OPPO Reno7 Z 5G Review – A Pleasant Experience

OPPO recently launched the Reno7 series devices. The Reno series is OPPO’s awesome mid range Android device and is aimed at bringing a more powerful internals to the lower tier. And as I have experienced it, it is focused more towards the camera department for better social media engagement for the users. 

And after the recent OPPO Reno7 5G launch, we now have the latest Z version which is the OPPO Reno7 Z and it comes with 5G too. 

So what is the difference between the OPPO Reno7 and the Reno7 Z? First of all, they are both using different chipsets. The OPPO Reno7 is using the one by MediaTek which is the Dimensity 900 and the Reno7 Z is using the Snapdragon 695 variant. Both have their own pros and cons. But both chipsets are based on a 6nm process which is similar to last years’ flagship chipsets. 

But this review is all about the Reno7 Z and we are going to go in depth on how it performs in day to day tasks and overall user experience. Onwards we go. 

First Look

The OPPO Reno7 Z comes in a different frame. It is squared around the edges instead of being rounded like the OPPO Reno7. In truth, I very much prefer to have a sharper, spared up design like this as I feel it has a better grip with an awesome finish. It sorta looks premium too. The OPPO Reno7 Z comes in two colour variants, the Black and Rainbow colour. The unit I’m reviewing is the Rainbow variant and I absolutely love the colour.

It comes with the same 6.43” display with 1080 x 2400 pixels resolution and 20:9 screen ratio at 409 ppi density. It’s using an OLED display to give you that deeper and radiant colours when you’re using it. The front facing selfie camera is located on the top left side of the display, just like the OPPO Reno7. And it also has an optical under display fingerprint sensor to unlock the phone.

Around the back, there’s the two obvious camera lenses which doesn’t sit on any bump and the only bumps at the back are from the cameras itselves. But if you look closely, there’s another camera sitting in between the two camera bumps which I believe to be the Macro camera. And the single LED flash is located opposite the Macro lens. 

One cool feature that I like on the OPPO Reno7 Z is the RGB ring light around the cameras. It will light up whenever you receive any notifications and while charging up the phone. And as we all have been seeing, the Reno7 Pro also has an RGB light setup around the camera bump. But alas, the same can’t be said about the Reno 7 as it doesn’t have any RGB lights anywhere. 

Moving to the sides, there’s the volume rocker on the left side and the power button is on the right side. It has a flat design so it’s very pleasant to press on. The SIM and MicroSD tray is also on the left side above the volume rocker near the top. At the top, there’s only a single microphone hole there. 

Around the bottom, we have the 3.5mm audio jack, a USB-C port and the bottom firing speaker along with another microphone hole. All I can say is, it’s good to see the 3.5mm audio jack on this device. 

And to hold the phone in my hand, it feels comfy. With a 20:9 screen ratio, means that the view is wider. So when having it in my hand, it feels slim and tall thus making it easy to grip. The OPPO Reno7 Z has a flat design, and it’s kind of the design that I like. Again, I love the colour. 

Performance and Daily Experience 

The OPPO Reno7 Z comes with Android 11 out of the box and customised by OPPO’s own ColorOS. It is very easy to get used to and if you’re coming from another Android device, it will be easy and quick to get you started with your own personalised layout and theme. 

I like the fact that I can increase the RAM capacity up to an additional 5GB in the settings. It already comes with 8GB of RAM by itself. And the OPPO Reno7 Z has a 128GB of internal storage which can be expanded via the MicroSD card. With all that memory, multitasking is a breeze. 

The “brain” of the OPPO Reno7 Z is a Snapdragon 695 which is currently the latest 600 series chipset. In my usage experience, I would say it performs similarly to the Snapdragon 750. It is a capable device to run most of the tasks smoothly including entertainment and gaming. 

Battery life is great. I get close to two days of battery life on normal use like chatting and social network browsing. Even binge watching some videos on YouTube doesn’t drain too much power from the Li-Po 4500mAh battery. 

