OPPO Reno2 Z, analysis: versatility and a lot of appearance mark the little one of the Reno2

Today we have on our analysis table the OPPO Reno2 Z, which we have tested for a few weeks to show you everything it has to offer from the mid-range of the OPPO catalog.

Here at Andro4all, we had already taught you in-depth about OPPO Reno2 a few months ago to certify that the return of the Chinese manufacturer to the European markets had been a great idea, especially considering the healthy competition and what consumers gain.

In any case, that OPPO Reno2 had a little brother in terms of specifications that had escaped us, and OPPO Reno2 Z that we thoroughly analyze for you today after testing it as the main mobile server for a few weeks.

A medium cut device in performance, which bets on MediaTek at its heart and which is everything in versatility starting with its camera, quadruple not to be less and ending with its possibilities, very advanced for its price. Be that as it may, what stands out for its character is its appearance and abundant appearance that is surely well above the team.

“The OPPO Reno2 Z is committed to finishes and appearance, to offer the same quality in materials and construction as its high-end but at a much lower cost.

Index of contents:

• OPPO Reno2 Z datasheet
• The best of the OPPO Reno2 Z
• Design and display
• Autonomy and general experience
• The not so good of the OPPO Reno2 Z
• Performance and software: Color OS is still very intrusive
• This is the OPPO Reno2 Z cameras
• OPPO Reno2 Z: conclusions and opinion
• OPPO Reno2 Z price and where to buy

Datasheet

The best of OPPO Reno2 Z

Design and display

We mentioned it in the introduction of this contact, and it is that if the OPPO Reno2 Z must be highlighted in some section, it must be done without a doubt because of its appearance and finishes, more careful than usual in this mid-range of the Chinese manufacturer.

In fact, it is that its fall in hand is spectacular, its robust construction and its imposing presence, also very fashionable with attractive gradients that make it one of the most beautiful mobiles that I have been able to try in recent times.

It helps that the front is completely clean, with a motorized pop-up camera on the front that shows automatically when necessary, waving with a striking purple LED to hide later thanks to a robust mechanism, with enough force and showing no signs of breaking down quickly.

In any case, where Oppo is undoubtedly right is in the choice of materials, with a metallic chassis where Gorilla Glass 5 type glasses are set to provide the set with the best quality and proven resistance. Of course, the weight rises to almost 200 grams, so it is not a precisely light terminal, but it is well finished. Way above average in finishes, actually.

The quality is already noticeable from the packaging, take care of to the millimeter in the purest Apple style in its appearance, including headphones similar to earpods and a cover as a rear plastic shell that will avoid extra expenses, and that has a more than acceptable quality.

Far from sensations, the truth is that we have everything in a terminal that points to the best mid-range, without the absence of the audio-jack to also allow FM Radio with the headphones as an antenna, with a MicroSD slot for independent memory expansion, which allows you to add two SIMs plus the memory itself, and a next-generation Type-C USB connector, with VOOC 3.0 fast charge of up to 20W.

The good sensations in hand undoubtedly help a panel of enormous quality, manufactured with AMOLED technology and 6.53 inches that offers sharpness and eye-catching in equal parts, with well-calibrated but somewhat saturated colors, very fashionable in smartphones. Its resolution is 2,340 x 1,080 pixels, in 19.5: 9 format and a density of 395 pixels per inch.

The choice of AMOLED raises the level of the device; its production cost too, obviously. Still, OPPO has preferred the advantages because it also allows them to integrate an optical type fingerprint reader under the panel that works really well and offers that full view front that we all want without toppings in the form of notches or holes.

Autonomy and general experience

Undoubtedly the OPPO Reno2 Z is an agile mobile for day-to-day, one that will satisfy almost all users who do not need maximum power or maximum performance, although as you will see later, the user experience is good with certain nuances mainly focused on the functionality of ColorOS.

The chosen hardware is powerful enough, with the MediaTek Helio P90 chipset in the lead with its eight-core processor and well accompanied by 8 GB of RAM that is very much in excess considering the target audience of the device.

