OPPO Reno 4 Pro Review: Premium Design, Ultra-Fast Charging, Mediorce Performance

The mid-range market is very competitive at the moment as it is flooded with options. It would be very hard for any smartphone maker to make their phones stand out. OPPO went for an interesting approach on the OPPO Reno 4 Pro. There are a ton of phones on the market with powerful performance and lots of cameras, but average fast charging. That is why OPPO decides to use the massive 65W fast charging on its new mid-range phone as well as an eye-catching design, decent performance, and a headphone jack. In the segment, the Vivo X50 Pro is also a great pick, featuring great specs for pretty much the same price as the Reno 4 Pro. We will compare the OPPO Reno 4 Pro vs Vivo X50 Pro in a different article.

Is fast charging a good enough reason to make the Reno4 Pro a viable choice? Let’s find out on our OPPO Reno 4 Pro review below:

Oppo Reno 4 Pro review: Design and display

OPPO takes quite a high risk when employing an all-plastic build on this phone in the mid-range segment, which is full of glass sandwich smartphones. But after spending some time with the phone, I actually think that it is not a bad decision because it helps reduce the overall weight of the phone. The matte finish at the back of the Reno 4 Pro looks nice but doesn’t feel that premium to me and the matte finish is also prone to lots of smudges and fingerprints.

That also happens to the plastic surrounding of the camera setup. The glossy plastic part of the housing attracts lots of smudges and you might need to clean it before taking photos.

The display is a 6.5-inch AMOLED FHD+ panel, which is initially tuned for a more saturated and vibrant look. However, you can easily change to the gentle colour profile. Color accuracy and peak brightness are both great. With a peak brightness of around 790 nits, I could easily use the phone under direct sunlight. 

The display also features a 90Hz refresh rate, which also adds fluidity. You can switch between 60Hz or 90Hz refresh rate, but I would recommend you to keep the higher setting since the battery life is great even if you keep the 90Hz refresh rate. The under-screen fingerprint reader is fast and reliable. OPPO Reno 4 Pro weight is 161 grams, which is not heavy at all.

OPPO Reno 4 Pro review: Performance

This is where the OPPO Reno 4 Pro disappoints lots of fans. With a starting price of Rs. 34,990, people would expect a more powerful OPPO Reno 4 Pro specs, not the Snapdragon 720G, which is also used on the ₹12,999 Redmi Note 9 Pro. It still handles daily tasks very well, but this is surely not the phone for heavy gaming.

That being said, the Snapdragon 720G isn’t that bad. I didn’t feel any lag during my time with the device. OPPO’s ColorOS is also one of the reasons for that. If you are not a heavy gamer, you won’t have much issue with the Reno 4 Pro’s performance.

However, if you are into gaming, skip this phone. It is certainly enough to play some PUBG Mobile matches. But if you want to spend lots of time on gaming, you won’t be happy with the Reno 4 Pro. 

OPPO Reno 4 Pro review: Battery

• 4,000mAh battery
• 65W charging
• No wireless charging

4,000mAh is on the lower side when compared to other mid-range or high-end smartphones these days. However, it is backed by an amazing fast charging technology.

It clocked around 6.5 hours of screen-on time on an average day, but that is for regular tasks. As for gaming, it should be significantly lower as half an hour on PUBG Mobile drains around 10 percent of the battery life. 

This is where the 65W fast charging comes in handy. The OPPO Reno 4 Pro charging time from 0 to 100 percent is just 32 minutes. That is amazing. You are in a hurry? You can still get a 60% charge in 15 minutes.

OPPO Reno 4 Pro review: Camera

• 48MP, f/1.7, primary sensor
• 8MP, f/2.2, 119-degree ultra-wide sensor
• 2MP, f/2.4, macro sensor
• 2MP, f/2.4, depth sensor
• 32MP selfie camera

Moving to the OPPO Reno 4 Pro camera review, OPPO goes for a pretty standard camera setup on the Reno 4 Pro, except for the telephoto lens, which is expected for a smartphone at the price point.

The cameras deliver vibrant and bright results that you can share them on social media. However, if you zoom the photos in, you can easily see oversharpening and heavy digital noise reduction. 

The ultra-wide-angle shooter is actually another star of the camera setup. Even though it doesn’t have a high resolution, I still like the similar colour profiles between the primary and ultra-wide cameras. Sadly, over-bright exposure and poor HDR also happen with the ultra-wide-angle shots. 

Because of the main camera’s placement, you will sometimes place your fingerprint on the sensor, which leads to smudging and smearing. Therefore, you might want to clean up the lens before taking a photo.

Low-light photography is a nightmare on the Reno 4 Pro. Taking photos in the standard mode isn’t a good experience as the results have too much noise. Things certainly get better with Night Mode, but not by a large margin. Photos look brighter and slightly sharper but still looks pretty bad.

OPPO Reno 4 Pro price: around Rs. 35,500

OPPO Reno 4 Pro price in India: Rs. 34,990

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