After a long time of being mostly stagnant, the smartphone industry is once again starting to get really interesting. While many players are still putting out variations on the same theme of incremental hardware bumps, others are trying to see what kind of innovation they can include. Oppo is one such brand, and with their Reno 10x Zoom, they’re pulling out all the stops.
DESIGN: 5/5
This is easily among the best-looking phones in the market right now. Our review unit, done in a sleek, serious black, subtly whispers premium. A luxuriously smooth, curved glass back done with an eye-catching sheen, and a camera group that’s subtly highlighted with a change in finish all come together to what might be my personal vote for the best-looking phone of this generation. Materials and design come together elegantly, making a device that’s really hard to set down.
Three buttons, two speaker grilles, and wonderfully little else give it the kind of lines that smartphone manufacturers have been trying to achieve for generations now, and the inclusion of a clever pop-up front camera completes the look eliminating the bezels almost entirely.
HARDWARE: 4.5/5
The Reno 10x Zoom is much more than just a pretty face. With the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, an Adreno 640 GPU, and a massive 8 GB of RAM plus 256 GB of storage, this premium device isn’t just for show. A 4065 mAh battery powers everything, and extremely rapid charging makes sure you can top that battery off in no time flat.
The display is a massive 6.6 inch, 2340 x 1080 AMOLED display for a crisp 387 ppi screen density, and a staggering 93.1 percent screen ratio. This is a screen that will spoil your eyes and make it difficult to move to anything that’s less sharp. It also had an in-screen fingerprint scanner for security.
The camera is just as superb as the rest of the phone. A 48, 8 and 3 MP triple camera setup with laser focus is present at the rear, while a 16 MP front camera rises diagonally from the top edge of the notchless display when you need it. True to its name, it offers superb zoom.
USER EXPERIENCE: 4.5/5
The first thing you will notice after initially admiring the beauty of the phone, is that it has quite a bit of gravity to it. At 215 grams, it’s deceptively heavy, and will let you know it’s in your pocket just by its weight.
That screen though. It’s so wonderfully sharp, with vibrant colors and deep blacks that really pull you into the image. The fact that it barely has bezels just makes the whole experience that much better. Videos from short YouTube clips to entire seasons of Netflix shows are no match for the size and clarity on this screen.
It also has speakers to match. This thing is capable of throwing out audio that borders on too loud. If you turn the volume up to max to listen to some music or watch a video, be warned that everyone in the room is going to hear that loud and clear. Because of the bezel-less, pop-up camera deal, the sound does come out louder from the bottom grille than the top, so keep that in mind.
What really makes this camera special is the hybrid 10x zoom. Instead of cropping the image to create a zoomed shot, it actually has a telephoto lens that optically zooms into your subject for lossless zoom up to 5x in, and only after then will it rely on digital zooming. We’re very happy to report that it’s not just a gimmick—the 10x zoom shots we took came out orders of magnitude better than purely digitally zoomed photos could manage. I was able to take shots of buildings several blocks away and produce readable text on the facade that weren’t readable with the naked eye. It’s amazing how far smartphone photography has come.
As for battery life, try as I might, I couldn’t get the battery critically low with just one day of use. Music, videos, and occasional gaming will leave you with more than enough juice after a full workday, if you somehow manage to drain the battery, seek professional help, and plug in. Extremely rapid charging will top off a dead battery in under an hour. If you wanted to try, this is a phone that could last you two days between charges.
One last thing to note. Yes, the front camera rises mechanically. Yes, it’s very cool, and fast enough to serve as a viable way to implement face unlock, and if Oppo is to be believed, should last upwards of 200,000 actuations.
For all the praise I have heaped, there are a few things I’m not overly fond of. While I appreciate the glass design, it’s extremely slick, and feels like it wants to flow out of your hand in use. This is particularly noticeable when you’re gaming or watching on the phone, so take extra care with that. Like I said at the start of this review, it’s also on the heavier side, Which may be a problem for some. There’s also no option to expand storage, though if you manage to fill up 256 GB plus all your cloud storage, you might have some other problems you’ll want to look at.
VALUE: 4.5/5
At PHP 45,990, it offers superb value for its class. It has features available that are available in phones from the competition, but at steeper price points. If you want a premium phone that is absolutely gorgeous, and has a few tricks up its sleeve (most notably the 10x optical zoom), then this is the one to check out.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Dimensions: 162 x 77.2 x 9.3 mm (6.38 x 3.04 x 0.37 in)
- Weight: 210 g
- Display: AMOLED, 6.6 inches, 1080 x 2340 pixels, 387 ppi, 93.1 percent screen-to-
body ratio - Chipset: Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 , Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 485 &
3×2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4×1.78 GHz Kryo 485) - GPU: Adreno 640
- Camera: 48 MP, f/1.7, 26 mm (wide), 1/2.0”, 0.8 µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS
- Periscope 13 MP, f/3.0, 130 mm (telephoto), 5x optical zoom, Laser Auto-focus,
OIS, 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm ultrawide, Front pop-up 16 MP - Battery: 4065 mAh, with Vooc Flsh Charge
What’s Hot:
- Might be the best-looking phone out there now
- 5x OPTICAL zoom.
- Plenty of muscle
What’s Not:
- Extremely slippery
- Noticeably heavy
Bottomline:
I wish I needed a new phone right now.
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE September 2019 Issue
Reviewed by Ren Alcantara