Unlocking the phone is quick when using the under display fingerprint sensor. Most of the time I didn’t have to rescan my fingerprint to unlock the phone as it managed to scan correctly the first time. I’ve also set the phone to unlock by using Face ID. This is even quicker than using the fingerprint scanner somehow. Nevertheless, I’ve always preferred to use the fingerprint scanner instead. 

For gaming, I installed PUBG Mobile (as usual) to test the performance and capabilities. OPPO also has their own Game Centre app to keep all your games organised for a quick start and also integrated a game toolbar when you’re in a game. In this game toolbar, you can set the phone to maximise on the performance and keep the notifications at bay. Very useful feature to have when you want to concentrate on the game and to have the best possible performance. 

As for PUBG Mobile, I would say it is not the best but it is above average when it comes to graphical performance. I am quite happy with the OPPO Reno7 Z in gaming. The screen is very responsive and movements are fluid. But I’m not able to set the graphic to the max fps settings, yet it doesn’t bother me because it still feels smooth to a certain level. If only the OPPO Reno7 Z comes with a stereo speaker, that will be very much appreciated. 

I also ran a test on Antutu 3D Benchmark and got a score of 379791, which is over 100k points as compared to OPPO A74 5G that is using a Snapdragon 480. I loved the OPPO A74 and I was quite surprised at the gaming capabilities on that phone. But the OPPO Reno7 Z performed way better. As for the Antutu score, it is more of a mid-range performance as most of the flagships are scoring above 800k right now. Yet, I’m still happy with the overall performance. 

It is also good to note that the OPPO Reno7 Z has an IPX4 ratings for water and dust resistant. But be reminded that it is not waterproof. It can withstand light splashes, therefore do not submerge the phone underwater. 

Camera Performance 

OPPO is working hard on making selfie shots to look good nowadays. Hence why the OPPO Reno7 Z is equipped with a 16MP selfie camera. Not forgetting the main cameras at the back as well. But this time around, the OPPO Reno7 Z does not include an ultrawide camera but has included a macro camera instead. 

The main shooter is using a 64MP f1/7 sensor while the macro camera is only using a 2MP sensor. It doesn’t sound like much but the main 64MP camera is quite good. It comes with HDR mode that can be set manually or on auto. It is on by default and the results are quite good. There is also OPPO’s own AI scene that can automatically detect the best scenario when shooting a photo. 

It also has a few other modes to choose from such as Night mode, Normal, Portrait, Dual-view, Extra HD, Expert mode, Macro and Panorama. On normal mode, it can go up to 6x digital zoom but I only kept it up to 3x zoom to get a good shot. 

At times, the HDR mode can be tricky. It tends to over process the image making it look too sharp and too bright. Turning the HDR mode off will get you a more natural looking photo. Indoor shots are great and the OPPO Reno7 Z is able to capture good colour balance and tone. 

That being said, you can have a look at some of the shots taken by the OPPO Reno7 Z below.

Outdoor shots are the best but the HDR settings tends to make the photos to look a little sharp. But I like the photo clarity and details.

For night shots, the one on the left is using the normal mode and the AI from the camera app detected it being night scene. While the one on the right, is using the Night mode. The difference is obvious.

Note: More photos will be uploaded soon.

Conclusion

The new OPPO Reno7 Z 5G is a capable device. It is aimed at the lower mid-range segment and I believe it will be a hit. I absolutely love the RGB ring light surrounding the cameras when it’s on charging and receiving notifications. I love the Rainbow colour variant too as opposed to Black. 

The design of the frame feels great and premium. It is pleasant to hold and easy to grip on one hand. I’m sure those who get a close look at the OPPO Reno7 Z will love its design simplicity. 

As for its overall performance, the Snapdragon 695 works really well for day to day tasks. I did not experience any lags while using the OPPO Reno7 Z during my review. And the Android 11 with OPPO ColorOS system runs very smoothly on this device.

The battery life is great. And the overall camera performance is commendable. It is not the best but it does the job really well. 

If you’re looking to make the purchase of the new OPPO Reno7 Z 5G, you can check it out at OPPO’s official Shopee page and it is retailing at RM1,699.00