OPPO Reno3 Unboxing and First Impressions

Along with the Reno3 Pro, OPPO will soon launch the vanilla Reno3 in the Philippines.

Meet OPPO Reno3

It's a handset highlighting an AI-focused MediaTek chip, fast charging big battery capacity, a lot of cameras at the back, and a promising high-resolution selfie shooter.

Our first impressions? Read on!

Unboxing/Accessories

Everything inside

As expected, the Reno3 comes with a box that has a lot of inclusions inside. Apart from the phone, you'll see that it has a FREE TPU clear case, SIM ejector tool, paper documents, 20W USB wall charger, USB-A to USB-C data cable, and 3.5mm earphones with mic. There's a pre-installed screen protector as well.

VOOC charger

Reno3 has one of the most complete package in its class. Those who pre-ordered this device will also receive FREE TWS earphones. 

Build Quality/Design

Gradient back paint

OPPO Reno3 sports a 3D curved glass-like back, polycarbonate shell, and 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass 5 protected display. The phone feels sturdy and I like that the display has an extra plastic film to further protect the screen from getting unwanted scratches.

Triple slots (dual nano-SIM cards + microSD card)

It has no protection against scratches at the back though. There is no mention of water and dust resistance as well. I recommend putting the FREE case on.

In terms of design, it's very different from what I saw from the Reno2 phones. First, it doesn't come with the metal frame and glass back anymore. Second, the camera hump is back. Third, hello notch again.

Notch design, average build

To be honest, even if this phone has a decent design, it is a downgrade in the looks department versus the Reno2.

Anyway, the handset is available in 3 gradient colorways: Auroral Blue, Midnight Black, and Sky White. The unit I got is the Midnight Black edition and it is the most minimalist of the 3. It has an illuminating effect when viewed from different angles.

Notch screen

As expected, the device has slim bezels, but the chin is a little bit thicker than what I wanted. It has a screen-to-body ratio of 90.8 percent.

The device comes with an average size of 160.2 x 73.3 mm. The thickness is not bad at 7.9 mm considering that the battery of this device is quite large at 4,025mAh.

Top, bottom

On top, you'll find the mic. Below, there's a 3.5mm headphone slot along with another mic, USB-C port, and a single down-firing speaker.

Left, right

At left, you'll see the slot hole for the triple card slots and the volume rocker. At right, there's a power button with green marking.

Due to its curves and decent overall craftsmanship, the Reno3 feels good in the hands. It is a little bit slippery when placed on a flat surface. If you have small hands, it'll be hard to use it with one hand as well.

The device has enough heft at 170 g. It is not that light, nor too heavy.

Initial findings

Beautiful display

1. Fortunately, the display that OPPO used in this device is very good even if it still has the notch. It is a beautiful 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with punchy colors and good sunlight legibility. It even has the TÜV Rheinland certification eye safety using the Eye Care mode.

2. The specs are interesting. It uses the 2.2GHz 12nm MediaTek Helio P90 octa-core processor with PowerVR GM 9446 and a separate NPU. This chip is an AI and camera focused chip that should be more than enough for regular users.

The first Helio P90 in PH!

OPPO paired it with large 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB UFS 2.1 storage expandable via microSD up to 256GB.

Reno3 is also equipped with Hyper Boost which boasts frame rate and touch optimization.

The battery is rated at 4,025mAh and it has a USB-C 5V/4A 20W VOOC Flash Charge 3.0 tech.

3. ColorOS 7 is simply superb. There is a system-wide Dark Mode, Multi-user Mode, DocVault, and a wide range of easy-to-use features for an enhanced experience. it is easily one of the most refined Android skins to date.

Neat camera UI

4. At the back, this device sports a total of four cameras. It comes with a 48MP f/1.8 + 8MP f/2.2 119-degree ultra-wide-angle w/ EIS + 13MP f/2.48 w/ 2x optical zoom + 2MP f/2.4 mono + LED flash. It has up to 2x optical zoom, 5x hybrid zoom, and 20x digital zoom.

It has the Ultra Dark Mode for super low light scenes, Ultra Clear 108MP image (interpolation), Ultra Steady Video 2.0 for shake-free videos, and Ultra Steady Video Pro for shake-free wide videos.

44MP selfie vs 100 percent crop

In front, it's a selfie machine! It comes with a massive 44MP f/2.45 selfie camera for high-resolution selfies. There's an Ultra Night Selfie Mode for low light selfies as well.

5. The rest are the basic features. It has a speedy and accurate In-Display fingerprint reader, dual-band WiFi, 4G LTE, GPS, and dual SIM slots. It is complete with most of the basic sensors as well.

OPPO Reno3 Specs

Display: 6.4-inch 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass 5 protected AMOLED screen w/ FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 402 ppi
CPU: 2.2GHz 12nm MediaTek Helio P90 octa-core processor w/ NPU
GPU: PowerVR GM 9446
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X
ROM: 128GB UFS 2.1 expandable via microSD card slot up to 256GB (dedicated)
Back Camera: 48MP f/1.8 + 8MP f/2.2 119-degree ultra-wide-angle w/ EIS + 13MP f/2.48 w/ 2x optical zoom + 2MP f/2.4 mono + LED flash
Selfie Camera: 44MP f/2.45
Battery: 4,025mAh w/ 20W VOOC Flash Charge 3.0
OS: Android 10.0 w/ ColorOS 7
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, OTG, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, dual mic, Hi-Res Audio, Dolby Atmos, USB-C, Colors: Auroral Blue, Midnight Black
Dimensions: 160.2 x 73.3 x 7.9 mm
Weight: 170 g
Price: PHP 18,990 (PHP 15,990 new SRP)

As of the moment

The OPPO Reno3 is looking to be a promising camera-centric handset. Along with the Reno3 Pro, it could be one of the selfie camera phones to beat as well, thanks to its 44MP front camera.

However, out of the box, I can't help but miss what the OPPO Reno2 offered. The Reno3 might come with better performance, but for me, Reno2 is still the device with more premium materials and bigger storage.

See also: OPPO Reno3 with Helio P90 and 44MP selfie cam is priced at just PHP 18,990