Oppo Reno6 5G Review: Betting Big On Design & Faster Charging

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The Indian smartphone market is quite versatile and has something for everyone. You are no longer bounded to shell out a premium price to experience the best of hardware and new features. If a top-tier Apple and Samsung phone don't fit in your budget, you can consider buying a OnePlus handset. You want the best hardware at the most aggressive prices, look for a Xiaomi (and its sub-brands) device. If a good design and trending features are what you seek, Oppo and Vivo smartphones are your best bet.

 

Rating:
3.5/5

Oppo Reno6 5G Review: Betting Big On Design & Faster Charging

These two brands make good-looking handsets that also pack the latest innovations in the mobile industry. The latest Reno6-series from the house of Oppo is a good example. We reviewed the Reno6 Pro and were quite impressed with its premium craftsmanship, fluid curved OLED display, and overall performance. Now it's time we take a closer look at the affordable sibling- the Reno6 5G. Priced at Rs. 29,990, the 5G-enabled device introduces a new MediaTek Dimensity chipset and an Apple iPhone 12-series inspired design to the sub-30K price bracket.

Should you consider buying the Reno6 5G against its powerful rivals? Let's find out.

Exquisite Design

Exquisite Design

The Reno6 is the first Android device to draw inspirations from Apple iPhone 12-series' design, which gives it a distinctive appeal in its respective price bracket. The handset has a flat screen, flat edges, and a flat back panel with a smooth matte texture that stays smudges-free.

The metal frame has also been given a matte finish and it firmly holds the two sides together. The phone is quite sleek (7.59mm) and lightweight (182g) but slippery to hold and is best used with a case.

Slippery To Hold
 

Slippery To Hold

This boxy design, flat profile, and sharp edges might not offer the best ergonomics, but it surely looks exquisite. The Reno6 5G is available in two color variants- Aurora and Stellar Black. The latter looks subtle and stealthy with its retro design appeal. If you don't mind vibrant color hues with some glittery light effects, the Aurora color variant will suit you better. Overall, the Reno6 5G is a distinctive-looking mid-range smartphone that will surely turn eyeballs. It offers a feel good factor that no other device has in its respective price point.

The Reno6 5G has a USB Type-C charging port, a single speaker grille, and a SIM card slot that takes in two nano-SIM cards. There's no stereo speaker setup and the phone comes sans a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card for storage expansion. Oppo should have offered the device in more than one storage variant since there's no microSD card expansion support.

The buttons offer good tactile feedback and the phone's build quality is pretty good. And while the phone feels durable, it won't survive a dip in the pool as the body isn't officially IP rated. The rival phone- Poco F3 GT gets an official IP53 certification, which means it offers better protection against water damage and dust ingress.

Edge-To-Edge 90Hz FHD+ AMOLED Display

Edge-To-Edge 90Hz FHD+ AMOLED Display

We have rarely experienced any display issues on a Reno-series device. The phones under the flagship series always bring one of the best displays in their respective price brackets. The Reno6 is no different. The phone boasts a vibrant full HD+ AMOLED display that offers excellent viewing angles and deeper blacks resulting in immersive visuals. The flat edges and almost bezel-less front fascia makes for good real-estate for web browsing, video streaming, and gameplay.

However, the 1080p OLED on the Reno6 lacks marginally in terms of screen fluidity and peak brightness when compared to some of the best mid-range devices. The handset flaunts a 90Hz refresh rate OLED with a 360Hz touch sampling rate, which does feel buttery smooth but lacks ever so slightly when used simultaneously with a 120Hz panel.

For instance, the Poco F3 GT's 120Hz OLED display feels more fluid and responsive while scrolling and playing games, thanks to its higher-touch sampling rate of 480Hz. So unless you are not much of a gamer, the 90Hz refresh rate shouldn't be a problem.

Also, the screen on the Reno6 feels a bit dull under direct sunlight. The panel's 600 nits peak brightness (local peak brightness- 750 nits) could the reason behind it. We have used handsets with livelier screens in the same price bracket. The Poco F3 GT is one such handset offering better outdoor usability, thanks to its brighter OLED panel.

Oppo Reno 6 5G Hardware Specifications

Oppo Reno 6 5G Hardware Specifications

The Reno6 5G is our first review device running on the all-new MediaTek Dimensity 900 chipset. The 5G-enabled 5G SoC has two ARM Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.4GHz and six ARM Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2GHz. For graphics, the SoC uses a Mali-G68 GPU. The handset comes in just one RAM-ROM configuration, i.e. 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB ROM with no expandable memory support.

Like most handsets today, the Reno6 also gets some virtual RAM (vRAM) that theoretically enhances the handset's processing and multitasking performance. The Reno6 gets up to 5GB virtual RAM for a performance boost. Before we talk about the day-to-day performance, let's check out some synthetic benchmark scores.

