day, but is weaker than many at night. Its auto mode low-light images are poor, and while the night mode increases brightness and brings a bit more color out, it can actually reduce the detail level from dismal to… worse than dismal.
After an initial beta rollout, Oppo has now shared an official stable roadmap for ColorOS 12, which is based upon Android 12 for some regions.
urrently, the only Oppo device to get updated to the stable Android 12 build of ColorOS is the Find X3 Pro. The flagship in the Oppo lineup is slowly getting updated across the globe after an expanded beta phase for the flavorsome software build.
According to XDA-developers, it looks like we’ll see a further four devices updated by the end of December with the ColorOS 12 beta opening for three more. That would mean that Oppo will have eight devices in total running the very latest Android 12 version by the end of 2021. While that doesn’t sound like a lot, it’s a massive improvement over recent years.
The timeline will see last year’s exceptional Find X2 series updated from December 20, while the Reno 6 Pro and limited Diwali Edition device will get ColorOS 12 from December 22. The standard Reno 6 will begin to see the OTA from December 28:
Oppo Find X2
Oppo Reno 6 Pro 5G
Oppo Ren 6 Pro Diwali Edition
Oppo Reno 6 5G
As for the beta, the Reno 5 Pro and F19 Pro+ will be eligible from December 10. Finally, the Oppo A74 5G will be able to sign up to test Android 12 and ColorOS 12 from December 28:
Oppo Reno 5 Pro 5G
Oppo F19 Pro+
Oppo A74 5G
Unfortunately, this roadmap is only currently confirmed for India, but it’s highly likely that European and remaining global regions will follow shortly afterward. To check if you are able to update your eligible device, head to Settings > About Phone > Tap the ColorOS version number.
The Oppo Reno5 lineup launched looks well-equipped too. An OLED panel with a high refresh rate, fast charging, capable SoC, lightweight build and plenty of base storage and memory.
And in a (not so) surprising move, Oppo is releasing this one under two names in Europe. The Reno5 is launching in Eastern Europe, whereas Western Europe is getting it as the Find X3 Lite. The two models are identical in specs
Oppo Reno5 5G • Oppo Find X3 Lite
So even though we got specifically the Reno5 model for review, our review findings should apply to both devices in equal parts.
While the Oppo brand is well-known in Asia, and even though it’s yet to make a name for itself in Europe, it’s positioned as a premium brand elsewhere. So it’s no wonder that the company avoids undercutting the competition price-wise and yet focuses on making well-executed handsets with a premium look and feel.
The Reno5 (or Find X3 Lite, if you prefer) uses a bright, 90Hz OLED panel and a 64MP main camera and it also offers one of the fastest charging technologies. It’s also nicely compact and pocketable.
Probably the biggest selling point of this one is its size and ergonomics. In a market where behemoths rule, the Reno5 5G is a breath of fresh air with its compact 6.43-inch display and a weight of 172g.
Oppo Reno5 5G specs at a glance:
Body: 159.1×73.4×7.9mm, 172g; Gorilla Glass 5 front, plastic back and frame.
The phone also comes with 128GB of base storage, and the Snapdragon 765G 5G is nothing to scoff at.
What we can scoff at is the phone’s current pricing. The launch price of €450 is quite optimistic considering that the competition in the midrange is quite heated and this phone comes with a plastic back and frame.
But let’s not rush to any conclusions as this phone might offer more than what meets the eye at first glance. First, time for an unboxing.
Unboxing the Oppo Reno5 5G
The phone comes in a premium-looking box and fresh mint color. It contains the usual user manuals and the 65W-capable wall charger with a USB-A to USB-C cable.
Oppo has also thrown in a bonus case, too, along with a pair of 3.5mm headphones.
Competition
The Oppo Reno5 5G is a solid phone with quite a bit of well0executed features. However, in a typical Oppo fashion, the company wants to position its mid-range handsets as the premium offerings in their respective segments, which is the case with the Reno5 5G/Find X3 Lite. It’s challenging some considerably more powerful handsets, but that’s not to say Oppo‘s contender doesn’t bring something to the table.
