OPPO Reno 10x Zoom: Stunning beast of a smartphone

Chinese handset maker OPPO, which has been known to be experimental with its smartphone designs has just launched its flagship smartphone Reno 10x Zoom with several innovations such as the shark-fin pop-up selfie camera.

The pop-up selfie mechanism itself is, however, not new. OPPO's sibling firm Vivo debuted the technology in 2018.

The OPPO Reno 10x Zoom comes in two variants -- 6GB RAM+128GB internal storage variant and 8GB RAM+256GB configuration that cost Rs 39,990 and Rs 49,990, respectively.

We tested the Ocean Green coloured premium variant with 8GB RAM+256GB storage that costs Rs 49,990 for a week. Here's how it fared during our review.

The handset has a layer of protective Corning Gorilla Glass that rendered a sophisticated matte look which was minimalistic yet stunning.

The handset features a 6.6-inch notchless AMOLED display with rounded edges.

The matte finish ensured that the smartphone does not retain fingerprint marks.

Along with a 48MP primary sensor, there is an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 13MP lens 5x optical and 10x hybrid zoom at the back.

Placed right at the centre of the rear, the triple cameras sit flush with the smartphone in a vertical set-up, thus, making the phone less wobbly. The flash is located at the rear of the shark-fin pop up camera.

The primary camera worked very well in dark lighting and the images were neither grainy nor disintegrated. The launch time of the camera app was also quick.

The notchless display offered an immersive experience; it was bright, sharp and had vivid colours. The almost bezel-less display performed well under direct sunlight too.

However, its rival in the same price range, OnePlus 7 Pro scores better with fluid AMOLED display and a refresh rate of 90Hz.

The left edge of Reno 10x Zoom sports volume rockers while the right edge houses a single power button.

The dual SIM tray is located on the bottom of the smartphone while a type-c charging port sits next to the stereo speaker.

This new pop-up camera is definitely one of the biggest USPs of the Reno 10x Zoom. However, it raised with a low mechanical sound.

The phone's facial recognition was as snappy as its in-screen fingerprint sensor.

The selfie camera took beautiful and sharp images.

Just like its competition -- OnePlus 7 Pro, the Reno 10x Zoom is powered by the top-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset that ensured performance was superfast even during multi-tasking and gaming.

OPPO outpaced OnePlus 7 Pro's 4,000mAh battery with a 4,065mAh battery in the Reno 10x Zoom. The hefty battery lasted almost an entire day on a single charge.

OPPO's in-house VOOC fast charging technology quickly charged the smartphone in less than an hour.

The device runs OPPO's own ColorOS 6 based on Android 9 Pie, which quite looked like a rip off of iOS.

There was a pair of fancy colour coordinated type-c earphones bundled in the box which is not-so-common these days.

OPPO has not advertised the phone to be water and dust protected. Other downsides include no support for expandable memory.

In addition, it was impossible to charge and use the earphones simultaneously as there was no separate headphone jack.

Despite being a performance powerhouse, the device lacked wireless charging.

Conclusion: The stunning look and innovative design language of OPPO Reno 10x Zoom has the potential to take on its competition OnePlus 7 Pro in the sub-Rs 50,000 price segment in India.

(Radhika Parashar can be contacted at radhika.p@ians.in)

--IANS

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