A new Challenger brand enters the Irish market

Over the years, there’s no denying that smartphones have gotten a bit boring. Samsung and Apple sucked the fun in new phones until Huawei hit the market. After years of wild innovations by the Chinese manufacturer, Trump’s America has stopped the craic. While Huawei has impressively launched several phones and developed the Huawei AppGallery at an impressive pace, stepping out of the elegant world offered by Google-powered Android is not for everyone. When I recently tested the Google Pixel 5, I found that the Google ecosystem is a must-see beauty if it works well. So I was really excited about the brand new OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks and here’s what I think.

Who is OPPO?

I won’t go into detail again as I’ve already written about who OPPO is and what they stand for. The top level is that they are a Chinese smartphone manufacturer that offers impressive specs at competitive prices. In short, they have been waiting a long time to enter the Irish market and it cannot really be argued that the moment is the perfect time to do so.

Der OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G

OPPO has come out with three phones, all of which fall under the umbrella of the OPPO Reno 4 series. Three Ireland sells three phones from the series:

• OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G
• OPPO Reno 4 Z 5G
• OPPO A53

Eir only sells two of the two 5G models:

• OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G
• OPPO Reno 4 Z 5G

I’ve had my Sim in the OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G for the past few weeks since testing Google Pixel 5, and I’m ready to tell you it’s a great part of the kit. Here’s why.

OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G Technical Specifications

Ok, I’m usually not that obsessed with the phone before a review, but the Pixel 5 really impressed me. So I’m going to start with the specs of the OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G and align them with the Pixel 5.

The reason I’m obsessed with this spec comparison is because these two phones seem worlds apart in your hand.

On paper, however, the two are well coordinated and stand from head to toe. Just look at the chipsets, GPU, memory, and RAM. It is literally the same. My reason for emphasizing this point is simple. If you haven’t heard from OPPO, take it very seriously. The phones they make are top notch. With this point, I want to dig a little further into these specifications.

Drums

I have to be completely frank here and admit that it has become very difficult to test the battery life. Different types of COVID restrictions mean massive fluctuations in the way I use my phone. I’m never that far from my charger or sometimes charge when I’m at my desk. You don’t feel that poor battery life brings so much pain because we’re all at home all the time. That said, the Pixel 5 battery let me down, but here’s one area that the Reno 4 Pro 5G absolutely surpassed. Now the battery isn’t as impressive as that of the Huawei P40 Pro, which in my opinion is the only current flagship that offers a true two-day battery. But I go to bed and charge my Reno4 Pro 5G with about 35% power remaining.

The funny thing is that due to OPPO’s remarkable charging technology, the battery capacity doesn’t even have to be that good.

This is just insane, comparable to the life of Nokia 3310 batteries

I know this sounds ridiculous, but OPPO’s SuperVOOC 2.0 charging is maybe the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in a smartphone. This is a 65W fast charger that can put 60% of the 0% charge into your battery in just 15 minutes. The battery on this phone is completely empty in just 36 minutes. I’m sorry, but this is insane on par with the life of Nokia 3310 batteries. It’s another level impressive.

Battery life is considered mundane by many, so I’d better go into something more sexual.

Camera

The Reno 4 Pro 5G is an honest fist to be a great photo phone. While the phone can’t compete with Huawei’s Leica cameras, the built-in Sony sensor is impressive. After feeling a bit limited by the Pixel 5’s lack of optical zoom, the Reno 4 Pro 5G gave me more options. I lacked the performance of Google’s portrait software, even if OPPOs aren’t bad. A couple of recordings were made that disappointed. Slight movement when shooting in portrait mode or a randomly overexposed selfie, but the vast majority of the shots were impressive. I would expect this phone to make most people look at their old phone with disdain.

The funny thing about cameras on smartphones is the fact that different people have very different take-aways. I’ll try to leave some of my personal preferences on the door and say the vast majority of people will be using this phone and taking pictures just to be asked which phone they used because they are excellent.

Apparently, if you’re into videography, you’ve figured out what’s following OPPO. The Reno 4 Pro 5G can record 4K videos and thanks to an ultra-wide sensor it can even record great videos in dark environments. There’s also Ultra Steady mode that works for both front and rear cameras. This is a nice little feature if you’re feeling a bit of a vlogger.

operating system

When it comes to the operating system, Color OS is impressive in its own way, but this is the older version of OPPO’s own version of Android. Their new operating system is called ColorOS 11, the naming conventions jump from 7.2 to keep up with Huawei’s EMUI 11. This is one area of ​​the test that I stopped all for, simply because the Android 11 on the Pixel 5 is amazing. I can’t wait to see what ColorOS 11 delivers. Unfortunately, while the BETA is rolling out in limited markets, I won’t receive ColorOS 11 until early 2021.

When OPPO launched ColorOS 11, they upgraded some features to increase viewers’ appetites. OPPO Relax 2.0 allows users to create their own mix of white noise while offering an extensive and comprehensive collection of sounds from cities around the world. Could be a nice feature for city dwellers who moved home during COVID-19 restrictions. OPPO has also partnered with Google for Three-Finger Translate. This feature captures and translates text using a simple screenshot taken with a three-finger gesture.

There are many other features, but I haven’t tested any of them, and I don’t see any point in checking ColorOS 7.2 features either. What I’m going to say is that like any other Android phone, using the OPPO phone was without any nasty surprises.

Design

The OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G doesn’t reinvent wheels when it comes to design, but it also offers an all-round solid design. The bezels are pretty thin, but there’s a light chin and forehead, with the forehead providing a physical speaker in place of the increasingly popular under-screen speaker. There is a slight overflow edge on the screen that is just under 90% screen-to-body ratio.

For me, the most important thing is that design is not an area that OPPO does without in order to save costs. This is a premium phone like any other flagship phone on the market, but keep in mind, this phone is instead aimed at the upper-midrange smartphone market.

It has 5G

One thing that stands out here is the price. When I first discovered OPPO, they were a bit like Huawei or Xiaomi. Impressive specs but price tags that really appeal to users. The OPPO Reno 4 5G costs € 790 with prepayment. It’s still not too cheap for bill payment either. With Eir’s Mobile Essentials plan, which costs € 40 per month, you’ll get € 150 back over the phone. That’s not cheap for an upper mid-range smartphone. Do you remember when I tickled over Pixel 5? While this phone has a smaller screen and less impressive battery life, it would only cost you $ 620 and would be SIM-free.

The Pixel is a tough comparison since both phones are 5G phones, which means you can’t use the usual excuse that 5G chips cost more. That sluggish transition aside, I’m now talking about 5G and here’s an overview of how much 5G phones are going to set you back these days.

If you’re a bill buyer with a keen interest in 5G, the OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G suddenly makes sense.

OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G: The Verdict

The OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G is a great kit. To be honest, it’s not the mind-blowing phone that solves every problem imaginable. If you’re looking for the best camera, get a Huawei. If you want simplicity, iPhone is probably still your best bet. If you want a pure Android experience, the Google Pixel 5 is the phone for you.

However, if you are looking for a phone that can give you a full experience and 5G at a reasonable price compared to its competitors, the OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G has some unique advantages. While a tad pricey and not even OPPO’s leading flagship smartphone (which isn’t available in Ireland), few will have remorse from buyers here.

The OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G and the wider Reno 4 series are available now from Three and Eir.