OPPO Reno7 Z Review: Slender AI Phone With Decent Battery Performance
March 29, 2022Performance: Snapdragon 695 5G, 8GB RAM
Main Display: 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED (2400×1080)
Weight: 173g
Storage: 128GB
Battery: 4,500 mAh
Features: 4K /1080p
Rear Camera: 64 MP Main, 2MP Depth, 2MP Macro
Front Camera: 16 MP, 1080 Video recording
Rating:8.5/10
Price: RM1,699
The mid-range smartphone market is saturated with mediocrity. It is laden with fairly similar rectangles with unimagnitive designs. That said, there are a few exceptions, which include our review unit the OPPO Reno7 Z 5G. It borrows quite a lot from its more upmarket brother, the Reno7 Pro.
As such, it features a similarly svelte design and two larger than life camera lenses. Both protrude from the rear shell, slightly. Said layout lends a minimalist look to the entire design as opposed to the more sophisticated one of its bigger brother. It’s also just 7.49mm thick, which makes it far sleeker than most of its rivals.
The Looks
This allows the almost wafer-thin phone to fit in just about any pocket without being cumbersome. And despite this, OPPO still managed to cram a 4,500mAh battery into said shell. It’s a testament to how well-throughout the engineering process was, as the company set out to build this phone.
It is this slim profile that provides prominence to the phone’s lighting system. Called Dual Orbit Lights, each rear lens is surrounded by a ring of light that illuminates to notify you of things like incoming calls, missed calls, messages and other types of notification. They remain on when the phone is left to charge and only turn off when the battery is fully topped off.
Rarely do manufacturers place this much of emphasis and thought into creating an eye-catching look for a mid-range phone. Our unit comes in cosmic black, which looks really good in person but the Rainbow Spectrum color scheme is created through a far more complex process.
It consists of a three-layer texture and two-layer coating process to produce both a glossy finish for the camera section and a matte one for the rest of the surface. How often do you hear of phones in this price range that are engineered this well and look this nice?
The Features
Sadly, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for the OPPO Reno7 Z. The phone is fitted with a 6.4-inch, FHD+ AMOLED display with refresh rate of 60Hz (slight chin at the bottom). While many manufacturers are pushing for higher frequencies, it’s perplexing to find out that the company is content with shipping such a cool phone with the standard screen refresh rate.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent screen with punchy colors, which is what we expect from any AMOLED screen. But the deficit in refresh rate means that the Reno7 Z doesn’t offer the same buttery smooth transitions and response times as its more expensive siblings. It’s not a deal breaker because it is still able to accomplish tasks without stumbling over itself.
It’s a fairly tall display, which makes it less ideal for streaming content and more suitable for reading text based content or scrolling through social media feeds. Unlike wider displays, said aspect ratios require less effort from your right thumb. This is the same case with Sony’s plethora of smartphones, which utilize the tried and tested candybar design.
The Performance
At its heart, sits a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset. It’s a “budget conscious” platform aimed at winning over budget minded consumers. OPPO says that the 695 outperforms similarly priced MediaTek SoCs especially in terms of GPU performance. Since it’s coupled with 8GB RAM, it should be able to handle moderately demanding tasks without much trouble.
The phone’s shortcomings do not become glaringly apparent until you’ve used one with a 90Hz refresh rate and at least a Snapdragon 778 chipset. That’s how capable it is at being a smartphone for the average Joe.
Whatever the case maybe, you’ll need to temper your expectations. This phone isn’t meant for playing demanding gaming titles or engaging in other activities that require a high amount of computing power. But since it benefits from a better cooling solution compared to its predecessor, the phone doesn’t get uncomfortably hot to hold, regardless of what you’re doing.
The Cameras
Treat the Reno7 Z as a regular phone that you’ll use to chat, stream YouTube and take pictures that are Instagram-worthy. The rear cameras consist of a 64MP main sensor with electronic image stabilization (EIS), 2MP depth camera and 2MP macro one. Said camera array rely heaviliy on AI technology to boost post-processing quality and ensure that you get the best shots possible.