In use, it is a fluid, solvent phone that allows you to do anything you want to do with mobile in 2020 without exceptions, without faltering even when it comes to mobile gaming or multitasking, but with the obvious limitations of hardware more restrained in pretensions.

Its great advantage is in the compensation of its possibilities, and that is that at a price lower than 350 euros, this OPPO Reno2 Z raises the bar of the known mid-range, putting itself at the level especially of Chinese mobiles with the best quality/price ratio, which in the end are also the biggest bestsellers in the industry. In fact, it does not seem that OPPO forgets that its first rivals are its compatriots, Xiaomi, especially if it wants to succeed in Europe.

The sound is good, without fanfare, the call speaker is exceptional, yes, and the general response is also good without us having been able to notice anything strange.

The autonomy is also on the average, but in the average for good, with 4,000 mAh in its battery and up to 8 hours in synthetic tests with the PCMark tool, which keeps the terminal on continuously in common tasks such as browsing the Internet, watching videos or retouching photos.

In real fire tests, the truth is that the situation does not change much, with between 6 and 8 hours of screen on, a day of intensive use, and the usual need for daily charging if we want always to be sure that the mobile will continue to be alive in the pocket.

Of course, in days of little use, especially on weekends, I have managed to reach two days of autonomy without problems, but with very little remnant when I went back to the charger.

Anyway, and as I know that the interesting thing is to know on average how much is left on the mobile at the end of the day because taking it at 08:00 AM from the charger. In normal use, the most logical in my case has been to have around the 50% charge at the end of a day, around 11 at night. Good grade, huh?

The not so good of the OPPO Reno2 Z

Performance and software: Color OS is still very intrusive

The most negative part of the OPPO Reno2 Z is very clear to me, and that is that its performance is solvent in terms of power but debatable in part regarding the use of a MediaTek chipset, which will undoubtedly leave it without support before others. Qualcomm mid-range options.

At least that, the power is higher than in the 400 series of the American manufacturer and the graphics part acceptable, but losing the support early is not too acceptable these days, so I sincerely hope that MediaTek announces as soon as possible that keeps the supports of your chipsets for longer than usual.

As always, we have passed a battery of synthetic tests with the main compatible benchmarks that are available in the Google Play Store, and these have been the results of a mid-range device but with solvent power for most Android users:

In any case, not only chipset and support suffers from this OPPO Reno2 Z, and the software part also tarnishes the experience a bit for those of us who are still reluctant to such intrusive Chinese customizations.

In fact, ColorOS, fortunately, maintains access to all Google services thanks to the Google Play certification. Still, in its case, we are again facing an interface quite different from what we are used to in the Pure Google experience, with a more attractive experience but also less recognizable:

Although OPPO has taken care of the graphics to the maximum and that the experience with the apps is distinguishable from other manufacturers and has continuity, it is not something that we like excessively that the disposition of the settings, the toolbars, etc. In addition, some unnecessary bloatware has been included that we could install if we need it from Google Play, thus avoiding memory expenses that we do not need.

The gesture system is also somewhat different, not very intuitive, and quite difficult to catch initially, especially to access the cards of the open apps. Without the security of reaching Android 11, we will probably run out of important news sooner than it would be admissible.

For the rest, the OPPO Reno2 Z moves the interface smoothly and adds credentials suitable for more than half of Android users, which do not require extreme power but require a good user experience. A smartphone with finishes of quality that does not go overboard with the price.

This is the OPPO Reno2 Z camera.

Entering the cameras section well, I can say that it is one of the most cared sections by OPPO with this Reno2 Z, without this having impacted a very contained final price. In fact, its performance is even surprising because of the good response, without the need to be a virtuoso either.

