Oppo launches Reno 2 series phones in UK, plus noise cancelling headphones that kicks off new audio accessories range
Oppo today launched two new smartphones in the Reno 2 series, along with a brand new audio product that kicks off a new range of accessories, starting with noise cancelling earphones.
The Reno 2 retails at £449, while the Reno 2 Z will set you back £329. Despite the price differential, both phones are remarkably similar in many ways.
For one thing, both screen sizes measure 6.5-inch, and are each AMOLED. The Reno 2 is a 20:9 ratio, while the Reno 2 Z is 19.5:9. The Reno 2 screen has a peak brightness of 800 nits.
Camera on spec
Both models have four cameras, but with a few subtle differences:
The Reno 2 has a 48-megapixel main camera, 13-megapixel telephoto lens, 2-megapixel mono lens and an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens (119 degree field-of-view).
The Reno 2 Z has a 48-megapixel main camera, 8-megapixel wide-angle lens (116 degree field-of-view), 2-megapixel mono lens, and a 2-megapixel portrait lens.
(If you’re unsure what the key difference above, it’s the lack of a telephoto camera on the Reno 2 Z with a portrait lens replacing it).
New camera features
Ultra Dark Mode is a mode that allows photos to be taken where the ambient brightness is below 1 lux. It takes under 2.5 seconds to capture a scene, making it one of the fastest on the market.
Oppo Reno 2 in a dark room Huawei P30 Pro in a dark room
A major new feature is Ultra-Steady Video Mode, using hybrid image stabilisation (combining electronic and optical image stabilisation) that allows super-smooth ‘action cam’ style videos at 1080p and 60fps.
When you have created your video (and for normal videos, you can record at 4K too), the SOLOOP video editor built-in offers a one-tap solution that will edit your video and automatically add music to match the timing and transitions of your video creation.
The Reno 2 also gets a 2.5cm macro mode, using the wide-angle lens, and can even be used for capturing video
Finally, the front cameras (16-megapixel on both models) have been given the ability to record Bokeh video, using the Bokeh HDR mode that is an industry first.
Performance
The Reno 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G SoC, while the Reno 2 Z is powered by a MediaTek Helio P90 SoC. Both come with a 4,000mAh battery and support Oppo’s 20W VOOC flash charging.
Likewise both models, despite having slightly different screen dimensions, have Oppo’s third generation in-screen fingerprint unlocking.
RAM and storage wise, the Reno 2 comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while the Reno 2 Z makes to with just 128GB of storage but still 8GB of RAM.
As you can see, there is quite a lot going for the cheaper model. In fact, it’s the Reno 2 Z that has an illumination on each side, which Oppo calls the Atmosphere Light. Users can change the colour, and it can also be used to show when a timed photo is going to be taken.
For gamers, both phones come with a range of gaming enhancements to boost the frame rate, touch screen sensitivity and generally enhance the GPU performance.
All of this sits on Oppo’s ColorOS (v6.1) that is built on top of Android 9. An update to Android 10 will follow, and Oppo assures users of updates for at least two years on the Reno 2 X and three years for the Reno 2.
No 5G? No 10x zoom?
If you’re wondering why there was no 5G phone or even a Reno 2 handset with 10x zoom, it is because Oppo considers the current Reno 10x Zoom and Reno 5G as current models that the Reno 2 series is joining, rather than replacing.
On the 5G side, it’s very likely that Oppo will be waiting for Qualcomm’s mid-range 5G enabled chipsets to arrive in 2020, allowing a more affordable 5G option for end users and mobile networks alike.
Pricing & Availability
The Oppo Reno 2 retails at £429 and is available from Friday 18th October for £449.99. It can also be picked up on a handset contract from EE. Colour choices include luminous black and ocean blue (blue not available from EE).
The Oppo Reno 2 Z costs £329 and is also available on Friday 18th October from Carphone Warehouse only. Colour choices include luminous black and sky white.
Specifications
Reno 2 Reno 2 Z
Oppo Enco Q1 headphones
Oppo’s new headphones will retail for £109 and features active noise cancelling that works with just a tap.
It offers 15-hours of play time in noise cancelling mode and comes with a flexible contoured neckband. Standby time is 300 hours, while charging the internal 160mAh battery takes 2 hours.
At the Oppo launch event, we were told that these are just the first in a line of audio products that we can expect to see over the coming year.
More info: Oppo
- See my thread on Twitter from the launch event, and look for more coverage of the Reno 2 in the coming days: