Launched alongside the Oppo Watch, the Oppo Reno 4 is one more addition to Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd (which is a Chinese consumer electronics and mobile communications company headquartered in Dongguan, Guangdong)’s quite impressive lineup of smartphones.
The Oppo Reno 4 has a really amazing design. The smartphone manufacturer added two new designs one of which is a never seen before Reno Glow for the Galactic Blue variant of the Oppo Reno 4 that helps it achieve a matte finish. The Space Black variant has a glittery and not so laid back Oppo monogram at the back which according to Oppo, was in order to make the device a fashion statement. From the looks of things, it sure worked.
The Oppo Reno 4 is quite light and slim, with an overall weight and size that makes sure the device fits in your hand seamlessly. This is quite rare in today’s world of large smartphones.
The materials Oppo opted to use to make the Reno 4, did not add a lot of weight to the device and also contribute towards making it a lot more long-lasting. The matte finish at the back of the Reno 4 also means that users will not need to worry about the device having any fingerprint smudges or smears.
If you prefer your devices slim, light and convenient to use with one hand during tasks like surfing the internet, typing emails or texts, scrolling through your social media feeds or even just taking a photo or video, you should definitely consider this device. Be sure to utilize the silicon phone case that comes with the device, in order to avoid the device getting scratches.
The Power button for the Oppo Reno 4 can be found on the right side of the device making it easy to access with your right thumb and or left index finger. The power button also serves as a hot key for helping you launch Google Assistant.
On the left side of the device, you will find the Volume buttons or rockers alongside the device’s Dual SIM nano tray.
The USB Type C charging port, speaker grill, headphone jack (yay!), and microphone, are all located at the bottom of the Oppo Reno 4.
When it comes to Display the Oppo Reno 4 comes with an AMOLED display of 6.4 inches, a screen resolution of 1080 by 2400 with a pixel density of 409ppi (Pixels Per Inch), and a screen to body ratio of 90.7 percent.
The display on the Oppo Reno 4 performs really well indoors and outdoors under sunlight as well. Saturation and contrast wise, it has a very vibrant display with really impressive colour reproduction. With this screen rich colours and deep blacks are very easy to see, even when placed at various viewing angles.
It also gives users the ability to choose either Vivid or Gentle Screen modes in its display settings.
The Oppo Reno 4, comes with a Netflix HD Streaming Certification. What this means is that the device supports 1080p streaming on Netflix. So if you are a fan of binge watching content on Netflix, you will be able to do so in HD with the Oppo Reno 4. Cool right?
The peak brightness for the Oppo Reno 4, is very high so you will not need to turn it all the way up in order to see contents on the screen properly even when you are outdoors.
With its screen size of 6.4 inches and really thin bezels the display of the Oppo Reno 4, provides users with a great viewing experience coupled with plenty of visual real estate to consume multimedia content and even games in an enjoyable fashion. The only thing that might be in your face (pun intended) with regards to the device’s display, is the Punch hole located at the top left of its display. It is however, not a deal breaker at all.
The Oppo Reno 4 supports the Always-On Display feature. This ensures that you can always see the battery percentage, your date and time, and your notifications icons, at a glance, any times.
An optical in-display fingerprint sensor is also available on the Oppo Reno 4, along with a face unlock feature. Both are quite accurate and fast.
One cool thing about this device’s Face Unlock feature, is that it also works with amazingly well in low lit conditions, even your mask on. To say this is useful especially during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, would be understating its value.
On the software side of life, the Oppo Reno 4 comes with Google’s Android 10 Operating System (OS) installed, and Oppo’s very own ColorOS 7.2.
With the ColorOS 7.2 users get a variety of functions that are really easy to use. From Oppo Share, to pull down gestures that enable you put all icons on your screen to one corner for easy access with just one command or gesture, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Application Preloading, a Quick Return Bubble, great features for customization like wallpapers (gravity wallpapers included), and an Anti-fragmentation Engine, it is clear that Oppo via its ColorOS has enhanced user experience at the forefront of its strategy. This device will also be able to automatically upgrade to Google’s Android 11 Operating System (OS) and Oppo’s ColorOS 8, as soon as both are available.