Let’s just assume that you didn’t come here because the Reno5 5G fits your size. You are here because it fits your price range. If that’s the case, then the just-announced Xiaomi Poco F3 is a must-have on your list, priced at €350. The only real advantage of the Reno5 5G is the camera performance, especially at night and the extremely fast charging. Sure, you don’t get a 3.5mm audio jack or a microSD card slot, but the F3 boasts a brighter 120Hz OLED, a bigger battery, a more powerful Snapdragon 870 SoC and stereo speakers.
And if by any chance you feel hesitant to use Xiaomi’s MIUI or you have your own niche reason not to go for the Poco F3, consider one of Motorola’s latest additions to its portfolio – the Motorola Moto G100. It runs on a much speedier Snapdragon 870, it challenges the Reno5‘s Night mode on the main camera (except for the ultrawide, though) and offers a clean Android experience Moto phones are known for. This comes at an extra €50 on top of the €450 that Oppo‘s contender asks. Sure, you give away the OLED screen, and you settle for slower charging but the phone’s performance is top notch.
The 4G version of Samsung’s Galaxy A72 is another viable option despite its slower Snapdragon 720G. The phone excels in other aspects such as battery endurance, display, camera, build and speakers. Note that the Galaxy A72 has a solid 64MP main camera with OIS aided by a 3x telephoto camera while its body is IP67-certified against water and dust.
Released back in October 2020, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G may not be the newest offering from the list, but it’s pretty darn relevant. Running on a last year’s flagship Snapdragon 865 SoC, rocking probably the best LCD panel we’ve come across in a while (144Hz at that) and excelling in pretty much every way, the Mi 10T is still a great value proposition sitting a few bucks shy of €400, and undercutting the Reno5 5G. The latter may only compete with the Mi 10T Pro in terms of camera quality and charging speed.
Verdict
It’s light, it’s compact, it charges fast, and it shoots well in the dark. But it’s still no match for the cut-throat mid-range market where even stereo speakers are a standard feature. Oppo‘s mid-range devices have always had some trouble competing with the rest price-wise. It’s hard to argue with the likes of Poco F3 and the Mi 10T Pro as they both offer better price/performance ratio while asking less than the Reno5 5G.
In a parallel universe where the Reno5 5G‘s price was lower, it would have been an easy recommendation. The handset employs a capable SoC that proves to be energy-efficient too, it has a bright HRR OLED, and it’s an excellent shooter that’s hard to match even by the supposedly more capable Poco F3. Despite his price, we are sure the camera quality and the compact nature of the phone will win over some users, even if they are just a few.
Pros
Light and compact build.
Good 90Hz OLED with tiny punch-hole.
Surprisingly good battery life despite the 4,300 mAh capacity.
Great main camera across the board, ultrawide way above average.
The Oppo A9 2020 is an affordable phone with a huge array of features. It has a big screen, an even bigger battery, four rear cameras, a lot of storage and even one of the better budget chipsets.On paper the Oppo A9 2020 seems almost bafflingly good, but there are three obvious shortcomings. Its screen is not as advanced as those of the Moto G series and the outer shell is plastic. The only glass sits on the screen and cameras, the only metal around the camera housing.This is one of the best budget phones for those who tend to hit their phone hard with video streaming and gaming on the way to work. It has the screen inches and battery life to make the most of these jobs.
If that describes you then you can probably safely buy it, while if you’re looking for other things from your phone then read on to see if the Oppo A9 2020 fits the bill.
As we say, there’s no clear US release date for the phone and considering it landed in the UK and Australia the end of 2019 we wouldn’t expect Oppo to debut it there anytime soon.
Design
Clad in plastic but looks good from a distance
Big and thick
Lacks water resistance
The Oppo A9 2020 could pass for a more expensive phone from arm’s length. Its back looks almost like curved glass, and has a finish that reacts to light. A color-shifting ‘S’ snakes across the light’s path like some older Moto G mobiles.
It’s large too, and has a slim screen notch. If you told someone you paid twice the price for the phone, they would probably believe you.
