Two weeks ago OPPO launched the OPPO Reno 7 which comes in 2 variants, the OPPO Reno7 5G and the OPPO Reno7 4G.
For me who likes taking selfies and photos at events (even if most of them don’t make it to my socials) and doing photoshoots I was excited to try taking photos and videos plus trying out the other great features.
Design and screen
The OPPO Reno7 has a 6.4 touchscreen which is 1080 and 2400 pixels which bring out vivid colours and is bright.
The OPPO Reno 7 has a frosted back cover with aluminium on the sides and a glass front.
The back camera protrudes from the back cover on the left and the selfie camera is on the front top left. Power buttons are on the right and volume controls are on the left.
The OPPO Reno7 has a USB-C charging port at the bottom of the phone, and the speaker is on the right and 3.5mm headphone jack on the left. This phone does not come with earphones. On the left is also the SIM card plus memory card slot which has the 2 SIM card slots (the OPPO Reno 6 I got only had only one sim card slot and no memory card so this was a welcome upgrade).
The main camera lights up whenever you get notifications or you are charging the phone.
It comes in two colours – Sunset Orange and Cosmic Black – combined with OPPO’s fibreglass-leather texture that gives the Reno7 a unique and luxurious sensation. Additionally, it has curved sides which is different from its predecessor, the Reno6, which had flat sides. This design is more modern and gives it a high-end look.
There is a 6.4-inch AMOLED display screen with FHD+ resolution and a narrow 20:9 aspect ratio giving you a flawless viewing experience. This is supported by the WideVine L1 for HD content on Netflix and Amazon Prime. The punch-hole design for the selfie camera sits on the top corner which doesn’t cause any distractions while using the phone.
You need to press the power button + the upper volume button to turn off or restart the phone. This caused me a bit of a panic when I needed to restart my phone the first time and the power button alone didn’t seem to be working. It comes with the phone cover which is always a plus.
Performance and software
The OPPO Reno7 is powered by Qualcomm SM6225 Snapdragon 680 4G processor, Octa-core CPU, 8GB of RAM, 128GB, and 256GB of storage. The device gets the extended RAM feature as well so you can expand your RAM if you need to. As for the software, it runs on ColorOS 12 and Android 12. It has some Google and OPPO apps that come preinstalled.
It offers decent speeds for handling day-to-day tasks without any issues. Opening and closing apps, switching between them, browsing, and other functions all ran smoothly. The gaming experience is fairly decent as well. The phone can handle casual games like Angry Birds, and Candy Crush without lagging. You can also play heavy games like Call Of Duty on lower graphics.
I am one of those people who actually likes watching movies on a phone and the experience is great. I am not really into gaming but I have it on good authority that it is great for gaming. Whether you are a movie watcher like me or a gamer or both the OPPO Reno7 will give you a great experience.
It has a lot of internal storage which is great for me because I tend to take a lot of pictures and videos. Like why take one selfie when you can take 15… so space is always an issue for me especially when I migrate all the images and videos from whatsapp that I still want to have close to me and not in external storage. So you have enough storage to shoot all those pictures and videos.
In terms of sound there is a loud mono-speaker. There’s also a Real Sound Technology option setting which allows you to set the options between Movies, Gaming, Music and Smart options to optimise sound effects.
Camera
For content creators like me the OPPO Reno7 offers some great features. The triple camera ensemble at the back comprises a 64MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP macro camera.
In daylight, the camera captures crisp and detailed images that are almost life-like. The focus and shutter speeds are quick to ensure that you capture every moment. Even in low light, the camera doesn’t disappoint thanks to the AI features such as Night Mode that allow you to adjust the settings accordingly. It captures images of up to 1080p and 4K videos.
The front camera (selfie) is something to write home about. It’s equipped with a 32MP lens and a one-of-a-kind ultra-sensing selfie sensor that is manufactured by Sony that captures images perfectly making it ideal for content creators.
For the video you have two options you can shoot in 1080p or 720P. You also have options to zoom in between 1X and 10X. There are also some great filters that you can use to make your videos pop.
I was sad that they did not have the AI highlight video which was one of my favourite things about the OPPO Reno 6, especially when taking videos in places that were not well light and concerts as well.
Some of the features include
Portrait mode which has retouch and filters like bokeh flare portrait, natural and black and white (my 3 favourite filters)
Selfie HDR
AI Scene Enhancement
Extra HD Feature
Night shooting feature for low light conditions.
The 64 Megapixel feature which is great (but does not allow you to zoom)
Different camera modes like pro, slow motion, microscope, text and time lapse, stickers (which I had fun with) and pano.
High-efficiency video coding (HEVC) which allows you to record high quality videos that save space.
Here are pictures and videos I took with the OPPO Reno 7.
Selfies and pictures
Food
One of our cats because well cats.
Flowers and things
Stickers
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Videos
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Battery Life
In terms of battery life, the OPPO Reno7 doesn’t disappoint. The device comes with a 4,500mAh cell that has 65W fast charging capabilities. It promises to last 2 days on normal use and 1 day on heavy use. Additionally, the fast charging feature can power up the phone in 35 minutes and 25% in 5 minutes.
During the review, we had no issues with the battery and indeed, it lasted for more than a day. In case you run low on battery, you can activate power-saving modes such as Super Power Saving Mode & Super Night time Standby which ensures the phone consumes less power by reducing the background app activities.
Verdict
The OPPO Reno7 is a well-rounded phone that caters to a variety of needs when it comes to a smartphone. Whether you’re looking for a phone with a good camera, a gaming phone or a phone with good battery life, the Reno7 has it all.
For somebody who loves taking pictures and videos of my friends, family, events and food this is definately the phone I needed in my life.
It is available in all OPPO and Safaricom shops, Jumia, SkyGarden and Kilimall. The 4G version is priced at Ksh. 42,999 and the 5G version is priced at Ksh. 59,999.
Key features
Network: GSM / HSPA / LTE
Dimensions: 6.30 x 2.88 x 0.30 inches
Build: Glass front, aluminum back
SIM: Nano-SIM
Screen: 6.4 inch touchscreen (1080 x 2400 pixels)
OS: Android 12 + colours OS 12
Chipset: Qualcomm SM6225 Snapdragon 680 4G (6 nm)
CPU: Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Kryo 265 Gold & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo 265 Silver)
GPU: Adreno 610
Internal storage: 256GB
RAM: 8GB RAM
Main camera: 64 MP, 8 MP, 2MP
Selfie camera: Single 32 MP
USB: Type-C 2.0
Battery type: Li-Po 4500 mAh, non-removable
Charging: Charging 33W
Colours: Cosmic Black, Sunset Orange
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