TECH REVIEW: Chinese smartphone maker Oppo goes after Huawei

Oppo Reno5 5G

Cool factor 5/5
Usability 3½/5
Value for money 4/5

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo entered the SA market six months ago with three low-to mid-range devices.

Its newest high-end release, the Reno5 5G, is going after Huawei’s premium customers who don’t have access to crucial Android services like the Play Store, Chrome, Google Maps and YouTube.

Oppo overtook Huawei for the first time in China this year, according to sales figures released by Counterpoint Research in March. Its parent company, BBK Electronics, also owns OnePlus and Vivo.

The Reno5 is powered by a Snapdragon 765G processor, the same chip found on Google’s Pixel 5 and two other models we’ve reviewed, the Vivo X50 Pro and LG Wing. It has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (which is not expandable) and supports 5G through its integrated modem. Near-field communication is built in to support tap and pay services.

It features a large 6.43-inch Amoled display with a 90Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling and gaming, and a 2400x1080p screen resolution.

Above running on Android 11 with full access to Google Mobile Services, it is powered by Oppo’s ColorOS 11.1 that is highly customisable with granular permission settings. You can make apps float to multitask and there is a dedicated gamer mode that blocks all notifications.

The rear quad camera has 64MP main, 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro and 2MP mono lenses. It takes good landscape images with HDR and decent macro shots. The 32MP selfie cam has a ton of unrealistic settings to adjust the size of your nose, eyes, chin and face, or smooth the skin. It has a dual-view video mode similar to Samsung’s Director’s View that offers three ways to shoot — useful for journalists or content creators.

The 4300mAh battery is powered by Oppo’s proprietary SuperVooc 2.0 charging technology that charges it from flat to full in just 36 minutes. And a quick five-minute charge yields four hours of usage.

The Oppo Reno5 is a great alternative to Huawei smartphones as it runs on Android with access to the Play Store — perhaps a more important feature than having the best camera, which Oppo does not quite match.

The Reno5 costs R14,299 on Vodacom, available in galactic silver or black. It is bundled with the W11 wireless earbuds worth R1,299 and includes Oppo Care, a six-month free screen replacement service.