That illusion largely falls apart when you pick the Oppo A9 2020 up. The sides and back are plastic. You can tell the rear isn’t glass just by looking. Plastic tends to distort reflections around areas like the fingerprint scanner and camera housing, as the pressure flexes the rear just slightly. Glass does not bend so easily.
The Oppo A9 2020 has curved sides for comfort, but it doesn’t feel remotely as high-end as Oppo’s own Reno 2. That phone is twice the price, though, and this year even Motorola has reverted to using plastic on the rear instead of glass in the Moto G8 Plus.
Size is the other part to bear in mind. Oppo has made a budget powerhouse here, but the large screen and battery mean the A9 2020 may seem intimidatingly large to some of you. It’s also 9.1mm thick, although the slight curvature of the back does take the edge off this.
The use of plastic ceases to matter if you use the included silicone case, and you probably should probably use a case. However, the bundled one is not as good as those bundled with the Reno 2 Z and Reno 2.
The silicone plastic is stiffer, and a lack of attention to detail in its construction leads to the power button losing its click. This is oddly upsetting, and led us to removing the case – you’ll likely be able to find something better online.
Thankfully, Oppo has not also messed up the screen protector. Like most other Oppo phones, a plastic protector is attached in the factory. It saves the heartbreak of scratching your phone within two days.
The Oppo A9 2020 lacks water resistance, like almost every phone at the price. We did at one point accidentally dip the bottom of the phone in some soya milk and it’s still working fine, but this proves nothing more than that it won’t explode on contact with liquid.
Screen
6.5-inch 720 x 1600 screen
Display could be sharper but this isn’t too much of an issue
Color temperature is cold out of the box
The Oppo A9 2020 has a very large 6.5-inch screen. This is significantly larger even than the Moto G8 Plus’s 6.3-inch screen.
Those looking for problems will notice this is not a Full HD screen. It’s a 720 x 1600-pixel panel. The first limitation we noticed was something else, though.
Fresh out of the box, the Oppo A9 2020’s color temperature is quite cold, which in turn makes the just-okay color saturation look worse. One of the first things we did was to go to the Display part of the Settings menu and switch the temperature to its ‘warmer’ setting.
This doesn’t make its color reproduction a match for a high-end mobile, but does give the screen a more pleasing character.
Does the screen resolution matter? Lower pixel density is more obvious on a huge screen like this than the iPhone 11, which only has around 10% more pixels in each direction. But this usually manifests in a slight softness of text, rather than cruder-looking pixelation.
That’s thanks to Android’s excellent resolution scaling and that the panel is advanced enough to avoid making the pixel structure at all visible. We’re truly surprised by how legible tiny fonts are when you zoom out in a browser window.
In old versions of Android, text would become ugly and blocky when made of this few pixels, but it now looks good.
The Oppo A9 2020’s screen compared to the Reno Z’s
Sure, we’d prefer a Full HD screen, but that is the Oppo Reno Z’s job. And crucially, we would rather a 720p+ LCD (as seen here) than a 720p+ OLED.
OLED displays for phones use a PenTile sub pixel arrangement, in which pixels share subpixels. That means the lower pixel density clarity we see here just isn’t possible in an OLED of the same resolution (yes, an OLED would offer better contrast and color).
It’s also important to appreciate what the Oppo A9 2020 can still do very well. Even a 720p+ screen like this is perfect for YouTube streaming. Video footage still looks excellent at this resolution, and the very large canvas makes watching video more enjoyable. We thought we’d dislike this screen, but we like it, quite a lot in fact.
There’s one other thing to bear in mind too: did you know Netflix doesn’t actually stream at resolutions above 720p on most Android phones? Still, if only the sharpest text will do, consider the Moto G8 Plus.
The VERDICT
A big screen, an almost everlasting battery and solid specs make the Oppo A9 2020 one of the best affordable phones for those who stream a lot of video, and a still great option for almost everyone else on a limited budget.
