OPPO Reno8 Z 5G Review - Same phone, new design, déjà vu
Alongside the vanilla Reno8, the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G was announced in the Philippines back in August. We used it for quite a while and here are our full thoughts.
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| The device itself! |
As a recap, this is a refreshed version of the Reno7 Z 5G except the design was modified slightly. We will talk about later on some changes we've seen during our time with it.
For our review part 1: OPPO Reno8 Z 5G Unboxing, First Impressions, Camera Samples
Multimedia Experience
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| Wide AMOLED screen! |
The handset boasts a familiar screen with a size of a 6.43-inch, the panel uses Rigid AMOLED which has Full HD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution. It also has a standard 60Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, 600 nits max brightness, and an In-Display fingerprint reader.
Good colors, but the refresh rate is still at 60Hz...
Upon using it, the device became our go-to multimedia outlet as not only its size fits just right on our hands but the display picture also looks crisp. The colors are on the balanced side, a tad cooler that doesn't hurt our eyes, and enabled us to use it for extended periods.
The viewing angles are also great and while it only uses 60Hz, we find it alright as most apps don't have support beyond that even up until now. Still, though, OPPO could've added more to the table.
Luckily, its 180Hz touch sampling rate is also noticeable, particularly when surfing or even gaming allowing us to react on point.
The notch was placed on the upper left which some may find decent and less distracting.
For audio, you will find the speakers on the lower right portion which sits next to the USB-C port. The sound quality is alright, it delivers precise details most of the time and has a good soundstage. Some songs with high notes will have to pierce though so don't get the volume rekt up.
Speaking of volume, it is decent enough to be heard in a small room or even the living room.
We like to point out that it also has a 3.5mm headphone jack which is a plus, particularly for music lovers. It enabled us to use our in-ear monitors for a better music streaming experience.
You may also use Dirac audio tuning in case you prefer to use a different sound profile.
The microphones perform just right and we were also heard clearly on the other end.
Cameras
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| Triple cameras! |
For cameras, it uses two sensors. The main uses 64MP f/1.7 which is accompanied by a 2MP f/2.4 macro and another 2MP f/2.4 as a depth helper. It also comes with a single LED flash.
Rear Camera Samples
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| x2 zoom |
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| Outdoor daylight 2nd sample |
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| Zoom x2 2nd sample |
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| Indoor 1st sample |
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| Indoor 2nd sample |
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| Indoor 3rd shot |
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| Indoor portrait mode |
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| Indoor food shot 1 |
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| Indoor food shot 2 |
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| Indoor food shot 3 |
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| Low light outdoor |
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| Night mode outdoor |
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| Low light outdoor 2 |
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| Night mode outdoor 2 |
The OPPO RENO8 Z 5G did a great job for our daylight outdoor shots on the rear cameras and we think it even particularly shines indoors in a well-lit environment. We got clear and crisp images, decent contrasts, and shadows.
The camera stills performance is not as great as the competition...
However, for autofocus and point-and-shoot, we encountered some problems as you need to have a very still hand otherwise we ended up retaking pictures. Luckily it doesn't happen all the time but it is quite annoying when it does.
The zoom works well too as it allowed us to get shots without the need to get closer. It has up to 6x digital zoom but we preferred to use 2x only for better image quality.
Another thing to point out is the lack of ultra-wide which made us miss the function that can be found in our primary device.
For low-light shots, as you can see details have deteriorated greatly. Thankfully using night mode acts as a remedy to it and will provide more details, and alive colors. However, it still looks grainy and the noise is noticeable as well.
Selfie Camera Samples
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| Selfie outdoor daylight |
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| Selfie indoor |
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| Selfie outdoor low light |
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| Using night mode |
For selfies, we got grainy picture quality in different lighting. Although we think that the device got the colors accurately in both daylight and lowlight and has a decent amount of details.
Using the night mode will provide more details and sharper picture quality and colors.