The Oppo Reno 4 has Smart Spying Prevention, Smart Air Control that essentially allows a user to control the device via the use of gestures like scrolling down or up on Facebook or Instagram, answering phone calls via a swiping motion with your hand, Smart Rotation, and a Smart Always On display.
It also has a Smart Floating Sidebar that lets users pull down from the edge of the display, thus bringing the frequently used tools and applications (like sScreenshot, Calculator, and File Manager) to the device’s screen in order to help make the customization of said tools and applications as your defaults or go-tos.
Bloatware has been significantly reduced on Oppo’s ColorOS 7.2. the only additional or bloatware applications available on the Oppo Reno 4, are Oppo Labs which comes with interesting features like a tool to help you make or setup customized ringtones, a relaxation application and a decision spinner. An Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered video editing application called SoLoop also comes pre-installed, alongside Google’s very own apps of course which are placed in their own separate folder.
Another cool aspect or feature of the ColorOS 7.2, is the option for users to carry out gesture navigation by either swiping from the sides or from the bottom, as opposed to only making use of navigation buttons.
All of this show that Oppo remains forward thinking even with regards to Software, ensuring that you completely enjoying using this device.
When it comes to performance, the Oppo Reno 4 ticks all the right boxes. It comes with an impressive 8GB of RAM, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor, an internal storage of 128GB with a memory (microSD) card slot that is expandable to up to 256GB, an Adreno 618 GPU.
This is a far cry from the specifications its predecessor the Oppo Reno 3 came with and as result means the Oppo Reno 4 is a much more capable device in various areas that include proper gaming and numerous intensive multitasking operations, thanks to its processor.
You can also expect applications on the Reno 4 to be quick, launch really fast, and work exactly as they should.
In the area of gaming popular graphic intensive titles like Asphalt 9, Mortal Kombat X, Call of Duty Mobile, Arena of Valor, Alto’s Odyssey, Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition, Real Racing 3, PUBG, Critical Ops, Shadow Fight 3, and GrimValor, can each be played with ease, even in their highest settings.
The Oppo Reno 4 with a Game Space tool thanks to ColorOS 7.2. Game Space essentially helps users improve the device’s performance during gaming (for games which support this of course), and makes it possible for users to stop all notifications from popping up on the device’s screen when gaming.
As mentioned earlier the OPPO Reno 4, executes light use, moderate use, multitasking and moving between applications quite well. You can go from web browsing applications like Google Chrome, to music streaming applications like Spotify and even its default camera application, without having to worry about lagging.
Keep in mind however, that this device might get a little warmer especially after intensive use over a long period of time, but to the point of overheating or getting excessively hot.
With regards to consumption of visual and audio content the Oppo Reno 4’s AMOLED display along with its Dolby Atmos audio which comes with a number of pre-set audio modes like ‘Gaming’ (which essentially provides a really impressive bass for a completely immersive gaming experience), ‘Movie’ (which offers a real 3D surround sound alongside a very powerful bass), ‘Music’ (which gives users a more balanced and fuller sound), ‘Smart’ (this mode lets users automatically adapt sound effects to the specific media being consumed or played).
The speakers for the Oppo Reno 4 can be found at the top (the earpiece grill), and at the bottom of the device. Its speakers are loud, deliver audio quality that is crisp, very immersive and not distorted even when put at the highest volume.
For the camera side of things, the Oppo Reno 4 is a very formidable contender. This device comes with a total of five cameras. A 32 Megapixel selfie camera that is located at the punch hole cutout in front of the device (which also comes with a sensor), a Quad main camera setup that includes a 48 Megapixel camera, a 2 Megapixel mono colour sensor, a 2 Megapixel macro camera, 8 Megapixel ultrawide camera.
All of the above, result in a camera ‘department’ that is versatile and very capable, a much cleaner camera experience with better contrast and details in environments or areas with good lighting for various types of shots and yes this includes food photos for the gram and selfies.