PRO
Superb battery life
Better than average night photos
Good-quality stereo speakers
AGAINST
Plastic back
Two of the four rear cameras seem to do very little
The Oppo Find X2 Pro flaunts a chunky camera assembly on its back, compromises and gets a punch hole in the display, and limits its moving bits to just the vibration motor. So it must have lost all the charm that the Find X from mid-2018 had – its elevating camera assembly was plenty cool on its own, but it also kept the back flush and the display cutout-free, only whirring up swiftly when needed. Ah, but it’s a different kind of charmer the Find X2 Pro.
For this generation, Oppo has shuffled up the priorities, and we don’t mind the new ones. For starters, an all-around impressive camera setup with big sensors and capable lenses, entirely unique to the Find X2 Pro, beats the Find X’s limited (if good for what it was) stow-away outfit. You get a 48MP 1/1.43″ f/1.7 primary cam and another 48MP 1/2.0″ f/2.2 ultra-wide, each outspeccing competitors’ offerings in one way or another. And the cherry on top of all that is the 13MP telephoto cam with a 5x periscope lens that beats the Galaxy S20 Ultra in zoom power, if not in resolution and sensor size.
Keeping the cameras static has meant a hole in the display, which isn’t ideal, particularly when the previous generation had no such blemishes. But what a display it is, indeed – high resolution, high refresh rate, high brightness, high dynamic range, high color fidelity – high everything. We’d take all that and live with the punch hole.
And that is one of very compromises on the Find X2 Pro. It doesn’t have wireless charging, but that’s not really a make or break feature, the lack of a headphone jack is hardly news at this point, and who is really going to lament the missing microSD card slot with half a terabyte of built-in UFS 3.0 storage?
The Find X2 Pro also has an IP68 rating, the ‘8’ being a first for Oppo with water and dust protection quite rare in the company’s lineup to begin with. Stereo speakers get a check mark in the specsheet too and the 65 watts in the charging section are among the most watts you can get on a phone these days.
Oppo Find X2 Pro unboxing
You get the fast charger needed to make use of all the 65W inside the box too, not at an extra cost. The adapter is quite the chunky unit, but power goes together with size. Mind you, it’s not 65 watts of PowerDelivery-compliant output, so you won’t be using that to power your laptop, nor can you expect your 65W PD charger to pump 65 watts to the Find X2 Pro. It’s a proprietary SuperVOOC 2.0 solution and you need both the adaptor and the supplied cable to achieve the full power. With another phone, it’ll do 10W max, while the Find X2 Pro itself can draw 18W from QuickCharge/PowerDelivery bricks.
The bundle includes a set of earbuds ending in a USB-C connector. Another welcome sight is the silicone case, though you may not be so keen to opt for that cheap-ish feel as opposed to the handset’s own finish, be it Vegan leather or Ceramic.
Competition
The Oppo Find X2 Pro goes for €1200 in Europe, and that’s not a modest amount of money. The all-out Galaxy S20 Ultra runs for €1350, and that relative price difference is mostly the same in other markets where the two are available. Despite the premium for the Ultra, we still feel it’s the Find X2 Pro’s main competitor.
The number above is for 128GB storage version Ultra (as others don’t seem to be in stores just yet) versus a 512GB Find, which makes it look like an even worse deal though the Galaxy does come with the option to expand that storage with a microSD card. Battery life is hardly a differentiator, with neither managing to impress, though the Find’s 36 minutes to a full charge could be key to the right buyer. Oppo‘s display is no worse than Samsung’s, which is saying something, and it even outdoes it by offering 120Hz at 1440p (the Galaxy is capped at 1080p at the HRR). The software could decide it for you as both custom jobs have their own quirks, but Samsung’s is arguably more polished.
Ultimately though, it’s the camera that sets the Ultra apart and warrants the extra money. The two are closely matched in this respect upon first glance, but the Galaxy tends to outperform the Find in most areas, with a particular advantage in low light. The Find’s ultra wide-angle cam isn’t quite the beast we hoped it to be, but even so, it, in particular, could sway you into the Oppo direction if you’re adamant about autofocus.
