While one well-known Chinese smartphone brand is experiencing difficulties in bringing new models to market in Europe another is quickly gaining momentum. As you might have guessed, I'm talking about the contrasting fortunes of Huawei and OPPO, the latter of which is building upon the reputation of its Reno series to become a household name in European markets. We were impressed by the Reno 10x Zoom Edition when we reviewed it a while back, its performance, build quality, and design chops were of flagship quality while its cameras were also up there. Now OPPO is fleshing out its range with a number of mid-range handsets consisting of the Reno 2, Reno 2z, and the A-series which is also coming in to be reviewed.
The OPPO Reno 2Z features a MediaTek processor, pop-up selfie camera, AMOLED display, and quadruple rear cameras, all for just £329/€369, and we've been lucky enough to spend a bit of time with it. Long story short, despite some initial misgivings about it running a MediaTek chipset, we've have been impressed by what OPPO has crammed into the Reno 2Z.
Design
Sporting a metal and glass design the Reno 2Z feels nice and solid in the hand and if you didn't know its price you wouldn't suspect that it's a mid-range handset. Our review unit came in the Sky White finish which is really striking with hues of purple and pink showing as the light hits it. The central strip of cameras on the rear panel, along with the subtle branding is reminiscent of the more expensive Reno 10x Zoom Edition, which isn't a bad thing at all.
If it's attention that you want, there are customizable LED's on either side of the pop-up camera that light up when activated. It's a bit of fun that you can also disable if that's your preference. Thanks to the pop-up camera, there is no need for a notch or punch-hole design, which means that the 6.5-inch AMOLED display is completely unblemished, making for a great experience when watching content.
The glass panel on the rear is nicely rounded, and although it is slippy by nature of its composition, OPPO includes a neat case in the box. The power button sits below the SIM tray on the right-hand side of the phone while the volume buttons are on the left. You'll find the USB Type-C charging port, speaker, and surprisingly, a 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom edge of the Reno 2Z.
Hardware
| OPPO Reno 2Z | |
|---|---|
| Announced | October, 2019 |
| Available | October, 2019 |
| Software | ColorOS 6.1, Android 9 Pie |
| Display | 6.5-Inch AMOLED display, FHD+ resolution (2340 x 1080), 20:9 aspect ratio, 394ppi, 91.1% Screen-to-body ratio, Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Processor | MediaTek MT6779 (Helio P90) Octa-core |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB |
| Notch | No |
| Rear Cameras | 48MP main sensor, 8MP Ultra-wide lens, 2MP Depth-of-Field sensor, 2MP Monochrome sensor |
| Front Camera | 16MP |
| Audio Jack | Yes |
| Battery | 4,000mAh (Non-removable) |
| Charging | USB Type-C, VOOC Flash Charge 3.0, 50% charge in 30 minutes |
| Wireless Charging | No |
| Security | In-Display Fingerprint Sensor |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0, WLAN Function 2.4/5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC |
| Sensors | Gyro-meter, E-Compass, Hall Sensor, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, G-sensor/Acceleration sensor |
| Dimensions | 161.8 x 75.8 x 8.7mm |
| Weight | 195g |
| Colors | Luminous Black, Sky White |
| Price | £329/€369 |
Performance
It may sport the MediaTek Helio P90 processor under the hood, but the Reno 2Z offers a slick user experience in everyday usage. The octa-core processor performs well enough although it's let down somewhat in gaming performance thanks to the PowerVR GM9446 GPU which is much less powerful than the Adreno 615 GPU found on the Pixel 3A. This means that you'll need to play games at lower graphic settings to avoid the occasional stuttering. Other than that, the Reno 2Z runs as smooth as you like, with the 8GB of RAM making light of app switching. The AMOLED display is bright and colorful, and much better than the LCD panels usually seen at this price. There's plenty of storage available, Bluetooth connects with ease, and the presence of the audio jack is welcomed.
We don't put much weight behind benchmarking apps, but we've included results from Antutu, GeekBench 4, and 3D Mark for your perusal below:
Battery
The combination of the big 4,000mAh battery and the energy-sipping nature of the MediaTek Helio P90 processor means that the Reno 2Z makes it through the day with battery life to spare without using any of the available power-saving features. It wasn't unusual to get to midnight with around 25% left in the tank, so with a little bit of nursing, the Reno 2Z is very capable of lasting two days before needing the charger. When you do hit empty, the VOOC 3.0 Flash Charging feature will bring the battery back up to almost 50% in just 30 minutes, which should get you through the day.
Software
As with the Reno 10x Zoom Edition, the ColorOS 6.1 overlay is the weak spot, although it's by no means a deal-breaker because it's a slick user experience. We still have the same complaints as we did with the software found on the Reno 10X Zoom Edition, in that the way that the Settings app is set up seems a little disorganized. Despite the presence of an AMOLED display, there is no Dark Mode option available. Another niggle is being limited to just five default themes in the OPPO Theme store, which is a UK only limitation. There is a bit of bloatware to uninstall such as Opera Browser and AquaMail. Other than that, and the obvious inspiration provided by Apple's iOS, ColorOS 6.1 is a solid foundation on which OPPO can build.
The Reno 2Z is scheduled to be updated with ColorOS 7 (Android 10) next year, which will include a dark mode option, among other tweaks and improvements.
Camera
Let's get straight to the point here. The Reno 2Z has four cameras on its rear panel but you'll only really make use of two of them, the 48MP main sensor and the 8MP ultra-wide angle sensor. The 2MP depth and Monochrome sensors feel like they are just there to be included in the sensor count as opposed to adding anything useful unless you are addicted to talking monochromatic portrait images.
From the tone of the opening paragraph, you might be fearing the worst for the Reno 2Z's camera experience, but in all fairness, it's quite the opposite. While not quite the equal of the more expensive Pixel 3a, the Reno 2Z produces very good imagery on a reliable basis. The ultra-wide lens is useful and results in bigger viewpoints with good levels of detail.
Night mode on the Reno 2Z is acceptable although again not on the same level as the Pixel 3a thanks to the algorithm having a tendency to flatten images. At this price point, though, this is little to quibble about with the results which are more than good enough for social media without the need to mess about in an editor.
As for the 16MP selfie camera, it can produce some great results with a decent level of bokeh effect. I've included a selfie pic of myself below, taken in what you could call less than ideal lighting conditions and yet resulting in a pretty good photo.
We've included a whole bunch of images for you to take a look at below.
Conclusion
At £329, the Reno 2Z is never going to match up to handsets costing two or even three times the amount, but it holds its own against phones of a similar price. There's a big, colorful, high-quality AMOLED display present, along with a shiny metal-and-glass finish that catches the eye, and extremely fast charging, which is not something you see on phones of similar value. While it's not aimed at mobile gaming, the Reno 2Z is a stylish, reliable phone that is perfect for viewing content on.
Featuring a stylish glass and metal design, flagship features, and costing just £329, OPPO's Reno 2Z demands your consideration when buying a smartphone in the mid-range segment.
Buy it Now: Carphone Warehouse
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