Reno 6- MediaTek Dimensity 900 Benchmarks Scores

Reno 6- MediaTek Dimensity 900 Benchmarks Scores

The Reno6 5G scored 8421 in the Work 3.0 performance and recorded a score of 418850 in Antutu. It logged 3738 in 3D Mark's Sling Shot Extreme test and scored 704 in Geekbench's single-core and 1885 in the multi-core test. These scores reveal good numbers and hint towards the smooth and lag-free performance of the handset; however, the Poco F3 GT is comparatively a more powerful handset at the same price point.

Reno 6 5G As Day-To-Day Performer

Reno 6 5G As Day-To-Day Performer

Coming onto the day-to-day performance, the Reno6 5G is very responsive and runs light to heavy tasks without any performance issues. I did not experience any heating issues or performance slowdowns while using multiple apps or playing the most demanding games; however, I must tell you this is not our most recommended game-centric handset in the sub-30K price point. If you want a pro gaming experience on the same budget, the Poco F3 GT will suit you better.

The Reno6 is for consumers who want a good-looking device that also performs well in most day-to-day phone tasks. It is mostly good for casual gaming and smoothly sails across light and heavy tasks without any performance issues. The capable hardware and smooth software come in together to offer a lag-free user experience.

What could have been better at this price is the audio performance. The single bottom-firing speaker setup fails to impress with the clarity and loudness despite the Dolby Atmos support. You would need a pair of headphones to enjoy videos and audio playback on the Reno6.

The smartphone runs on the ColorOS 11.3 based on Android 11, which looks beautiful on the edge-to-edge OLED screen. It is one of the most visually appealing user interfaces that also comes loaded with the most required utilities and customizable features. You can tweak icons, change various animations, apply themes, and do a lot more natively. The software has some bloatware but can be uninstalled, thankfully!

Oppo Reno 6 5G Camera Performance

Oppo Reno 6 5G Camera Performance

The Reno 6 5G brings triple-lens camera hardware comprising a 64MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP macro camera. There's plenty to explore in terms of software features; Bokeh Flare Portrait Video, AI Highlight Video, Dual-Video mode, Movie mode, etc.

These features mostly come in handy to shoot some creative videos with high-end DSLR camera-grade effects; however, results aren't always quite impressive. The software processing seems a bit off, especially whole shooting bokeh flare portrait videos. The chipset-driven effect only works when you are very careful with the frame and the distance to the subject.

Oppo Reno6 5G Camera Picture Quality

Oppo Reno6 5G Camera Picture Quality

As far as the picture quality is concerned, the daylight results are good. Images look well exposed and mostly show natural colors. I did not notice any unwanted saturation or white balancing issues. The 64MP main camera captures good details and accurate colors.

Portraits Could Have Been better

Portraits Could Have Been better

The dynamic range is not the best we have seen in this price and could have been better. Also, the lack of a dedicated depth sensor was quite visible in the real-life results. Some shots turn out downright bad with poor edge detection. Oppo should have replaced the 2MP macro with a dedicated depth sensor because honestly, that 2MP macro isn't much of a use.

Moving on, the Reno 6 5G's 8MP wide-angle lens is an average shooter. The images reveal poor details and the white balance also seems off the charts, a clear sign of poor software processing. The Reno6 is also not a good low-light shooter.

The night mode does help to some extent in clearing noise and restoring details in darker areas but the overall results are pretty average. There's a 32MP selfie camera that does a good job in daylight, provided that you haven't gone overboard with skin smoothening filters. Overall, Oppo has focused on adding more camera features but has ignored the camera basics on the Reno 6.

Well! That extra sleekness has some compromises. The Reno 6 can easily survive a day with moderate usage but would need a refuel within 24 hours of charging if you push it to its limits. It's not a heavy-duty battery cell and isn't recommended to power users. I am glad Oppo has bundled the 65W fast-charging brick in the box that can refuel the phone's 4,300mAh battery in less than 40 minutes.

The Reno 6 supports 5G with a long list of bands including n1/n3/n5/n8/n20/n28/n7/n38/n40/n41/n66/n77/n78, making it future-ready for 5G networks in India. The handset has a dual SIM card tray (nano + nano) and supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Wi-Fi 2.4G/5.1G/5.8G, Bluetooth v5.2, NFC, and also has SBC, AAC, aptX, LDAC, and LHDC support for wireless audio.

Verdict

Verdict

The Reno 6 5G's highlight is its design and fast-charging capabilities. There's no other smartphone in the sub-35K price bracket that looks as stylish as the Reno 6 5G. The 65W fast-charging, edge-to-edge 90Hz OLED display, and smooth day-to-day performance are other important factors to consider buying this device.

If you want a more powerful handset with a better overall display and a high-performing chipset, the Poco F3 GT is the device you should go for. The OnePlus Nord 2 is another option with good software and overall features; however, the design and the built quality are a bit on the lower side.

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