Other alternatives are available as well. The iPhone 11 Pro Max comes to mind, and even though it’s already more expensive in its base 64GB trim, there’s something that will justify its price to brand loyalists. The iPhone doesn’t have a periscope telephoto, but you can hardly call it a bad cameraphone. It’s missing a high refresh rate on its screen and has a notch the size of a continent, but those two aside, it’s one of the best panels you can buy. The Pro Max will outlast the Find in an endurance race, and that’s probably the one objective victory it can snatch here.
A few upcoming phones may be worth waiting for before you jump up for Find X2 Pro. The OnePlus 8 Pro should be quite intriguing if rumored specs are anything to go by, plus we can’t imagine it’ll be quite as expensive as the Find. Huawei’s P40 Pro family is the pipeline too, with a Pro (or a Pro Premium?) posed to be a fine Find alternative if you can learn to live without Google services. And an already real Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is offering competitive specs at a little over the Find X2 Pro‘s price – this one can’t arrive at the office soon enough.
A lot of people may have bought the original Find X from 2018 simply for its one-of-a-kind elevating camera even though it wasn’t spectacular as an actual camera for its time. The Find X2 Pro from 2020 takes a whole different approach and makes for a winning combination of top-level hardware in a conventional body.
While it can’t quite compete with the Galaxy S20 Ultra in absolute image quality at the long end of its triple-cam setup, in most other cases, it delivers images and video that are hard to beat. And if we take that same Galaxy as a reference, the Find X2 Pro can teach the Ultra a thing or two.
If you’re looking for a high-end device today, we reckon you can’t go wrong with an Oppo Find X2 Pro.
Pros
Standout design, particularly if you opt for the Vegan leather version. IP68 rating is a welcome addition.
Possibly the best display on the market.
Class leading charge times, battery life you can live with.
Oppo’s fairly new Reno series has a midrange member – the Reno Z which offers all the essential features from a phone in its price range and even some improvements compared to the more expensive Oppo Reno. The device recently made its way to our office and we got to unbox it and take a look at its key features.
Starting with the design the Reno Z feels really similar to the vanilla Reno. In fact, the two devices are nearly identical as far as dimensions go with 6.4-inch AMOLED displays and a dual-layer glass build.
What you do notice with the Reno Z though is the waterdrop notch which replaces the signature shark fin pop-up mechanism from the other two Reno models. On the flip side, the selfie camera on the Reno Z comes in at 32MP which is double that of the regular model.
The paint job on our review unit is called Aurora Purple and it’s a predominately blue color with a purple tint towards the top part of the back. Speaking of the backside we have the same dual-camera setup from the Oppo Reno here with a 48MP main shooter utilizing a Quad Bayer filter and a 5MP depth sensor.
One of the biggest changes comes under the hood with the new Helio P90 SoC paired with 4GB RAM and 128 GB storage. The phone comes with Color OS 6 which is a heavily skinned version based on Android Pie with a lot of room for tinkering and customization. Audio heads will also enjoy the added Dolby Atmos support which was absent on the vanilla Reno.
Another welcome addition is the 4,000 mAh battery which should translate into ample running times. At around €300/£300 here in Europe, the Reno Z is a compelling package but we’ll have to go through our review procedure before we give out any judgments.
Oppo Reno Z specs
A few years ago, if you paid £300 for a smartphone you’d be treated to a boxy slab of plastic that was about as alluring as a trip to Slough or Milton Keynes. To this day, lazy design remains an issue at this end of the market – even the Pixel 3a is a little on the dull side visually.
Oppo’s decided to try and buck this trend, and make the Reno Z look as jazzy as possible, loading it with a wealth of flashy colour options and a few design flourishes that are normally reserved for more expensive phones. For a start, it has a glass back. This, plus my review unit’s snazzy purple colouring, instantly make it more alluring than most £300 phones. Be warned, though. As Bon Jovi sang, it gets slippery when wet and will crack if dropped without a case.
It also has a few top-end features including a Huawei P30-style dewdrop notch, dinky bezels and an in-screen fingerprint scanner. The scanner’s not quite as nippy as the P30’s but the fact the tech’s even in a phone this price is seriously impressive.
