Review: OPPO Reno2 vs OPPO Reno2 F: Is It worth the Extra Bucks?

OPPO Reno2 Review and Compared with OPPO Reno2 F

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All pictures in this review were taken with OPPO Reno2 and OPPO Reno2 F

Introduction

The Chinese company OPPO, which is diligently expanding its expansion into the Nigerian market, introduced last month its new Reno series, specially designed for this market and developed with an interesting concept and a good combination of specs and price. OPPO Reno is a mid-range device with high-quality body materials, a futuristic retractable camera and a well-optimized interface. Today we will meet the second generation of the Reno – OPPO Reno2 and OPPO Reno2 F. We will review OPPO Reno2 and also compare both devices. Is OPPO Reno2 worth the bucks? Let’s find out in this review.

First, pay attention to the unboxing of both devices and technical specs.

Unboxing of OPPO Reno2 and OPPO Reno2 F

This device comes in an interesting new package which is totally different from A series and F series device we reviewed. It is also long and quite heavy. Check out the list below and pictures of items inside the box.

The OPPO Reno2 package contains:

Oppo Reno 2 unit
USB-C data cable
Headset
Charger
Manual
Ejector Pin
Strong dark blue plastic case with a leather texture.

OPPO Reno2 Unboxing Pictures:

The OPPO Reno 2 F package contains:

Oppo Reno2 F unit
USB-C data cable
Headset
Charger
Manual
Ejector Pin
Strong transparent plastic case

OPPO Reno2 F Unboxing Pictures:

Technical Specs

Here are the specs of our review units (Oppo Reno2 and Oppo Reno2 F):

[table id=3 /]

OPPO Reno2 CPU-Z Specs result

Recommended Read: OPPO F11 Pro Hands-on Review: Great Value for Money

Design and Build

One of OPPO Reno’s strong points was certainly its design and its remarkable build quality. The design remains substantially identical, with its not inconsiderable thickness (9.5 millimetres) which however also includes the cameras, integrated under the glass of the rear bodywork.

The front panel is covered with a protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 6 with high resistance to mechanical damage. For comfortable and easy sliding of the finger, an oleophobic coating is provided. The entire front panel is occupied by a display without any cutouts or holes. The bottom frame of the display is minimal width, although it remains wider than the rest. The speaker is located on the sliding module of the camera, and its output is provided at the upper junction of the protective glass and the metal frame.

The back is covered by a single panel of protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 5 with a mirror coating, a characteristic strip and a ceramic protrusion that protects the camera lenses from damage or scratch. In hand, the smartphone is not the lightest (189 grams) but the feeling of quality transmitted is excellent.

The side faces are united by a single metal frame that repeats the shade of the back cover. It is a little rounded and feels comfortable in the palm of your hand, pleasantly chilling the hand. The USB-C port, 3.5mm port, main speakers and mic are located on the bottom. On the right is the power button, equipped with a green insert. A little higher you can see the slot for SIM-cards and memory cards. The volume rocker is on the left side and the entire top face is occupied by a retractable of the front camera. We will talk about it later.

Similar details can be found on the OPPO Reno2 F, there is a slight difference in the positions of the button and ports

OPPO Reno2 F Gallery

OPPO Reno2 F top view — OPPO Reno2 F Top view

OPPO Reno2 F Buttom Ports — OPPO Reno2 F USB ports, speakers and mics

OPPO Reno2 F Rear view — OPPO Reno2 F Rear View

OPPO Reno2 Display

The screen of this Reno2 is the same with OPPO Reno2 F which is 6.5″ but Reno2 screen-to-body ratio is a little larger than the Reno2 F. OPPO Reno2 has 87.5% screen-to-body ratio while the OPPO Reno2 F has 85.1% screen-to-body ratio. OPPO Reno device always comes with an AMOLED capacitive touchscreen but the difference is in the resolutions. OPPO Reno2 resolution is large than that of OPPO Reno2 F.

The fingerprint sensor, by the way, is displayed on the screen off, even if you do not activate this mode, just take a smartphone in your hand and it will appear at the bottom of the display. The display for OPPO Reno2 has Corning Gorilla Glass 6 while OPPO Reno2 F comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

The colour calibration is good, the brightness is at the height of the product. Surely its most spectacular feature is being very wide, with no breaks in holes and notches, coming very close to the edge on each side. If the screen brightness is set to the highest the phone starts to heat up. Kindly avoid doing that, it drains the battery faster as well.

Software and Performance of OPPO Reno2

OPPO Reno 2 arrives on the market now with version 6.1 of ColorOS, based on Android 9.0 Pie with September patches. A notification to update to November security patch was received immediately I connected to the internet. OPPO Reno2 F got just the September security update.

To the left of the homepage is the Smart assistant bar, where the most necessary data for the user is collected.

At the status bar, large buttons of quick settings will allow you not to miss a finger, but they look really very bulky. Involuntarily the idea arises that if they were made smaller, it would be possible to arrange more parameters in the access.

For face unlock, the smartphone needs to extend the front camera, and the time taken to unlock, in fact, is equal to the speed of the camera. Since at the time of its rise, the system already recognized the owner and unlocked.

With a lack of light, it may take a little longer, but still, the system works accurately and efficiently. There is also a built-in antivirus that can monitor software security threats and warn the owner about it.

Dolby Atmos software technology is designed to optimize the sound of your smartphone for different usage scenarios. By default, a dynamic mode is selected that automatically adjusts the sound settings depending on the task being performed. In the case of using headphones, this function can be turned off. The external speaker is monaural, located on the lower edge of the case, and it is quite loud.