It is enough to talk about a photographic system with up to four sensors in its main module, along with a 16-megapixel front camera and f / 2.0 aperture that offers HDR and flash and that comes integrated into a motorized pop-up mechanism so as not to take up space on the screen. . This is the quadruple main camera of the device:

• 48 MP wide angle sensor with f / 1.7 aperture, 26mm and PDAF autofocus
• 8 MP wide-angle sensor with f / 2.2 aperture, 13 mm
• 2 MP black and white sensor with f / 2.4 aperture
• 2-megapixel depth sensor with f / 2.4 aperture

And if you want to get into the matter with empirical results, here we go with our experience using the OPPO Reno2 Z to take pictures as you would, in automatic mode with the AI ​​activated that allows self-adjusting parameters according to the scene recognized at all times.

With good lighting …

With the limitations of confinement, we have tried to take several examples of photographs taken with this OPPO Reno2 Z, which response well during the day and in good lighting, offering good sharpness, natural colors, and good response of auto-HDR with lighting differences in the scenes, thus avoiding the typical “burns” of the sky.

Very good in macros, it costs a little more selective focus and detail in landscapes. Still, its results are undoubtedly remarkable in general, especially for a mobile that does not seek high performance but versatility at a low cost.

Here we leave you a few shots taken with the device because an image -or several- is worth a thousand words:

… and at night

Surely where OPPO takes advantage of implementing four sensors with one of the Black & White types is capturing photos in low light conditions or at night. This is where the photographic response of this Reno2 Z is most surprising, as you can see in the attached gallery:

You have already seen it, little noise in general and absence of grain that spoils the shots, maximum use of the available light, and good compensation of lights and excesses, offering a level of detail comparable to the captures taken during the day.

Perhaps its greatest weak point in night mode is precisely in that desire to make the most of the light, since the shots are perhaps excessively showy, with too bright colors and night skies that could sometimes be mistaken for sunsets or sunrises, still with light.

In any case, the night mode is usable and really useful, and it will allow you to use the OPPO Reno2 Z to capture any moment also at night without fear that the result of the shot and its quality is only deplorable. Here you will get very useful photographs!

OPPO Reno2 Z: conclusions and opinion

Concluding the analysis of a mid-range smartphone has become almost an impossible mission since the quantity and quality of options make it increasingly difficult to recommend a specific terminal, leaving the decision to you in the hands of your tastes and needs.

In any case, we can say that the OPPO Reno2 Z is a smartphone with an imposing appearance, well cared for in the design, and very well built to achieve robustness and a spectacular fall in hand, especially if we consider it costs around 300 euros. Even It will allow us to have our entire screen thanks to its pop-up front camera.

The finishes are undoubtedly above its price and also above the average in the android catalog, and this is its best asset together with a four-sensor photographic system that offers good quality features, obviously without fanfare but usable in all situations.

As for hardware, it does not pale in comparison to other options on the market, even though its commitment to MediaTek really raises doubts, not in the short term but with its after-sales support once the new versions of Android start to arrive.

In any case, it has a memory configuration more than enough, good fluency in use, and an undeniable ability to serve as the main phone for all those users who require versatility and few bragging, but a good experience in all points, especially with a finish by above the price.

It is not a mobile phone for heavy users. Still, it will not leave anyone unhappy, and I myself confirm that I have been able to use it for a few weeks as the main phone without missing any important functionality that the high-end offers and that is not available here, although at a level more restrained. Do you want a balanced mobile that offers a good user experience and at a reasonable price? Well, take a look just below …

OPPO Reno2 Z price and where to buy

The new OPPO Reno2 Z is available in the main online retailers, as usual, at a recommended launch price that started from 369 euros, with sensible discounts at this point that make it even more attractive:

It can also be purchased in the catalog of the main Spanish operators with certain advantages if we assume permanence. For those who prefer physical stores, you can go to see it at MediaMarkt or also at Worten and Fnac, among others. There are no more excuses if you are interested in an OPPO and do not want to order it online …

Sharlene Meriel

Sharlene Meriel is an avid gamer with a knack for technology. He has been writing about the latest technologies for the past 5 years. His contribution in technology journalism has been noteworthy. He is also a day trader with interest in the Forex market.