Oppo is shortening its product update cycle, not by year like Apple or 6 months like some other brands. The first-generation Oppo Reno was sold in June and now, after only 4 months, the Reno2 update has officially hit the stores. Like the S version of the iPhone, Reno2 doesn't have many changes in the design but is mainly upgraded in the performance and camera departments. With these new upgrades, this phone is now closer to the Reno 10X Zoom in the premium segment.

Design

The front of the Reno2 is covered by a full-screen display and thin bezels on all four sides thanks to the front camera cluster that is inserted into the "shark-fin" module hidden in the camera body. The screen-to-body ratio of the device reaches 88%, which is equivalent to Samsung's high-end Galaxy S10 and is a bit thinner than the old Reno (nearly 87%). The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 6 and is also available with a screen protector. The in-display fingerprint sensor continues to have fast speed and high accuracy, getting close to the traditional capacitive fingerprint sensor.

Like the previous generation, the "shark fin" of Reno2 pops up pretty fast (about 1 second) and works smoothly. The manufacturer also takes into account the possibility of falling, so the "shark fin" camera cluster will automatically retract when it detects that the device is falling or when force is applied. Oppo also promises the pop-up mechanism can operate at least 200,000 times, equivalent to five years of use at an intensity of 100 times a day, which is higher than actual usage of a regular user.

Display

Reno2 has a 6.5-inch AMOLED screen with no punch-hole or water-drop notch. Compared to the previous generation, the screen of Reno2 is 0.1 inches larger and a bit longer with a 20:9 aspect ratio. The screen resolution is still Full-HD + with a pixel density of 401 PPI, but it is detailed enough to display all kinds of content on the phone.

The screen of this phone has very high brightness, so you can use it outdoors comfortably. The machine has two color display modes: the default is "vivid mode" that displays the vivid, vibrant colors that use usually see on AMOLED panels, and "light mode" that reproduces colors similar to IPS LCD panels, pale but closer to real colors. In addition, Oppo also introduced some eye protection features for users such as night mode to reduce blue light causing eye strain.

Performance

Oppo Reno2 gets a Snapdragon 730G processor with 8GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of storage. The current Snapdragon 730G is Qualcomm's most powerful mid-range chipset. This processor has the same specifications as the regular Snapdragon 730 with two high-performance Kryo 470 Gold cores clocked at 2.2GHz and six Kryo 470 Silver power-efficient cores clocked at 1.8GHz, manufactured on the 8nm process.

However, the overclocked 618 GPU on the 730G should be 15% stronger than the 730, incorporating Snapdragon Elite Gaming technology to optimize gaming. In performance measurement and real-world apps, this chip performed well, on par with last year's flagships. Besides, 8GB of RAM also helps the handset to handle multitasking smoothly.

With gaming needs, Oppo Reno2 is equipped with Game Boost 3.0 feature that automatically frees up memory and adjusts network connectivity and blocks phone notifications to improve the gaming experience. In practical use, the device can play well the current popular games, similar to the Galaxy A80 at the same price range.

The heavy-graphics games like Dead Trigger 2 run stably with an average of 60fps. When playing PUBG Mobile, the game defaults to HD graphics and smooth processing. Currently, Reno2 has not been able to play PUBG Mobile in HDR and Ultra HD graphics modes.

Battery

Reno2 has a 4,000 mAh battery, which is slightly better than the 3,765 mAh battery of the previous generation Reno. The increased battery capacity combined with the 4 camera cluster has made the body of this phone thicker than the previous generation. However, the increase in battery capacity has greatly improved battery life.

The device supports VOOC 3.0 fast-charging standard with the same 20W charging capacity as the recent Oppo devices. When using the cable and charger included, fully charging time for the battery is about 1h25 minutes, of which the first 30 minutes charge 45% and 1 hour charge 80%, faster than technology-enabled phones. Qualcomm Quick Charge 18W.

Camera

Camera is the most notable feature on the Reno2. It is also a much-upgraded department compared to the previous generation. At the back, the device features a 48MP main camera, 13MP telephoto camera for 2X optical zoom, 8MP ultra wide-angle camera, and a 2MP black-and-white camera for portrait shots.

The main camera is still a Sony IMX586 sensor with the same 48MP resolution as the original Reno but added optical image stabilization. Besides, the 8MP ultra wide-angle camera is capable of autofocus, features that are rarely available on the ultra-wide-angle cameras of other phones.

In terms of quality, bright photos from the 48MP main camera still bears similarities with the main camera on the OPPO Reno. It is capable of taking highly detailed, in-depth photos with balanced colors. The colors are sometimes a bit darker but the images still look natural, similar to what we see with our eyes. In complex light scenes, the main camera also handles the difference between light and shadow quite well.

When shooting in low light, the difference between normal mode and night mode is not as much as on the previous Reno. This is probably due to the addition of optical image stabilization (OIS), which helps the main camera exposes longer without any vibration. In the low-light context, Reno2 does not try to push the image's brightness up but maintains moderate brightness, making the images look more natural like the camera on recent iPhone models.