OPPO goes to town with Reno Z

Reno Z header

The OPPO Reno 5G and 4G (10X Zoom) variants are among GadgetGuy’s top picks earning 4.9-out-of-5 for the innovative shark fin pop-up camera and highly competitive pricing – bang for buck. Now it has come out with a bargain Reno – the Reno Z that brings some of the Reno pedigree to a $499 phone.

To be fair the Reno Z does not have the Reno 4 or 5G (GadgetGuy review here) cute shark fin pop-up camera, nor the Qualcomm SD855 processor (MediaTek Helio P90 instead) but it does have 8/128GB, a 48+5MP rear camera, 32MP selfie, 6.4-inch AMOLED tear drop screen (92% S-T-B-R), and a huge 4000mAh battery with VOOC Flash Charge 3.

The Reno Z – at least on paper, looks like a top contender in the hugely competitive mass-market ($200-499) segment.

GadgetGuy will review this soon.

Reno Z screen

OPPO Reno Z specifications – Model CPH1979

CPU MTK Helio P90 and 9XM-HP8 GPU
RAM/Storage 8/128GB (no micro-SD support)
Screen 6.4-inch, 2340 x 1080, 402ppi, AMOLED with 92% S-T-B-R, Gorilla Glass 5
Security Under glass fingerprint sensor
Camera Rear 48MP, f/1.7, 4K@30fps, No OIS, EIS for 1K/720p, 10X digital zoom, HDR, Ultra Night Mode, Sony IMX 586, 0.8um (pixel binned effectively to 12MP 1.6um)
Camera Rear 5MP, f/2.3 depth camera
Camera Selfie 32MP, f/2.0
LTE Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/18/19/20/26/28/29/40/41, 600/150Mbps
SIM Dual
COMMS Wi-fi AC, BT 5.0, GPS, NFC
Battery 4035mAh, VOOC 3.0 fast charge
Sound 3.5mm jack, stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos (for earphones)
Size/Colour 157.3 x 74.9 x 9.1mm x 186g in Aurora Purple and Jet Black
OS Android 9 and ColorOS 6
Price/Retailers $499 from JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, The Good Guys, Woolworths Mobile, Vodafone
Website https://www.oppo.com/au/smartphone-reno-z/

48MP camera

While the figure is impressive and it is the same sensor as the Reno 5G and 4G 10x zoom, the reality is that it defaults to a pixel binning 12MP camera in all but the brightest light. There is nothing wrong with that – the majority of high MP cameras do that including Google’s Pixel series.

Reno Z pixel binning

Michael Tran, Managing Director of OPPO Australia, said

The Reno 5G and Reno 10x Zoom are transforming smartphone technology and raising consumer expectations of what’s possible in a device. The Reno Z provides Aussies with game-changing power and the most immersive audio-visual experience available. Making premium accessible will always be a priority at OPPO. The Reno Z does just that, taking a number of impressive features from across the Reno Series and making them accessible to Aussies, no matter their budget.”