Updated: Oppo officially unveils Reno family of handsets for the UK, including 5G model for EE
A couple of weeks ago I was one of a privileged few to travel to Switzerland for the official launch of Europe’s first 5G network, and Oppo’s first 5G smartphone; the Reno 5G.
Today, I have returned for the launch of a whole family of Reno handsets and can confirm that EE will be Oppo’s launch partner in the UK (as well as Swisscom, SingTel, Telstra and Optus).
The three handsets consist of the Oppo 5G that I already tried out before, Reno 10x Zoom (the 4G version of the Reno 5G) and the Reno.
UPDATED 20th MAY 2019: Today, Oppo has announced UK pricing and availability as follows: Oppo Reno £499 (on sale June 5th), Oppo Reno 10x Zoom £699 (on sale 12th June) & Oppo Reno 5G to be priced shortly, with availability on EE.
Reno 5G & Reno 10x Zoom
The flagship models come with a 6.6-inch, 2340×1080 pixel display that has no cut outs or bezels. The front-facing camera is activated when required, and pops up from the top of the phone in a style reminiscent of the Oppo Find X. Fully motorised, the selfie camera is a 16-megapixel f/2.0 affair.
On the rear, a 48-megapixel camera is paired with an 8-megapixel wide angle camera, plus a 13-megapixel telephoto camera that uses the same periscope design as the Huawei P30 Pro, offering a 10x hybrid zoom mode. The phones also have laser autofocus, with all sensors working together for different modes.
The new Ultra Night Mode 2.0 uses AI technology, HDR and multi-frame shots to produce shots that Oppo claims will ‘exceed the limits of human eyes’. Night modes are not new, but Oppo has worked on a feature called ‘face protection’ that ensures skin colours will remain accurate.
Video recording supports up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second (FPS).
Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 chipset (and the Reno 5G model coming with Qualcomm’s X50 5G modem), both models come with a 4,065mAh battery and VOOC flash charge 3.0, allowing higher voltage charging even during the trickle charge phase, without impacting on overall charge cycles.
Running on Android Pie, ColorOS 6 is the latest custom UI from Oppo, featuring new transitions and a new visual design.
ColorOS 6 also offers an improved game assistant (to maximise performance for gamers) and a better Smart System manager to intelligently control apps that aren’t being used to optimise battery life.
The Reno 10x Zoom and Reno 5G are each 9.3mm thick, and will come with 6 or 8GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage.
The phones feature a hybrid dual SIM slot that can take two SIM cards, or a SIM card and microSDXC memory card for extra storage.
Reno
The standard 9mm thick Reno still comes with the notchless front display (but down in size to 6.4-inch), but lacks the periscope zoom.
The wide angle sensor has also been replaced with a 5-megapixel depth sensing camera, while video recording tops out at 4K 30fps.
Instead of Snapdragon 855, the standard Reno handset uses a Snapdragon 710 SoC, matching that of the Oppo RX17 Pro. In my review of the RX17 Pro, I found that the phone still packs in a serious level of performance and good battery performance.
The battery in the standard Reno is 3,765mAh and options will include 6 or 8GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage. There is no memory card expansion on this model.
Availability & Pricing
All models will come in a choice of Ocean Green or Jet Black rear finishes, with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and an ‘O-dot’ ceramic gem that lifts the phone off a flat surface to protect the lenses from contact.
The Oppo Reno will sell for €499 and goes on sale May 10th.
The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom will sell for €799 and goes on sale early June.
Finally, the Oppo Reno 5G will be available in Switzerland in early May for €899, and then on other networks – including EE in the UK – later this year.
Oppo handsets are also available to buy from Carphone Warehouse.