Its cameras also perform really well in conditions with lowlight conditions with its Night Mode option making sure that users are able to capture much cleaner shots.
The Night Mode basically adds details and lights that guarantee brighter and clearer shots in darker environments or areas. To be able to effectively take photos in lowlight however, you will need to hold your hands steady for up to 10 seconds in order to help the camera properly capture said photos.
The Oppo Reno 4’s cameras come with a number of modes that include Slo-Mo, Portrait mode, Pro mode, Time Lapse, HDR mode (which holds its own quite well), and Panorama.
Capturing 48 Megapixel pictures on the Reno 4 gives you really impressive details while also giving you quality prints that can be edited or touched up further via the numerous photo editing applications or software available today.
Its 8 Megapixel Ultrawide shooter performs amazingly when it comes to colour reproduction as the primary or main camera.
Portrait Mode delivers too in the area of isolating subjects from the background well.
With the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Color Portrait mode the back ground of the photo can get changed to black and white while at the same time retaining original colour of the individual or subject in focus.
The Oppo Reno 4 however does not only impressive in pictures, its video capabilities are equally as impressive. It has a steady video on option for selfie videos. This device’s dual selfie cameras have EIS with its front ultra-steady video being able to with most filters at 30fps (Frames Per Second) at 720p, 30fps (Frames Per Second) at 1080p, with beautification and bokeh being possible at 30fps (Frames Per Second) at 720p.
Its main camera also supports Artificial Intelligence (AI) Color Portrait mode for videos and monochrome videos as well.
Ultra Steady videos are also supported. This means you can capture action shots without needing to use a gimbal.
Support for 960fps (Frames Per Second) Smart Slow Motion playback is also available via the Intelligent Motion Detection Algorithm. This device has the ability to take slow motion videos at 480fps (Frames Per Second) at 1080p, 240fps (Frames Per Second) at 720p, and 120fps (Frames Per Second) at 1080p all via the rear cameras.
For the front camera users can take slow motion videos at 240fps (Frames Per Second) at 720p and 120fps (Frames Per Second) at 1080p.
The Oppo Reno 4’s preinstalled video editor; SoLoop gives users even more up to date features that will help create catchy videos with just a single touch.
With its super clean interface and modes that have been arranged in a horizontal manner, alongside additional settings that have placed out of your way in the ‘More’ tab, the Oppo Reno 4’s camera app gets the job done, and does so well, with no lag.
In the Battery department this device comes with a 4015mAh battery that gives you around 9 hours of on screen time, one day and a half even on heavy usage. So expect moderate to light use to take you to even two days or at least close.
It supports 30W fast VOOC charging which can get the device from empty to full in around an hour or so, 40 minutes to get from 0 percent to 91 percent, and 23 minutes to get to 56 percent.
The Oppo Reno 4 offers battery safety features that are really useful. These battery saving features are, Super Night Standby, Super Power Saving Mode, and the regular Power Saving Mode.
The Super Night Standby makes sure your Oppo Reno 4 will only use up about 2 percent of battery when you sleep.
For the Super Power Saving mode your Oppo Reno 4 can go up to one and a half hours of WhatsApp video calls and one hour of phone calls, even when its battery is on 5 percent.
The Oppo Reno 4 is the perfect device for work and play. It has all the features and ‘vibes’ of premium device even with its midrange pricing. It ticks all the right boxes you would expect to find in a smartphone in its price range, including a powerful battery, great cameras, an unrivalled performance, and super fast charging.
As at the time this article was compiled on the 12th of December 2020, the price for the 128GB internal storage variant of the Oppo Reno 4 stood at 37,800 Kenyan Shillings (at 24 percent off an initial price of 49,999 Kenyan Shillings). You can check out this device on Jumia via this link: https://www.jumia.co.ke/oppo-reno-4-6.4128gb-8gb-ram48mp8mp2mp2mpdual-sim4g-black-33712728.html
And that is all for the Oppo Reno 4!
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