For contactless payments, an NFC module with support for the Google Pay payment system is provided. OPPO Reno2 F doesn’t support NFC.

There are actually not very many new features compared to OPPO Reno2 F. We did not find this interface poor or lacking in features, but better aesthetic care would certainly be welcome. Among the features that we have mentioned, we find the bokeh effect on the selfie video camera, if activate can blur the background while recording a video, the possibility of cloning the apps, app shortcuts and the smart assistant at the side of the display.

Device Interface Gallery

Hardware

Since the OPPO Reno2 is positioned as a mid-range smartphone, the hardware is appropriate. The basis was the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G SoC – an eight-core solution that includes six Kryo 470 cores with a clock frequency of up to 1.8 GHz and two similar cores with a frequency of up to 2.2 GHz. For some reason, the CPU-Z application determines their number on the contrary, but this is a mistake. SoC itself is made by 8 nm process technology.

Adreno 618 is responsible for processing three-dimensional graphics. It is in this that lies the difference between the usual Snapdragon 730 and the version used here, which is marked with the G (Gaming) index. Game optimization consists in increasing the performance of the graphics subsystem and applying FPS stabilization technologies in games. The claimed optimization for modern games and the priority control function of the Wi-Fi connection to ensure stable communication in network games. It is expected that there were no problems with modern games either. Even at maximum settings, the speed remained at a high level.

The amount of RAM worthy of the flagship devices – 8 GB. With the simultaneous launch of even “heavy” applications there will be no difficulties. Connectivity is at the height: LTE up to 600 Mbps, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and FM radio (at least on the datasheet, because we didn’t find it).

And what about the heating of the case? The manufacturer claims that there is copper pipes liquid cooling technology.

Recommended Read: OPPO A9 2020 Hands-on Review: Where Beauty & Performance Marry

Camera

Oppo Reno2 comes with four rear cameras. The main one is a Sony IMX586 48-megapixel camera with a lens aperture of ƒ / 1.7 and an equivalent focal length of 26 mm. There is a full optical stabilization.

The telephoto lens has a resolution of 13 megapixels with an aperture of the F / 2.2 lens and autofocus. There is a 2x optical zoom, and thanks to the high resolution of the sensor, it was possible to realize 20x digital zoom. Interestingly, the smartphone can combine optical and digital zoom technologies to produce a 5x hybrid zoom.

To expand the viewing angle, an 8-megapixel module (physical size of the sensor is 1 / 3,2 “) with 13-mm optics and aperture of ƒ / 2.2, without autofocus is used.

The main camera confirmed the good impressions with an excellent colour balance. Where perhaps we would have expected something more is in the work of the HDR in managing strong lights.

The front camera, like last time, is hidden in a retractable module that extends at an angle. The 16-megapixel pop-up camera with ƒ / 2.0 is decent, and it comes with a flash. The software portrait mode is sufficient but does not manage the highlights well, while the HDR is a bit exaggerated in managing the sky and the background. OPPO Reno2 is the world’s first pop-up camera with bokeh effect video. This gives the recording a blurred background and has a built-in “artificial intelligence”, in which you can correct individual facial features. OPPO Reno2 F pop-up camera doesn’t have a front flashlight.

OPPO Reno2 F Selfie Camera without flash

Good videos, but they do not reach the results we would have expected based on the launch videos. The main camera records video in 4K stabilized. In FullHD things improve and still improve by activating ultra stabilization. However, the promised camera effect is not achieved and the image is still a bit shaky. Not bad the FullHD videos from the front camera but they don’t seem to have any kind of stabilization.

Pictures shot with OPPO Reno2

Battery

Battery has been and remains one of the main specs of the smartphone, determining the convenience of its use. The OPPO Reno2 is equipped with a 4000 mAh battery. Given the modern mid-range SoC and AMOLED display, it makes sense to expect good capacity for the battery.

For the most efficient use of the battery, an energy-saving mode is provided, which reduces energy consumption for less important tasks.

OPPO is developing its own fast charging technology called VOOC 3.0 which is available on the device.

The complete power adapter supports this feature (VOOC 3.0) and stands out for other adapters. You won’t experience the VOOC flash charge if you don’t use the charger that came with the device. The manufacturer claims a charging speed of up to 50 percent in just half an hour.

In practice, the charge speed is really impressive. The device literally “before our eyes” gains that very 50 % of the charge, after which the speed decreases to provide less load on the battery and preserve its battery life. A full charge cycle of up to 100% will take about two hours.

However, according to the test results, it is clear that a full battery charge will last for a long time. Even with active use, the user can be sure that the energy reserve is enough for the whole day. And if necessary, you can increase this time to a couple of days, only slightly optimizing energy consumption.

OPPO Reno2 and OPPO Reno2 F Price in Nigeria

The review units we got are ocean blue for OPPO Reno2 and lake green for OPPO Reno2 F. Consumers in Nigeria can choose between Ocean Blue for OPPO Reno2 and Sky White and Lake Green for OPPO Reno2 F in their local retail stores like Slot. And you can buy from the renowned ecommerce store in Nigeria, Jumia Nigeria.

Click the links below to buy from Jumia:

Buy OPPO Reno2 – Ocean Blue = ₦179,000

Buy OPPO Reno2 F – Lake Green = ₦129,000

Buy OPPO Reno2 F – Sky White = ₦129,000 on Jumia Mall

[one_half]OPPO Reno2 PROS