Performance
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| Benchmark results |
The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G uses a 6nm 2.2GHz Snapdragon 695 octa-core processor with Adreno 619L GPU. It is also paired with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB UFS 3.1 Storage.
OPPO Reno8 Z 5G benchmarks:
1. AnTuTu - 395,796
2. Geekbench - 685 (single-core) and 1,970 (multi-core)
3. 3D Mark WildLife - 1,217 at 7.30 average fps
4. CPDT - 499.12 MB/s read speeds and 330.58 write speeds
These numbers are expected for a midrange and should let you handle the mainstream apps.
A similar speed to the Reno7 Z 5G...
In real-life usage, we were able to open multiple tabs for Chrome, and switching between apps is a breeze. We can't feel or notice any lag at all.
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| Gaming settings |
For gaming, it is capable of running popular mobile titles like MLBB at ultra-high settings and 60 FPS.
In Genshin Impact, we were able to run it on medium preset and at 45-50fps. While toning down the visuals will give you a much smoother frame rate.
On COD: Mobile we got high visuals and max frame rate both for classic and battle royale mode.
We also like that it took long enough before we can experience drops in frame rate. This is thanks to the 6nm lithography of the chipset. It is power efficient and produces less heat which is ideal for long hours of gaming or running heavy apps.
Moving forward, the handset gets a fingerprint scanner under the display. It is snappy and responds almost immediately.
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| The battery history |
On the battery side, it has a 4,500mAh capacity and charges using 33W SUPERVOOC and USB-C cable. Our PC mark battery test keeps failing we think that the aggressive power-saving feature interferes with the benchmark app.
Anyway, looking at the battery history, the phone managed to last 16 hours and 21 minutes with 20 percent still remaining.
Good enough battery life!
In real-life usage, it is more than that if we only do a moderate task such as social media surfing, messenger, quick gaming, and video streaming. We usually still have around 30-40 percent juice for the next day. However, for heavy usage such as straight gaming, it will be lower by around 8 hours.
Charging the device is fast as well, it takes around 1 hour only. This gives us less hassle especially when we forgot to charge it during the night.
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| The phone's UI |
For OS, it uses Android 12 with ColorOS version 2.1. For us, the UI looks neat and well-organized with useful notifications and widgets. Swiping it further to left will also give you access to news or a quick Google search. You can also enable the smart sidebar so you can easily open apps while running another app.
Pros - AMOLED screen, decent performance, bigger storage, long battery life
Cons - Still no ultra-wide camera, not really an upgrade versus the predecessor
OPPO Reno8 Z 5G Specs
Display: 6.43-inch SCHOTT Xensation Up protected Rigid AMOLED screen w/ 60Hz refresh rate, FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 405 ppi
CPU: 2.2GHz 6nm Snapdragon 695 octa-core processor
GPU: Adreno 619L
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X
ROM: 128GB UFS 3.1 expandable via microSD card slot up to 1TB
Back Camera: 64MP f/1.7 + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 depth + LED flash
Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.4
Battery: 4,500mAh w/ 33W SUPERVOOC
OS: Android 12 w/ ColorOS 12.1
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11ac, 5G, 4G, Bluetooth 5.1, OTG, GPS, NFC, dual SIM (nano)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, USB-C, Colors: Dawnlight Gold, Starlight Black
Dimensions: 159.9 x 73.2 x 7.66 mm
Weight: 181 g
Price: PHP 19,999
Verdict
Priced at PHP 19,999, our take here is that it is still the same smartphone as its predecessor with subtle changes on the rear design.
If you have the Reno7 Z 5G, might as well stick to that.
If you don't have one, this phone is still relevant today and can perform nicely like other mid-range devices. After all, it still has a great display, decent performance, and long battery life.
Build/Design - 4
Multimedia Experience - 4
Cameras - 3.75
Performance - 4
Average - 4.26/5
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