At first glance, under the hood things are also solid. Powering up the phone I was instantly stunned by how good the 6.4-inch AMOLED screen is, when compared to other phones this price. The 2340 x 1080 is suitably sharp and colours, while a little warm to the naked eye, generally look great. This, plus the Dolby Atmos stereo speaker setup, make it a great phone for Netflix bingeing in bed.
The Oppo Reno Z’s battery
Battery life is also great thanks to Oppo’s decision to load the Reno Z with a giant 4035 mAh cell and its custom VOOC Flash Charge 3.0 tech. With regular use, this combo let me easily get at least two days’ use out of the Oppo Reno X as my main work and personal phone.
This entailed listening to music on my commute, taking and making a few calls, constantly checking my social media and message feeds, plus a game of PUBG and a quick hour on Netflix before bed.
It dealt with demanding tasks like video streaming and gaming pretty well. Streaming video on Netflix with the phone screen at 150 nits (the level most people will be comfortable with), the Reno Z lost an average of 6-8% of its charge per hour, which is excellent. Most phones lose at least 10% running the same process. Gaming was the same – it lost around 12-15% per hour, which again is not to be sniffed at.
The Oppo Reno Z’s camera
On paper the camera’s a similar story. Oppo’s loaded the Reno Z with a dual-sensor rear camera setup that pairs the 48-megapixel Sony sensor seen on the OnePlus 7 with a secondary 5-megapixel “depth” snapper. Up front you’ll find a 38-megapixel selfie camera. The specs put the Reno X on a par with its arch-rival, the Motorola One Vision, which has a near-identical rear camera setup.
With real-world use I found camera performance between the two is fairly comparable. This means it’s good, but not Pixel 3a level, particularly in low light.
The camera app is fairly stripped down, but it has most of the features you’d expect, including auto, panorama, night, portrait, slo-mo and Google Lens options. The only minor issue is the fact there’s no RAW shooting option, which will annoy enthusiasts, but at this price that’s far from a deal-breaker.
Shots taken in normal light look good and match, if not beat, the One Vision for quality, though be warned – like the Motorola, shutter speeds can be a little slow and the camera can sometimes push the bokeh effect too far, giving portrait shots a slightly soft feel.
A few years ago I’d have praised the Reno’s low-light performance at this price. The phone can actually take usable images in low light. But hold it next to the Pixel 3a and the difference is clear. Pictures taken on the Pixel 3a in low light have better contrast, are less prone to noise and generally look more realistic than those taken on the Reno Z.
Though again, this is forgivable as it matches, if not beats, nearly every other competing £300 phone’s low-light performance.
The front camera paints a similar picture. For the money, you get great image quality that’s more than good enough to chronicle most drunken students’ clubbing adventures or finding-themselves trip around Europe. The only slight annoyance is that the app seems to softly “beautify” you even when the beauty mode is turned off and, once again, it can be a little aggressive when applying bokeh.
Verdict
The Oppo Reno Z doesn’t have a unique selling point like the Pixel 3a’s camera. But it earns a spot as one of 2019’s leading mid-range Android phones by getting all the basics right, offering solid battery life and a great screen for bingeing on Netflix.
Pros
Pretty design
Great screen for the money
Solid battery life
Cons
ColorOS adds bloatware and will delay software updates
Oppo’s Reno 5G has 5G mobile internet and some of the most advanced cameras you’ll find in a phone, including a cheese wedge selfie camera that is anything but cheesy. This is a bold phone. If you have big money to spend and want cutting-edge tech, the Oppo Reno 5G deserves your attention.
And the bad bits? Oppo’s software is not the best and you need to have a long, hard think before investing in a 5G phone and contract right now. It may not be worth the extra cash just yet, and the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom otherwise gets you everything here, minus the 5G.
DESIGN:
The first one you experience blows you away, but then you realise they’re all a bit similar, and get a bit obsessed with turrets and minarets to stop them blurring into one.
The Oppo Reno 5G has some pretty tasty minarets, mind. Sure, it has the same glass and metal framework you see everywhere, but the rear glass is matt rather than glossy. You see the same effect in some versions of the OnePlus 7.
