a good device that struggles to stand out

In the box of the Oppo Reno4 we will find the famous VOOC 2.0 65W charger, a pair of pretty good USB-C headphones and a transparent shell letting you enjoy the magnificent galactic blue back (also available in space black). Some people don’t like plastic backs, but we have to admit that even the most saddened minds will find it hard to criticize the Reno4: pretty, not “plastoc” and leaving no fingerprints. The device has an IP54 certification, but is “wobbly” because of its eccentric photo sensors. With the hull it’s fine, but without …

Like the OnePlus Nord, the sound is good, but not in stereo. The device fits well in the hand, it is fun to use and the buttons are well placed. The Reno4 has a bit of a thick chin for this range, but nothing too unsightly. There is also a “pill”: a large punch that houses 2 front photo modules: like the OnePlus North except that there, the second lens is not an ultra-wide angle, but a sensor for the management of the depth of field.

Good performance, but no 90 Hz display

Precisely speaking of the screen. This is Full HD + and AMOLED technology with a size of 6.43 inches (16.3 cm). It is well calibrated (ColorOS allows us to do our little things), with good minimum and maximum brightness, but it does not offer refreshing above 60 Hz. Like the iPhone 12 you will tell me… Yes except that on Android, 90 Hz is becoming the standard in this range and that 120 Hz is already reached on lower range devices such as the POCO X3 NFC.

The experience is not bad, but it’s a little regret: you will have to opt for the Pro version for 90 Hz (offered at € 799 instead of € 549 with a 13 MP x2 telephoto lens and 12 GB of RAM) . On this range, the popular chip is the Snapdragon 765G, the same as on the North, the Oppo Find X2 Neo and the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite. As we have already explained to you, this chip is impressive. Admittedly, it’s less powerful on paper than Qualcomm’s Series 8, but it holds up very well. Here with 8 GB of RAM, it responds present. The navigation is pleasant, the applications pile up in the background without worry and only the most demanding games will not run at full speed in 60 fps.

Photo: no optical zoom, but neat selfies

Side photo there is a main lens of 48 megapixels, an ultra wide angle of 8 MP and a monochrome sensor of 2 MP for the depth of field. In good light condition, the shots are good or even better than those of the competition. It’s detailed, the colors stand out well and the distortions on the ultra wide angle are contained. The digital zoom x2 is quite nice even if it is more of a “patch”, but forget the x5, unusable. When there is no light, it is obviously more complicated. The ultra wide-angle barely barely looks bad (on the same level as the OnePlus North) and it’s a bit of a lottery with the main lens following the direction of the light.

At night, on the other hand, it’s not bad, even if the light sources generate halos that are not always graceful. As for the portraits, it’s very good. The advantage of the Reno4 is its second forehead sensor which allows better management of the cut of the face during the treatment allowing to imitate the depth of field. Lovers of selfies will be delighted. Finally for video, the Reno4 can generate 4K files at 30 fps, but we prefer to use 1080 at 60 fps. Budding filmmakers can have fun with the Soloop app integrated into ColorOS 6 & 7.

Average autonomy, but ultra fast charging

The Reno4 5G has a 4000 mAh battery. The latter will allow you to last a day or even a little longer if you do not overdo it (Netflix, games, GPS…), but it is the fast charging which is remarkable here. 10 V x 6.5 A = 65 Watts of happiness. It increases the gauge of your device from 5% to 100% in less than 30 minutes. In 15 minutes you will earn 65% (from 5% to 70%): it’s the future my cadets !!!

Our verdict:

Beautiful face, at ease in photos with very honorable performance, the Oppo Reno4 5G is a device that also includes a champion’s fast charge. But, much like the OnePlus Nord, it’s a bit expensive. In this category of “affordable” 5G devices, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite does better by being less “classy”. And in the higher category, the Oppo Find X2 Neo is now barely more expensive …

Tests taken