Exclusive: OPPO aims to take Reno smartphone designs to the next level

It's a fact that designs are continuously and rapidly evolving—mostly for the better. OPPO is one of the top global brands that are very particular in that regard.

OPPO Reno4 rear camera design

OPPO design philosophy

AND, just a few months ago, OPPO flexed its R&D muscles very hard when they demoed the prototype OPPO X 2021, a rollable concept smartphone with an innovative flexible display and structural stacking technology.

Based on what they showcased, it could be the bleeding-edge smartphone of the future. It is a phone and tablet in one that looks better than the current foldable phones.

OPPO Reno4 Pro Artist Limited Edition

But aside from high-end smartphone designs, OPPO also cares to bring innovations on more affordable devices. Why? Not everyone can have the capability of shelling out top money on phones. This is why they created the Reno series.

It's a line of phones that aims to bring unique and functional designs along with good overall functionalities for less.

Recently, had a chance to interview the design experts from OPPO. They shared with us some of their design reasonings and future plans to make the Reno series even better.

Read on.

On battery design:

Question - Back in July, OPPO released the 125W VOOC Super Flash Charge. Seeing that most of your smartphones are slim and the flash charge solution will definitely require more than 1 battery to work, won't that make your phones thicker?

Answer - With various social and entertainment demands that have increased the power consumption needs, the future of the VOOC flash charge series will not only be faster but also offer an all-around user experience. Precision in capacity and resistance of the two batteries is essential for stable performance during long-term charge and discharge.

Take Reno4 Series as an example. We implemented a dual-cell structure layout and achieved an ultra-slim design at the same time. During the battery design process, energy density is an important factor. We tailored the motherboard space to enlarge battery space so that we could make it thinner for the same amount of capacity. What needed to be emphasized is that we achieved this through the optimization of design without sacrificing charging speed and power-saving capabilities.

Moreover, the thinness of the smartphone is not determined by a single factor. A lot of breakthroughs have also been made on the camera lens design, eventually making the camera lens module 0.2mm thinner compared with Reno3. And this also contributed the most to the slimness of Reno4, without influence upon its high-level optical performance.

Question - Also, if you plan to make it still just as slim or even slimmer than your usual smartphones, do you have new solutions that will keep its thermals in check? How safe is that tech?

Answer - To ensure superior consistent performance levels, Reno4 series improved the complex cooling mechanism. For the first time, OPPO has applied Multi-cooling System on Reno4 Pro, a combination of graphite tubes, graphite sheets, and copper foil for three-dimensional cooling. With this system, users can enjoy the advanced cooling performance even in a very light handset.

In the future, from a technological perspective, OPPO will mainly focus on improving battery energy density and chipset performance optimization. This is because the improvement of the process can reduce power consumption, which will improve the power saving, and the temperature rise issue will also be modified in turn. Also, we will attempt to select materials with higher heat dissipation coefficients to subdue the temperature rise in extreme scenarios.

On camera structure/Technologies:

Question - Camera sensors keep on getting larger. More and more cameras are found on mobile devices today as well. What's OPPO's design take on this matter?

Answer - In the future, there will be more optimizations and competitions over cameras on smartphones, both in the terms of the numbers of the lenses and the camera functions, such as zoom technologies, stabilization, and so on. We could not rule out the possibility that there will be more and more lenses. However, we think that the number of cameras on current smartphones has almost reached the limitation in the price segment of Reno Series. 

For OPPO, adding more camera lenses should only be for the premise of taking better photos and based on the practical demands of our users. We will pay more attention to the collaboration abilities among different lenses and spend more effort in providing stunning designs in every generation of Reno.

Question - How about the phone with an In-Screen selfie camera that you showed us in Malaysia. When will OPPO make a device with that tech ready for mass production? 

Answer - OPPO is committed to offering the best experience to our users. Any kind of camera solution we offer serves the purpose of giving users a better experience. While some solutions can be mass-produced, our quality requirements and standards are very strict.

Under-screen camera technology is very advanced. So understandably, a lot of optimization work is needed before we could finally commercialize it.

All kinds of comprehensive screen technologies are designed to bring more excellent visual experiences to users. We believe that the punch-hole display in Reno4 series can give our users an excellent visual experience.

OPPO's innovation is driven by the two wheels of user demand and cutting-edge technology, with the final product hinging directly on user demand. The technology cannot just be sent to the market once we develop it; we need to experiment and let the technology mature before introducing it to our markets.

On the general structural design

Question - We've heard about, antimicrobial polymers. Is it possible for mobile makers to use those materials with their devices? 

Answer - We are giving some attention to the demands for antimicrobial materials. We will keep you informed should OPPO releases any announcement about this innovation. 

For extra durability

Question - Aside from TUV's reliability certification. Do OPPO plan to have their future phones have MIL-STD certifications?

Answer - Our teams have worked ceaselessly to put the Reno4 series through rigorous testing–including a variety of drop tests from light to harsh – to ensure the device will last years and maintain both its form and function. Besides, we also implemented flash charge technology to ensure stable performance for long-term use.

As for MIL-STD certifications, there are no plans for the time being. OPPO has always prioritized meeting user needs and will consider that based on follow-up user research results and market feedback.

On future of Reno series

Question - After introducing exclusive designs/technologies with various Reno series smartphones like Reno Glow and the ultra-slim structure, what other designs or innovations can we expect in the upcoming Reno series models that we should all anticipate for? 

Answer - Today, smartphones play an increasingly important role in people's daily lives. For these users, smartphones are no longer just seen as a technology product, but an extension of an individual's personality and identity.

We're at a point where users' behavior and lifestyle evolve as quickly as technology–from the fashion trends to how we work and play. Great smartphones meet these needs while bringing something innovative to the market that introduces a newer, better way of life.

At OPPO, we strive to stay at the forefront of it all. OPPO's mission is to elevate life through technological artistry and aesthetics, so we design our products to always balance both form and function.

For Reno series, we are continuing to explore our insights into youth culture, and the intent to offer a new outstanding brand experience and consistent product experience to users worldwide. For the next models, we'll continue to pursue our direction of a slim, lightweight smartphone for users, as well as constantly evolve our design and materials. We debuted Reno Glow design on Reno4 Series this year and we look forward to taking it even further with the next Reno. We sincerely hope that the pursuit of fashion trends and aesthetics in Reno series can be appreciated by our young users. 

What do you guys think?