OPPO Reno4 Full Review – Improved Performance and Camera Features

Followed immediately by its predecessor–Reno 3 with after 5 months, last March 2020, OPPO released its newest reno series, The OPPO Reno 4. It was launched yesterday via Livestream here in the Philippines. So, Question–What was improved? well, since we got our hands-on this is our review on this device.

READ: Reno 4 With SD 765G, 65W Charging to Arrive in the Philippines in August

Specification

Related: OPPO Reno4 Now in the Philippines for P18,990, See Pre-Order Details

Pros

• Tons of Camera Features
• EIS on all video clips
• Perfect for Night Photography
• Latest midrange processor

Cons

• Optimization on ultrawide
• New chipset needs optimization over time

Design

Design is perfect to partner with your OOTD, it has a gradient black to blue shiny plastic back with a subtle pattern that comes out when hit by light. On the camera module at first, we thought it only has a triple cam but it turns out it has a tiny cam beside the large lenses along with an led flash. That tiny sensor is the mono cam that detects one color on the scene to emphasize the subject while making the rest black and white. we like how big the circles on the lenses that make it look more unique compared to other smartphones.

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Now on the frames, still the typical midrange build, power button with a green neon line on the right, on the left is the volume rocker with a simtray consist of dual sim slot and expandable storage up to 256gb. Underneath is a 3.5 mm headphone jack, microphone, USB Type-C port, and speaker grille. On top is a secondary mic. The overall build is nicely done, it weighs only 165g, and thanks to the 3D curve back it is comfortable to hold even it has a smooth finish.

Display

Now on the display, we have a pill-shaped cutout located on the top left of the screen, this is the right location especially holding the phone in landscape orientation and it is less distracting. The act that it is a longer cutout–they made it tiny. The whole screen boasts a 6.4″ FHD+ AMOLED Screen with a high PPI of 409. The display is crisp and punchier with a brightness level that is good and the screen is readable outdoor. To get a little boost on colors, OPPO Reno 4 offers OSIE vision effect on specific apps this can be enabled in the display settings menu.

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Camera

Camera consist of a unique setup:
48MP f/1.7 Sony IMX 586 Main camera
8MP Ultrawide
2MP Macro
2MP Mono Camera

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Like we said earlier it offers a mono camera that detects a single color to offer an extra feature on the camera app–AI Color Portrait. You can shoot with these features on the front and rear cameras. This adds more gimmick on the scene, the downside is, subject to background separation isn’t that accurate sometimes because it lacks depth sensing.

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On the Main Cam, OPPO Reno 4 is backed by Sony IMX 586 camera sensor. It outputs a sharper image and color reproduction is nearly the same outdoors. Reno 4 also outputs a greater dynamic range. Shooting indoors white balance is on point thanks to the AI enhancement feature.

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Now switching to Ultrawide, it introduces color fringing and it overexposed the sky. The image also is now saturated, the good side is its ultrawide lens offers a wider angle compared to other competitors in the midrange segment.

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In Portrait Mode, while offering an AI color portrait, it still offers subject to background separation to create an illusion of a shallow depth of field. Colors are still the same–natural looking–as it uses the main camera.

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Now heading to the Macro lens, the macro lens is hard to find on on this device as it is located inside the pro mode next to lens switch. Shooting macro outputs a bright image and acceptable quality. Though we can’t get too close on the subject as it only offers fixed focus.

On video recording, it shoot up to 4K@30fps and offers 1080p@30/60fps and all video modes have stabilization. Colors are natural looking and exposure is somehow bright on blown-out highlights.

WATCH: Oppo Reno 4 vs Huawei Nova 7 SE – Features or Specs?

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Switching to the front camera the 32MP Main selfie cam equipped with Sony IMX616 shoots sharp images. Indoors the Reno4 outputs balance contrast and brighter image it also appears wider and skin tone also enhanced background separation or blurry background also has good accuracy. The mono feature also applies to the front camera. Video recording outputs 1080p@30fps and it offers ultra steady video or EIS.

There’s a ton of camera features on Reno 4 and the slow-motion is one of the cool features. Pro Mode with 32S Shutter Speed and up to 6500ISO. Also on the Pro Mode is the XHD or Extra HD Mode which outputs up to 108MP pixel interpolated image. It also offers night mode on ultrawide, main cam, and front camera. Ultra Dark Mode is also present inside the Night Mode that shoots long exposure shots depending on how dark the environment is. Lastly, Shooting slow-motion with resolutions of 120fps/480fps @1080p and 240fps/960fps@720p. We created a short cinematic slow-motion montage shot on OPPO Reno 4 and we shared it on our Facebook page. If you want to see it click this link.

Performance

Onto its performance, it is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G a gaming chipset that is powerful and up to date. According to OPPO, if we compared the power of P95 equipped in Reno 3, Reno 4 is 46% higher in the single-core process and 26% higher on the multi-core process with a 40% enhanced GPU performance. It has 8GB of Ram and 128GB internal storage and It is running on Android 10.0 with Color OS 7.2, a skin that has a fluid lighter feel, smooth animation all the way and it makes the chipset process smoothly without lag. And thanks to the OS features we can easily multitask on the device. Navigation on the UI is pretty simple and straightforward.

READ: Top 3 Features of OPPO Reno4 versus Reno3

OPPO Reno 4 offers unique features including Anti peeping or Smart Spying Prevention which hides the notification if the front camera detects the face of someone and not the device owner. SoLoop, an app that is available in the ColorOS 7.2, this app is an exclusive smart video editor that generates cuts and timings to match with the sound of your imported clips to produce hassle-free video content. Other features are Smart AirControl, Smart Rotation, Smart Always-on Display, Icon Pull-down Gesture–improved one-handed mode, Quick Return Bubble–overlay for multitasking especially in-game, and many more.

Gaming is the same as other phones equipped with Snapdragon 720G. Offering smooth gaming at 60fps with high settings. On Mobile Legends, it offers gaming at max high settings with ultra settings greyed out. On PUBG Mobile, settings are only in max HD plus High Framerates and it is smooth. And lastly, we don’t have problems playing in Call of Duty Mobile.

Battery

On to the battery, thanks to the amoled display and power-efficient chip, that even the device only has 4015mAh we recorded an impressive 7hrs 54mins, we haven’t use the dark mode feature yet. And as for charging, the 30W fast charging capability of Reno 4 made the device fully charge from 0-100% in just 58mins.

READ: POCO F2 Pro Gets A Massive Price Cut! Now at P19,990!

Audio

The bass sound of the audio is solid and sturdy, the sound in max volume though gets distorted and it is noticeable when playing party music. But the good thing was it has a Dolby Atmos software which enhances and improves audio quality which is a good deal on its price.

Verdict

This device has impressive features, especially on the camera segment. The flexible slow motion that shoots 1080p quality, stabilization on all video clips, this device is one to get when you’re into creativity and entertainment. It also offers easy content creation, security, and satisfaction. For the price of P18,990(8GB+128GB), OPPO Reno 4 is a powerful device with tons of features that is bang for the buck.

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