Oppo Reno 2 Review: A Decent Upgrade Over Its Predecessor

Oppo Reno 2 Design: Premium Aesthetics With Light Form Factor

It's the era of gradient smartphones and the Reno 2 is no different. Taking cues from the previous generation Reno, the device offers a vertically-aligned camera setup followed by a small bump and the Oppo branding.

But, unlike the matte finish, you get a glass back panel. The rear panel is quick to pick up fingerprints and gets dirty quickly. While the glass back looks good and offers a premium feel, I would go for the matte finish on the previous Reno.

The curved edges allow for a good grip, but the device is a bit slippery. Moreover, the big form factor makes it a bit difficult for single hand usage. You will, however, like the leather finish case that ships with the retail box.

Coming to the ports and keys placement, on the left edge you get the power key and the hybrid SIM slot. On the left, you get the volume rockers, while the 3.5mm audio jack, USB Type-C port, and the speaker grill are at the bottom.

It retains the shark-fin elevating selfie camera design which, as per Oppo, pops up in just 0.8 seconds. It also comes with fall detection which is effective in retracting the camera upon detecting any fall.

One thing I would like to add is that the selfie camera collects dust over time. Personally, I like the look and feel of this device. The premium aesthetics and lightweight design make it a good smartphone in its segment.

Oppo Reno 2 Display: Perfect For High-Resolution Videos

The Oppo Reno 2 is equipped with a tall 6.55-inch Dynamic AMOLED display. Thanks to the pop-up selfie camera, the device offers a FullView design with minimal bezels all around including the chin.

It is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 6, and for added protection, it comes with a protective film layer. It offers a 91.3 percent screen-to-body ratio and 1080 x 2340 pixels FHD+ resolution.

The viewing angles are good, so are the brightness levels. With 800 nits of peak brightness, viewing content under direct sunlight isn't an issue.

Color reproduction is also good but the display is slightly on the warmer side in default settings. You can adjust the color temperatures manually.

If you are someone who loves binging on movies and TV shows, then the Reno 2 will not let you down. I enjoyed streaming videos on Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos as it can render 1080p videos on streaming platforms.

There is also a Night Shield feature whose function is to cut down on the harmful blue light emissions. This is useful during the night when the bright screens tend to strain the eyes.

Overall, the big form factor with high-resolution support allows for an immersive viewing experience.

Oppo Reno 2 Camera: 48MP Quad-Camera Performs Well

Oppo Reno 2 offers a quad-camera module that packs a 48MP Sony IMX586 primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture. Other sensors include an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 13MP telephoto sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor.

The camera comes with 5X optical and 20X digital zoom. You can easily toggle between 1x, 2x, and 5x zoom option from the camera app.

To enhance the imaging capabilities, the camera is loaded with features like OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization), HDR, Panorama, and Expert.

There is a dedicated NightScape mode as well which captures some good quality images in low-light situations. Other camera features include Portrait, Slow-Motion video recording, and Time-lapse.

The camera performs well with ample lighting. It captures detailed images with good dynamic range. The edge-detection is to the point; not par with the competition.

The HDR is better than the previous generation and captures some good images. It captures good bokeh shots specifically if the subject is not a human face.
Image calibration in low or challenging light situations could have been better.

You can notice some noise in the images. The dedicated NightScape mode works decently and you won't be let down by its performance. It is suitable for capturing different scenarios with less light.

As for the video recording, the camera supports 4K, 1080p, and 720p videos. The stabilization is good and what impressed me more is the quality of slow-motion videos.

Upfront, the shark-fin pop-up selfie camera houses a 16MP lens with an f/2.0 aperture and an LED flash. The front camera captures average selfies. The daylight shots are good, but in low-light situations, it fails to capture details.

The images tend to get mushy in unfavorable lighting situations. But, they still good enough to embrace your social media handles.

Oppo Reno 2: Hardware And Battery Performance

Oppo has used an octa-core Snapdragon 730G chipset which is the latest mid-range SoC by Qualcomm. Aiding the chipset is Adreno 618 GPU, 8GB RAM, and 256GB of internal storage.

While the Snapdragon 730G is a good mid-range smartphone, Reno 2 is a premium device and we expected an upgraded Snapdragon 855 processor. Notably, the previous-gen Reno 10X used a flagship chipset rather than a mid-range SoC.

However, the processor is not laggy and you will be able to perform graphics-intensive task smoothly. Its performance with high-end games like PUBG and Asphalt 9 is also satisfactory.

I didn't experience any lag or frame drops at the highest settings, also, there were heating issues at times, but nothing uncomfortably so. You will not have any difficulties with multitasking as well.

So, performance-wise you get a well-packaged device. The only setback which I believe is the lack of a high-end chipset which would have amplified the overall performance of the Reno 2.

The smartphone gets its fuel from a 4,000 mAh battery unit backed by VOOC 3.0 flash charge. It takes around an hour to charge the battery from zero to 100 percent. So, you don't have to wait for long to recharge the battery.

As for the backup, it delivers more than half a day with moderate usage. This includes playing HD videos on loop, occasional gameplay, and basic social media usage. You will need to plug the charger twice if the device is being used extensively.

Oppo Reno 2: Software And Benchmark

The Reno 2 ships with Android Pie OS topped with the in-house Color OS 6.1 user interface. The UI is quite similar to the previous generation Reno. While I am personally a fan of stock Android, I find the UI of Reno 2 pretty decent.

It comes loaded with various features gesture-based navigation, Smart Sidebar, Assistive Ball, Smart Assistant, etc. I would like to add here that the power key can be used to summon the Google Assistant.

To do so, you will have to go to the Convenience Aid feature and select the first option (Press and Hold the Power key for 0.5 seconds).

It also has Clone Apps feature using which you can use one app with different accounts. There is also Game Space feature which intelligently manages games and also improves the performance. Overall, the UI is decent and doesn't feel cluttered.

We also ran some benchmark tests on the smartphone and the results were satisfactory. In the PCMark benchmark test, it scored a total of 7412 points in the Work 2.0 performance test.

The Reno 2 scored 2,354 points in 3D Mark's Sling Shot Extreme - OpenGL ES 3.1 and 2218 points in the Sling Shot Extreme - Vulkan test.

Finally, in the Geekbench tests, the device logged 542 points in the single-core and 1737 points in the multi-core tests.

Is It Worth The Purchase?

Overall, the Oppo Reno 2 is a well-packaged smartphone. But, Rs. 36,990 price tag seems more considering the competitions in this segment offering a powerful SoC.

One thing which will instantly grab your attention is its premium-looking design with a sleek and lightweight form factor.

If you like flaunting a smartphone, the Reno 2 will definitely live up to your expectations. Moreover, if good imaging capabilities are your priority, then the quad-camera module with 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor will satisfy the shutterbug within you.

But, if you are looking for flawless performance then we would suggest you consider some other options like the OnePlus 7 series or the recently launched Asus ROG 2, both of which are powered by a Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 855 and 855+ SoC respectively.