Its cameras are also completely flush with the back. This is a slick look, but does, rationally or otherwise, make the lenses seem about 10x more vulnerable.
Oppo has an answer to this too. See that little bright dot on the Reno 5G’s rear? This is a raised dot that makes sure the phone doesn’t lie flat on its back. The super-picky might get annoyed at the very slight wobble it introduces. But we’d much rather put up with it than pick it up the Reno from an unexpectedly rough surface and see a great streaky pattern of scratches down the glass.
The pop-up selfie camera is the bit you’ll have noticed first if you’ve visited the Oppo website. Meet the cheese wedge: a motorised triangle of metal and glass that holds the selfie camera on the front, and a camera flash on the back. It’s the most unusual part of the Oppo Reno 5G, but unless you’re obsessed with selfies or use face unlock, you’ll barely see it.
We’d suggest using the in-screen fingerprint scanner anyway, as it’s just about the quickest we’ve ever used. It trashes the Samsung Galaxy S10’s, and may even outpace the already-quick OnePlus 7 Pro’s. A little circle glows green when you pick the Oppo Reno 5G up, and more-or-less the very instant thumb meets display glass, you’re on the homescreen.
SCREEN:
Still, the Oppo Reno 5G doesn’t look quite as flash as some £900-plus phones like the Huawei P30 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S10. It doesn’t have truly curvy front glass, one of the most expensive design features around.
Some of you may be relieved at this. Such curves tend to pool reflections, and the Reno 5G’s front is all about letting the screen image fill out as much of the area as possible. This is a 6.65in 19.5:9 AMOLED display with no notches or punch holes. The Reno 5G doesn’t need them thanks to the motorised pop-out camera. It’s just what you’d expect from a great big OLED screen: bold, colourful and incredibly contrasty.
It does not go quite as bright as a Galaxy S10+ in very bright conditions and isn’t as sharp either, but you won’t notice that as often as you will a double punch hole eating into your Netflix picture. You also get a choice of vivid or relaxed colour, and there’s a colour temperature slider. This is a great screen, if not the most aggressively bright or customisable around.
FEATURES:
The most important feature of the Oppo Reno 5G is something you can’t really see or feel, which is strange to say about a phone with a pop-up camera. We’re talking about 5G.
It’s why you can only currently buy the phone from EE in the UK, as part of the 5G contract. We got to try out EE’s 5G service at its launch a few weeks before this review. And, unsurprisingly, it hasn’t changed that much since.
If you’re dead lucky and live in one of the “fast streets” in London or the other handful of cities that have received 5G so far, it’s great. We saw speeds of up to 360Mbps while testing the Oppo Reno 5G (New Cross, if you’re wondering), but coverage is patchy. And sometimes you’ll see distinctly 4G speeds even if the phone reports a 5G connection.
5G hardware is worth getting. Coverage will only improve over the months. The problem is you’ll also be paying for a 5G service every months while you wait for it to mature. That will take a while.
Oppo seems to have positioned the Reno 5G as one of the more affordable 5G phones. That still means it’s not really affordable at all, but a world of £1200 phones, everything’s relative.
What do you miss out on besides a curvy glass front? There’s no wireless charging and no official water resistance. It is also quite heavy at 215g, but not significantly more than the OnePlus 7 Pro.
All the other fancy extras are here. You get 256GB storage, pretty loud and beefy stereo speakers, and an absence of headphone jack. Apparently that’s a feature these days.
SOFTWARE:
Our Oppo Reno 5G is also much less bogged-down with awkward software than the Oppo Reno 10X we reviewed at the beginning of July. But there is still some.
Who interested in a phone this high-end is really going to use Aqua Mail or the Opera browser? We can’t imagine many takers for them. Still, the other extra apps are inoffensive tools like a file manager, and a game mode that lets you fiddle how the phone reacts to notifications and so on as you play.
Even with most of the bloat sucked out, liposuction-style, the Reno 5G’s software still isn’t the best. It runs Android 9 with the Color OS interface on top.
There are a few sensible choices, like using five columns of apps in the drawer so the Reno 5G doesn’t look like a giant kids’ toy. But it’s just not as slick or pretty as some other third-party interfaces, or as clean as Google’s own.