In our experience, the technology works really well. When you take a photo, the software works behind the scenes to ensure the subject gets most of the attention, while ensuring the background gets an adequate amount of detail and that overall noise is kept to a minimum. Sometimes it overcompensates, which makes for oversaturated results.
That said, its rare that you’ll end up with underexposed and washed out photos. The results are comparatively similar to that of rival phones in its price range. However, where the Reno7 Z comes out ahead is its ease of focusing and HDR enhancements. It tries to maintain focus on what you want, while “enhancing as much around you as possible for a vividly coloured shot.
It’s a similar story for the 16MP selfie camera. It makes use of the beautification algorithm to make sure that you appear as the best version of yourself. It features pixel binning tech to offer better results in low lighting conditions. However, it falls short in comparison to the Reno7 Pro’s far smarter skin tone and subject recognition technology.
Bokeh Flare Portrait is available here as well. The AI algorithm is able to identify you from the background and ensure you’re kept in focus. Accuracy is on point and its able to blur out the background while keeping you in focus and ensuring enough ambient lighting is visible through said blur.
OPPO says that this algorithm is also able to retouch hair & shirt details at the pixel level to make a subject stand out as much as possible. While this is true to a point, it’s comparatively less impressive compared to that of its more expensive siblings. Where the Reno7 Z does shine however, is in the brightness and contrast department.
Here, it’s able to punch above its weight by producing well exposed and overzealous color saturation. It makes for clear and vivid selfie pictures even when taken in poor lighting conditions. It’s a testament to the crucial role AI tech plays when compensating for hardware limitations.
The absence of proper optical image stabilization does put the phone at a disadvantage when recording videos. As good as electronic image stabilization is, it isn’t as good as OIS. As such, sudden or uneven movements while recording, will result in blurry or warped frames. This is typical of phones with EIS because its evidence of software compensation for camera shake.
Understanding this is the key to achieving proper quality videos. Keep in mind that the phone is able to capture reasonably bright and detailed footage in less than stellar lighting conditions. In order to get the best results possible, you’ll need to keep your self steady and limit hand movements.
This isn’t a phone meant for capturing fast moving subjects or other action shots. Instead, it’s best suited to social or scenic settings, where detail and color takes precedence over shutter speed and motion blur. At the end of the day, this isn’t a flagship phone. Though its svelte appearance may suggest the contrary to be true.
It’s important to remind yourself of what the Reno7 Z is able to offer despite being several classes below the phones that it tries to emulate. This will help you digest and come to terms of its capabilities.
Due to its 4,500mAh battery and 60Hz refresh rate, you should expect close to two days worth of battery life. Higher refresh rate phones, especially those of the 120Hz variety tend to last a day at most. Sometimes, you’ll find yourself frantically searching for a power outlet by the same evening.
The Reno7 Z supports 33W SUPERVOOC charging which promises up to 58% charge with 30 minutes of changing time and the ability to reach a full charge in slightly over an hour spent plugged in.
Throughout our time with the phone, there hasn’t been an instant where I have had to worry about sudden drop in battery charge, so you shouldn’t either. Its moderate power consumption guarantees this.
OPPO ships the Reno7 Z with ColorOS 12, which offers a variety of features that includes battery power visualization, power consumption notifications, AI frame rate stabilizer and anti-peeping for notifications. ColorOS is the company’s skinned version of Android, which offers an experience tailored to suit OPPO’s UI and menu design philosophy.
Should You Buy One?
If you’re looking for a relatively affordable, sleek phone that glows to inform you of certain notifications, then this is what you. It’s just 7.49mm thick. This makes it easy to hold and carry on one’s person. The outer appearance can fool onlookers into thinking it to be a flagship device rather than one for the average Joe.
It takes really good pictures thanks to the incorporation of AI technology. Video recording may not be as good due to the lack of OIS but, you can achieve decent results by limiting body movements and allowing the artificial intelligence algorithm to do its thing.
If you want to take great pictures and videos, opt instead for the Reno7 Pro. It has superior features that make it an all-round better phone for most people. However, at RM2989, you’ll need to gauge how important some of its features are to you.
Get the Reno7 Z if you want an experience that is close to the more expensive Reno phones without having to part with an arm or leg to enjoy it.
