OPPO seems to be maintaining a short product renewal cycle, as barely 6 months after the launch of Reno3 series, the OPPO Reno4 series soon followed.
The Reno4 Pro carries the same design DNA as the Reno3, with the row of quad cameras at the top left corner, but instead of the telephoto, the camera system consists of the 48MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, as well as a 2MP macro camera and 2MP mono lens. The anti-glare matt rear finish has become a sort of a signature on OPPO Reno series, but the Reno4 feels less silky and more friction. Both front and rear panels curve around to make the sides thin, making it feel like the phone is thinner than it looks.
OPPO Reno4 Pro features the 90Hz display refresh rate with up to 180Hz touch sample rate, enabling smoother animation and transition. To further enhance the visual experience, the display panel uses Super AMOLED and OSIE (OPPO Screen Image Engine) Ultra Clear Visual Effect, together with many other display customisations like screen colour temperature, low-brightness flicker-free eye comfort, font and display size.
The Reno4 Pro runs on the latest ColorOS 7.2 UI, which introduces new features including an Icon Pull-Down Gesture to make one-hand navigation more usable. When you swipe your finger from the corner upwards, the homescreen icons collapse towards your finger. Continue swiping towards the icon and release it to select. On the other hand, Reno4 Pro now uses more stock Android apps like Phone, Messages, Calendar, Files. This also means that Reno4 Pro no longer supports call recording.
The new camera features that are introduced on the Reno4 Pro focuses on image creativity and lets you capture photos regardless of light amount. The AI Colour Portrait Photo mode highlights the person in natural colour while muting the background colours in black and white. This mode is supported in both front camera, rear camera, and video mode. The Night Flare Portrait Mode creates background flare bokeh to enhance the vibrant mood. The front 32MP camera has enough pixels to capture selfies in low light. These are possible by combining multiple pixels to get the optimal images, hence the Reno4 Pro captures 12MP by default which supports hybrid zoom, while switching to the 48MP shooting mode fixes the frame. The “XHD” mode increases the pixel count to a massive 108MP, but it does not necessarily allow details like faraway vehicle plates to be picked up as it is still limited by the physical pixels.
In the video department, the Reno4 Pro supports 960 fps super slow motion, a rather fun way to capture little fleeting moments too fast to notice. The Ultra Steady delivers image stabilisation over high-intensity activities, like running, making footages floating as if a gimbal is being used. It works best with ample lighting out outdoors, while indoors appear somewhat patchy.
On the whole, the Reno4 Pro feels very responsive with smooth animation. It inherits the positive vibes from the OPPO Find X2 Pro which we reviewed favourably, and while the hardware may not be flagship-level, the performance should meet the needs of the mass consumer. It supports in-screen fingerprint sensor, facial recognition, all-day battery life, 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging, NFC, external micro-SD card.
Rating 4 / 5
S$899
We Say
The OPPO Reno4 Pro is a comprehensive smartphone that performs like a flagship device but at a more reasonable mid-range price point.
Technical Specifications
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
Display 6.5 inches Super AMOLED 90Hz 2400×1080
Memory 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 256GB ROM UFS 2.1, support external microSD card
Rear Camera 48MP main camera, 8MP wide-angle, 2MP macro, 2MP mono
Front Camera 32MP f/2.4
Operating System ColorOS 7.2 (based on Android 10)
Connectivity WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.1, USB-C 3.1, NFC
Bluetooth Audio Codec SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX, aptX-HD, aptX-TWS+
Battery 4000mAh
Dimensions 160.2 x 73.2 x 7.7 mm (HxWxD)
Weight 161g
First published in NXT Magazine September 2020. A digital edition can be purchased at https://www.magzter.com/SG/Kingsman-Media-Pte-Ltd/NXT-/Lifestyle/