The Oppo Reno 5G does run well, though. It has a Snapdragon 855 processor, which would have been the fastest around had the Asus RoG Phone II not just popped up with the slightly faster “Plus” version.
It scores a mega 10191 points in Geekbench 4, and runs any Android game like a dream. If it didn’t, that’d be a sign of a badly programmed game, or one made for phones that don’t exist yet.
CAMERA:
At a certain point talking about a phone’s power gets boring. Everything above a certain price feels fast and responsive, unless something has gone seriously wrong. Cameras are always of interest, though, and the Oppo Reno 5G has some of the most interesting yet.
It has the same setup as the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom. This may make you think it has a 10x optical zoom, but it actually has a “normal” 48MP camera, a 5x optical zoom like the Huawei P30 Pro and an 8MP ultra-wide.
Oppo fiddles with this hardware in the software to let you shoot 6x and 10x zoomed images using a button right next to the shutter.
Why 6x? It suggests the zoom lens’s extreme edges may not be as sharp as the rest of the frame. Or perhaps Oppo wants the zoomed view to look even more stabilised than it is through OIS, using the buffer to smooth out the preview image and make it easier to hold your subject in position.
We’d bet on the latter. Techy navel gazing aside, the Oppo Reno 5G offers an ultra-fun shooting experience similar to the Huawei P30 Pro. Some photography bores like to harp on about how you shouldn’t need to use a zoom, you can just use your feet. Try that at a packed gig, or when shooting the London skyline on a bridge over the river Thames. No photo of the Shard is worth a dip in that water.
The 6x lets you capture scenes other phone simply won’t. Not without a load of vague digital zoom blur. Don’t overestimate the power of the 10x mode, though. This does use digital zoom, and its images are not incredibly sharp or detailed. There are other limitations too. The zoom lens can’t focus on anything closer than about 1.2m. And you can’t use the zoom for video either.
The Oppo Reno 5G lets you shoot 2x video, but that’s a crop of the standard camera, so detail takes a hit. Still, there’s a lot to like. You can shoot stabilised video at 4K resolution, normal shots look pretty great and shooting sharp 6x photos is quite easy. Low-light handling is reasonable too.
The Oppo Reno 5G is up there with the best, if not quite a match for the Huawei P30 Pro. Image quality doesn’t reach quite the same heights at its best, and there are a few more technical roadblocks. Still, once you’ve experienced a super zoom like this, you won’t want to go back. 16MP selfies are solid too, although again not quite a match for the best from the Google Pixel 3 XL. And slightly blurred shots are more common than the high-end average.
BATTERY LIFE:
You get great battery life as well as unusual cameras.
The Oppo Reno 5G has a 4065mAh battery with fast charging, and its real-world stamina is excellent. The day before writing this, for example, it had 48% charge left by 11:30pm. It lasted until 4pm the next day before needing a recharge, having hit the 3% charge danger zone. And that was following a good amount of audio streaming.
Wireless charging is the one missing battery element, just like the OnePlus 7 Pro. A fairly large frame and high weight may make the Reno 5G seem a techy burden, but after a few days you realise this is actually quite a low maintenance phone.
OPPO RENO 5G VERDICT
The Oppo Reno 5G is a great phone, and one of the more affordable first-wave 5G models.
We’re just not sure you should buy this instead of the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom, which is largely the same but without 5G. If it was £50 extra SIM-free and you were planning on keeping it for several years before upgrading, it’d be no contest. 5G is the way forwards.
But in the UK at least you have to buy the Oppo Reno 5G as part of a 5G contract. They’re expensive for now and, if you have not hit the geographical jackpot, not necessarily all that useful just yet.
TECH SPECS
Size
162 x 77.2 x 9.3 mm
Weight
215g
Display
6.6-inch 2340 x 1080 pixel AMOLED
Processor
Snapdragon 855 CPU
Memory
8GB RAM (internal) 256GB
Camera
48 MP wide camera 13MP 5x zoom camera 8 MP ultrawide 16MP selfie camera
