OPPO Reno Z Review

OPPO's Reno Z is the kind of phone that makes you ask "how is this only $499?". It's one of the nicest midrange phones we've tested, to the point where it could fool you into thinking it’s worth quite a bit more.

Cut from a pricey cloth

The Reno Z is part of a family of devices that includes as the far pricier Reno 5G; and the pair have more than a few similarities in terms of look and feel. You'd probably call the Reno Z the entry-level device in OPPO's new smartphone family. Fortunately, this is a helluva entry-level phone.

Like the Reno 5G, the Reno Z has a glass front and back with an aluminium frame. The 5G has a little more heft to it and the finish is a touch slicker, but otherwise, the pair have a similar look and feel. You wouldn't necessarily think the Reno Z is a third of the price of its 5G sibling just from looking at it. Aesthetically, the biggest difference between the two devices is the selfie camera. The Reno 5G has a pop-up 'shark fin style' selfie camera, whereas the Reno Z has a small teardrop shaped notch in the display housing the camera lens.

Similarities don't stop with design. The Reno Z's most important shared feature is the 48MP primary camera on the back, which is identical to that of the Reno 5G. But as promising as this is, a different processor under the hood means imaging capabilities aren't exactly the same.

The Reno Z can take great photos, but it has clear strengths and weaknesses. In fact, the Reno Z can take great photos in most conditions.The biggest issue with the Reno Z camera is that it can be slow to shoot, especially when there is less natural light. A slower shutter time gives your shaky old hands time to blur your photos. At best, the slow shooting speed means your shots are a little softer. At worst, they're a blurry messy. Steady hands help, but you're likely to end up as many flubs as favourites, especially when shooting photos in dim or dark environments. Well, at least if your photos involve moving subjects.

You will however find a dedicated Night mode that can help improve lowlight photography. Night modes take multiple images over a longer period of time to stitch them together into a brighter image, but once again, you'll need to keep your hands steady. The resulting images weren't quite as sharp as what you'd get from the similarly priced Google Pixel 3a, but still pretty impressive given the Reno Z's $499 price-tag.

While a lower price tends to result in compromises, the Reno Z makes surprisingly few. Day-to-day performance is reliable, the display is lovely, you'll get up to two days of battery life per charge, and there's 128GB of out of the box storage. The phone's in-screen fingerprint reader is more reliable than what you'll find on a Samsung flagship, and facial recognition is pretty zippy too. The main omissions are water-resistance and wireless charging, which are still far from common on cheaper devices. But hey, at least the Reno Z still has a 3.5mm headphone jack -- something manufacturers are leaving out of a number of flagship phones this year.

In terms of software, the Reno Z runs OPPO's cleanest operating system yet. OPPO is renowned for its heavily customised takes on Android (dubbed ColorOS), but its latest is more Android-like than ever. The new version of ColorOS has an app drawer out of the box. It doesn't have a hissy fit if you try and change default apps, like for SMS messaging. There's a few Apple-inspired icons in the notification centre, but Android veterans should still feel right at home.

You might find you get delayed notifications due to aggressive battery management, but you can get around this by "locking" an app (swipe down on it in the multitasking menu). It's easy enough, but it's not exactly obvious if you haven't used an OPPO phone before.

Who is the OPPO Reno Z for?

The OPPO Reno Z is a cut-price taste of a flagship quality device. You won't find all the bells and whistles, but at $499, the Reno Z is more phone than its cost would lead you to believe. OPPO has done a good job at making an affordable device with minimal compromise. The only real concern is the slow camera; you'll have to live with taking a couple of shots to get a sharp photo in dim and dark light. But if you can handle this, the OPPO Reno Z is otherwise hard to fault. As far as value for money is concerned, it's a certified banger.

OPPO Reno Z camera samples

I don't want the OPPO Reno Z, what else can I buy?

Google Pixel 3a

If you're happy to spend $150 more, the Pixel 3a is the best midrange phone you can buy right now. It's not quite as flash as the Reno Z - it's plastic rather than glass, is heavier on bezels, and just a little less modern - but the Pixel 3a has one of the very best cameras you can get in a phone right now. For a $649 device, that's incredible.

Motorola One Vision

The Motorola One Vision is pretty similar to the OPPO Reno Z. It also costs, $499, it also has 128GB of storage, and it has the same 48MP rear-facing camera. There are a couple of key differences though. The Motorola One Vision has a rather unique, extra tall screen, and it runs Android One, a cleaner version of Android maintained by Google, rather than OPPO's more customised version.  

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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