Oppo Reno first look: The 5G model doesn’t come cheap

Oppo 5G price and availability

Now that EE has finally flipped the switch on the UK’s first 5G network, the Oppo Reno’s 5G variant is available to purchase. Exclusive to EE, the Reno 5G will set you back £59 a month with an upfront cost of £10 for 10GB of monthly data. This will cost you a lofty £1,426 by the time you 24-month contract comes to an end. If you’re after a higher data allowance, you can also pick up the Oppo Reno 5G with either 60GB or 120GB of monthly data.

If that’s a tough pill to swallow, then you might consider picking up its non-5G siblings. The regular Oppo Reno costs £449 SIM-free, while the Reno 10x Zoom costs £699.

Our original first look review continues below

Oppo Reno first-look review

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo has just pulled a fast one on its rivals by making the first 5G-enabled smartphone. The Reno 5G is no one-trick pony, though – it also boasts an impressive set of cameras and has a unique, motorised selfie camera to leave you with a notch-free display.

The arrival of 5G smartphones shouldn’t come as a surprise to tech enthusiasts. Eagle-eyed fans will recall manufacturers announcing their commitment to the technology at MWC 2019, which took place earlier this year. It seems now, however, that the wait is over – 5G is here.

Oppo Reno: UK price and availability

The 5G isn’t the only Reno phone Oppo is launching. In fact, the handset comes in three variants, all of which have a 48-megapixel primary camera. The differences lie in the camera specs and connectivity. The lowest-spec model, dubbed simply the Reno, starts at €499 and has a dual rear camera and no 5G connectivity. The Reno 10x Zoom starts at €799 and has a triple-camera setup, including one that delivers the fabled “10x” zoom, while the Reno 5G, which costs €899, takes all the features of the 10x Zoom and adds – you guessed it – 5G capability.

As for availability, the regular Reno can be ordered on 10 May, the Reno 10x Zoom early June and the Reno 5G sometime in May.

At the time of writing, EE is the only carrier to support the 5G network, while abroad Swiss-based telecoms company Swisscom has already rolled out 5G across the country.

Oppo Reno vs Reno 10x Zoom vs Reno 5G: What you need to know

There’s a large discrepancy in price between the models – and with good reason. There’s quite a big spread of features here between the regular Reno and the bells-and-whistles Reno 5G. The most exciting feature of the lot (sorry 5G), though, has to be the telephoto lens found on the 5G and the 10x Zoom models.

It’s a similar setup to the Huawei P30 Pro, with the main 48-megapixel sensor aided by an extra 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor and that 13-megapixel telephoto lens. The latter is capable of up to 5x optical zoom, and combines with the main sensor to deliver a hybrid 10x zoom. Both the primary and zoom cameras are equipped with optical image stabilisation (OIS) to help snaps and video recordings stay shake-free.

The standard edition Reno is considerably less exotic. Not only does it lack the telephoto camera of the 10x Zoom and 5G phones but none of its cameras have OIS – and you only get two at the rear instead of three. The primary camera should still be good, though: it’s the same 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 camera used by the other two phones (and a number of other firms’ flagship phones, too). Here, it’s accompanied by a 5-megapixel depth sensor to help produce portrait images with blurred backgrounds.

All variants of the Reno have a motorised pop-up 16-megapixel front-facing camera. However, instead of rising vertically from within the body of the phone, the Renos’ selfie camera module is built around a pivot, with only one corner of the camera housing rising above the top edge. It’s a completely different mechanism to the motorised cameras we’ve become used to on recent phones and one that looks a little less intrusive than its competitors. Oppo calls it, rather awkwardly, a “pivot rising camera”.

These aren’t the only differences between the base model and the other two phones. The chipsets are also different, with the flagship handsets boasting the latest and greatest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 while the cheaper sibling is limited to a Snapdragon 710. The latter also has, at 6.4in across the diagonal, a slightly smaller display compared to the 6.6in screen on the other models. All screens have the same resolution (1,080 x 2,340) and use AMOLED panel technology, however, and they all have an optical in-display fingerprint sensor.

With the bigger screen, there’s a slightly beefier 4,065mAh battery in the 10x Zoom and Reno 5G models. The regular Reno opts for a 3,765mAh Li-Po, instead. But they’re all certified to work with Oppo’s own fast-charging technology, VOOC 3.0, which lets you charge the phones from 0% to 75% in 30 minutes, with a full charge taking just under an hour.

Connectivity differs across the phone, too. The Reno has a 3.5mm headphone jack but lacks a microSD card expansion slot. Conversely, the 10x Zoom and Reno 5G, do support microSD storage (up to 256GB via the use of the secondary SIM slot), but have no 3.5 headphone jack.

As for connectivity, there’s only one model with the blistering Snapdragon X50 5G modem on board – the Reno 5G. The other two models are limited to 4G.

As for the rest of the specifications, they’re largely the same. All three phones come in either “Jet Black” or “Ocean Green” finishes and they all have dual stand-by nano SIM slots, support NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, and dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac.

Oppo Reno: Specs at a glance

• Display: 6.4in FHD+ (1,080 x 2,340) AMOLED display
• Processor: Octa-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 710
• RAM: 6/8GB
• Internal storage: 128GB/256GB
• Rear camera: 48-megapixel and 5-megapixel depth sensor
• Selfie camera: Motorised pop-up 16-megapixel
• Battery: 3,765mAh with VOOC 3.0 Charge
• Biometric: In-display fingerprint sensor
• Operating system: Android 9 Pie with ColorOS 6
• Ports: 3.5mm headphone jack and USB Type-C
• Connectivity: NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 4G LTE

Oppo Reno 5G and 10x Zoom: Specs at a glance

• Display: 6.6in FHD+ (1,080 x 2,340) AMOLED display
• Processor: Octa-core 2.84GHz Snapdragon 855
• RAM: 6/8GB
• Internal storage: 128GB/256GB
• Rear camera: 48-megapixel, 13-megapixel pericope and 8-megapixel ultrawide
• Selfie camera: Motorised pop-up 16-megapixel
• Battery: 4,065mAh with VOOC 3.0 Charge
• Biometric: In-display fingerprint sensor
• Operating system: Android 9 Pie with ColorOS 6
• Ports: USB Type-C
• Connectivity: NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 4G LTE, 5G (Reno 5G, only)

Oppo Reno: Early Verdict

Oppo’s latest smartphones are a little more exciting than most – not least because, in the Reno 5G, we have the world’s first commercially available 5G handset. Add to that an impressive-looking rear camera setup, and a clever new style of pop-up selfie camera and you have what looks like one of the most interesting smartphone launches of the year so far.

Full 5G networks may be a way off completion in the UK, but Oppo is giving smartphone fans a way to get ready for that future with the Reno 5G and we’re very, very excited. Keep your eyes peeled for our full review, which we’ll post here as soon as we receive a review sample to test.